The Mind Over Finger Podcast - 195 Katherine Emeneth: Build & Grow Your Music Career

Episode Date: March 29, 2024

Today's discussion features Dr. Katherine Emeneth, a multifaceted artist in flute performance, collaboration, education, and pedagogy. Key points include: Being intentional about your choices when you're building your career The future of musicians' careers with a portfolio approach. The need to develop multiple skills to grow your career Overcoming self-doubt as you go about your journey The importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing your health and well-being to build a more fulfilling and sustainable career.   Sign up now for the brand-new FREE workshop – Mastering the Stage Download the transcript from this episode HERE     MORE ABOUT KATHERINE EMENETH Website:  https://www.katherineemeneth.com Facebook Group – The Classical Musicianeer: https://www.facebook.com/groups/410168472889398 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katherineemeneth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katherineemeneth   Mind Over Finger Click www.mindoverfinger.com/coaching to book your free consultation with me. Visit MindOverFinger.com for my online courses as well as free resources on peak performance. Connect: https://www.youtube.com/@MindOverFinger https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindoverfinger https://www.instagram.com/mindoverfinger/     THANK YOU: Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme:  Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson.

You're listening to the Mind Over Finger podcast, episode number 195. Welcome to the Mind Over Finger podcast, where we dive into the world of mindful music making, peak performance, and crafting a purpose-driven life and career. I'm your host, violinist, certified performance and life coach for musicians, and your guide unlocking your full potential, Dr. René-Paul Gaultier. Hello there. I hope everything is wonderful for you. Today, I bring you an inspiring discussion with Dr. Catherine Eminet, performing flutist, collaborator, clinician, pedagogue, and teacher with a passion for education. Catherine is the dynamic owner of the Georgia Flute Academy, where she specializes in

pre-college flute education in Northeast Georgia. She's in demand as a clinician, adjudicator, and speaker at various schools and colleges throughout the Southeast and beyond. Catherine established the Atlanta area's first immersive summer flute camp in 2022. The Flute Intensive of North Georgia, or FLING, is a week-long summer camp for middle and high school students in the area. In addition to this, Catherine is the founder and CEO of KE Creative, a digital education company that supports classical musicians in advancing their teaching, business, and entrepreneurial skills. She's helped hundreds of classical musicians from around the world create their own thriving careers as private teachers, performers, and beyond. In our conversation,

we covered so many topics that I know many of you will relate to. We talked about being intentional about your choices when you're building your career, the future of musicians' careers with a portfolio approach, the need to develop multiple skills to grow your career, overcoming self-doubt as you go about your journey, the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing your health and well-being to build a more fulfilling and sustainable career and so much more. It was a powerful conversation and I know you're going to walk away feeling inspired by Catherine's insight. And before I turn the mic over to Catherine, I have something special in the making that I'm thrilled to share with you. I want you to join me for a transformative experience in my upcoming

workshop Mastering the Stage. I want you to imagine this. You're stepping on stage in your optimal performance state. You're filled with confidence and you're ready to rock your performance. You're feeling free and completely at ease throughout your entire performance. Well, it's not just a dream. It's possible. But to get different results, you need to try something different. And this something different, this completely different approach to preparing for performance is what we'll be exploring together in this free three-day training happening from April 4th to 6th, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Central. Go to mindoverfinger.com for all of the details. During mastering this stage, we're going to dive into what's been missing in your preparation all

this time, what truly works and what doesn't in performance preparation. We're going to identify and develop strategies to overcome the roadblocks that sabotage your progress in the practice room. And we're going to talk about the mindsets that can launch your practice into hyperdrive and get you results. So if you're ready for something different, if you're ready to unlock the secrets that will transform not just your playing, but your entire stage experience, Well, I'm ready for you. So join me for mastering this stage. We start April 4th and you're going to find all the details and the link to sign up for this absolutely free and absolutely transformative workshop at mindoverfinger.com. I can't wait to share this journey with you. And now let's go to the show. Catherine Eminet it's so great to have you on the show thank you so much for having me Renee Catherine you're an accomplished flutist and educator a wonderful educator but you have also

created incredible resources for other musicians to expand their own careers I want to hear about all of this. So please share with us how your musical journey has unfolded. Yeah, absolutely. So I started music just like most of us, where I started taking piano lessons when I was in the third grade and when I was eight years old. And I remember my parents gave me this keyboard for Christmas and it was awful. It was like battery powered. And I remember sitting on the floor watching tv and just trying to come up with little melodies and everything and um and so from that they said okay i guess we should do piano lessons and no one in my family is musical at all so they had no idea what was what was happening or going on um and so i started playing

the piano and i really loved it and then it came time to join school band and i went to the music store to pick out an instrument and i tried the flute because it was nice and small and shiny and I was able to get a sound out pretty instantly, which is very unusual actually, because flute is a very hard instrument to get a sound out of. So then it was like fate that I would be a flutist. I was awful in middle school band. I was like the last chair out of 30 flutes in the section. And so then my parents said, okay, well, maybe we should do private lessons for flute. And so I started taking private lessons for flute, but with a saxophonist and I was with him for a while, all the way through high school. And then I basically outgrew him. And so I was

like, okay, what do I do now? And then I started taking lessons with an actual flutist. I had never played in any recitals before. I had no clue about music competitions. Um, you know, I just enjoyed playing my band music and learning scales and auditioning for like the honor bands and stuff. And that made me happy. So when it came time to go to college, I had the conversation with my parents, like many of us do, I want to major in music and I want to perform in an orchestra. And they said, what about music education? Isn't that a safer background, safer major so that you know that you can get a job? And their background, they came from a very, very rural farming community. And when they were kids, they didn't have very much money at all in their families.

And my dad had to really work hard for many, many years in order to establish a career, be successful to support his family. So he did not want me to have to have that same path. And so at first I was like, I don't really like kids. I don't really want to major in music education. I can never see myself like in a classroom teaching band, but I was like, you know, whatever, we'll give it a try. And then four years later, I had a degree in music education. During that whole time, I was, I knew that I needed to diversify myself with lots of different types of experiences in music school. So I was an intern for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. I helped organize and run the summer music camps. I played in all of the ensembles. I taught an

early elementary class for like two and three year olds. So I gathered a whole bunch of different experiences because I knew I wanted to make this to work. So when I graduated, I decided to teach general elementary music for a year. And I had 600 students that I saw every single week. I had one class that met even before school started for kids with special needs that required me to do a lot of music therapy type things, which I was not familiar with. So I had to learn how to do all of that. I taught an afterschool chorus of fourth and fifth graders, and there were like 120 kids in that. I am not a singer at all. That one semester of vocal methods was definitely not enough, but here I was having to teach singing to all of these fourth and fifth graders.

I also had to arrange, organize, and put on the school talent show for the entire school. And I was also expected to have two full-blown musicals with costumes, props, and all of that for the school. So I learned a lot in that year. And that is the year that I learned how to teach. But I also learned, hey, I actually do like kids and I do like teaching, just not that many at the same time. So like many of us do, I waffled around a little bit like, oh, what am I going to do? And then I decided, okay, let's go back to the safety of school. And so I went back for a master's degree in flute performance to try to figure things out.

And then I was like, oh my gosh, I could be a professor doing all the things that I want to do. I can teach, I can play, I can research, I can write, I can serve on committees and volunteer my time to make an impact in the world arts organizations and all of that. And so I applied for a doctorate and my now husband and I moved to Seattle, which is all the way across the country from where I'm from. I'm from Georgia originally. And we lived there for six years. And during the time I was in my doctorate, I was also doing everything. I was teaching at flute camps. I had my own private flute studio of 16 kids. I tutored athletes in the athletic department at the University of Washington and their non-major music classes. So I got to learn

all that curriculum. I was doing the things that we all do. I was teaching masterclasses. I was traveling around speaking at conventions, doing all the things that we're supposed to do for our CV to get a job as a professor. And I applied for jobs, applied for around 110 positions, gotten to the final three, like seven times. And then eventually I said, you know what? I'm tired of not knowing where I'm going to live. And I've really, really feel like I can do this thing on my own. I don't need to have a title and I don't need to have a position. And so my husband and I decided to move back home to Atlanta and to create a private flute studio, very different from how I was brought up, um, and to serve the community with a flute education that I didn't

have when I was in middle and high school. And so since we've done that, I've really, um, elevated the, uh, flute education, um, of the area that I live in. I have lots of connections with band programs, a lot of private students. And it's been really, really cool to transform how private lessons can look. I love that story. And what strikes out for me is that aspect of you making intentional choices. And that is something that not all musicians pursuing a path in music have. we often follow the traditional path and I'm so grateful that things are changing thanks to people like you but I remember when I went to school it was you know you perform or you teach in these very specific circumstances and you go live where you have work and you sort of go along with you

know, the opportunities that are possible. And there is very little conversation about what is it possible to create for yourself. So that's what I love about your stories, those intentional choices that you've made along the way. And you and I have known each other for a long time now. I knew you even before there was a Mind Over Finger podcast. And I have loved watching the type of teacher that you are so attentive so dedicated so creative you offer such a holistic experience for your students and like I said you've created products that support other musicians really take agency over their lives and career and path so I'd love to hear a little bit more about that how did that come about for you where you started to to support

musicians in their career. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So when I was doing all of these things in Seattle and I had to start my own private studio from scratch, you know, I didn't really have a lot of knowledge about how to do that. So most of the time when we're in college and we talk and we're like, okay, what am I supposed to do after graduation or what can I do during school for income, many professors encourage, you know, just teach some private lessons for some extra cash. And then you say, okay, well, how do I go about getting students? And they say, well, just email some local music teachers, put up some flyers and business cards. And then that's usually where it stops. So when I moved to a new city in Seattle, I knew no one and I had to

figure out how to recruit students on my own in a very, very wonderful music city that had tons of excellent flute teachers already. So I had to learn marketing. I didn't realize that I was learning marketing at the time, but now I know that that's what it was. So I had to learn how to write on my website that would attract ideal students and parents to want to contact me. I had to learn how to network with others and show them the world that I create for students. I had to learn how to do all of that. And then it worked and it was great. And I was like, okay, I got this set up. We're, we're good. We're, you know, basically making a full-time income while we're in school. Wonderful. So I decided at a convention at the National Flute Association Annual Convention,

it was in New Orleans that year, like a week after I got married, that I would present, submit a proposal called New in Town, how to start your studio from the ground up. And it was just going to be, you know, these tidbits of things that I thought everybody knew that everybody had to figure out on their own. And when I got there for my presentation, there was not a chair left that was open. There were people standing up against the wall and sitting on the floor. And then I was like, oh my gosh, people don't know this. Talk about proof of concept. Yes, exactly. And so when I finished that presentation, I had numerous people coming up to me saying how helpful it was telling me their stories about how they had struggled for so long starting a studio

and that this really, really helped them. And so I said, okay, so let's spread the word. And so whenever I would go to universities to do masterclasses, I would also, you know, do a type of presentation about private teaching. And I would make a handout, give that to all the students. And then like a year later after that, I had students contacting me saying, oh my gosh, that handout you gave us and that presentation that literally helped me start teaching privately. So I started realizing that I was onto something and that more and more musicians needed to have this information so that they could teach privately or do really whatever they wanted to on their own terms and not always have to go through an organization in order to

have a career. So at this point we had moved back to Atlanta and I was teaching privately and we all know for teaching privately, there's only so many hours in a day that you can teach and there's only so much you can charge. So as far as, you know, being able to expand your income, there's pretty much a cap on it unless you do something else. So I had started hearing about online courses and how they can really help boost your income as well as reach people that you don't have immediate access to.

And so I started working with a business coach about this who knew about these things. And it took one call, I think. And we discovered that the studio building thing could be really, really helpful for many people. And maybe that could be the thing that we do. And so about seven or eight years ago is when I launched the first iteration of it. And I was scared to death, Renee, when I posted that post that said, this is now open, this new course about private teaching, because no one was really doing it then.

And I was thinking to myself, all of those self-doubts, like, what are people going to think? Are they going to think that I gave up, that I'm not, you know, pursuing a professional performing or teaching career anymore? like, is anybody even going to buy it? Or is anybody going to even invite me to do things anymore? You know, all of these thoughts that we all have, whenever we start putting our neck out or to start doing something different, that's against what the normal flow of being a musician and our jobs are. So I did it and I had 20 people that signed up in the first, in the first time

that I ran it. And so since then I've helped over 200 musicians through that program to be able to learn these skills that were not taught in school, really that are, that are very imperative to learn as a musician, because it doesn't matter what type of musician you are, you are a small business. And so you have to learn things about how to talk to people, how to promote yourself without being icky with, you know, really identifying what you believe in and the world you want to create on your own terms and being able to speak about that. And it's been incredibly rewarding because I'll get messages from people that are like, oh my gosh, Catherine, I just bought a house and I couldn't have done this without being able to have an income, which I was able to do through

growing a private studio or Catherine, I just had to tell you, I have a wait list now. And now I'm wondering what I can do next, like not just recruiting students, but what can I do next? And so it's super, super cool to see how these musicians can elevate their thought process about themselves. And instead of always thinking, oh, I'm not good enough to play in an orchestra. Oh, I'm not good enough to have this job and that job, but to be able to be where they are and elevate what they do in their career, help their community and create lifelong lovers of music. I mean, that is incredibly powerful. So it has been a journey of lots of ups and downs, but it has been totally worth it. Oh, yeah. That's amazing. Because

what you just shared in terms of helping them see, I mean, those are different words, but helping them see what is possible for them. Yes. And really creating, you know, what we call a portfolio career on their own terms yes and you're yourself such a great pedagogue and you're now offering the tools for other people to impact their community so it's wonderful to see yes so rewarding very very much so I agree with you too that those skills are not necessarily taught in school and of course colleges they can't teach us everything otherwise those degrees would last 10 years. And I think that, you know, people have to sort of take initiative in terms of getting the knowledge that they need in order to, you know, grow their careers. But what are some

of the things that you think the young musicians, they're still in school, can do to help set them themselves up for success after school? Oh, yeah, absolutely. So music school is wonderful. Like I'm not here to bash music school. It's wonderful. I loved my time through all of my degrees. And I think that it's a great time to be around your community and to learn, to be dedicated to music and to learn the craft. Really, truly, that is what school is for, is to learn the craft. However, it's also very important to be open-minded about all the skills in addition to learning how to play well that you need to have as a working musician after school. So for, I basically have two different ways of thinking about this. For undergrads, I always tell undergrads

that I speak with and work with that that undergrad experience is for gathering experiences, gathering different experiences so not just going to class and doing your thing and getting good grades and all of that but you know if there's an opportunity that presents itself for you to do a little arts admin try that on for size go into some schools work with some kids see if you like it um you know try arranging some music uh do some social media marketing take a finance class take a digital media class, take a marketing class. So just gathering different experiences to see what you like that you maybe didn't realize that you liked. A great example of this is what I did in my doctorate. Actually, I took a Javanese gamelan ensemble class, like through the

ethnomusicology department, and I had the best time and it was so cool to broaden my horizons. And one of the reasons why I got my first college teaching job right out of school was because I had experience of world music. So you never know how things can help you along the way. So undergrad is really, truly about gathering experiences and helping you find areas of interest that are outside of your instrument. Then if you decide to go to grad school, it's important to go to grad school with a purpose, not just to delay the inevitable of having to be on your own and making your own work and your own career. Grad school, you should have an idea of something that you really want to take a deep dive into

so that you can really go for a program in a university that offers those things. So if you know you want to be a teacher, you want to go for a place that has you in classrooms has you in lessons and not just in the college classroom so that you can get some real hands-on experience. If you want to be a player, you want to go to a place where you're studying with someone who is very knowledgeable about today's world of getting gigs, today's world of taking auditions, and who has a network in place to support you. So it's very important. And when you're choosing those grad opportunities that you're kind of thinking along the lines of music and so that you have that and really in your back pocket and ready to go. So for me, I had a lot of ands

in grad school. I had music and teaching. I had music and website development, music and creating camps and programs and things, music and creating curriculum. So I had a lot of different things already that I was interested in pursuing. And so that was really helpful. But you had to figure out your and. You had to figure out what that thing is, because that will make you 10 times more marketable as a musician and as a human once you do graduate. Yes, I agree with this so much. And even if you're someone who gets a job in an orchestra or a job, full-time job teaching in an organization, that and is very important. Let's think about a conductor. We think, oh, all they have to do is come on the podium and conduct the orchestra, but they need to know about

handling musicians, so people skills. They need to know about fundraising. They need to know about logistics, about planning. There's so many hats that we need to wear. And we heard that through your story when you were talking about all of these hats that you were wearing, both as a teacher in a school and then during your grad studies when you were handling all of these different activities. So I love that way of putting it, music and, because regardless of what you end of doing that and will be the differentiator in what happens in your career. Absolutely. You're kind of the epitome of what a portfolio career is. And I know that it seems to be probably the future of musicians in so many ways. What is your view for the future of the portfolio

career for musicians? Yeah. Yeah. Um, I think for sure the portfolio career is the career of the future for musicians. Um, what we see in higher education happening, especially for applied positions is that they're going to be adjunct positions and honestly they don't pay great. Um, I actually left my adjunct position because I could fill in, I could make more money doing things differently, like going and teaching sectionals at public schools and creating my own flute camp in the summer instead of teaching like six classes a week and maybe getting paid $40 a class to teach each of those with all of the grading and all of the things that happen. I was teaching world music appreciation, not applied lessons necessarily. But even for applied

teachers. I've been recruited to teach, be an adjunct professor at some big universities and they're all adjuncts. And I make more money teaching privately in my own house than I would driving 40 minutes in Atlanta traffic to, to do some of these other adjunct professor gigs. Um, so you know, that, that traditional idea of I'll just be a professor, I'll get the doctorate and be a professor. That is something that is very, it requires a lot of luck and it requires a lot lot of networking. Um, and it is not something that you can bank on happening. And I mean, honestly, the reason why I got to the finals when I was doing those job interviews was because of my music. And they wanted someone who could teach their students how to create a private

studio, how to build a website, how to create a summer program. They didn't want somebody who just went straight through school and went to music competitions and played and summer festivals. They wanted someone with some real skills that can help students to be profitable. So the portfolio career for sure is the future because we basically are pulling together several different things that will bring us income. And so if something like the pandemic happens again, when one thing goes down, you can level up the other things. So if you don't put all of your eggs in one basket, so to speak.

So the portfolio career for most people looks like doing some types of administrative work, whether it's arts admin or working for a nonprofit organization or doing some type of fundraising, plus teaching privately, plus freelance gigging. And then some folks have their own side hustle of what they do, whether that be, you know, teaching online programs, online classes or or having hosting some other type of event or even creating their own ensemble and getting gigs for themselves. So all of those different things come together to make actually a really cool career and something that is different every single day, which is very, very cool to have that type of diversity. Yes. Yes. And so fulfilling as well. For sure. Yes. That feeling of agency when we created something with our brain and we put it out there in the world and contribute to the community, as you were sharing, is so incredible. It really is. And it's incredibly validating also to know, yeah, I was right that this was a cool thing that people will like and people that will serve people and elevate our craft and show people how cool classical music is. yeah yeah i love that um katherine i know that you and i were chatting and

a lot of musicians they feel overwhelmed when they think about starting some of these projects or creating a studio and i want to hear about of course all of the offerings that you have i want you to tell us about all of those programs but also i would love to know if there's bits of advice that you could offer them today to get started? Oh yeah, absolutely. So it can be incredibly overwhelming to start something new, either a private studio, an ensemble, some other type of offering. And the reason is, is because you don't know if it's going to work or not. And that you have all of these, these, these South doubts, like I mentioned before about, will people like this? What will

people think, will it even work? Will I make money off of this? It seems like a lot of effort when I'm not sure if it's even going to work. So that is very overwhelming. But something that I always really encourage people to think about is if it could help or change one person's life or situation, would it be worth it? And most of the time the answer is yes, that it would be worth it if it helped one person. So when you have all this self-doubts and things and blocks that come up for you, just remember you're doing this in order to help someone or give someone an experience that they wouldn't otherwise have. And if it works for one person, then that means it's worth it. And if you believe in it that much, if you believe in the thing that you don't care if

anybody pooh-poohs you or, you know, does a nasty comment on your social media, if you believe in it wholeheartedly, then that won't matter. Those aren't your people anyway. So getting past those beliefs is very hard, but it is something you have to have your mindset right for when starting something. The other very important thing with starting something new is not being scared to ask for help. Finding someone who has done the thing that you want to do and asking them to coach you or to mentor you so that they can help you along the way. They can help you avoid some of the roadblocks that you might face otherwise, and they can help you get success faster by showing you the plan and things to look out for and things to consider

doing differently. So having a coach or a mentor or being in some type of mastermind program, Anything where you're talking to people and seeking advice about your situation will help you get out of your own head and be able to see a couple steps down the road instead of having everything swirling in your head all at the same time. So having that direction can be very, very helpful. That's great advice. I'm wondering, is there a piece of advice that you think would be surprising for people to know about doing this type of work? What I mean by this is, for example, I have a lot of people reaching out to me asking, how do I start a podcast? And the first thing I recommend always takes them by surprise because they think I'll say,

you know, buy this mic, download this or research that. And I always tell them the first thing they should know they should do rather is pick the first release date, decide when you're going to release it. because I think everybody is thinking you're gonna think about your podcast you'll get the equipment you will refine your skill and then when you're ready you'll launch yes that's not how it works usually there's a lot of podcasts that never saw the light of day because of that approach so I tell them pick a date yes and trust me those who follow my advice have podcasts So, but they're always surprised by that advice. Is there one piece of advice that you think would

surprise people? Um, you know, I, I agree with that for sure that you have to write it down and you have to hold yourself accountable for doing that thing. Um, there is no perfect time. There is a lot of people will delay themselves by waiting for perfect. They were going to wait until it looks polished and perfect. But honestly, if you wait until perfect, then it is going to be too late. The thing will, somebody else will have already done the thing you're working on, or you will run out of steam or whatever. So my advice for people who are trying to start something is go for 80%. See if you can get it 80% there. It doesn't have to be perfect because you don't know if it's going to work. That's all the whole thing of entrepreneurship

is you, you try something, you see how it's received. You see how it goes. You see how you feel about it. And then you change it and then you change it and then you change it and you're constantly learning and evolving. So it's not like in school when we practice and practice and practice for perfect so that we can play it as close to perfect as we can. And then we feel validated. Like I did my best. I played as perfectly as I could next doesn't work like that in entrepreneurship. You are constantly evolving. You're constantly thinking about how you can serve audience, what they need, what you need, how you can blend those things. And you're, you're constantly transforming things. So even if it is perfect and entrepreneurship or

starting whatever you're starting, even if it is perfect, I can guarantee you it's going to change in like two seconds. So why not just go ahead and push it out and get it rolling instead of waiting for it to be perfect? Yes, it's so true. Such great advice. I couldn't agree more because what keeps us stuck usually is fear. And fear a lot of times comes from a lack of data. and the only way to get data if something's going to work is to actually try and see what happens so yes I could not agree more what a great advice you talked about how self-doubt also in the mindset is what's holding people back and I thought that would be a great transition into the rapid fire if that works for you and I'd like to start with that question if there's the type of

self-doubt or any resistance that you had to face on this journey and what that was for you? Yeah. I mean, I still face this. It comes up every day, it feels like. So it's not like once you finally get it, that all that goes away. No, not at all. Even the most successful people that we know face this every single day. It just doesn't look like it. So for me, the doubts and resistance have always been the fear of it not working, the fear of looking like a failure, the fear that nobody will want to do it or will want to sign up for lessons or will want to sign up for my coaching programs. You know, the fear that I'm an imposter, that I don't know what I'm talking about, of course, you know, imposter syndrome crops up for everyone. And then the

overwhelm that comes with starting a business. And I did not really begin starting. I didn't make my company an LLC until I was up and running because I didn't know if it was going to work. So I didn't wait for perfect till I had an LLC and a business banking account and a contract for my employees. I didn't do all of that at the beginning. But once I saw that it was, it was working, then I said, okay, now we got to get more official. So, you know, it can be very overwhelming navigating those things, the finance things, the law things, making sure you've got all of your ducks in a row when we've never been exposed to having to do that. So that can be a very overwhelming thing for many people's like, oh, what if, am I going to do this right? Am I going

to lose all of my money? How do, how do all these fees work and all of that? But you just take one step at a time. You'll learn as you go. You find people who have had a similar path, ask them questions. And that's a beautiful thing about our community is most of the time when people have been in the weeds and been stuck in the mud, like where you are. And if you reach out to someone who's been there, they're going to be more than happy to share with you some information and help you along the way. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So true. I'm still curious for the people who are dreaming of a career that resemble yours. Can you tell us a little bit about what your life looks like? you've shared already some tidbits, but let's hear it all. Yeah. Yeah. So my life is very

different every single day. Um, there is no day that is the same as the next. And I work on different things on different days. One of the things that is the hardest I think about being a portfolio career musician is balancing and managing your time. You have to get really, really good at that. And you have to, uh, make sure that you're taking care of yourself and your own health, because if you, if you don't, then you're going to get stuck working all the time. So as I've gone on this journey, I figured out some boundaries for myself that I have to lay down so that I can not get overwhelmed. Like most musicians. I love working. I love producing results. I love being involved. And as an entrepreneur, when you're working for yourself,

there's no one telling you what to do, when to do it, how to do it. It is all up to you to determine those things. So through the course of trial and error, I have figured out things that some boundaries that work for me. So for example, I only teach private lessons four days a week. And I know that my max, uh, number of hours I can teach back to back is four hours. And then I start becoming a grumpy teacher and nobody wants that. Yeah. So the boundaries that I have is I only take a maximum of 16 private students. Um, and I have a waiting list of 37 right now.

So I am, you know, that is fine. That is, I will have an endless supply of students in this area, which I'm super thankful for. And I also go into school band programs and work with flutes during sectional time through some band programs. I get emails all the time asking me to come in to teach sectionals. I love teaching sectionals. I think I have so much fun teaching these students who maybe have never worked with a professional musician before other than their band teacher to learn from them. And so for myself, I know I can only do two schools a week because I will go for the whole school day and then I will come home and teach my four hours of private lessons. So two is my max. Two school visits a week is my max. So I've put that boundary down for myself as well. And then in terms of online stuff about times to work on online stuff, Fridays are what I call my CEO days where I'm not teaching a human anything. I am not seeing a person. I'm usually sitting right here at my desk wearing my cow hoodie with my bunny slippers on and I'm working through looking to see where we are with everything. I'm helping my clients. I'm replying to emails from them. I'm getting stuff set up for the next week. Um, and then on weekends is where I do a lot of the social media batching. I prep for the

next week for the school sectionals and things. Um, and then in those little holes during the week, I am either on calls for my coaching program. I'm having meetings with my team to think about our next, you know, launch or, you know, what we're doing next, or I'm running errands or taking walks outside with my dog and my husband, um, or just, you know, being me and notice how I didn't really put practicing in there out of all the things I do that is at the bottom of the list because honestly, I have to be well-prepared flutist for my students and sound good, of course, but the other things are more important in a way because I already spent my time in school practicing and I already spent that time creating this craft and being able to just

take the flute out and be able to play. So I'm also very lucky that my husband is incredibly supportive. He does all of the cooking. He does all of the grocery shopping. He does all of the dog care stuff. And he brings me food at my desk and he tells me I'm doing a good job. So it's incredibly, I'm incredibly thankful to have him as a support for me doing this crazy career. That's awesome. That's a good husband right there. Yes. And thank you for this reminder to setting boundaries i think that applies across the board to everybody in music regardless of what you're doing uh you know for any human i love the expression nurturing the asset which i read for the first time in the greg mckeon's book essentialism and i had never conceptualized

myself as as that that an asset like yes we are our own each uh each um all of ourselves here frank french person trying to speak english yeah we are our own most important asset yes i had never thought about it this way and and there was something about that expression that really crystallized things that we've heard throughout the years take care of yourself take care of your health. There's something about that expression that really crystallized it very vividly for the first time. So thank you for this reminder of putting some effort into figuring out what works for you and then build a life around this. And I think that that can be the beginning for many people of creating something different in their lives is structuring their lives differently and

creating these boundaries and getting creative about ways of organizing multiple activities. Oh, for sure. So that it matches what your vision of your life is. Yes. Because, you know, so many private teachers that I coach, they say, I really don't want to go to students' homes to teach anymore, but I need the money. And, or they will say, you know, I really don't want to teach on Saturdays, but this one student, they can only come on Saturday. And so we talk a lot about, you know, you have to figure out what's going to work best for you. And once you have a very strong sense of that, people will mostly oblige by your rules and your boundaries. They will figure out a way to make it work. And so, you know, like for the folks on my waiting list, if I do have an opening of a student graduates or something from lessons and I have a spot open, I will email them

saying, hey, I have a spot open. It's Monday at 3.30. That is the only time I have available. Please let me know if you would like the spot instead of trying to help and find a way and all of that. And most of the time, if the people are really into it, they will figure out a way to make it work. So that's another thing about, you know, being very strong in your convictions of what you build, either in your private studio or in whatever your entrepreneurial endeavor is. And, you know, voicing that there's something that's magnetic about that instead of always feeling like you have to people please and bend over backwards for others.

Yes. Because what's interesting about people pleasing is that you end up building a lot of resentment and that impacts so many different aspects of our lives negatively. This resentment shows up everywhere and it impacts our self-esteem. So yeah, people pleasing is actually very toxic. Oh, for sure. It definitely is. And I mean, we all do it. We all, you know, we all want to say love music and make people happy with what we do. But you also have to stand your ground and you also have to think about yourself and work with people to find solutions for things. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Absolutely. I love that. What's a piece of advice that was given to you that you would like to pass on to the listeners? Yeah. So I think I already mentioned it a little bit, but something that was really helpful for me as a people pleaser, wanting not to have any conflict, not wanting to, you know, rub anyone the wrong way was especially when I started getting more and more active on social media. and my email list, um, was, you know, worrying about people who would have negative comments or even on my email list, like the number of unsubscribes I have, like, Oh, what did I do to make them mad that they unsubscribed? Like I have to please everyone. Right. I want to be seen

by everyone as wanted and as being very, very professional and, uh, impactful, but something that somebody told me once, which I think I mentioned before, is that your thing is not for everyone, nor should it be for everyone. Not everyone is going to like your thing. You're not supposed to like everybody else's stuff. There's going to be stuff that you see that you're like, what? No, I don't like that. And then you're going to unsubscribe. And so in a way, it's actually a good thing whenever you do see people unsubscribe from you or they leave a gross comment and you unfollow them because you're narrowing your pool down of people who actually care about the thing that you care about and actually want to hear from you. And the chances of you developing that

relationship, either as a working relationship or just in your community in general is, is great. That's actually better than trying to please everyone. Um, so that's a really big piece of advice that I was given that I think about every single time I post anything or, uh, see unsubscribe I see those unsubscribes and instead of going, oh, I must've made somebody mad. I say, yay, more people who are never going to buy from me anyway. Oh, great, great advice. And that applies in life in general. Oh, for sure.

Yes. Finally, how about a quick actionable tip that the listeners can implement today in their musical lives? Yeah. Something that I encourage everybody to do is to do something out of your comfort zone, something that scares you a little bit. Whenever we get a little bit scared, that's when we learn things. That's when we are actually empowered and we get more clarity. If we stay in our comfort zone, if we're always doing things that feel safe and good, then we're not going to really grow and

we're not going to experience new things. So I remember when I was an undergrad, so I'm a super introverted person. I was so shy as a kid. Like I would never talk to anyone. So college was really hard transition for me. And I started realizing if I'm going to be a musician, I have to talk to humans because previously my flute just spoke for me. And that was it. I didn't have to do anything else except for just play the flute really well. But in college, it's like, okay, I got to start talking to people. So I gave myself the assignment to talk to three random people every single day about anything, standing in line, give them a compliment about their jewelry or talk about the weather or whatever. And I started realizing that it didn't

kill me to do that. And in fact, it was kind of good to like meet other people and find out about them. And so for the people that I coach, you know, everybody is very nervous about sending cold emails to people. And, um, so we always have, we have this joke where, you know, we talk about how many emails they sent that week for, um, you know, networking or recruiting students or whatever. And if they say like 150 emails and I said, see, and you're still alive, it didn't kill you. And so now they're totally happy sending cold emails and feel immune to it. So something that I would challenge everyone to do is to do something that feels like you have a little resistance to it, something that you've been delaying doing or something that feels a little

uncomfortable because once you try it, it might not be as bad as you thought it was. And it actually might bring something good. Amazing, amazing advice. That's that needs to be on a post-it and everyone's mirror. Catherine, please tell everyone where they can find you. And I'll just say this right now. If you don't follow Catherine on Instagram, you must run and follow that account. There is such great and valuable content there every single week. And so definitely something to follow. And, uh, but I would also like for you to tell us about these incredible programs and all the value that you offer. Yes, absolutely. Yes. I'm on Instagram and I love sharing, um, with people, some real world advice, uh, and also, you know, things that come up

either from talking to people or coaching people, or when I'm in band rooms, things that I'm seeing happening today for music education. So I share a lot of those thoughts on Instagram and also on Facebook. I have a, uh, Facebook community called classical musician year, which is where, uh, lots of people who wear all these different hats get together and we just a place for support and discussion about things that impact everyone. Um, my website is Catherine eminent.com. My name and my company is Katie creative, but unfortunately that URL was already taken by somebody else. So that's why it's Catherine eminent.com. Um, and the programs that I have going right now, um, I've got several, uh, coaching programs that I offer. So obviously I'm a portfolio career

musicians. So I can only accept a certain number of musicians to work with. So my flagship program is called the Music Teachers Playbook. And this is a six month coaching program now where we help musicians, my team and I help musicians of learning these needed skills of how to start a studio, how to build a studio or how to elevate your studio. So it's everything from marketing and recruiting to building a culture with your students, learning how to talk to teenagers so that they listen, how to run sectionals so that you can get people interested in taking lessons with you and know it does not involve playing Mozart for them. Um, and understanding how parents think, understanding how other music educators think, um, and learning all of these

skills that we are not taught in music school so that you can be confident in what you're offering and you can continue spreading the love of music to the younger generations and make them lifelong lovers of music. So that was the Music Teachers Playbook and enrollment is actually open now and people can apply for the program on my website. And we only take 20 musicians that we work with each time we open it. And it just varies in the time of year that we open it. We've also got something really exciting that I'm not going to reveal too much about that is going to be released probably in May. And it's for established musicians who are established portfolio career folks who have private teaching as the big part of their career.

So it's going to be a community and support system for those folks. So people can be on the lookout for that too. Sounds amazing. Catherine, you're such a dynamic force, such an inspiration. I'm very grateful that you spent this time with us today and shared this wisdom. I hope that people walk away feeling inspired to be really intentional about their choices, that they grant themselves permission to dream about perhaps things that they've never gone for before. And of course, if they need help making all those ideas come to life, they can reach out to you. But yes, I'm so grateful that you spent this time with us today. And I think you're wonderful. Thank you so much. Thank you, Renee. I think you're wonderful too. And thank you for your work that you do for

musicians and supporting them and making this crazy yet exhilarating career path a possibility for others. Thanks, Catherine. There you have it. Thank you for joining me today. I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Catherine Emanet. You can find more information about Catherine by going to CatherineEmanet.com. And of course, I'm going to have these links for you in the show notes. If you found our discussion valuable, please share this episode with friends and fellow musicians. Grab a screenshot of the episode, share on social and with anyone you think might benefit from this conversation. Also, I'd be truly grateful if you could take a moment to leave a review on iTunes. Your feedback means the world to me and it helps the podcast reach more listeners.

Finally, don't forget to sign up today to grab your spot for Mastering the Stage, my free workshop that will transform how you prepare for and experience performances. Get ready for more enjoyable, meaningful, and rewarding performances. All the info for Mastering the Stage can be found at mindoverfinger.com or use the link in the show notes. All right, that's what I have for you this week. Until next time, much love going your way, and à bientôt!