Benjie Hughes is a musician and entrepreneur based in Aurora, IL. He is the owner and operator of Backthird Audio, a production and music industry services company, as well as a working guitarist and pianist.
In this lecture delivered at the Self-Employed Artists Conference in 2008, Benjie Hughes, a musician and music business entrepreneur based in Aurora, Illinois, discusses how to use your imagination and creativity to feed your business efforts. He begins by comparing the process of songwriting to that of launching a new enterprise, and helps musicians understand how to take the first steps to building a sustainable, successful and rewarding business out of the artistic pursuits they do every day.
Conference participants Andrew Emil, Benjie Hughes, Bob Baker, Lisa Canning, and moderator Matt Boresi share cost-effective strategies for marketing in the performing arts, including how to reach the right audience; how to measure the success of a campaign; and how to build long-term relationships with customers.
Panelists Jeanette Smith, Benjie Hughes, Elizabeth T. Russell, and moderator Matt Boresi share their experiences creating and operating their websites, discussing the mistakes they’ve made and the ways in which their sites have benefited their respective businesses. Related topics include hiring a web development team, maintaining websites and blogs, and protecting copyrighted material and privacy on the internet.
In this excerpt from a lecture delivered at the Self-Employed Artists Conference in 2008, Benjie Hughes, a musician and music business entrepreneur based in Aurora, Illinois, discusses how to turn the good experiences of satisfied clients into new business.
Conference participants Andrew Emil, Benjie Hughes, Bob Baker, Lisa Canning, and Matt Boresi suggest criteria to use when deciding whether to give away free product, explaining how to profile your audience and create a call to action that motivates customers to interact with your company beyond the initial promotion.
Panelists Beth Russell, Jeanette Smith, and Benjie Hughes discuss the evolution of the internet and the inevitable migration to the mobile phone format. They also point out that the archiving technology currently available on search engines makes nearly all internet content “permanent.”
Conference participants Andrew Emil, Benjie Hughes, Bob Baker, Lisa Canning, and Matt Boresi discuss various ways to build a mutually beneficial business community with other artists through networking, pooling content for websites, and other strategies.
Panelists Andrew Emil and Lisa Canning explain why it’s essential to do thorough research on your target audience before attempting to launch a campaign.
In this excerpt from a lecture delivered at the Self-Employed Artists Conference in 2008, Benjie Hughes, a musician and music business entrepreneur based in Aurora, Illinois, discusses how the same creative process applies to songwriting and launching a business enterprise.
Conference participants Andrew Emil, Benjie Hughes, Bob Baker, Lisa Canning, and Matt Boresi discuss how to identify a unique selling proposition and find a niche audience for your product.
Panelists Beth Russell, Jeanette Smith, and Benjie Hughes define content management and describe some of the tools that are currently available to modify website content without the assistance of a developer.
In this excerpt from a lecture delivered at the Self-Employed Artists Conference in 2008, Benjie Hughes, a musician and music business entrepreneur based in Aurora, Illinois, discusses the day he "jumped off the cliff" and launched his first serious entrepreneurial effort. He then shares some advice based on his experiences for other artists who are considering taking a similar leap.
Conference participants Andrew Emil, Benjie Hughes, Bob Baker, Lisa Canning, and Matt Boresi share their most effective strategies for acquiring quality prospects and measuring the success of a marketing campaign, offering examples from their own experiences in which the least expensive method yielded the most valuable results.
Panelists Beth Russell, Jeanette Smith, and Benjie Hughes explain the various functions of an artist’s website, from creating a point of contact with customers to exhibiting products and services.
In this excerpt from a lecture delivered at the Self-Employed Artists Conference in 2008, Benjie Hughes, a musician and music business entrepreneur based in Aurora, Illinois, discusses how to dream up business idea, and then take practical steps to turn that dream into a real business. He shares with the audience some key questions that have to be answered if any entrepreneurial effort is to have a shot at success.
Conference participants Andrew Emil, Benjie Hughes, Bob Baker, Lisa Canning, and Matt Boresi discuss marketing strategies that can be implemented for little or no cost.
Panelists Beth Russell, Jeanette Smith, and Benjie Hughes outline some of the important factors to consider before beginning the process of creating a website. They discuss methods for choosing a design style based on your target audience, choosing a domain name for the site, maintaining copyright ownership of the content, and creating a clear call to action, as well as search engine optimization, meta-tagging, and other technical concerns.
In this excerpt from a lecture delivered at the Self-Employed Artists Conference in 2008, Benjie Hughes, a musician and music business entrepreneur based in Aurora, Illinois, discusses the need for entrepreneurs to figure out who their target audience is, and how to reach them. He identifies three critical questions that you can use to help in this task, and works through a couple examples offered by members of the audience.
Conference participants Andrew Emil, Benjie Hughes, Bob Baker, Lisa Canning, and Matt Boresi explain the importance of having a two-way relationship between entrepreneur and customer. Canning shares her own experience developing customer relationships and demonstrates methods for building long-term loyalty and repeat business.
Panelists Beth Russell, Jeanette Smith, and Benjie Hughes offer advice on assembling an effective team from the vast pool of web designers, developers and hosting companies that offer their services to small businesses and individuals, and suggest some criteria such as site complexity, budget, and maintenance needs to aid in the decision-making process.
