There’s only one reason why you need a day job: money.

A day job supports you to pay for living expenses. As long as you’re not paying your bills and other living expenses from your music.

Since you’re an artist, your day job should not demand too much of your mental capacity. With a clear mind, you can create art. With a troubled mind, you will struggle.

That’s why it’s so important to get a day job that’s not too demanding of your mind. Rather something that demands your body. If you’re working 40 hours per week with your mind, it’s hard to be creative in the remaining hours.

So, will a minimum wage job cut it?

Not so fast. If you have an education or career that allows you to get a higher paid job, calculate how much you have to work to pay your bills and other expenses. Maybe you only have to work twenty hours per week or less. Depending on your lifestyle.

It would be silly to work your ass off with one or several minimum wage jobs when you’re able to earn more per hour. 

But if you’re serious about your music career, you’ll focus on your music career and nothing else.

Seriously, once you paid your bills and necessary expenses, spend the rest on your music career.

Oh, and don’t go for that promotion. It only distracts you from your number one career goal: your music career. Building more than one business at a time is not only a bad idea, it’s simply idiotic. I’ve tried it and failed. And I know a bunch of other people who did too. Build one business at a time. You can have several over time (if you really want to), but focus all your energy on one endeavor right now.

Give in to what you want right now and you’ll never make it as an independent musician. 

Instead, focus on achieving your long-term goals to build a successful music career and you will be rewarded. Although not without investing thousands of hours, insane amounts of effort and hard work, and tons of money. If it was easy, … well, I don’t have to tell you this.

Paying your bills with your music.

Can you imagine how great that feels?

The time to quit your day job has come when you’re making enough money from your music career to pay your bills and food. Also, quit your luxury lifestyle. I’m talking about everyday expenses like ordering food, buying stuff you don’t need, shopping mindlessly, or vacations.

However, it’s important that you stay true to yourself. If you wanna keep that Netflix subscription because you need it for some reason, keep it. Or if you wanna have five vacations per year because it eases your mind, book them. But be brutally honest while checking your current expenses. Better minimalize your life.

If you could trade one year of having almost nothing with the rest of your life having a profitable music career - would you do it?

Once you’ve built momentum with your growing music career, more revenue will follow. And then you can gradually get (back) to a more luxurious lifestyle… if you still want that.