How To Become Better At Networking
Here are five tips that can help make connecting with people a little easier.
I often encounter musicians who tell me they suck at networking. They’re the kind of people who, in their formative years, spent hours learning how to play their instrument but little time on meeting other musicians. I’ve heard complaints from my colleagues about the lack of work or when work is slow. There are always ups and downs, but there are ways around this problem if you are proactive. Often, it’s due to the lack of understanding of how to expand your network.
Meeting people wasn’t a problem once I decided to become a professional musician in a very competitive place like New York City. I was pretty assertive once I set foot here in The Big Apple. I often reflect on how shy I was as a kid. I barely recognize that person now. I guess that comes from maturation and life experience. That shyness had to be squashed because, in this city, you’ll get eaten alive and spit out if you aren’t assertive.
Soon after I arrived in New York City in 1993, I was in Times Square for some crazy reason. I found myself hanging out near the Wintergarden Theatre and saw a man with something slung over his shoulder that looked like a saxophone case. I was eager to get a foot in the door of the NYC music scene, so walking up to another musician and striking up a conversation was easy to me. I was ready and willing to talk to just about any musician I met.
I recall approaching him and asked if it was ok to ask a few questions. He told me he was on his way to work, but he’d listen as we walked. I said, “Hi, my name is Clayton Craddock, and I just moved to New York.” “I’m a drummer and noticed you are a musician too.” “I’m curious about what kinds of gigs you do.” He smiled and told me that he plays in the musical Cats. I was intrigued. I didn’t know anything about Cats, dogs, or any other kind of things related to Broadway. I heard a few things here and there as a kid, but I was deep into pop, funk, soul, rap, and metal. Broadway wasn’t even on my radar. The only cast recording I think I even remember listening to when I was young was the 8-Track of the show ‘Purlie.‘
I asked, “So what’s it like playing a Broadway show?” He replied, “I have a feeling you won’t like it.” It’s like a job.” I quickly said, “Ok, THANK YOU!” And then I walked away.
I felt he might have been a little cynical about his career path since he was bummed about his particular job. Perhaps he just wanted to get away from me. I’ll never know. Seven years later, I found out exactly what type of ‘job’ Broadway was. It is the most incredible job I’ve ever had.
From the time I arrived in New York until the year 2000, I played all kinds of gigs. I worked at Bar Mitzvah’s, weddings, corporate events, school auditoriums, bars, nightclubs, and many different sizes of music venues. I toured in a van with many people and played gigs where I found myself sleeping on floors of friend’s homes while away from home. There were times I remember performing with three different bands back-to-back at the same venue in one night.
One of my career’s saddest gigs was when I had the misfortune of playing be-bop at blistering tempos. The bar owner had us playing six 1/2 hour sets, from 9 PM until 3 AM. The funniest part of that gig was the old black lady we played for at the end of the bar clapped for us slowly after each 13 minutes Charlie Parker tune while refilling her glass with Dewars.
Of course, there were highlights. I played in a band that opened up for Creed in January of 1998. We damn near stole the crowd! The 1,500 kids loved us. We even started a mosh pit by our third tune. We felt like rock stars for a day.
The flip side to my nightlife way my day job. I had many corporate jobs that helped me stay afloat financially.
After seven years of playing almost every kind of gig imaginable in New York City, I got a taste of what it’s like to have a full-time job as a musician—just like the sax-playing guy from Cats once had. In the spring of 2000, I booked a bus and truck tour of a musical called ‘Footloose.’ I had no clue about the show or even the movie. I was not into that stuff. It was all about being a rock star, not a pit musician for me at the time.
The Footloose tour had a sit down in Las Vegas for three months; then, we toured the USA for nine more. This tour opened my eyes to the world of Broadway. I had a job—a steady job as a musician where I earned a regular paycheck—just like I did when I was working in corporate America. I was finally playing the drums for a living.
My encounter with the musician from Cats was fortuitous. The meeting foreshadowed future events. Ultimately, I had a successful career working on Broadway. I believe it all began by being assertive.
Getting Started
The first step is merely to ask for what you want. If you don’t, you’ll never know. It’s not easy breaking the ice in certain situations, but you have to be inquisitive and connect with people. If you are around other people at a party or other event, or even in front of a Broadway theater, here are five ways to begin building your network:
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