I'm just about to see Ian Anderson -- Tom
Woods Show guest, episode #3! -- perform in New York City. It's Jethro Tull's 50th anniversary this year!
Unlike a lot of rock stars, Ian is a smart guy (in case his lyrics didn't make that obvious).
Despite selling over 60 million albums, Ian never went for the rock-star lifestyle. After concerts, he would go back to his hotel room and
read.
He took control of the band's management early on: "I heard some bands were not making any money from their tours and, quite frankly, I thought they must be stupid. If they watched where their money was going more closely they wouldn't have allowed themselves to be mismanaged."
He also didn't throw money away on frippery.
"There seems to be an inclination among rock musicians to be very carefree with money," Ian says, "but I negotiate the best flight and hotel deals on our tours to maximize the band's income – I don't want too see too much taken off the top line.
"So yes, we don't stay in the most expensive places and every band member knows the rules – if they want something from the minibar they have to pay themselves. Younger members of
the band and crew learn quickly that this is a job, not a party."
He owns multiple properties and lives in a 400-acre mansion, don't get me wrong. But he's frugal about expenses:
"Whenever I get a spare minute I'm always tweaking my Excel spreadsheets and I derive a great satisfaction from it. I have a line that says 'contingency – 2%,' but if I was as much as 2% out of
budget I would slit my wrists."
Ian had a side hustle early on: he became a salmon farmer. That business was part of what became known as the Ian Anderson Group of Companies.
(I once heard an estimate that Ian's company farmed five percent of all the salmon in the world, but I don't know if that's true.)
Little did
he know that he'd still be performing music at age 71, and wind up not strictly needing the side hustle after all.
Will we all be that lucky?
I'm not asking you to become a salmon farmer.
I'm asking you to take one small step, to prove to yourself that you can and will take
action.
It's a simple method
that can bring in decent paydays with the least amount of work of any approach I have recommended.
Why not give it a try?
Especially before the price goes up in 48 hours:
Tom Woods