Business advice from 5 famous musicians

1. Pharrell Williams

“You are only as good as your team. When you envisage success, you should see all the people you work with, in addition to yourself…I used to hire 21-year-old monsters with a twinkle in their eye. I saw potential, but it was what I thought they could do, not what they could actually do…When you surround yourself with people with experience…A lot of them are gonna be older than you. When they vet people, they need to see more than twinkles; they need sparks.”

2. Puff Daddy

“Make sure the odds are in your favor. And to do that, make sure that you are a master of that category that you are investing in, or you are trying to start a business in. Any business I get into, I go and I do the proper studying and I do the research to make sure I thoroughly understand that business.”

3. Dolly Parton

“That’s what this whole dream world thing is about. You’ve got to dream it, then you’ve got to get out and work it and sometimes a dream can change in the middle of it. You might really wind up with your ultimate dream. That’s why you’ve got to keep dreaming, you never know what’s going to happen but you can’t stop that’s for sure. It gives you something to do if nothing else. It keeps you busy.”

4. Jon Bon Jovi

“I think it’s important to go into work and meet people and talk to them. The girl that works at our front desk came up with a radio spot, and I made sure I sent her an e-mail thanking her because it was a great creative spot and I appreciated her going beyond answering the phones. Even if it’s only an intern, see the initiative, and make sure everyone knows that you did it.”

5. Jay-Z

“For me, it’s about finding the truth of the moment, of where I am at the time, not trying to cater to a certain demographic or being something I’m not. For me, it’s just having the discipline, and the confidence in who I am. If I go into a studio and find my truth of the moment, there are a number of people in the world who can relate to what I’m saying, and are going to buy into what I’m doing. Not because it’s the new thing of the moment, but because it’s genuine emotion.”

By Shané Schutte

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