AriKoinuma.com

2009 was an eventful year.  Every year is, but this one had its share of some amazing stuff.

Here are some of my highlights of the year:

Developing a Business Plan and Then Going off Without It

I spent the second half of 2008 developing an elaborate business plan that detailed my online blog ventures, with the hopes of landing a small business loan.  When I learned about small business financing, I was like, that’s great — I can take that out and have it support myself while I develop my own music/online business.  Because I felt that the only thing separating me from where I was and where I want to be is time.  If I had an abundance of time to invest in my own thing, then I can build it up.  (I still feel that way.)

Well, but in reality, it doesn’t quite work out nicely like that.  My vision was basically a borderline self-employment/micro-business and an online one at that, and so banks didn’t want to deal with such a nebulous entity, and a complete start-up with no track record, too.  Venture capitalists may be more open to something like that, but again, my business vision was too small in scale to be on their radar.  I was just trying to set up a business where I can make money off of music I create and blogs.  I wasn’t trying to start the next Netflix or eBay.

So I abandoned my business plan, but still took some time to explore my options, when I ran out of my previous web development contract.  I called it “intuitive entrepreneurship.”  I rented a rehearsal space and set up my music equipment, so I had a place dedicated to make music.   I also stopped updating the personal development blog I was building in 2008, so I can focus more on my original love of musicmaking.

Producing Marc Gunn’s Happy Songs of Death and Scoring America’s Next Felon

And some work did come in.  I spent a month producing my frequent collaborator Marc Gunn‘s Celtic folk record, and then spent another few weeks making the score for Ron Johnson’s almost-feature (56 minutes) mockumentary.  Both were great projects with great clients, though not enough money to really sustain our household.  We’re one-income family, so when I’m not making money the income stops.  I networked a lot and explored the options of getting myself going as a freelance producer and film composer, but really couldn’t get traction.  A saving of $11k quickly turned into $9k in debt, and I had to go back to doing web work.

Landing a Great Web Gig and Embracing My Demands

Well, the web contract I landed initially looked like just another boring web job, and I felt somewhat discouraged.  I vowed to stay a contractor, so that I can just hop from job to job, finding time to make music in-between.  But my job grew on me and when they said that I could telecommute 80% of time (because my employer was located farther than I’d like to commute to and the bus to get there was getting discontinued) I really saw that this actually could be a solution and not a problem.

Re-Discovering My Passion and Developing a New Vision

After several months of being immersed back in the web work, I felt very lost and wasn’t sure what or why I wanted to be a musician.  But then, one day I listened to my own album and it all came back to me.  I want to make music.  I love realizing my songs’ potential.

And from there, things started flowing inside me again.  Although my time is extremely limited, I now have a situation where my family has a steady income and I have a setup where I can create music.   This is a sustainable situation in which I can build my own artistry.  Of course, I realize that things can change on a dime — I’m still just a contractor (though my employer wants to hire me full-time, so we’re negotiating that as I write this).  But working a telecommuting job and finding little pockets of time to make music is, actually, remarkably similar to the situation I sought to create by taking on a small business loan.  It’s just that the time I can devote to music is much less than what I had originally hoped for, but everything else is in the picture, from a stable income to a place in which I can make music.

I sure wish if I didn’t have to go from savings to debt in the process — but I also don’t regret what I’ve done, either, because I feel like by reaffirming and continuing to pursue/explore my own visions, I am now on the way, headed for somewhere that I don’t even know.  I started with a vision, I got lost, and now I’m back with a refined form of the original vision.

Now I’m really excited about 2010, which I will discuss in my next post.

So, here I am. My name is Ari Koinuma. Welcome to my world.

This is what I am here to do:

1. To realize my potential.
2. To help others do the same.

To accomplish #1, I had to discover who I am. And from who I am, I had to design a vision that encompassed and incorporated as much of what I am as possible.

And I have formed that vision. Here it is:

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I am building an interdisciplinary content-production and mentoring enterprise.

I have two types of content to offer: music and writing.

For the first three years of my operation, I will write, record and release 40 songs a year.
The songs will range from metal and progressive rock to gentle acoustic folk to children’s music. The consistency, originality, diversity, and prolific pacing of my music-making is what makes me noteworthy and valuable as a musician.

Similarly, I will write 200 posts per year on a range of subjects spanning from songwriting to promotion to entrepreneurship to self improvement. By covering this range of subjects, I can assist readers at all stages of development: personal->artistic->entrepreneurial.

I will also offer mentoring or create user-self-mentoring communities on a similar range of subjects as my blogs.

As the business grows, I will build a team of content creators and mentors, so I can focus on creating the content only I can produce, and expand our operations into live concerts and mentoring programs.

Read my full business plan

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How and when am I going to start this venture?

I don’t know, but soon.

The only remaining key to the puzzle is how to create a situation where I can devote my full effort into this without jeopardizing my responsibility to provide for my family. The full-time commitment is essential, as the prolific pace of production is a key ingredient in my positioning. If I released one 12-song album a year and wrote 50 blog posts, I cannot stand out.

Even though I don’t know how I will start doing this, I do remain optimistic, as I can think of several scenarios of how to make this happen.

So — enablers, positive thinkers, encouragers, shower me with your affirmations. I’m going to need a lot of help in pursuing these big dreams. Naysayers, well-intentioned realists, and devil’s advocates, stay out of my way. Whatever lessons I need to learn, I will learn on my own, without your assistance.

More information:

• Read my business plan
• Listen to my debut rock album: Aries9 – Darkness Reveals the Beauty of Truth
• Read my plan for Aries9
• Read my pilot blog on self-improvement: Our Best Version – Big Picture of Healing and Growth
• Read my plan for Our Best Version

Do you like this plan?  Please help me out by posting an encouraging comment on the main business plan page.

In addition to sending me your positive energy, your comments will serve as a proof that a lot of people are behind me and believe in me.  This will be extremely important as I seek investors, business coaches and collaborators.

Thank you!