I quit corporate and turned my side hustle into a 6-figure dream career — here’s how

I contacted several entertainment companies in my area and started getting booked to play at events. In addition to compliments about my musical talents, I kept being told I had so much energy and I was the life of the party. I realized my greatest passion was entertaining others.

While playing several events each weekend and still working my email marketing job, I built relationships with DJs, event planners, photographers, videographers, and other entertainers.

I also gathered content from my events to grow my Instagram and TikTok accounts, from which at least 50% of my event leads now come. I can reach virtually anyone worldwide, which has led me to incredible destination events in places like Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, and, later this year, Aruba and Dubai.

I wanted to leave my 9-5 marketing job at the start of 2020

When the pandemic hit, I lost practically all my event bookings lined up for the rest of the year.

I was fortunate to still have a paycheck and work from home when most full-time event industry professionals were shut down completely. I continued to grow my side hustle by networking virtually, posting content, and working on the administrative part of my business because I knew it was only a matter of time before events came back.

A surge of events started in 2021, and I knew I made the right decision to leave the 9-5 world the previous October. Thankfully, I had enough savings that if I failed, I could support myself for a decent amount of time or return to corporate work if need be.

Most of my live music packages start at $2,500 and peak toward $5,000, while the average is around $3,500. I play around 50-60 weddings a year and have had multiple occasions where I play two weddings in one day.

I saw a lot of growth in August 2022

I love it when couples share their must-play list with me, but it’s not mandatory since I read the crowd to determine the best times to make an impact. I often rehearse songs on the piano how I want to play them for a ceremony, but my saxophone practice is built entirely on the fly at each event.

If you’re looking to go into the entertainment industry full-time, find your strengths and triple-down on them

You can always hire or outsource other parts of your business that aren’t easy or natural to you. What sets you apart from the rest will be your “it” factor, so clients will want to hire you for you.

This is my dream job. I love seeing the joy on the faces of every guest I interact with. My success isn’t measured by playing all the right notes — I win by bringing the energy to the dance floor and couples telling me they had the best night of their lives.

I have no regrets about quitting corporate work. My life has been much more stable over the past five years. If I had let a few hundred dollars a month of health insurance hold me back from quitting my full-time job, I would never have had all these incredible experiences.