While things in the live event industry are essentially at a standstill, performers and service providers are finding themselves with a lot of extra time on their hands. We know you’re anxious to get back to gigging, but you can also make the most of your time while you wait.
We’ve put together a list of valuable things you can do during this time to be productive, recharge, and be ready when the gigs start coming back in.
1. Work on your profile
It’s often tempting to build your profile and then just let it sit. It can seem like the lowest priority when your schedule is already jam-packed. Now’s your chance! Take some time to spruce it up.
✔ Add new media. Be sure it’s high-quality and that you’re choosing a select few instead of lots of bad photos or videos. Check out these tips for your media.
✔ Request reviews. Your past clients are likely experiencing some downtime, plus a warm-hearted feeling toward those in the entertainment industry. Now’s a great time to ask for reviews or respond to those bad reviews you’ve been avoiding.
✔ Double-check your categories. With over 500 categories on GigSalad, we hope there are lots of relevant categories you fit into. Take a moment to manage yours and see if there are any that you’ve missed.
✔ Update your details. You may have just slapped something down when you were signing up, but take a few minutes and really make your bio shine. We have some helpful tips on writing a great one.
2. Familiarize yourself with GigSalad features
Life gets busy, especially in the gigging world. So you may have missed or not had time to explore some of the newer GigSalad features. There’s no time like the present to do just that.
✔ Saved messages. Think about all the different requests you get and craft specific messages for each. Then you can respond to your leads with one easy click!
✔ Saved quotes. Save time by creating a few saved quotes for the different packages you offer for various event types.
✔ Calendar features. Improving this tool has been a major project this year. Explore new features like lead blocking, external syncing, and choosing your availability to customize your calendar.
✔ Check out past updates. Too busy to read our Product Update emails? We’ve got you covered! You can see everything we’ve launched lately in our Product Update blog posts.
3. Improve yourself and your business
Since you’re stuck at home, now is a great time to hone your craft, improve your business savvy, and learn something new.
✔ Practice on video. Remember speech classes from high school? Recording yourself and watching it back can really help you hone your on-stage presence.
✔ Pick up a new hobby or skill. Lots of places are offering free classes right now so there’s never been a better time to try. Whether it’s a new instrument, learning Excel, or how to knit, add a new wrinkle to your brain during your downtime!
✔ Expand your act. Learn new songs to add to your repertoire. Work on fresh costumes or dance numbers. Practice mindblowing magic tricks, balloon designs, or items to juggle. Use your free time to come out ahead of the competition when this is over!
✔ Do some research on improving your business. Check out our past blog posts on gig business for some inspiration or see if your industry has an association that offers resources. Join Facebook or LinkedIn groups that are relevant to your industry and join the conversation about how to bounce back from these unprecedented times.
✔ Get organized. Being self-employed usually means you do everything yourself, and it may seem you can never get a moment to catch up. If you have receipts that need to be expensed, taxes to file, or other clerical tasks you’ve been putting off, tackle those now. This is also a good time to look into economic resources that can help your business if you’ve been affected by COVID-19.
4. Spend quality time with your family
Gigging life is busy and usually requires you to spend your nights and weekends on the road or at events. Make the most of a bad situation by using this unexpected free time to get in more face time with your family. Read books with your kids. Have a movie night with your spouse. Take walks together. (It’s still okay to go outside as long as you stay 6 feet away from other people!) Our team’s favorite family activities include:
✔ Family game nights
✔ Cooking themed meals together (like Taco Tuesdays or Meatless Mondays)
✔ Working on giant puzzles
✔ Mini-spa nights with face masks and manicures
✔ Riding bikes around the neighborhood
✔ Watching a series of movies together, like Harry Potter or The Matrix
5. Practice self-care
We know this is a devastating time for our industry, but it’s important to stay positive and take care of yourself. The feelings of anxiety, fear, fatigue, and even grief are all normal right now, so listen to what your mind and body are telling you. Be sure to get enough sleep, eat healthy meals and snacks, get exercise when you can, and do activities that bring you joy. Some of our team’s personal ways of self-care include:
✔ Reading with a glass of wine
✔ Participating in online yoga classes
✔ Walking the dog
✔ Taking online music lessons
✔ Working in the yard
✔ Writing new music (we have lots of musicians on the team!)
✔ Indulging in nightly takeout
✔ Practicing guided meditations
We know it’s a scary time out there for the gig community. But as long as we work together, support each other, and find the good in this situation, we’ll come out stronger. ♥️ Things will get better and our team is here to help if you need us.
Heather is the Content Manager and a GigSalad veteran of 15+ years. She loves helping event planners create unforgettable celebrations and talent make a living doing what they love. When not at work, she enjoys reading romance and fantasy books, bingeing TV shows, playing board games, and spending time with friends.