Bree Noble: From Bank Notes To Music Notes
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Welcome to the Join Up Dots business coaching podcast interview with Bree Noble
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Introducing Bree Noble
Bree Noble is my guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business coaching podcast interview.
She is a lady who is nothing but decisive when she knows what she wants in life.
Starting her career back in 1999 she performed the role of Finance Director for one of the top 15 Opera companies in the US.
She did this for ten years, until in 2009 the company closed due to financial difficulties.
And I guess we will find out on the show if she would have stayed in the position if this hadn’t occurred but the fact is it did
As she says “After leaving the corporate world to stay home with my young children, I began writing and performing my own songs.
I toured as a singer/songwriter for 9 years, releasd 3 CDs and won several songwriting awards.
Amazingly i even had the honour of singing “The National Anthem” at Dodger Stadium.
I then began coupling the inspirational message of my songs with a testimony-based speaking topic called “You Are My Vision”.
This is a program I have presented for churches and community groups for the last 8 years.”
How Did The Dots Join Up For Bree?
But how do you take these values and skills and turn them into an income production line, as this is the problem that most entrepreneurs encounter on their journey to success.
Well todays guest has drawn on her extensive experience of the music industry to create online courses to help musicians learn how to make a living from their music.
Her most popular offering is an online training and mentoring community exclusively for female musicians called the “Female Musician Academy“.
And not only that she is the host of two top ranked podcasts bringing her passions to an even wider audience.
So has she planned all these goings on or are they as much a suprise to her when she looks around her of what she has going on?
And does she now have the belief that she could have done all this a lot quicker, or did it naturally have to fall into place?
Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Bree Noble
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Bree Noble such as:
Why it is so important to keep ourselves in the present when we are working, as the quality of our work will quite simply shine through in front of us.
How she didn’t have a single clue as to how to start her business at the beginning, and the steps she took to get to where she is today.
Why it is so important to find two or three people in the offline world who are doing what you are doing, and look closely at how you can mirror their own success.
and lastly….
How she started her first membership success by telling her list what she was offering and how they could be a part of it – BEFORE she spent anytime developing something that nobody wanted.
How To Connect With Bree Noble
Return To The Top Of Bree Noble
If you enjoyed the conversation with Bree Noble, why not check out other shows like Jack Canfield, Dana Wilde, Listeners Questions or the amazing Hal Elrod
Of course if you want to listen to all our episodes then jump across to the Podcast Archive simply by clicking here
Audio Transcription Of Bree Noble Interview
Intro [0:09]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK, David Ralph.
David Ralph [0:34]
Yes, hello, man. Good morning to you. Good morning, every single person out there that listens to Join Up Dots in their vast numbers. Thank you so much for being here on episode 636. And I’ve done one of those things. I always feel guilty about that slightly some mug as well. I’ve managed to get a lovely lady out of a bed when it’s still down. And that never happens in my house. I can’t drag them out. We’ve we’ve spanners and pliers or whatever. But it’s like is a podcasting legend. So she knows how to deliver and she is going to give us a great show because she is somebody but I suppose is I would say nothing but decisive when she knows what she wants in life. Now starting a career back in 1999. She performed the role the finance director for one of the top 15 opera companies in the US, but 10 years until in 2009 the company closed due to financial difficulties. And I guess we’ll find out on the show if she would have stayed in that position if this hadn’t occurred. But the fact is, it did. Now as she says after leaving the corporate world to stay home with my young children, I began writing and performing my own songs I toured as a singer songwriter for nine years, released three CDs and won several songwriting awards. I even had the honour of singing their national anthem at Dodger Stadium, or say, I’m trying to think what a Oh, so can you see that’s enough of that anyway, I then began toppling the inspirational message of my songs with a testimony based speaking topic, called You are my vision, a programme that is presented by churches and community groups for the last eight years. But how do you take these values and skills and turn them into an income production line, as this is the problem that most entrepreneurs encounter on their journey to success? Well, today’s guest has drawn on her extensive experience of the music industry to create online courses to help musicians learn how to make a living from their music. Our most popular offering is an online training and mentoring community exclusively for female musicians called the female musician Academy. And not only that, she’s the host of two top ranked podcasts, bringing her passions to an even wider audience. So how she planned all these things, these goings on on a as much as applies to her when she looks around. And that does she think what’s going on every morning when she gets out of bed? And does she now have the belief that she could have done all this a lot quicker? Or did it naturally have to fall into place? Well, let’s find out as we bring into the show, to start Join Up Dots with the one and only Bree Noble. Good morning, Bray. How are you?
Bree Noble [3:00]
Good morning. It’s early here. But you’ve got me laughing already, which is great.
David Ralph [3:04]
I was gonna seduce the American public by singing the Star Spangled Banner.
Unknown Speaker [3:11]
But I went inside.
David Ralph [3:13]
It was a mashup of Oh, Canada. I had an old Canada and I thought, No, that’s the wrong tune. It’s It’s a weird, your national anthem. I’ve actually now got it in front of me. It’s a hell of a story, isn’t it? That is not a song that’s easy to sing?
Bree Noble [3:30]
No, and it’s like all over the place with the range and it goes low, and it goes high. And that’s why most people can’t sing it very well. We just I don’t know what they were thinking when they wrote it. It’s not like something someone would normally write as a tune.
David Ralph [3:45]
Yeah, I was doesn’t even have a tune. Go. So it’s just like two notes pressed on the piano. Time and time again. That’s That’s why nobody wants us to win at the Olympics, because it’s so boring, so boring when they’re sort of waiting for the flag to go up the pole. So you are a lady, as I say, who is in the midst of living a life of passion. It seems like everything has come together for you. Do you feel that way? Or do you still feel like hang on this may not be my thing?
Bree Noble [4:16]
No, I totally feel that way. I’m in the zone. I love what I’m doing. I love the people I’m working with. And I love being able to organise my life the way I want. So yeah, I love it.
David Ralph [4:27]
And is that is that the key thing? Because I think that for me, you could pay me a billion dollars a month. But if it meant that I couldn’t just do what I wanted, I couldn’t take it anymore. It has to be that time control element is a real key part of your life.
Bree Noble [4:43]
It’s an important part. I mean, as my business grows, like, it’s getting a little out of control where I can’t completely control what I do when because I have like deadlines that I put upon myself. But they’re all things that I love. So it’s not like I feel like oh, I’m banging my head against the wall because I have to get this budget done by the certain day, you know, like it was in the corporate world. Yeah, I love everything I’m doing. So yes, sometimes I feel a little pressure of the deadlines, but that’s okay.
David Ralph [5:09]
It’s your deadlines, isn’t it?
Bree Noble [5:11]
Yes,
David Ralph [5:12]
indeed, you do have to set those because obviously, you’re recording a show with a guy in Australia. And he said, he now basically lets his life live like a wonderful garden. He says, you know, he does stuff, but he doesn’t force it. He just kind of naturally happens. And he used to set up these targets, and he used to strive. But then he woke up one morning and thought the only one who’s making me feel stressed is myself. What’s the point? So he just doesn’t sort of do much. But things occur naturally. So do you do you need to have that kind of hustle muscle flexing?
Bree Noble [5:45]
Yeah, I wouldn’t call it hustle. But definitely, I absolutely need to have a plan with you know, distinct goals and distinct actions that need to get done on certain days. And I find as a creative person, like I’m telling, tempted to do what you were saying that that guy does. And when I do that, I get nowhere, because I just like, Oh, I want to do this thing, and I start doing this thing. And then I get distracted. And I go, Oh, this looks really cool. And I want to do that. Or I want to write this song. And then I end up having like a million half done things, and nothing done. So that’s actually something I work with my students with a lot. Because they’re all like me, they’re all that creative mindset. They just want to let go where the wind blows them. And we’re inspiration calls and everything. And if you do that, you’re just going to have a pile of half done things, you’re going to feel you’re gonna look back over like a year and go what in the heck did I do this year, I know, it felt like I was doing a lot. But I didn’t actually finish anything. So I for me, at least I need those. Those deadlines, those specifics. In my plan, I’ve kind
David Ralph [6:54]
of got a foot in both camps, I let things float now, which I didn’t, when I started Join Up Dots at the beginning. It was like an obsession. I’m still kind of obsessed by it. But I just went for it, like my life depended on it. But now, I agree with you totally, I’m very creative with my time I let things float. But I just basically come out of maybe two and a half months where I realised I had to clean up everything. And so I made sure that this product was finished. And that was done. And this was done because I ended up with three quarters veil of most things. And now I’m ready to go again. So So should I go for more stuff? Or should I let it float Bry you can coach me, you can push me on to a bigger future, you can teach me the Star Spangled Banner, what should I do?
Bree Noble [7:40]
I think that you have room for both. But if you can kind of plan your floating time. So like, Okay, I’m going to spend this much time on this project today. And you know, it can come to me however it happens during this time period. But this is the time I’m going to work on that. Because if you just work on it, when you feel like it, then it might not get done. And you know, it’s just so much more motivating to see like these finished things, checking things off, and, and all that even if you know, we’re creative. And we think we don’t need that I really think that most people do need that we have this feeling of needing to complete something.
David Ralph [8:17]
I’ve got a system, I don’t know if I created a system. But if somebody says I did, I’m going to trademark it. And it’s called ledger mentally flexible. So on my calendar I used to, and you probably been there as well, when I started my business, I literally work 20 hours a day, every single day. And then I realised that I was allowing the work to take over my life. So my kids would say, Dad, you know, I’ve just broken my leg, I need to go to hospital. And I’d say Oh, sorry, I’ve got to cheque my emails out, but boy, I send you you know, my life is totally out of whack. And now I’ve got it into a part where I actually allocate free time. That’s the plan. And I call it retro mentally flexible. I know when I’m allowed to be flexible, and I know when I need to do work. But the problem is Bry I love doing the work so much. But I keep on creeping back to it is a bit of a drug, do you have that same issue?
Bree Noble [9:09]
I really do. I mean, I have the same problem that you did. And I’ve been really trying to get that under control. And I have started thinking of my evenings as time off, you know, starting at five, I’ve been forcing myself to do more of the cooking. So I can make myself stop working, you know, and kind of move into a different creative activity. And you know, I just started thinking of my evenings as Okay, this is when I spend it with my husband or my kids. But if they’re busy, then I can always go back and do the business stuff. But they need to be the one that I go to first.
David Ralph [9:46]
Yeah, but do Yeah. Is your body there, but your mind’s not when it’s
Bree Noble [9:51]
so hard. I mean, I totally get what you’re saying. And I catch myself all the time. It’s just like a rewiring of my brain or, you know, like a leading myself back to the right place. Because yes, I do catch myself thinking about business and, and just try to get better about you know, just feeling like, how can I enjoy this? Because I know I have to write this email, you know, like, No, I don’t it life will not end if I don’t write this email. And it’s it’s a process for me, I know what you’re saying, I feel the same way.
David Ralph [10:26]
Yeah, it’s a big thing that you so in the future, all the time you in the future were truly and this we know this to be true, you know it to be true, I know it to be true. The only time that really matters is the present what we’re doing now on this podcast, I am your podcaster. So I’m sure you feel this is probably my most present a time. And subsequently is my most enjoyable, I don’t think about anything else, I just concentrate on the conversation and making the show. And that is when the quality becomes stronger somehow, because you’re not thinking about other stuff, you know, thinking about what Dina to cook, or where you going to take the wife in the evening, you’re just focused on the task. And I bet we get more done. If we can just do that if we can manage to keep our brain on the present. What do you think?
Bree Noble [11:13]
Absolutely. And I think that number one, when I’m doing my podcast, like I’m having so much fun, because I’m totally present. And I can’t think about other things, the time flies. But then the other thing that helps me is to like steaming my days. So I know that I don’t have to think about all these other things. You know, Friday is my podcast day. And I don’t have to think about writing emails and, you know, doing sales pages or, you know, commenting with my students or talking to my students, you know, it’s just podcasting. And so I don’t have to worry about anything else. And I can really focus on that thing. And that has helped a lot.
David Ralph [11:53]
Why? So let’s take you back in time I’ve been we shared some gold bed, and we I think we shared some entrepreneurial gold, the wisdom, some of our health failures and mistakes or whatever. But would you have done this if your finance director role didn’t go up? And I’ll be honest, I was amazed that it was even two opera companies in the USA.
Bree Noble [12:13]
There’s more than 15. But we were one of the top 15.
David Ralph [12:17]
How can it be that many people running a business based around opera? Really?
Bree Noble [12:22]
Okay, well, here’s the reason the reason we didn’t survive is because we were in Orange County, California, which is between LA and San Diego, who also had opera companies. And so it was hard for us because you know, people would draw it when they were diehard opera people that drive all the way up to LA or they drive down to San Diego because it only took an hour. And you know, when they could go to our opera, but it’s like they’re putting on so much bigger productions up there and down there. And even though you know, our productions were like over a million dollars each it took to put on the stage. It was still hard to keep it going especially in that you know, donor where you have to be running by donor money. And then like all the.com thing crashes. I mean, that’s really why it didn’t survive.
David Ralph [13:07]
Now, it wasn’t as that there’s not enough people that are interested in Oprah.
Bree Noble [13:12]
Not true. Oh, wait. A few people with a tonne of
David Ralph [13:15]
money. You get Titus swift coming to your town. I bet she’d fill out whatever stadium she’s got.
Unknown Speaker [13:21]
Probably. Yeah, you say I might. I might
David Ralph [13:23]
Bry. You know, there’s
Unknown Speaker [13:24]
a lot of people in the world.
David Ralph [13:27]
Yeah, but they’re not coming to orange blooming county LA to see Oprah any any. We could argue all afternoon on this. So would you ever left? Or would you been quite happy to stay in the finance director role did you need it to crumble for you to move on to something that’s quite obvious that your thing?
Bree Noble [13:44]
Well, what it didn’t say in the bio is that I actually exited myself after five years and dropped down to a part time position. So I did leave, I moved away like an hour away. But I can continued to work for them for another five years until it until it crumbled and I wasn’t in you know, I wasn’t, I wasn’t luckily I didn’t have to deal with all the crumbling because I wasn’t there. And it basically didn’t have to do with mismanagement, it just had to do with not enough donors bringing money in. But the reason I left is because it was a stressful situation for me, and I didn’t, especially being in a company that’s run by donations, that we were constantly not having enough money, me worrying, I couldn’t pay people, you know, and that was super stressful, and it started affecting my health. And plus, I had been trying to do the music thing on the side, I was getting frustrated. And I thought, you know, maybe this will be my chance, if I can drop to part time and kind of get away from it, just work over the computer and then spend the rest of my time working on music.
David Ralph [14:54]
It must have been a very difficult time for you. Because you know that the world is full of starving new musicians and stopping actors. And to be able to transition into a passion like that, you know, God forbid, it’s hard enough making money on podcasting, so many people struggle doing this, that the creative environment is difficult. Did you go in with eyes wide open? Did you think that you were going to be that singer songwriter? Or did you have a plan how you’re going to transition to something that was financially supportive enough for your family?
Bree Noble [15:27]
Oh, I had no clue. I mean, truthfully, I had been trying to figure out my place in how to do the whole music thing for several years on the side. And when you know, I got to doing it, you know, more full time, I thought, Oh, now I have the time to figure this out. But I still didn’t have the right tools. So I just, I literally had no clue I was grasping at straws. I was, you know, looking for people that were going to give me direction, or we’re going to just take me by the hand like yeah, you know, lead me and I don’t know why musicians think that they’re going to get this or they deserve this. Because nobody generally, you know, gets that in other careers, like, Oh, I’m going to just come and manage your career, you know, but musicians tend to think that all I need to do is get a record deal or get a manager, and then you know, I can just write songs and perform and I don’t have to do anything else, someone else will handle it.
David Ralph [16:25]
So how did you overcome that? And because it must have been, you know, you say that you were stressed trying to pay people in the opera company, but at least you were sort of getting a salary at the time. So how did you actually manage to keep all your hair and all your teeth and keep your faculties when you were sort of like pushing through that period of uncertainty?
Bree Noble [16:45]
Well, luckily, I did have the part time gig at the opera. So that helped take stress off. But you know, it was only when I started watching other people that were doing what I wanted to do on a more local level that I learned what I should be doing. And so I would go and look at people that were performing at places I wanted to perform or doing what I wanted to do. And then I would go at their word and talk to them and ask them, you know, well, how are you doing this? And, and, and I started connecting with those people. And then I found a group of people that was doing what I wanted to do, you know, specifically back then I was performing a lot in churches, women’s groups. And that was what I wanted to do, because that’s where I felt comfortable. That’s where I felt my songs resonated. And so I just talked to those people, they got me involved in kind of a networking group of women that were doing the same thing. And that is where my eyes got opened. And I learned from people that were actually doing it. Because before I was just trying to I was like this island I you know, I didn’t I didn’t have any Connexions and didn’t know, I just thought someone was going to like, swoop me up and take care of it all.
David Ralph [17:58]
I would have swept you up Bry on come down and looked after you come swinging down on my microphone like Tarzan and pick you up and take your is it’s true, isn’t it? Because you know, a moment my show is going amazingly well. And it’s it’s a it’s a business. At the beginning. It was just a what the hell am I doing? And then it went through a this is a brilliant hobby, but how the hell do I make money out of this. And the way that I transitioned and I resonated big time with what you were saying was finding three or four people in my environment and watching what they did. Now, I haven’t even met these people. But they were people out there that are doing something that I want you to do. And there’s clues. Once you actually start, you know, you go over to their website, and you look and you make notes and you start sort of clicking on things. And you’re seeing how their lead magnets and opt ins work and how their webinars come together. There’s clues there but we do Dolly, we think we can make it up as we go along is is it’s when it’s not that we were actually shamed of asking, but what I think it comes down to is the fact that when we go into a job, as most of us do, we expect to be trained. And we expect to get a six weeks training and then you know, hand held while we sort of find our feet. And that entrepreneurial kind of spirit gets mixed up somehow. It would be easy if we went straight into it. But most of us go into a corporate gig before we actually transition. What do you think?
Bree Noble [19:24]
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think, for me, like I actually kind of became a not a stalker in a weird way, but a good stalker where I started, like you said, going to the websites of the people that I was watching, and it would be like, okay, so where are they performing? And I would look at all the different places they’d perform. And then I’d start contacting those places that I see you had this person last month, you know, I have kind of a similar programme, I, you know, and I started approaching it that way. And, you know, seeing the types of groups that those people were in, like finding them all online, and like, Oh, I see that they’re in this music networking group, maybe I should be in that maybe that’s how they’re getting some of these Connexions? You know, and that’s really the best way to learn, like, Why try to figure it out when you can learn from somebody that’s already doing it?
David Ralph [20:15]
And is it a truth that although most of us are on an online world, we’re in an online world and in online environment, is a truth that you can’t do it online, you’ve actually got to touch people, you’ve got to get out there and network and go to conferences.
Bree Noble [20:32]
And, you know, I am not like, because of the fact that I have two kids, I don’t get to a lot of conferences. And so I do believe you can do it online, I think it’s way better if you can do it in person. And the Connexions that I made in the beginning when I met people in person were big, and it helped introduce me to a group of online people. But I think nowadays with you know, zoom calls and Skype and you know, Hangouts and all the things that we can do, it’s almost like being in person. So I don’t see what I mean, I have a mastermind of women that I’ve never met right now, three other women and we are like, so close, and, and help each other constantly. And we’ve never met each other in person, but we feel like we’ve met because we’ve been on zoom calls, you know, all the time. So I don’t see why you can’t do that. In this day and age.
David Ralph [21:23]
I’m actually meeting again, late tomorrow, we were got a spin off business from Join Up Dots. And it’s been going for quite a while I’ve never met him. And I’m actually going up to London tomorrow afternoon to meet him because he’s lives one side of the United Kingdom, I live the other and all we’ve done is communicate on Skype. And I’ve never actually sat down face to face with him. And I find that that brilliant, but also leaves you open to sort of go for people you like. And that is not the good way of creating business networks and people that can actually help you develop, you’ve got to find somebody that can do that. Something that you can’t do all it’s got strengths, but you haven’t. But have you ever fallen into that guy? I really like that person. I like how they made me feel. But once you actually started working with them, you realise that actually, it was never going to pan out?
Bree Noble [22:13]
Yeah, I mean, especially if they’re a person that is like that creative, not organised kind of person. And I definitely found with some of the people that I met in the beginning, once I actually met them in person, and we tried to work together like we did performances together is like, I can’t do this. Like they they run their business so differently than I do. I can’t work by the seat of my pants and just, you know, live all this creative high all the time, like I need organisation. So it definitely it did, you need to have the same kind of work ethic, the same kind of alignment of how you run your business before you start working directly with someone because otherwise you might just be frustrated.
David Ralph [22:59]
Well, let’s play some words. Now, which will take us to the second stage of our conversation, the real nuts and bolts of what makes Bree noble who she is Jim Carrey,
Jim Carrey [23:07]
my father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him. And so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. And when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job. And our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
David Ralph [23:33]
When I listen to those words, sometimes I just float over me sometimes like that, I really listen to them. And the key word that jumped out was survival, he’s dead had to do anything to survive. I now see it that if you are willing to do anything, he will flourish, because you will find the thing that you want to do, which you can then take forward. What’s your spin on that?
Bree Noble [23:57]
Oh, I’m think that you, you definitely have to be willing to sacrifice if you want to do what you love. I mean, when I quit my job, and I had a lot less income coming in, I was sacrificing, you know, I had a good, you know, like $65,000 a year job and then just to cutting down to like making 1000 bucks a month or whatever it was making us part time person. It’s Yeah, it’s a big difference. But I felt so much better. I just think that, you know, your internal feelings and your stress level. And it’s so important, it’s so much more important than money. And at the point, when I did that, I was to the point where I’m like, I don’t care if I have to eat like beans every night and Top Ramen like I can’t deal with the stress anymore. So I think sometimes when you get, or it can be the other way, like, I want to do music so bad. It’s such a big part of my soul that I feel like like, I’m completely empty, if I’m not doing it. If you’re there, then you’re you know, you’re ready to eat Top Ramen every night to do it. And you can you can do that because you have so much drive. But you have to be to that point, you can’t be like, Oh, I kind of like music. And I kind of like to do that, you know, you will not stick to it. And you won’t have the drive within you to like live through the sacrifice.
David Ralph [25:25]
I can’t imagine your family Bry would want you to be eating beans every night.
Unknown Speaker [25:31]
I think you
Bree Noble [25:32]
have a job do so I mean, I was lucky. You know, I know, musicians that are single moms and actually are doing the music thing. And they just completely impressed me because I’m not sure I would have that much courage
David Ralph [25:46]
that there’s a woman on I bet you will know her name. But he beats me at the moment who basically writes simply the best for Tina Turner and Aerosmith songs. And she basically Warren Yeah, now that is an amazing storeys, and she she doesn’t want to be a performer such, but she sits at home and just bangs out these amazing songs is it’s about the kind of person that you look at. And you go Well, yeah, she’s really got it. She she’s got this secret see of life. But she’s got the star persona when she wants it.
Bree Noble [26:17]
Yeah, I think so I, you know, when I was in my 20s, I wanted to be famous and all that. But I so got over it. And I would never want to be famous now. So I think that that’s awesome. I mean, everybody knows her name. She’s getting awards, she’s getting to do it from the comfort of her own home. But she’s getting to work with all these other amazing songwriters being a co writer. And I think, you know, for many of my students, that’s the dream, because maybe they don’t want to have to tour and that kind of thing. And so a lot of them pursue music licencing because, you know, they want to get their songs into TV and film, and they can get paid pretty well doing that and be able to work from home.
David Ralph [27:01]
I do think though, that that that’s a utopia, I think so you know, it’s certainly for me, I would love to be absolutely globally famous on a podcast, but nobody knows me. I kind of Batman persona. When I turn on the microphone, now it’s him. But nobody knows where I live. Nobody, you know, that kind of secret. Because it must be dreadful must admit being a say, a Brad Pitt or whatever, when you’re walking down the street, and everyone’s looking at you all the time. But you’ve also got to have that ability of getting out there and and opening doors. So one coming to, you can lead to one, but you’ve got to go through that initial stage of really being out there, don’t you?
Bree Noble [27:42]
Oh, yeah, I mean, you know, I, when I was doing my music career, I was not ever famous. But you know, I was I was known around California within certain circles as being a performer. But now, as being someone who’s running an online business, like I have to put myself out there so much, I have to be on video. And you know, and my voice is everywhere with all these podcasts. And I feel like so many more people know me now. And that’s kind of an uncomfortable feeling. But I know that that’s what has to be done. If I want to reach and find, you know, the perfect students that I can help. That’s the way I have to do it. And it’s a little uncomfortable sometimes because you know, you’re gonna, you’re going to get people that are going to criticise you, whenever you put yourself out there in any way. You’re going to get people that criticise you and you just have to have a thick skin for that
David Ralph [28:38]
did you care of because I I don’t care if somebody criticises me, they can say, Well, I work he eats water off a duck’s back. Now, in
Bree Noble [28:47]
years go lucky. Like I don’t, I mean, I’m getting there. But I was certainly not there in the beginning. And when you get that first, like someone railing on you for something that you’re like, I don’t even understand how they got that out of what I said. It’s just like, maybe I should just crawl in a hole and you know, but you get over it, because you you just I I have a file in my computer of testimonials of my students. And whenever something like that happens, I always go back and read it. Because it helps motivate me so much and helps push that out of my mind. Because you know, as a performer, a lot of times like, people will love you and they’ll be clapping and they’ll buy your music. And then one radio person will say, oh, you’re not a good enough singer to be on our station. And that’s the only thing that will stick with you. So you have to have strategies to combat that.
David Ralph [29:37]
Now you don’t just ignore them, Jesse. Oh, my
Bree Noble [29:40]
gosh, you’re so lucky. People can’t do that.
David Ralph [29:44]
Yeah. But you know about when you start to get a profile of classic example, if you put yourself out on YouTube, you get all the bull comments. Now I’m not on YouTube, but I keep them thinking about doing it. And I just know that you see the comments on bear. It’s just vitriol and an openness. And it’s just because it’s a sad little people that are looking at you as something bigger than them. And so they try to bring you down, I just look at it as a badge of honour, I would have a big pile of horrible letters. I’d have them piled up as motivation. And I wouldn’t read a single one of them i would i would get my my horrible letter P a person to read them. And then say to me, yeah, that’s a really bad one. And then just put it at the top of the pile for motivation.
Bree Noble [30:27]
Yeah, I mean, I always tell musicians to like get someone else to read their YouTube comments. Someone should be reading through them, but don’t read them yourself. Because they can they can get ridiculously mean. And I don’t understand why people have to be that way. I guess I have nothing better to do. And you know, are they putting themselves out there? No. So you gotta think about it that way. I don’t know how you do that, though. Because it’s really hard. Like you just have, you’re lucky to have that kind of a personality.
David Ralph [30:56]
Well, I’ve always had that personality. I’ll be honest, I used to go into rooms and my wife is totally opposite. If you put her in a room with 1000 people and one person hates her. She want to know why that one person hates her. And I’m the opposite. If you put me in a room and 999 people hate me. I just think okay, I’ll go find the next 999 You know, it doesn’t really bother me. Because there’s so many people in the world on it. There’s 7.8 billion people in the world. But you don’t need that many people a to make a business as we always say this is our little bit of math but we do on this show you create a product because everybody says six speakers donate it that’s that seems to be the benchmark of everything I will teach you to make six figures come on with my coaching calls and i i will show you I don’t know what they’ve got an American voice sounds a bit like boss Hawk from Dukes of Hazzard there is always the Americans I slip into, I don’t know why I love you, really. But um, yeah, they all say six figures, six figures. So you get 200 people and you sell them a $500 product, that six figures. If you get 100 people, when you sell them, you know 1000 it once again, whatever way you want to dice it and slice it by is your maps. So if you can find 200 people that love you and 7.8 people, billion people hate you. Just ignore them. Just ignore them and and go with your tribe, I tell you one of the biggest messages I’ve ever heard Bry. And I thought this was fantastic, was thinking about your tribe as the the earth. So if you go into the earth, the centre of it, you know, it’s really, really hot. And as you go sort of further and further and further out into space, it gets colder and colder and colder. So what you need to do is find your tribe, the people that really love you, and stay as close to them as possible to protect them and to nurture them and to give them all your time. It’s your hate. And as it goes out and out and out. You spend less and less time and attention with the people until they become your clients. And then you push them into that centre bit. And all you’ve got to do is just wrap your arms around that little ball of flames and keep it safe because that is your Detroit.
Bree Noble [33:01]
Huh? I like that analogy a lot. And it’s, it’s so true. And I try to remind myself of that every day.
David Ralph [33:08]
Well, I’m gonna I’m going to remind you, I’m gonna phone you up. I’ll pause for every morning. I care that it’s dark in your world. And don’t worry,
Bree Noble [33:15]
I’m awake. I got up at four this morning. So you can call me at half past four. If you want. I’ll be up.
David Ralph [33:21]
when when when you start trying the old guitar when when is it good? Is it a guitar or a piano that you like?
Bree Noble [33:27]
It’s a keyboard
David Ralph [33:28]
is a cable? So do you have headphones?
Bree Noble [33:31]
Uh, yeah, but I’m not usually working on music in the morning. I’m mostly working on business stuff and emails and, you know, talking with my students and creating products and stuff like that.
David Ralph [33:43]
So so you wouldn’t wake up in the middle of night and think I’ll show you Diane Whelan. I’ve got this tune in my head and, and jump out and start banging away at the old job. Well,
Bree Noble [33:51]
I have in the past. I mean, actually, when I was pregnant, oh my gosh, I would wake up all the time in the night because I had a baby that would get hiccups. And me and all the things. And I would get up in the night and record I was recording an album at that point. And I would record you know, of course, we didn’t have any kids then. So I would go off in the next room and my husband would be sleeping and I’d be in there recording music in the middle of the night.
David Ralph [34:15]
You have nightmares Oh, didn’t you?
Bree Noble [34:18]
They didn’t hear it.
David Ralph [34:20]
I bet I did. I better go he goes again, we thought the same three lines for the last six hours, move on and sing something different.
Bree Noble [34:30]
I didn’t care about that. I didn’t know my neighbours. Orange County was very impersonal. So they never said hi to me. So I guess they don’t. They don’t i don’t care that I was bothering them in the night.
David Ralph [34:40]
So you found that ability to not care. You see, we’ve talked
Bree Noble [34:43]
I did I tapped into that.
David Ralph [34:45]
Yeah, all we’ve got to do is think of your haters as your neighbours. And then you can sort through
Bree Noble [34:52]
now, thank goodness. But yeah, that back then my neighbours never talked to me.
David Ralph [34:56]
Yeah, that would that would be perfect. So let’s talk about the future female musician Academy, because that seems brilliant. Because that seems to pull in your passions and brings it into sort of a monthly membership or whatever. And that is when things become stable in your life. How did you first sort of market that because there is a truth in entrepreneurial world. But we all are very creative. Until we get to the point of realising that creativity won’t go anywhere, unless we understand marketing. How did you actually do that?
Bree Noble [35:27]
Well, actually, I was I guess I was somewhat smart and somewhat lucky. So I, in about 2007, I started a an online radio station called Women of substance radio, because I was a performing songwriter, and female and I had connected with a lot of those. And I felt like there’s so many good female artists out here, why am I not hearing them on the radio. So I said, well, heck, I’ll just create my own radio. So I created a radio station online, I started playing lots of female artists, it grew, it became a commercial online station eventually turned into an award winning podcast. But because of that, I had a huge list of independent female artists that I was working with and helping promote their music. And in 2015, I decided to start the Academy. And because I already had this list, I said, you know, I’m just going to do a pre sale, and I’m, before I build a single thing, I’m going to go to my list, and hopefully by now they know me like me, and trust me and say, you know, I’m going to start this academy, here’s what it’s going to be, here’s the kind of training you’re going to get, here’s the courses I have planned inside of it. And this is what the community is going to be. And you know, would you be willing to, you know, be a founding member. And I gave them, you know, a pretty low yearly price at that point. And I had, I think it was 18 people at first jump on board. And that gave me the, you know, the startup money to hire someone to help me to get my courses going. And after that I just started selling it on webinars, and mostly webinars, you know, building my list, selling it on webinars, and you know, now I’ve created kind of a free group on Facebook and, and they can kind of come in there and get to know me and what I do, and then a lot of them are coming on over to the academy as well.
David Ralph [37:22]
And is that is that a natural fit? As you say you didn’t like sort of being on video and putting yourself out there. And webinars are? Well, they’re very warm right now, if you do it. Well. It’s literally us saying that this is me, this is what I will promise to you come over to my programme.
Bree Noble [37:40]
Yeah, I mean, webinars were a little rough at first for me, but mostly because of the tech. But I love webinars now, but yeah, at first, I was kind of uncomfortable on video. I loved hiding behind my slides. I’m getting better now that you know, Facebook Live is so big, I’m getting better it just coming on screen and talking to my audience and not feeling like I need to hide behind my slides. But yeah, I mean, it takes a while to get used to how to be on webinars, you know, how do you be fun and friendly and, and talking with everybody on them while also teaching while also selling. I mean, it’s like, it’s a weird, like, trying to put all these hats on at once, but not show that you have all the mon at each time, you know what I mean? And so the thing that’s worked best for me is just to be myself be authentic, you know, try to foster this community of working together and learning together and then just say, hey, if you like this, here’s something more you can have, you know, not feel like it needs to be all salesy and, and, you know, just really polished or anything, but tell them, you know, this is what you get. This is what you’ll create when you come into the programme. And this is why I think you belong here.
David Ralph [39:00]
It’s funny, because webinars are so hugely powerful. And when I did my first one, I’ve come from 25 years of standing in front of people doing training courses, and it was quite difficult to spin, working a room on to a webinar.
Bree Noble [39:14]
Oh my gosh, you’re talking to yourself, you feel silly. You’re standing in front of a computer, like talking to yourself, and especially if you have slides, and you can’t see the chat, I’ve actually started having my iPad next to me, so I can see the chat because otherwise I just feel like I’m talking to no one
David Ralph [39:30]
is, um, though, isn’t it after? Well, when you
Unknown Speaker [39:33]
super fun? Yeah.
David Ralph [39:36]
So So what are we going to do? Then let’s, let’s take your talents and my talents and our singing prowess. Because I think that there’s a there’s a business here Bry I think, you know, we’ve we’ve got this special relationship, as I always say in Trump land between the United Kingdom and America. So what are we going to do? How can we take a podcast and get people to really buy into it? How you do it? Show us how you market?
Bree Noble [40:03]
Huh? Okay, so podcast,
I would say that what we want to do is we want to interview people that have done exactly what our future audience wants to do. And we want to talk to them about, you know, how they’re doing it and a lot more about the frustrations that they’ve experienced along the way. And then we want to, you know, market that to them saying, you know, like, basically, here’s somebody that looks like you or looks like you want to look like in a few years. And you know, here’s what you can learn from them.
David Ralph [40:47]
I think that’s brilliant. I think that is as simple as that, isn’t it? I podcast is nothing more than opening a communication channel. It’s two people talking with a third person listening in until they feel competent enough actually connect with you. I think that podcasting is the most powerful thing that you can do for any business it outranks blogging, outranks, well, probably webinars, but you you use a podcast to lead into that. But it’s that personal connexion, isn’t it, people do not buy businesses that they can’t see they don’t go to these standard websites anymore. They go to the person, they will go to Bry. And that’s why the about pages you go over to the about pages now. It’s all really raw and open stuff, because people realise that they can’t hide anymore.
Bree Noble [41:33]
For sure, I mean, I love my podcast, because I love being able to share things on there that I wouldn’t. I don’t even think I’d put some of those things in writing, you know what I mean? But I say them because I’m an authentic person, I try to be authentic. And when it comes up, like Yeah, I remember when this happened. It totally sucked. And you know, and I think that really connects people to me, because I’m willing to be honest about things. And truthfully, I don’t think it could be that honest in writing, or on video, I think something about just the the audio of, of me having a conversation with someone. I feel like I’m just sitting with them at Starbucks, having a conversation and really talking about, you know, the struggles and everything. And not even realising that other people could overhear me.
David Ralph [42:26]
Do you lie? Do you ever lie? Are you 100%? Honest?
Bree Noble [42:29]
Do I lie? I don’t think I lie. I mean, I suppose occasionally, I might embellish the truth, but I don’t think so. I mean, I know I don’t, I don’t lie.
David Ralph [42:39]
Now, because all right, I hate some podcasters I’ll be honest, and nothing, I don’t buy that. I don’t buy that at all. And if you do that little bit of online stalking and you sort of look around behind the storey is there’s a lot of untruths out there. I’ve always said that every time I press record, I’m actually tormented. Sometimes I say stupid stuff. And I listen back to and it actually makes me laugh. So I don’t care. But um, I think to myself, I don’t know why even said that. But it’s what you say you you just turn on recording. Sometimes it’s genius. Like the gods are channelling through you. And sometimes it’s Oh my God, why did I ever mention that? But it’s, it’s, it’s just,
Bree Noble [43:16]
Oh, it’s so fun. It’s so fun, but it’s true. I mean, if you I don’t ever want really want to do a transcript of my show, because I feel like what I say number one is not grammatically correct. Most of the time if someone were to write it out, and I’d be like, you sound like an idiot. But somehow when you’re having a conversation, it doesn’t sound that way. It sounds completely natural.
David Ralph [43:39]
Do you ever say dirty stuff? Do you ever go x rated? 18 rated?
Bree Noble [43:44]
I do not? Because
David Ralph [43:47]
I bet you do. I bet there’s
Unknown Speaker [43:50]
not a podcast,
David Ralph [43:52]
and some director’s cuts episodes out there. Because what you should have done very busy. This is a little tip for you. You should have said yes. But no tell anybody what episodes and then I would go over and I’d have to listen to every single one of your episodes to find it easy. That’s how you get it, you you lure them in with a bit of naughty, sexy talk. And, and you win the game every single day.
Bree Noble [44:16]
I’ll remember that for future marketing.
David Ralph [44:19]
Yeah, next time we go on the show. It’s sexy talk over way where we’re going to join up sex is that is a great show. Why? Okay, what we’re going to do now we’re going to bring somebody on who I don’t think he ever really did talk about sex, maybe he did. But he did say some remarkable words. And we’re going to hear them again, here, Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs [44:38]
Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards. 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leaves you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [45:12]
La words that make all the difference to you when you hear them.
Bree Noble [45:17]
I think so I mean, I think I think about times in my life where I’ve taken a certain turn or just a random thing happened. And it’s set this chain of events. You know, like I think about the when I made my first album, my first professional album, how did that start? Well, I got a certain book for Christmas. And in that book, I found a certain website and on that website, actually found an ad from a certain publisher. And then I contacted that publisher, and he happened to be local, and he wanted to publish my song. And then he asked me if I would come do a demo for him. And then he end up producing my album. I mean, it was just like, how did all of that happen? You know, the dots? I look back and the dots connected but had I not asked for that particular book for Christmas? Would I now be doing what I’m doing now? You know, I played the mind games with myself like that. But I think we can’t we can’t ever know how that’s going to connect when we’re when we start like he said
David Ralph [46:15]
yeah, I don’t think so either. And I think that’s the beauty of it. You know, you start something and as I say you find a dream on the way to the first dream is once you actually get to a point you think I wasn’t thinking big enough here I should take over the world. I should I should have a show that is you know, taking every download from every single person and the bigger you think actually the easier it becomes it’s a real bizarre way it’s it’s a battle in your mind more than anything else.
Bree Noble [46:43]
Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, I think we’re constantly battling limiting beliefs and thinking small and I know I certainly do all the time like oh, I couldn’t possibly be like this person. Why not?
David Ralph [46:56]
I can’t die. I think that talking to you. I think this is a lady who’s going to go off and do amazing stuff. And I just can’t wait for your sexy podcast this this is really going to be the thing that NASA for you. I really think this is your thing
Unknown Speaker [47:13]
to think about that
David Ralph [47:15]
you’re going to go into all the podcasting groups now and go dunk the God say don’t come on Join Up Dots. Okay.
Bree Noble [47:20]
I don’t even write sexy songs. So I can’t even imagine doing a sexy podcast.
David Ralph [47:26]
But what you really about and I thought all songs were about sex and night.
Bree Noble [47:29]
Oh, thank goodness not on the radio are but I mean, I mostly wrote you know, spiritual, inspirational kind of music storey songs you know, everything from and a lot of like I would say, you know, specific causes or things that were important to me that I wanted to highlight with a storey.
David Ralph [47:55]
I’m going to write a new theme tune for the Join Up Dots. I just decided and I want you to tell them whether this will fly. Okay, it’s just coming to my head. It simply but dots. It’s a podcast that’s got the lot. Do you think that would work?
Bree Noble [48:11]
No. Did you say that’s got the lot?
David Ralph [48:15]
Yeah, it’s got the law a safer
Bree Noble [48:16]
even though that must be a British saying because I don’t think Americans would say that’s got the lot. Why no, why not? So you’re gonna you’re going to localise your podcast with that?
David Ralph [48:26]
No, it’s just it leaves it with a Mystique, people will want to know more. You see, people do
Bree Noble [48:33]
as much tune as you’re a national anthem. Can’t believe
David Ralph [48:36]
it? I can’t believe it. Yeah, you’re turning on me yet turning on me and Diane Wallin, because that was simply the best spam it into a new format. Well, what we’re going to do now we’re going to play a bit of music, which you can criticise if you like Bry. But this is a bit that we call the Sermon on the mic when we send you back in time to have a one on one with your younger self. And if you could go back in time and speak to the hungry, what age would you shoes? And what advice would you give? Well, we’re gonna find out because I’m going to play the theme tune. And when it fades, Europe, this is the Sermon on the mic.
Unknown Speaker [49:19]
Sermon on the Mount,
Unknown Speaker [49:21]
the sermon
Bree Noble [49:32]
I am talking to my 22 year old self right now. And what you need to know is, you are enough, you are enough, you don’t have to find a band or a group or somebody to fit yourself into. You don’t need to find someone that you think is being successful and glom onto them or try to, you know, just hang on to their coattails because you think that’s what’s going to make you successful. You are enough because you can figure out how to do this yourself. You can find an audience for yourself. You have people out there that will love what you’re doing. And you can control the stage yourself. You don’t have to be a sideline or you don’t have to just be a lead singer of a band. You can be Bree noble, the artist and people will love you.
David Ralph [50:33]
Bry what’s the number one best way that our audience can connect with you?
Bree Noble [50:38]
The number one best way is to go to FEM musician. com that’s f as in female, he is an entrepreneur, musician calm, and that’s where they can find my podcast, the female entrepreneur, musician. And I would definitely recommend if you’re a musician to go to FEM musician comm slash income and grab my 19 sources of income income that you probably haven’t considered for your music business that should definitely help you out.
David Ralph [51:05]
And is it just the ladies? Or can men be there as well?
Bree Noble [51:08]
Men can be there. Um, I always get this question. You know, my, however you described that your your little earth or your tribe, my tribe is women. But a lot I do end up speaking to a lot of men. And that’s completely fine. But you know, just know that you can’t join the female musician Academy that is only for women. But you can absolutely learn from my training, you can take my other courses. Totally cool. I have men email me all the time. Like is it okay, if I use your website? Of course it is.
David Ralph [51:40]
Well, if ever lady boy would would that would they be able to get in?
Bree Noble [51:45]
Oh, that’s a hard one. Um, we’ll have to talk.
David Ralph [51:48]
We will talk we will talk. I don’t know if I’ve got a big audience of Lady boys. But I tried to open it out to everyone. Well, thank you so much for spending time with us today. joining up those dots. And please come back again, when you have more dots join up because I do believe that by joining up the dots and connecting our past is the best way to build our futures. Bree noble, thank you so much.
Bree Noble [52:08]
You are welcome. It’s been so fun.
David Ralph [52:11]
Green Noble. Now remember the name Bree Noble. So if you ever go over to iTunes land and you see a racy podcast, remember where you first heard it and come across to me. And I will try to get some kind of royalties or something. But I love what she’s doing. Because it is it ties up everything that you’re doing entrepreneurial land, but in a passion that is kind of overly creative. It’s a truth that musicians generally will struggle with the marketing and with the business and stuff, as podcasters do as well. And so to be able to bring her experience of all these different environments into something that is hugely valuable for these guys, I think is brilliant. And the fact that she basically told him, this is what I’m going to actually offer and did a pre sale is brilliant and really means that you can test the waters before you spend a lot of time on stuff. And that’s what entrepreneurs don’t do. They seem to just make it up as they go along. spend months creating a product, push it out into the world and then find out that nobody wants it breeze doing stuff the right way. And make sure you go over to her show and multiple shows on iTunes. Look for her name and leave a rating review for her. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Join Up Dots probably enjoyed that one. And I’ll be back next time. See ya. Bye bye.
Outro [53:29]
David doesn’t want you to become a faded version of the brilliant self you are wants to become. So he’s put together an amazing guide for you called the eight pieces of advice that every successful entrepreneur practices, including the two that changed his life. Head over to Join Up Dots.com to download this amazing guide for free and we’ll see you tomorrow on Join Up Dots.
Chukky Okobi is todays guest joining us on the 
Awilda Rivera is our guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview.
Joshua Spodek is our guest today on the 
Michelle McQuaid is our guest today on the 
Michael Tamez is today’s guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast interview.
Leisa Peterson is our guest today joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast for the second time.
Clark Gaither is our guest today on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview.