Building a Fearless Portfolio Career

Michelle Lynne: Well, hey everybody and welcome back to The Fearless Artist podcast. My name is Michelle and I am so excited today to have my fearless friend, Aida Barberena. Aida is a student at Codarts Rotterdam. We’ll get into that. She’s also worked for The Fearless Artist for 18 months as our content creator and social media guru, I’ll say. So Aida, welcome. 

I’m so excited to chat with you today. 

Aida Barberena: Thank you for having me. 

Michelle Lynne: Yes. Awesome. So you did wonders for the Fearless Artist. You started with us about 18 months ago and it’s been so fun having you on the team. It was a big step for us to hire someone for the first time and to bring someone else on.

Deanna and I had been working alone for the first two and a half years, three years, and, just having you come in and help us steer the vision… decide what we wanted to do, creating content, it took a lot off of our plates… which freed us up to do what we’re good at, which is coaching musicians.

So, I just wanted to bring you on today. You’ve just recently transitioned out of this role because your career has taken off. You’re doing tons of auditions and school projects and other things that are happening for you. So you needed more space, which is also something I think that we can even mention in this talk today about how musicians constantly are going through these kinds of transitions or seeing like… where do I need to invest my energy and my time and what is the most beneficial thing for me to do right now, according to my career, my ideal career. And for you… It was important for you to be able to work with us for a while and now you’re transitioning out.

So first of all, this interview is just to say thank you for what you gave to us for the last year and a half. Thank you for what you brought us… the laughs, the jokes, the memes, but also just your energy and the entrepreneurial spirit I think was so, so crucial. So why don’t you just share a little bit with our audience… about you and also how you started working for us. 

Aida Barberena: Well, my name is Aida, which has an opera singer is just a funny joke of destiny. I came to the Netherlands about two years ago or like 20 months ago. And you were my teacher. You were one of their teachers because at our school… like creating very well rounded career for students or a curriculum for students. So they have a well rounded career is important. So you were our entrepreneurship teacher. And from day one, I really like what you did… because you and in TFA in general, you talk about a lot of things that somehow growing up or maybe in the past 20 years… we’ve been talking more and more, but not so much about having an entrepreneurial mindset or having a portfolio career, having diverse income streams without the shame of it that he used to have. So I really clicked with that when I met you and you mentioned that you needed a social media girl that day. So I just came in and did my pitch and did my very best in the interview as well. And I learned a lot as well by working with you guys. And, um, I was so happy to have the opportunity to create humoristic content which is where I shine or what I like to do and also help people and teach them that it’s okay to talk about these things, that it’s okay if your idea of a nice professional career is not someone else’s or it’s not what the media is selling you and that that is also okay.

Yah… 

Michelle Lynne: Exactly. I mean, I, teach entrepreneurship for classical musicians at Codarts where you study and you came up in the first class and you have a background already in digital marketing. You’ve done some other studies. So you weren’t sure even if you needed that class… you just kind of came to see what was going on.

And then for whatever reason, I mentioned that… one of my former piano students had been making some Instagram stuff for us and she was leaving to goto med school. So I was like, oh yeah, we’re looking for a new content creator. And I don’t know, it just popped out of my mouth. I didn’t even mean to really say that.

And then you came up and you were like, I’d like to apply for the position at your company. And I was like, oh, whoa, like this could be really cool. And to have someone like you, who’s currently studying in an institution, you know, cause a lot of our client base at TFA… we’re graduated… we’re 10 years out.

We’re saying things I wish I would have learned in school, but like you’re in school. So me teaching that class, I have a direct feedback of what do you need to learn right now? And how can I create curriculum that will serve you in this moment so that you can then use it. 

This is what we’re thinking about. This is what we’re struggling with. Um, and as you’re mentioning… what society tells you or the media tells you is a successful career. We’re starting to shift the narrative around that… what does success mean as a musician? And, how can we shape our thinking now to set you up for success rather than telling you, this is what it has to be like. And then if you come out of school and it doesn’t happen right away, or maybe ever, and you guys don’t, you know, the next generation doesn’t end up having the same problems that we did. Maybe feeling like a failure that you didn’t quote, like make it, whatever that means.

Aida Barberena: Yeah. It’s, it’s absolutely important that all schools start doing something in those lines because, uh, even if you make it, or even if you are one on the top five performers, and that’s really your dream and it fulfills you. It’s so much more than making music. It’s so much more than practicing and actually doing the show… most musicians out there also have to be… accountants and social media creators and… have people skills, for example. So all of these things that… make your world around the musician and that will land you the jobs that you really want… are the things that we are happily creating a better curriculum at Codarts and you were part of it, so I’m very happy to contribute to that as well.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah, I think one of your strengths, as you were saying, is that you made a lot of relatable content for us. it’s just so helpful to have like the student perspective, but also the little bit older working in the industry perspective. And cause that’s who we work with at The Fearless Artists.

So… talk a little bit about like, as you were getting ideas for content or hearing the conversations that we were having with our clients in our mastermind or our membership, like one thing that we talked about a lot, as you just mentioned is the multiple roles that musicians play.

Maybe you want to expand on that. 

Aida Barberena: Yeah. So we got a lot of feedback on people that started responding on the post about having to fulfill these roles. Right. So we talked about a a lot about social media and how important it really is. So should I do it? Should I not do it? I’m scared or what is it that I should be doing or all of these people’s are already doing this. So what I bring to the table is not a new or valuable. So all of these things were a lot of fuel to create relatable and funny content because we all feel silly in front of the camera for the first time. We, we all feel silly going into TikTok and I am also an older student. So I feel silly like, oh man, is this really for me? If it’s not my age group or whatever. And once you get through that, then you start learning a lot of the things… and you maybe learn that in fact, it’s not for you. But you also might learn and find a community within itself. So all of those things were a lot of fuel to the ideas of the posts that we made and that you created in the reels as well.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah. I mean, you were always sending me like the cool trends to do that I was maybe unfamiliar with… and including standing in the shower at one point fully closed. You’ve made me do some ridiculous things that anybody listening can scroll back if I haven’t deleted them already. No, that’s a joke.

I didn’t delete anything… But okay, so social media is one aspect of, you know, things that musicians don’t realize they have to do to actually have a career… become a content creator. What are some of the other things that you’ve seen that we are getting feedback about from people? 

Aida Barberena: We had a lot of things about time management… because suddenly you do something good or your video goes viral or something… and you have a lot of concerts coming up or you have a lot of geeks or things that require a lot of organization also within yourself to keep alive or to also accommodate the practice slots in those times.

So, a musician, a well rounded musician has to be a good time manager, right? It’s somebody who can know where their limits are… and understand also that sometimes it’s just a little chaotic and that sometimes that chaos, it’s something that other people who are not musicians might not understand… and that it’s alienating and it feels very lonely, but that it’s okay.

 And then if you have a community of other people, you can share those concerns and feel better about it. And yeah, we all understand… which is the nice thing about TFA… because we were making that relatable content. So people after graduation, didn’t have to feel alone… because we’re all struggling with the same things.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah. I think you’re saying it perfectly. The nine to fivers, as we say, don’t understand that sometimes it is chaotic and that’s okay. You need to embrace the chaos of our lives… like you, for example, you were sharing with me your schedule. You’ve got multiple auditions. You’ve got end of term exams. You’ve got a choir project coming up this week… you’ve got other external projects that you’re pursuing, plus you have a job that you’re doing… And that’s an insane amount… most musicians can relate to that. You’ve got a lot of pegs in your wheel and someone on the outside looking in might say, that sounds crazy… you’re doing too much… you’re going to burn out… are you sure? And putting all these kinds of doubts into your mind. But actually it might be exactly what you need to do in order to build the skill set that will take you to the next level or to discover your strengths. And another thing I wanted to mention is that you also are excellent at organizing and you’ve kind of spearheaded a lot of Project at Codarts with the vocal class. I know you started up like the social media page with a couple other of the girls and organizing some concerts. Maybe talk a little bit about that with what you’ve learned from kind of taking the reins.

Aida Barberena: Well… number one, it’s very important to know that if you want something done right, you cannot expect for other people to do it just out of thin air. Like taking initiative in all type of projects is important. And people appreciate it and it doesn’t mean that you have to do everything on your own… but in any type of project and as musicians, most people work with other people. A little initiative will go a long way. And a good, nice attitude of doing a little bit more than what is the basic requested of you also takes you a long way. And again, it’s good practice for people skills because it’s a very community type of job that we seem to have. 

So, uh, I’m naturally that type of person… but I know that, uh, some of the students at my school have also learned to become more of the person… and gather some skills and discover some things that they just happen to be good at. So now a lot of the, uh, some of the students are doing the design part of the projects that we have at Codearts and, uh, they actually good at it and they enjoy it… and this is a skill set that maybe when you are diversifying your income, when you… after you graduate, you already have this skill set and you can say, Hey, I can also do this for an opera company or for a choir. And this might be also part of my job and I can already do it. So to experiment with all of these things and with leadership, with teamwork, with some skill sets, the digital skill sets, for example, time management… it’s very important for anybody because you never know when you might need it.

Michelle Lynne: I love that you’re saying this thing about initiative because somebody recently asked me how do you define entrepreneurship? And I literally think it’s about taking initiative creating opportunities… looking for where as you’re saying your skill sets can fit and learning new things… and you’re right! I mean, we’ve seen other musicians then have whole side jobs in social media content creation.

I mean I have three of my Codart students working for me, doing assistant work, booking hotels, like, you know, these kind of organizational things that you can become your teacher’s assistant or look for other ways to create income for yourself besides just your music, but that tie into the, the life of an artist… because if anyone listening has done any kind of project, I’m sure you’ve seen some disasters, some train wrecks of people who try to organize things that just don’t, you know, we’re not maybe the most organized people as creative types. So these are 

things we have to learn. 

Aida Barberena: Yes, definitely. 

Michelle Lynne: Let’s start with some of the highlights of working for TFA, like what are some shiny moments in your memory? 

The memes were like a new thing for you guys, I think, because also as musicians, again, if you go back to the basics… you are trained to be very serious And very disciplined. And a musician doesn’t make fun of himself… And It’s just not like that It’s not that serious in general life. Like if you take yourself too seriously, you’re not going to be happy a lot of the time. We started, dabbling with this idea of making things more humoristic and more funny and seeing if people would, uh, agree with it and not think something bad of the brand. And on the contrary, everybody responded very well and say, hey, that also happens to me. Like we did the one about the only two type of outfits that a musician has. That is the one where you’re only wearing sweats when you practice or full glam when you have a concert. And everybody said, oh, man, that’s so me. That’s absolutely something I do because that seems to be something we all do. And it’s just funny to realize that maybe if you feel a little bit of shame for being that person, you don’t have to… because there are a thousand people also commenting the same thing on the post. 

And who liked that post? Yuja Wang

 Yeah, so that was crazy! We’re like, talk about the woman who’s wearing full on glam and then we saw her pop up and we’re like, no way, we’ve reached her, it’s crazy. 

Aida Barberena: Yes, if you think… Oh man, I feel bad because I’m in sweats… Yuja she’s full glam all time. I’m sure Yuya is not full glam all the time. and the other topic that people found funny slash relatable and a little bit always like it touches a nerve is when we talk about money… and we’re very realistic about money. So the first one that went very viral was the one about, how to say no to something or how to say that you’re not doing something for free… in five different ways. And people went crazy, like this is so useful. And it’s just something that… a lot of people then send questions and say, I have this specific situation. How do I respond to it? Because we’re not taught of it. We’re taught that if you’ll get the chance to perform, then you just have to think the performing guts for it. And it just doesn’t work like that. It’s, it’s not fair. You’re putting so much time. We talked a lot about also. How much to charge because most people say, ah, it’s one hour concert. So this is my fee. Yeah. But you started how many hours to that concert? How much time does it take you to get there? And all of these struggles come with its own type of jokes. So we made a lot of jokes about that. And I think people appreciated it.

Michelle Lynne: Yes. Yeah, you’re hitting the nail on the head. Definitely money topics, how to know when it’s worth playing for free or not. What are your favorite ways to say that you won’t do a free gig out of the ones that we had on that post?

Aida Barberena: Well, I’m an avoider. So I just say… oh, I’m so sorry. I have something else that day. Um, because that’s an easy way out. But in general, I try to ask for something in writing first. 

So, okay, what’s your budget? Can you send me, like, the proposal of your budget?

Michelle Lynne: Yeah, that’s so good. Me too. I would say like, Oh, just wondering if there’s a budget for this… And then learning to stop talking after you ask the question… I tend to like try and fill in with all these like, or is there not a budget? Cause then I’ll still play because I’m so grateful for the opportunity. And it’s like, 

Aida Barberena: Yes, 

Michelle Lynne: your tongue. Shut up. 

Aida Barberena: But it’s something we’re all learning, I think, 

Michelle Lynne: And as you said, I mean, it’s things you need to practice. That’s why it’s good to have kind of even mock conversations. Like how would. you know, normally it’s not that you don’t know that you don’t want to do it. You just don’t know how to word it. I think a lot of people are worried about hurting feelings or hurting potential future work if you piss people off.

And unfortunately we’ve, all heard the story of somebody getting really upset or emotional or volatile and you think… well, I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings or risk losing the gig. So I’m just going to say yes and show up and maybe get taken advantage of. So these are hard things to learn how to set healthy boundaries that you feel protected.

 

Aida Barberena: Yeah, definitely. Or then, um, the next step is, uh, when you’re already getting paid and nobody is doubting that… it’s how much you’re getting paid or when should you raise your fees and how many people are you bringing to this concerts or or starting to say no to certain repertoire and say, you know what, I really don’t like to sing Baroque. And now I am in a place in my life where I don’t have to do everything… but for most musicians, myself included, to say no to something that it’s paying well, or that is a good opportunity because you don’t like to do it… because that’s not, good for the rest of your career for the line of work that you’re doing for the future that you’re imagining to yourself… is very hard as well to say no to something just because… it’s also a big change. 

Michelle Lynne: I’m so glad you’re talking about this. This is really important. And you just changed voice types as well, so I’m sure that also brings in complications. 

Aida Barberena: yeah, definitely to… in general to say I don’t do this type of work because it doesn’t add up to what I’m doing in my class with my teacher or what… or maybe I’m preparing something in six months and I need this three months to do that and this project does not work well with the technique I’m going to need on that. It’s hard to say no to that… you have to prioritize the thing that you know you want… the thing that you’re working for.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah. And that’s really trusting in like that there will be work for me in this. Cause you, you came into Codarts as a mezzo, correct? And now you’ve transitioned to Soprano. So if you’re pursuing ARIA as the rep in that direction, you’re letting go of even your training to get accepted to the institution in the first place.

I mean, these are scary things to kind of shed that skin and say, no, I’m going to, going to pursue that. And I think that’s what we talk a lot with a lot of our clients is pursuing your ultimate ideal career means… you’re going to say no to stuff along the way that can feel really scary.

Aida Barberena: Yeah… It’s the same with any opportunity, uh, within your diversification of income. So, a lot of students or a lot of younger artists, even after graduation, have a side job of some sort… which is fantastic because then you can pay the bills and then you can practice and you can create the actual career that you want. But there comes a moment where you have to leave it… because of time or because of scheduling or something. And that is also a scary moment… it’s the same type of scary because you’re saying I’m betting on the future that I think and I know I’m gonna have… but it is a bet. So it takes a lot of gut and it takes a lot of confidence in your process to know that the career that you want… it’s going to make you happy and that some things are not going to fit into it.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah. Oof. And that, you know, taking that risk, but then with the risk comes the potential reward. Whenever I make a decision, I like to have very clear black and white pillars that I can kind of judge the situation by, like this question, yes or no…

for example, what does my inner circle say? My closest friends to me, what are their opinions? What do they see in me? What are some ways that you would be able to say yes or no to a potential opportunity? 

Aida Barberena: I think the most important thing is to know if it fits well on the schedule I already have, on the priorities I already have. So for me, it’s important to… I don’t know, be at home a certain amount of time. I have another job and it’s important that I fulfill my responsibilities with that job. I have a teacher and it’s important that I come to his class prepared. Does this opportunity fit with everything else that is already said that is not going to change in the next year or two years, then we can consider it. Does it pay the amount that I know I’m worth? …if it’s something interesting to me musically, which usually because I am very young, I have not done everything, of course… so most things are new and I’m excited to do them as well. But I have done some things and I know there are some things I wouldn’t do again. So based on prior experiences, I would say also that helps you make your decision. But again, that’s always something that I say to a little bit younger, graduates, you don’t know if the thing you imagine yourself loving, you will actually love. 

Because a lot of the things that society sells us as the perfect career or as the top tier of your performance career… it’s going to make you happy. And sometimes it’s not like sometimes working performer, having to audition 12 times a year and being home only one month. Like I had a friend, a singer, he’s very successful… and he didn’t even have a home in his home country because why would he, if he was never there? So he would live in Airbnbs and for as fun as it sounds to him, it sounds like torture to me.

Michelle Lynne: 

Aida Barberena: So, but if you don’t do it… you will never know if that is the thing for you. And it’s okay to try it and to say, hey, you know what, this doesn’t make me happy. And I’m gonna pursue something else or another path to have a musical career.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah. You’re making some really important points because we hear this from our clients too, that they get the orchestra job that they worked their entire lives to get… and then they don’t like it. And this isn’t across the board, of course, but there are cases like this. And then we think in school we’re teaching them, you know, the success means winning the audition.

And what if they want to, as you’re saying, be at home or they have other interests or they don’t like the repertoire, or they have a stand partner that makes them uncomfortable or whatever. Like we’ve kind of seen it all on our side from hearing from our clients. And if you don’t know how to kind of trust and create opportunities that align with your strengths and skills, I mean, Deanna and I have a coaching company for musicians. Five years ago, I never would have imagined this. We just started pursuing something that was important to us, which was speaking truth into people’s lives and bringing teaching and training to people that we saw struggling, including ourselves. I mean, we had to learn this ourselves. And now it’s like evolved into this really beautiful thing that we can bring other people on. And we never would have imagined this. So I think again, coming back to what does entrepreneurship mean? It’s like taking risk, taking initiative, looking at your skills, your strengths, your interests, and going back to what you shared about how to say yes to a gig or not. It reminds me of that story of like, you have the mason jar and you fill it with the golf balls, and then you fill it with the marbles, and then you fill it with the sand. And then how much room is left for, let’s say that the gig is a cup of water. Okay. Well, can I pour this water in without the thing overflowing? Because then that’s when you risk getting into like burnout, unhappy, miserable stress, too busy. And like, of course there’s an element of being busy and chaotic as a musician.

That’s just like accepted… Like, you just have to get used to the kind of the pace, but then there’s another level. It’s like, this is too much and I’m not going to be able to sustain this level. So that’s personally where I’m at right now… as you’re saying, like I spent half the month in hotels and I’m like, do I want to keep this up? Do I like not being home? Do I like not seeing my dog? …when I get home, I’m so relieved and like, oh, I can do laundry and go to the gym and this is new for me… My, my career has not looked like this previously. So okay, things are always evolving for us. And do we want it to go in this direction? Yes or no. And luckily we have the power to say yes and no, because that gives us choices. 

Aida Barberena: I think the more time it passes, the more you discover the things that make you happy. And I think it’s key to keep on learning or keep opening yourself up to learning new skill sets and discovering new things… our drama teacher, for example, he was a cellist, his whole life. And then his master was in drama… then he discovered that in his bachelor that he really loved these… and he’s a trained classical musician… and he’s a great opera director because that’s where his path led him. But it’s the more you do, the more you learn and you can say no with more confidence… because there’s always something for you… there’s always something new… there’s enough space for everybody… there’s enough cake for everybody because there’s not two people with exactly the same set of priorities and that brings, um, a variety of people that you work with and that projects can be made of that… it’s fantastic. It accommodates everybody. So I don’t think anybody should be scared of the future. If you are confident in your skillset and in your ability to keep on learning and adapting for sure.

Michelle Lynne: Yes. That growth mindset, which I think is also another way to define entrepreneurship. I mean, we should just call this episode… how do you define entrepreneurship? Because it seems to be you’re learning this right now. You’ve been learning this by creating the content for us. And I think it’s so important that… what you’ve been doing has been so relatable again, coming back to that relatable content, people come to our page and they say, oh, I feel seen… I feel understood. Like, yeah, it’s the jokes about what you wear, but it’s also the jokes about like your travel schedule, being tired and how to say no to playing for free and how to say no to being overwhelmed.

And like, how do we create sustainable, healthy, well rounded artists lives so that we can keep doing what we’re doing… pay our bills and just feel like you’re contributing to society and also fulfilling your purpose. I think that’s really what we want people to feel when they come to The Fearless Artist, is that you are finding your purpose, your unique gift that only you can give. And that we don’t… as you said, we don’t have to compete against everybody else playing the same repertoire, playing the same instruments… there’s enough cake for everybody. If there’s not, you’re going to go bake your own cake, it’s probably going to be better. So like just kind of continuing with this, are there mistakes you see musicians making?

I mean, you’ve been talking about, um, you know, growth mindset, pursuing opportunities. Is there anything that you would say like, hey, this is off track. 

Aida Barberena: I think In general, I don’t think this goes away… it’s not particular to any age group is in general… I think musicians take themselves out of the competition too early… and say, oh, I cannot do that. I cannot even apply because they won’t take me… whatever that is. I I have seen people get jobs when they don’t speak… completely, fully, a language that is required for that job… because you make it up with all of these skill sets. Because when you go to the interview, you do so well that it’s okay that you don’t speak fluent Dutch, for example, or English or Spanish… um, or say, I’m not going to do this audition or this competition, anything, just because… you and nobody, but you take maybe sometimes somebody else’s opinion, take yourself out of it.

And in Spanish we say you already have the know, like if you don’t even try, you already lost. So what’s the worst thing that can happen? That’s a question that I make myself every day. What’s the worst thing that can happen by applying to this scary thing or by doing this a little bit risky thing? Is it really that I’m going to die? Is it really the worst thing that can happen is that in six months, I’m going to have to get an office job or something like this. I don’t think anybody dies from that. 

 I left my country very young and I had people saying, you’re not going to make it, you’re going to be back here in three months… and I left and it would have been horrible to come back and be shameful of not having made it or not having been accepted to a music school, but I was willing to risk it. It was okay. And then I moved to the Netherlands and I also had people saying, they’re not going to take you in the school in the Netherlands, the level is too high. And… 

Michelle Lynne: And now you’re one of the shining stars of that class. So who are these people? Give me their numbers. I’m angry. Yes. this is so helpful, Aida. Really… because limiting beliefs. Yes. Biggest mistake musicians make… taking themselves out of the game. You’re saying it perfectly. 

Aida Barberena: Most recently in my personal journey as a singer. I had someone tell me, oh, you shouldn’t audition to this competition. That is for all of the instruments, because it’s usually not very fair to singers. And I said, ah, well, it’s okay. In the worst case scenario is good audition practice. And I won. So now I’m going to the next phase of the competition. And after hearing this, it’s just ridiculous… you you should never take yourself out of the competition because of something that you believe about yourself, particularly. It’s the worst thing they can say is no, and that never kill anybody. So a little confidence goes a long way. Definitely. 

Michelle Lynne: love that. I love that so much. And just remembering that people project their own fears onto you. So all of those people saying you’re not gonna make it, it’s ’cause they didn’t have the guts to get on that plane. And go try and get into another culture, another language, and now you’re settled and you’re thriving. So good for you. So proud. And you’re an example. I think people like you, you, you provide inspiration for others to look up to. You know, you came from your country and now you’re here and you’ve settled and you’re building opportunities. And, you know, you came to us and said, I want to work with you. Like you’re looking for opportunities or taking initiative.

And you’re just a few years older than your classmates, so they’re able to look up to you, like, you know, kind of an older sister and say, like, look how brave she is being with her life. And I know that’s having an influence even on your colleague around you… I’m feeling inspired from this episode. 

Aida Barberena: No… I’m happy. I also had a lot of people who were very nice when I first came to Europeand like took me around and, and say the same things… like, be confident because what you bring to the table is maybe something that it’s never been here… uh, so take advantage of that. And now I do that for other people. I’m very happy to take anybody who feels a tiny bit uncomfortable. Hey, you don’t need to feel uncomfortable. It’s okay. We’re all in the same boat. And what you bring is valuable. So don’t ever not say what you’re thinking, unless it’s very mean, then you shouldn’t say it. But in general, as I say, it’s a little confidence in a tiny bit of gambling never hurt anybody.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah. Well, you’re just such a positive, inspiring force. So thanks for what you do. Thanks for your light and specifically, thanks for everything you brought to The Fearless Artist over the last 18 months. We miss you. I miss you. I miss having my phone blow up with you every day… but you are still required to help create meme content. So I’ll be looking for that from you… just for our audience, everybody listening, is there like one thought you want to leave people with about kind of our topic today?

Aida Barberena: Yah… Entrepreneurship means to not be scared to take a little risk that might bring a bigger reward. So take that do with it with that as you want. 

Michelle Lynne: Okay, well we love to have an action point at the end of every episode. So everybody listening… decide today, what is the risk that you’re going to take? And you can send us a message on Instagram at TheFearlessArtistMastermind… tell us what it’s going to be. And we will hold you accountable because that’s something that we do really well.

Awesome! Aida thanks so much for your time… thanks for being here today.

Aida Barberena: Thank you so much for the time with TFA. I learned so much. I am so thankful for the privilege of working with you and Deanna… 

Thank you for having me today.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah, you’re welcome.