Jon Slade

Managing Director, Elastic Artists Agency.

The Work Questionnaire.

What made you go the way you chose to go?

The fact that I love music and realised I had to become an agent to stay in the business since I didn’t have what it takes to be as successful a musician as I wanted to be.

What’s the greatest difficulty you had to overcome to do what you’re doing now?

To keep focused and energised in spite of all the doubters and cynics telling me that it was impossible to succeed as a small, independent fish in a pond full of big piranhas.

What’s the greatest difficulty you face on a daily basis to keep on doing what you’re doing?

To accept that the big ‘pay-day’, or rather the moment when my primary ambitions are realised, may never come, yet at the same time accepting that this does not mean my project has not been successful.

When did you find yourself thinking, “Well, this is it. I’m really doing what I want now”?

When I received my first ever share dividends payment from my accountant.

How did you set your activity up? What was the process that led you to do what you’re doing?

I asked for permission from a previous employer to help me do what I’m doing now, and they refused, citing reasons that I knew were short sighted or untrue. I then sought to persuade someone who believed in me that I could deliver what I promised, and gave them not a single reason to refuse to help me do that.

How do you imagine the future?

I imagine myself having earned just enough time, opportunity and money to allow me to pursue my non-professional ambitions and goals in life. This means early retirement but still being busy, just not earning a living in the conventional way.

What would you consider to be the main quality in order to survive in your field?

Determination and commitment to avoiding failure at all cost.

And what is the indispensable flaw that someone should have in order to get into your business?

Narcissism.

Filed In: Music

November 28, 2011 at 8:00 am