What started as a class blogging assignment turned into much more for music industry arts student Clara Charon, it has become a jump off point for a self-employment career.
According to Forbes magazine, it has become increasingly popular for the generation of today to have more interest in entrepreneurship and taking their future matters into their own hands.
Having a regular 9-5 job just doesn’t seem to be as popular anymore, millennials would rather make money in their own independent way.
Charon is an example of that. She started her free WordPress blog about a year ago. Within three months of starting the blog she was contacted by Alpine Drift Records, a record label that wanted her to manage one of their artists.
Since then, she has bought the domain and launched her own website called “Pop of Colour Music” and is making steady profit from it. “I own the ground it stands on,” said Charron. Her blog focuses on the business side of the music industry.
“I talk a lot about marketing, techniques and using social media,” said Charon. She also occasionally writes for music newspapers and magazines, like Ottawa Beat and Follow Magazine and is also working with an artist development company called Sing House Studios.
“I’m very entrepreneurial, I just want to carve out my own niche.” said Charron. “Nobody’s going to see your degree and hand you a job, you have to have your own experience.”
There is also Bader Sandouka, a third-year Interactive multimedia and design student who is currently trying make it in the modelling industry. He is directly working with M Models, a modelling agency in Toronto. He also has a foot in the music producing world. He has a beat table on SoundCloud where he posts all of the beats he makes.
“I think it’s important to embrace art,” says Sandouka. He sees both of these passions as potential careers.
“The modelling is main for now, but it’s all growing.”
Sandouka currently models for local designers like Zargara and LGebra. He also creates beats for local artists like Frankenstein II and Keenan and has a studio album he describes as “soulful” releasing with Frankenstein II this summer.
“It’s a lot of work but I love it,” he said. “I basically don’t sleep unfortunately.” he said. “I know it’s bad for me, but it’s good for me at the same time.”