Episode 005: Erica Wheeler Interview

Overview of Our Conversation

[02:19] Erica describes how she created a unique training product for her niche of the staff of National Parks, environmental centers for their visitor programs. She is also presenting Keynote speeches for organizations, at conferences that are focused on environmental issues and tourism.

[02:48] Her passion is connecting people to places.

[03:34] Erica describes her singer/songwriter career and the beginnings as a recording artist from 1992-2008 and the beginnings of her transition into developing her new programs.

[04:15] Erica’s early touring days were filled with sleeping in presenter’s homes, meals and muffins and she was thrilled for the experience.

[05:01] Her transition gig was in at an environmental festival in Jackson Hole, WY, and it was her best gig and her big influence and introduction into this niche market. People totally connected to her music and her message. It changed everything. 

[05:55] Hear how she created her core workshop presentation which is the basis of her trainings to this day.

[06:42] This process answered her grief to seeing how places she loved and had toured were changed by development and urban sprawl.

[07:51] Hear how her college major to become a wildlife biologist helped influence the development of her new programs and niche market.

[09:14] The role musicians and artists play in cultural, social change influenced how she now chose to use her songwriting and creative talents to make a different impact in the world.

[09:41] Where can she place herself to find the audience that she has a deeper affinity with to share her work? Erica asks those tough questions to transition from traditional singer/songwriter venues to discover her unique niche venues and audiences. 

[11:01] Hear how she begins to increase her fees with the various presenters by offering entertainment, keynote speeches and workshops, building more value for their dollar.

[11:57] Discover why relationships were so instrumental in building this niche market and helping Erica’s transition.

[13:50] The difference between the acoustic market and this market is one of platform. Engaging with an audience who got her message was far more interesting. 

[14:54] Investing in her career with various forms of career coaching helped her make it more about the audience and less about herself. That became a huge factor in creating the career transformation. This has now become soul-destiny work. 

[17:21] Erica began to pay attention the needs that she was serving and how that influenced her program creation and audience development and expansion. 

[17:40] Finding mentors in the markets she was drawn to helped her create the programs that resonated profoundly with her niche. Tapping into various community development business building programs, she developed a business plan and learned how to pitch her business to potential organizations looking for her offerings. 

[20:42] There are parallels between booking gigs in the acoustic market to finding gigs in the niche, but the referrals from events are more targeted. 

[25:28] She is developing and refining the booking process with lots of leads to nurture although they are far more targeted. 

[22:08] Erica developed a product for people who give tours. She elaborates on how she grew into this niche and how long it took to develop her trainings, her keynotes and her presentation. She also reveals the resources she used to learn “how to do it better.” 

[28:38] Erica shares how she has carved out a unique place for herself with no other competition. She also shares how she brings to the table all her talents to serve her new niche market. 

[29:00] She asks the question, “How is your music or art serving society?” 

[31:52] Here she discusses how she had to do some hard work to focus on the one thing she really loved to do that made her an income.

[3:00] Her workshops evolved over time from one-day retreats to two, three and now four-day retreats. Each program is site-specific which requires a lot of advance planning and research. 

[34:25] Erica has gone from trying to book as many days to fill a yearly calendar down to 25 great gigs per year. 

[35:11] Now Erica books her gigs by living this motto: Go where your wanted not where your needed.” 

[36:59] She singles out the Keynote for the National Association of State Park Directors as one of her highlight gigs. She recounts how she got that gig. As a teaching moment, never throw away a contact. You never know when it might be the perfect moment to call them.

[39:17] Here are her two best pieces of advice she offers other artists who might be looking for their unique niche? Share your passions with your audience. You never know what interest it might spark.

[40:03] She offers a quote from Leo Buscaglia. “Your talent is god’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.” She goes on to advise artists to dig deep and find and use all your gifts to make a difference in your own life and in the lives of others.

[42:52] She now feels like she is out of the way of her performance and is just a conduit for the work. She has seen the transition from, “This is my content.” to “This is how you are going to develop and grow and I’m empowering you to find your strength and gifts.” She wanted to take her training to larger and larger communities so now she trains the people who can share the work to make a difference on a global level with the tourism niche.