How to be confident? How exactly does one accept a gig with confidence or decline without being cocky? We all want to make money and the in gig life there really are no set pay standards.

Are you confident enough to back up the pay rates you’re asking for or do you need a little more time to build up? Nobody likes being called cocky, but hey, if you can back it up, are you really cocky or are you just confident?

I had the opportunity to explore this topic a little more with one of New York’s best singer’s, Valerie Rose, on the latest episode of Always Acting Up Podcast, “Confidence VS Cocky”.

Let’s make sure you book the jobs you DESERVE and don’t miss out on future opportunities.

PS. for those of us living the gig life, or you just want to make or save a bit of $, don’t skip out on this article where I share my fav side hustle tips.

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Why is it important to make sure your confidence is on point?

Well, this simple, as artists, we are our own boss. We don’t have a manager telling us what to do and we can’t set up a meeting for a pay raise when we feel like we’ve reached a certain level. It’s important for us to quote our rates so that it it works for not only ourselves, but for our clients.

Ok, maybe this isn’t so easy after all. It’s easy for everyone to forget the hours, days, months, and years it has taken us to learn this skill. The time it takes us to prepare and get to the gigs, sometimes bringing loads of equipment. We need to be paid for that. Our job doesn’t just start when we arrive, it’s likely started with prep time the night before, or sometimes much longer.

There’s often such a struggle between being paid fairly or risk losing the gig altogether and getting no money.

How to Get more Confidence

Here are a few synonyms of confidence just incase you need a little extra reassurance: trust, belief, faith, conviction, self assurance. If you’re not confident in your skills then I’m not going to be, your client isn’t, casting isn’t, the director isn’t and nobody else will be confident in your skills, but don’t worry this takes time.

When you’re first starting out, getting as much education and work experience under your belt is the way to go. Build up your portfolio, take as many classes and smaller gigs as possible. Build up your network. Meet new people in your fields who you can learn and grow with.

Over time, this will help you become more confident with yourself and your skillset.

Being Confident and Knowing your worth

Trust me, after years of experience, you get to a point where you just don’t want to do certain freebies and hustles anymore. You’ve built yourself up. You’ve reached a new level of expertise and a new level means a higher payrate. You’re no longer a beginner. You KNOW what you bring to the table. THIS is being CONFIDENT.

For example, every artists started somewhere. Remember hearing those stories of bands like No Doubt, Green Day, Blink 182 (am I aging myself, ugh) practicing in their garage doing shows at local rec centers….NOW, many many years down the line they’ve sold out 100’s of stadiums and arenas around the world!

They didn’t just start off selling out arenas, they worked their way up.

There’s nothing wrong with the smaller/lower paying jobs, but after a while, you’ll learn to find that you don’t need those same “personal growths” anymore.

You’re confident, you’re ready!

It’s YOUR decision to decide what’s better, being underpaid or not paid at all?

So, how do you AVOID being cocky?

I know you’re wondering, what exactly is “cocky” after all? Well, according to Urban Dictionary, “someone who thinks they’re better than everyone else and always talks shit”. Hahaha ok ok, I had to.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, building your skillset and confidence in yourself takes time. How in the world can you expect to be paid if you have no previous work experience or portfolio to prove your worth.

If you think you should get paid just for showing up and being cute, than everyone and their mothers would be there too, including my mom. And she WOULD be there.

BUT.. this my friend.. is being cocky. Believing you deserve to be paid top dollar right out of the gates… think again.

It’s like Valerie said, if you’re showing up to your gig (late) being mediocre, reading your songs off a tablet, nothing bringing anything new each week, maybe you’re not ready for the bigger paying jobs yet.

Also, there is a risk of showing up and not be able to deliver what the client was expecting and paid for. Then, NEVER being asked back again. THAT, will give you a bad reputation.

Conclusion on being Confident and not Cocky

I think it’s fair to say that building your skill set will help you get better jobs AND be more confident. The more confident you are in yourself, the better you will be overall.

I do want to mention that I would 1000% rather be labeled cocky than be insecure. I would much rather “be ballsy” and over confident than sitting at home scared to live my life or fearful of what others may think of me.

Remember, you are an artist, and you are the boss of your life and your career.

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