Selling Guitars for Pain and Profit

It hurt. A lot.

I barely let go.

Unh, so good. So good. I got youuuu!

Recently I sold my first custom guitar and the empty-nest feelings began right away. I loved this guitar. It was lightweight (what with all the holes drilled into it), had a diiiiiiirty metalicious tone and looked really freaking sweet. It felt magic as soon as I played the first note on it. Hell, every single track on our first album was done on this bass. (For my sound engineer readers, it was recorded straight through a DI box. That's it!)

I was proud.

But I wasn't prepared to get multiple offers on it so quick. Wow. I knew it was good for me but the fact that someone wanted to buy it without me even asking... I was flattered and defensive at the same time, haha. Flattered that it was good, but defensive because of all the attachment I had to this guy. It was my bass.

I decided to sell it anyway.

Art is a gift to be shared with the world. That's the joy of being an artist, seeding the world with beauty. It's a gift.

Which is all well and good, but this was my guitar! What actually made me decide to share it is that it served our long-term business strategy. 

    1. This guitar is a billion times better than a business card. When people see something far out of the ordinary they often have to ask "What the hell is that?" And then the owner of the guitar spreads the word about Onward We March and the guy who built the guitar. Word of mouth, baby. Marketing is best when you're clients do it for you. You don't even have to put on pants!

    2. This guitar meant more than a sale. I absolutely adored it so I was initially reluctant to let it go. The guitar had value. The buyer understood this. And then I decided to give it up. Relationships are built off of exchanging value, be it in the form of good conversation, rides to work, time spent, or guitars. This is a relationship that I definitely wanted to continue. Selling my beloved guitar was an exercise in relationship-building.

Nurture your most important relationships, even if it's difficult. The gifts you give will come back to you twofold. Relationships are all you've got.