First lesson is:
Don’t act entitled.
This is the BIGGEST turnoff!
When someone acts like their entitled to my time or help – it makes me want to stay FAR away…
For example, a crazy thing happened to me yesterday:
A recent email subscriber (and customer) sent me an email…
But it wasn’t a normal email…
It was VERY strange…
She hit me with a barrage of unrelated questions…
Personal questions…
A bag of small talk…
And I’m not talking about 3 harmless questions…
She asked 23 questions!
I’m a busy man, I definitely do NOT have the time to answer 23+ random questions for ANYONE!
You gotta be ridiculously entitled to think this is okay…and I realised that was the case after the next email.
But first, here’s a sample of the email I was sent…
And for bonus points, the first question was already answered in the email she was replying to!
If that isn’t a strong sense of entitlement, I dunno what is:
“You got beats for sale????How you feel about God?Do you have a specific belief system?What type of animals you like exotic or domestic? Not a trick question.How much percentage% of my earrings$ do you keep? Breakdown, please.Did you graduate school/college? How much education. Is the knowledge you have about music professionals or just licking wounds?Where are your parents? Are you bisexual or homosexual?Have you every been to jail? If yes for what?It seems like every move I make with you is going to cost me. What is the fraction of your entire cost? Demo, soundtrack, video, What if I just want to buy beats and keep it moving. Do you get paid, when my songs go viral and sells over 7 million copies for using your material/ beats? Talk to me JC….I can read between the lines. I was homeless (3) times, by choice. It’s a method to my madness…You seem cool but cool always seems to get hot when business picks up…..How old are you?When is your birthday?Where do you live?Are you married? Do you live alone?How many children you have?How many mothers are involved?Who have you promoted?Who are you acts/ business/ect.Does using your beats, makes you my producer? If yes! How and why?If I decide to work with you, how long is the contract? I understand that some of these questions, if not all are personal, but how can individuals build business relationships, if they don’t understand one another on a personally note?”
​- Entitled Email Subscriber
It’s clear to see this person is mentally abnormal…
Because this isn’t normal behaviour at all…
It’s reasonable to want to get to know someone you’re gonna do business with but this…is not the way to do it.
It’s better to have a natural conversation, not send someone a random questionnaire and expect to get answers.
This was very rude and presumptuous.
Yesterday was my editing and filming day, I didn’t have time for this nonsense…
However:
Since this person made a purchase with me, I was happy to help if I could.
I tried to clearly communicate the situation and set some boundaries while still offering my help.
That didn’t go well.
Here’s what I wrote:
“Hi there,
Wow, these are far too many unrelated questions and yes I do have beats for sale…It’s clearly stated in the email you just replied to.
Click on the link to my beat catalogue and you’ll be able to find all the info you need before you make a purchase: https://jaycartere.com/beats
Please understand I don’t have time for small talk or to answer a barrage of unrelated questions. Please respect my time and get to the point ASAP.
I‘ll help with music related stuff if I can”
– Jay Cartere
This is pretty reasonable and straightforward right?
I’ve taken the time to answer the most pressing business related questions and I’ve told her where she can find all the info she needs.
I’ve also politely stated some boundaries…
But she went a bit cuckoo and said this:
“Just wow? I knew you were going to start with that. I am cracking up. (). Well, I guess I will not be sharing anymore secrets with you….If you need to know how, I know I should be working with you? Nope, not spilling the beans…If you’re NOT answering the questions, I am not using your beats, you can keep the donation. I will be following you when I can, because I like most of your music. JC, could you do me a favor and remove me from your email list, I don’t want to unsubscribe. ♏ I bleed BLOOD, nothing fake about that!!!Peace see you at the top..
Much love, bigg up,…​”
– Entitled Email Subscriber
What the hell?
She expected me to answer 23+ questions at once?
Who does she think she is??!!
Then she asks me to remove her from my email list because she doesn’t want to unsubscribe?
“I bleed BLOOD, nothing fake about that!!!​”
WTF?
This is a grown woman btw, not a child.
But as I said, this lady clearly has some mental issues…
I haven’t taken the time to remove her.
(hi, if you’re reading this. Unsubscribe because I don’t want you getting my emails if you don’t want them)
This is some SUPER entitlement…
And, here’s the lesson:
Don’t be like her.
Don’t be a time parasite.
Don’t ask for a LOT and offer a little.
Don’t ask 23+ questions.
If you wanna collab with me or anyone else you need to:
– Offer a LOT, bring something valuable to the table.
– Respect the time of the other person
– Make the process as easy as possible
– Have examples of your music prepared to send over
– Be hard working and fast working (nobody wants to wait on you)
Don’t make the same mistake she did.
Don’t end up on the “ignore” list of the person you wanna collab with…
And if you need some FIRE beats for your next single, go and listen to my new beats here:
All the best,
Jay “Entitled To NOTHING” Cartere