748. Musician and Composer Opens the Door to Entrepreneurship

Marie Incontrera

“What I thought would make me happy is quite different from what actually does make me happy in my career and life. In college, I thought I’ll never be happy unless I am a composer and a musician and that’s how I make my living full time. And I sacrificed a lot for many years to achieve that: living in a tiny New York studio apartment, with no space and only a bed, piano and stove. But as my life evolved I learned that I could be happy in ways I never imagined.”

Marie Incontrera is a speaker, marketing consultant, author, avant-garde musician and fitness enthusiast. Her consulting services include: social media and online branding services for individuals and small businesses, media bookings, and book launch services. Her speaker clients have booked TEDx conferences across the country. Her media clients have been booked on popular podcasts and radio stations such as The World’s Most Amazing People, Entrepreneur On Fire, and more. She is the author of the Amazon best seller, “Social Your Book Launch,” and is a two-time TEDx speaker. When she’s not working, she can be found playing the piano, or on the roller derby track.

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

“At Brooklyn College I learned how to compose music and wrote a lot of opera, chamber music and orchestral music. Then I got involved in the New York Youth Symphony composition program. One of my early mentors, Derek Bermel, a highly regarded composer in New York, helped me foster my talent and open the door to performance opportunities outside of academia, while I was still very young.”

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

“While I had some great experiences, worked with some remarkable people and achieved a lot of success at a young age, professional music does not always pay the bills! To make ends meet I took on all kinds of odd jobs—grant writing, teaching private lessons, and doing social media and public relations for our band. One day a friend of mine who was in business said, ‘You are really good doing all these various roles for your own band. Why don’t you try being a virtual assistant for other organizations?’ So, I did. Pretty quickly clients began coming to me for these services I was doing for myself, and my virtual assistant business became a thriving consulting business.”

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

“What I thought would make me happy is quite different from what actually does make me happy in my career and life. In college, I thought I’ll never be happy unless I’m a composer and a musician and that’s how I make my living full time. And I sacrificed a lot for many years to achieve that: living in a tiny New York studio apartment, with no space and only a bed, piano and stove. But as my life evolved I learned that I could be happy in ways I never imagined.”