Looks like you're offering variety of services; reminds me of my earlier days....doing a lot of different things but not specializing in any one of them. (Not mocking you, just making an observation....I did the same thing at one time, too....I did live sound, built studios & sound systems, fixed vcrs and stereos, played in bands, did some consulting work, wrote music for commericals and other bands, etc. etc.)

Once you get your niche sorted out, you'll probably find you do well in fewer things, with a little less diversity. (Which ain't a bad thing at this point in your career.)

As for Craigslist, I've found it useful for buying/selling the occasional musical gear or electronica, but not nec. studio sales. (Oh, and there was this girl I met on "Casual encounters" once, but that's a whole different thing...)

it's difficult to briefly explain how I got where I am now, in terms of clients and projects. It was over 20 years worth of slow, deliberate networking, being in the right place at the right time, offering extras here and there, offering to do things that didn't always bring a return right away. Like you, I offered a variety of things to various diverse clients; always having something less glamorous to fall back on for much needed cash, while I made a marginal living at what I really wanted to do: Recording & production. (To make ends meet, I used to do repairs on equipment, VCRs and other stuff back when that stuff was worth fixing, etc. )

It's a fine line between giving your work away for free and making a marginal living at it while you're getting started. Only you can really say what's worth it for you. (I had family and friends who thought I was out of my mind back in those days, some even trying to get me to get a "Real job".) Few people understand what it is we really do, as you probably know already.

Unless you hit the jackpot with some hot client, most of the time you'll find it's a slow, steady process, with each year bringing a little more success with it, one building on the other until at some point you can look back along the way and see each touch-stone and point where your fortunes changed for the better.

Hopefully, you can find a way to keep at it, and do what you love. Sooner or later, if your'e good at it and stick with it, the work will find you, and vice versa.

Right on

Hey Joe - Thank you for the response.

Yes, I'm trying to put my hand in several different areas of music production at the moment, hoping at least one or some of them take off in the near future. For artist recording I'm charging a relatively low fee per song, and I'm scoring a film project or two for free at the moment (which I have a bit less experience in).

An added bonus for my situation is that I'm also a professional web designer (my secondary interest, but primary money maker). So this has and can help in terms of adding on bonus services.

I'm still trying to find the best way to land initial clients, and have found a few through craigslist. As with my web work, I'm hoping once I land a few, the word of mouth thing will mushroom from there.

So, craigslist, flyers in rehearsal rooms / music stores / colleges have seemed to work.

Approaching musicians and groups at performances and open mics seems to be a bit harder to do as a no-name producer. Can anyone share experiences with this route?