Meet Tyler Seppala

We were lucky to catch up with Tyler Seppala recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tyler, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I would say my resilience is the cumulative result of many different facets of my upbringing. But one that comes to mind, to which I likely owe the most credit, is Boy Scouts. A fun fact about me that not everyone knows is that I’m an Eagle Scout. I was part of this organization from around the age of 6 to the age of 18, and working up to achieving that rank took a huge amount of time and effort.

But the part of Scouts that trained my willpower more than anything wasn’t the requirements and the badges, but the trips. My troop prided itself on being what we called a “high adventure” troop, meaning that it specialized in challenging treks into remote wilderness areas. Throughout my time in that troop, I summited countless mountains, including Mt. Whitney twice, and canoed over 100 miles in the wilderness of Manitoba, Canada.

These trips entailed carrying a backpack up steep terrain, sometimes weighing over 50lbs, and even carrying our canoes on our shoulders to circumvent obstacles in the water. We lived out of our packs, in some cases for up to 2 weeks, and would travel each day to our next campsite, on foot or by canoe, with everything we needed.

As a young child, I heard about these trips and loved the idea of exploring nature and experiencing adventure. But when I went on my first few real backpacking trips, I had some moments that made me second-guess whether this was what I really wanted to do.

I distinctly remember climbing a hill overlooking the sea on my first week-long trip, only 13 years old, with a pack weighing around 35lbs on my back. I was panting heavily, feeling like my legs were going to give out, and thinking to myself, “Why did I come here? This is only the first day… there’s no way I’ll make it through the rest.”

This hike required a different level of physical and mental endurance than anything I had experienced before. There were other boys, quite a bit older than me, who had been on many trips already, and they made it look easy. They strolled on ahead, seeming not even to lose their breath, and would get irritated if the group moved too slowly. Aside from occasional water breaks where the whole group would rest together, stopping wasn’t an option. I wanted in every fiber of my being to throw my pack off and lie on the ground, but I was forced to keep moving forward, even when it felt impossible.

Then something amazing happened. On the second day, we were met with a shorter hike, this time mostly flat and slightly downhill. It was SO much easier, in comparison, it practically felt effortless. As the trip went on, I started to enjoy the sights more, and was also loving the gratification of finally reaching each campground, taking off my pack for the day, and having fun with my friends in new, uncharted territory.

The third day was supposed to be the hardest, with the most mileage and elevation gain. But while I still struggled, it somehow felt easier than that first day. I began to realize that the limits I thought I had were an illusion. Just because I FELT like I couldn’t keep going, it didn’t mean that I couldn’t push through.

So I made it through the rest of that trip, and by the end of it, I had fallen in love with backpacking. I had similar challenging moments on future trips, but as I got a little older, stronger, and more experienced, I found that it got easier and easier. Eventually, I became one of those older boys who wouldn’t even lose their breath.

It’s been nearly a decade since I was a Scout, but I’ve found that the resilient mindset those experiences built continues to be one of my most valuable assets. Whether it’s doing one more rep at the gym, pushing through one more hour of high-energy performance on a wedding dancefloor, or reaching out to one more lead after losing a sale, I know deep down that my discomfort and urge to stop have no power over me. I know that pushing through the hard part will get me to the easy part sooner than I expect, that it will get easier as I progress, and that the gratification of reaching my goals will be more than worth my while.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m one of the few who’ve been blessed enough to turn my passion into a full-time income source. Music is at the heart of everything I do, and it has been for most of my life. I think of music as a language that’s more expressive than any of the spoken ones—capable of conveying complex emotions and abstract ideas that can’t be put into words. It has the power to guide the energy of a group of people, and to unite them in a fully present state of pure celebration.

I’m in the business of bringing this type of experience to special events… including but not limited to luxury weddings, milestone birthdays, and corporate award shows. More specifically, I’m a private events saxophonist. I perform with a wireless microphone and move freely about whatever space I’m performing in. Sometimes this entails strolling casually across a small patio during a cocktail hour, and other times it involves running and jumping across a stage in front of a huge crowd!

At the heart of what I do, I provide my clients and their guests with unique experiences, creating life-long memories for them. Every event brings a different group of people with different personalities, a different energy level, different atmosphere and decor for me to complement, and ultimately a unique set of challenges to overcome. My job is to take in all these elements and react to them in real time with my notes and movements, in order to amplify the emotions of these special moments and cement them into the minds of everyone there.

One of the ways I do this is through improvisation. I get really excited about this in particular because it’s what made me fall in love with music in the first place. I start with a familiar song, usually a request from the client or a selection from my song list, and then as I feel the crowd react and the energy of the event shift, I add my own notes to ornament the melody, sometimes changing it entirely. In this way, I can feed the energy of the people right back to them, making a touching moment that much more tear-jerking, and a moment of excitement that much more exhilarating! What this also means is that I never play a song the same way twice, and as a result, those melodies in your memories and videos from the day belong fully to you and your attendees.

I’m also a strong believer that the more senses a performance speaks to, the more impactful and memorable it will be. To address this, most of my current projects involve expanding my experiences to cover more of the human senses, and in a deeper and more immersive way.

One simple way in which I achieve this is by working with my clients and their other vendors in selecting my wardrobe for each event. I always aim to match the venue, florals and other decorations, the energy level, and the personalities of my clients. I have a range of different colored jackets and ties, as well as a couple of different colored saxophones. This adds significantly to the visual aspect of my performance, which I believe makes the whole experience more impactful and memorable.

But beyond that, I plan to take this concept much further. Recently, I’ve begun accumulating a lot more production equipment to make my performances even more immersive. I will soon begin offering DJ/sax packages that involve a screen with audio-reactive visuals, as well as audio-reactive dancefloor lighting to further expand the visual experience. I’ve also acquired some large subwoofers that will provide a more tactile aspect, adding yet another sensory dimension.

My theory is that the more I can expand into the senses, the more exciting, unique, and memorable my show will be. And I’ve got quite a few more creative ideas on how to expand into the other senses down the road as well…

Whenever I get everyone singing and dancing along, or cheering with excitement, I consider the event a success. And the more that I can do to ensure that result, and to take it further than ever before, the more valuable my service becomes. The better I can achieve this, the more present everyone in attendance will be, and the more vivid the resulting memories will be… which is a thrilling cause to pursue!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three areas to which I owe the bulk of my success would probably be my adaptability, marketing skills, and attention to detail.

1. Adaptability is really a crucial trait for anyone to have. If you think about it, it’s what got our species to where it is now after billions of years of evolution. As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus famously said, “The only constant in life is change.”

I’m always looking for ways to improve my business from all angles. This can mean anything from purchasing new equipment to speed up my setup time or my marketing pipeline, to improving my communication skills to increase sales. I’m constantly learning and adapting to the ever-changing technology we have at our disposal. As I face new problems at almost every turn, I’m always pivoting and adding to my systems to prepare for similar obstacles in the future.

I’ve found that the more I improve different areas of my business, the more I’m met with new challenges that seem like they would have been insurmountable otherwise. For instance, I recently did an event with extremely limited setup time, less than I’d ever had. Thankfully, after a few previous events where time was tight, I had just constructed a rack box to keep most of the audio components I use permanently connected. Little did I know at the time that adaptation would prove ESSENTIAL later on. I arrived at the venue before the designated setup time, staged everything in the parking lot, and was ready to move it all inside the moment the doors opened. Thankfully, my preparations were adequate and I was able to fully set up with time to spare. This allowed me to cool down and focus all my energy on providing the highest quality performance possible!

I would advise anyone, regardless of their career, to look for recurring problems in their day-to-day life and take them as opportunities to optimize and grow. At worst, it’ll make your life easier, and at best, it’ll save you one day.

2. When it comes to marketing, I’d say this is a bit more of an obvious choice for a valuable business skill. But for my business in particular, its connection to the adaptability we just discussed has acted as rocket fuel for my growth. Seps’ Saxophone Experience actually wasn’t my first business. A few years prior to starting it, I took an in-depth digital marketing course that taught me how to build landing pages, develop sales copy, and create precisely-targeted Meta ads. I attempted to use this knowledge first to start a digital marketing agency, and later pivoted to creating and selling my own online music course. Ultimately, I lost money on those projects. But during that time, I gained tons of experience with building sales funnels, crafting marketing messages, and running paid advertisements. Concurrently, I was also creating lots of content for TikTok and training my video-editing muscles significantly.

With thousands spent on ads and only a few hundred in revenue, as well as extremely inconsistent social media views that didn’t convert into sales, my efforts felt like a grand failure. Little did I know, the whole time I had been laying the foundation for my future success. When I made my first profile on an entertainment booking site, I already had a catalogue of high-quality videos of myself playing the sax. And I knew how to fill out the text portions in a way that would speak to my target audience and get me booked. Sure enough, the bookings started coming in, and much more quickly than I had anticipated! As I began to realize I actually had something worth money to people, everything else fell into place. I set up a sales funnel on my own domain, applied everything I had learned to make it convert, and plugged it into both Meta and Google ads. That system is now my biggest source of revenue by far. And as I’ve done increasingly extravagant events, I’ve been able to capture and professionally edit content that showcases what I do, creating a social media presence that reflects my brand and builds trust.

If you’re starting out in business, don’t be discouraged if you aren’t getting results right away. You’re getting your reps in and acquiring the skills that will get you where you want to go; it just takes time.

3. The final piece of the puzzle, which brings it all together, is attention to detail. This is something I think a lot of people lack this day in age. And it goes such a long way, especially with something as critical as a wedding.

When I plan out each performance, I analyze every aspect of the given scenario that I possibly can. I ask the couple or client for their favorite songs, I look at the venue layout, I coordinate with the DJ for segments where I need to interface with their equipment, and I collaborate with the planner and/or day-of coordinator on timing for crucial moments like ceremony entrances. To ensure the smoothest and most impactful results possible, I spend a lot of time picking out the right equipment to use for each area I’ll be performing in, curating my setlist for those special moments, and customizing my backing tracks—changing the timing so they fit just right, or even recording extra harmonies to make the chorus hit just a little bit harder as the bride reaches the end of the aisle. When it comes to the live performance itself, I spend countless hours playing along to the selected songs, matching my saxophone notes to each vocal run the singer does. Some of these details may seem superfluous at a glance, but they all add up to create an elevated experience that’s significantly more evocative than it would have been otherwise.

But it doesn’t stop at the event itself. I take painstaking effort to ensure my attention to detail is visible in every stage of my marketing and sales process. I’ve invested significantly in a color-accurate monitor, which I use to color grade the footage for my advertisements and social media, to guarantee the utmost quality. I’ve also spent a considerable amount of time crafting a beautiful proposal template, which I customize for each prospect that reaches the quoting stage. When an inquiry comes in, I always take care to address specific details from their form submission when I reach out. The idea behind all of this is that when potential clients see the care I put into all my communications with them, it will go without saying that I would put the same level of care into their event should they choose to hire me.

My advice on improving in this area is to slow down, and double-check your work. Try to think of creative ways that you can make your work better for each new client, and look for any holes in the client journey where the experience is lacking. It takes more time, but it will pay dividends in the long run.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The bane of my existence as of late, and honestly for the majority of my adult life thus far, is that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. My biggest passion is creating things. And as a result of this, I have a seemingly endless list of ideas for side projects to incorporate into my current business, unfinished products and business ventures that aren’t directly connected to my main business, and an ever-increasing number of songs and other artistic works in progress.

In order to tackle this problem, I’ve had to implement extensive systems for optimization and prioritization of this sea of tasks. Anything I can do to optimize daily activities is extremely valuable to me. One upgrade I made recently that’s been an absolute game-changer is investing in a much more powerful PC for editing my videos. I’ve already seen an unprecedented spike in the amount of high-quality content I’m able to output from each event, and all in a fraction of the time it used to take.

I used to dread editing videos and would often procrastinate due to the unbearable lag. But now it’s as snappy as can be, and I actually love working on content now! If you ever find that a computer process in your business is becoming a bottleneck, you should consider upgrading your equipment. I cannot fully emphasize how worth the money it is!

I also went to school for computer science, and have implemented a lot of custom code on the backend of my website to make my sales process as quick and easy as possible. I receive a text notification with all the info I need to contact every lead that comes in, with an accompanying message template that includes their name and event type. For when they reply, I have a keyboard extension on my phone with a list of saved messages I can use to quickly reply to common questions.

Beyond the business operations of my day-to-day, I optimize many basic human tasks as well. For my daily lunch, I keep a supply of pre-chopped ingredients in the refrigerator, and have my cooking and cleaning system down so well that the whole process from entering the kitchen to cleaning my plate can be done in 20 minutes. To take this even further, my girlfriend and I have recently started using Target delivery for groceries, so we no longer have to go the the store, and it ends up costing the same amount if not slightly less. Definitely recommend looking into that if you find yourself short on time!

The other side of the coin is prioritization. No matter how much I optimize, there will never be quite enough time left over to work on everything every day. At least for the number of things I have going on. So to deal with this, I create a hierarchy of importance, with pressing tasks (such as preparing for an upcoming event or responding to incoming inquiries) at the very top, and more personal fun tasks (such as composing and recording songs for my own enjoyment) closer to the bottom. In between is a spectrum of different projects to add value to my existing business and increase my revenue.

I use a free browser extension called Momentum, which makes my browser a bit prettier and more focused, but also features a built-in to-do list. It allows me to drag and drop tasks in order of importance and check them off as I complete them. This has helped me immensely in keeping track of all my open projects, remembering the longer-term and less pressing ones, all while ensuring I’m putting most of my time and effort towards the most critical and currently relevant ones.

If you feel your head is swimming with ideas and you’re being pulled in a million different directions, put all those ideas down in writing and order them by importance! That’s the first step in guaranteeing that at least a good chunk of them get done. Eventually, I plan to take on some team members to start eliminating more of these tasks at a faster rate. But for the time being, optimization and prioritization of revenue-driving activities is my strategy for getting to a point where that’s more economically feasible.

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Image Credits

Joie de Vivre Photography, Frank Salas, Rachael Buechler

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