We were lucky to catch up with Lori Lofstrom recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lori, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
Part of my confidence has always been based in my personality that always approached life with the mentality that I’m right unless you can show me otherwise. It has served me well in my corporate career, however, I spent a lot of time not feeling quite good enough and a little uncomfortable in my own skin. While I always had a passion for music since I was a young, I never thought I was cut from the ‘right template’ to pursue it. So about seven years ago, I ignore the voices that I wasn’t good enough and dipped my toes into singer/songwriter pool. I found something in me that I didn’t know that was there. The more I performed, the more I wrote, and the more at home I felt with myself. This new found confidence has allowed me to put myself out there: sharing my songs and connecting with people I might have never met. Some are lucky to have found their passion early in life, some later, and others have mulitple passions over a lifetime, but I’ve learned one is never to old and never to late to follow your passions.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
While I spent the majority of my adult life pursuing a corporate career that I’m good at, I only recently realized what it was like to pursue something that I was truly passionate about. All I can say is that it’s AMAZING! Being a singer/songwriter has allowed me to explore the creative side of myself. If anyone would have told me 5 years ago that I would release my first album in 2023, I would have never believed it. Over the past few years, I’ve been pushing myself to write more songs finding the gems among the duds. I love to workshop new songs at The MN Songwriter Showcase, connect with my fellow songwriters and build my skills. In 2024, I’m heading back into the studio in February to record more music with the plan to release some singles as well as record a Christmas EP of original music this summer. This year, I will continue to play music at local venues in Minnesota and Wisconsin with hopes of going further from home. Everything one would need to know about where I play, my music, merchandise and keeping up with what’s new can be found at lorilofstrom.com as well as my socials.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The first and most important is the willingness to learn. While singing comes natural to me, it is still a skill the needs honing along with my skills on the variety of instruments that I play. Writing with a regular cadence makes for better songs, As an independent artist, there is so much to learn when it comes to the business side of things. Sometimes it’s easy to think you know everything, but you don’t. There is always is something new to learn so be open. Next up is Perseverance. There have been times in the past five years I’ve felt defeated or maybe I was wasting my time, but I kept going, kept dreaming. The immeasurable rewards of having my music come to life as I watch listeners sing along with songs I wrote or telling me how much a song spoked to them keeps me going.
Finally discernment. Trust your gut. For me, it can be as simple as knowing what songs are good, great or bad. Or as complex as understanding who to trust and build professional relationships. Like any business, there will be people who want to take advantage of you and your skills. Make sure you do your research before agreeing to anything. If something feels off, it probably is. You are your brand and you will want to do your best to keep on point with where you want your career to go.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
This is an interesting question that I’m not sure I have a specific answer to. For my pursuits, going all in on my strength is really important because it is the bread and butter of what I do. It has been what has drawn people to me and to the first thing I want them to know about me. However, as an independent artist, so much of the business side of things I have to do for myself or choose to spend my money to have someone do it for me. Being my own promoter, financial manager, and marketing manager are skills that I have to continually invest in so I can keep business costs down. However, sometimes you have to pay others to get it done right. For example, as much I had the base idea for my album art, passing it off to a graphic designer was the smart thing to do. Also allowing her to create my logo with out my input was the best thing I could have done. What came out was absolutely perfect. However other things like socials, websites, promotion I am having to invest in those skills. Many of us independent artists share what we learn so investing in those skills also means investing in relationships. In the end, we find ourselves excelling at our primary skills and constantly improving the skills we aren’t always so good at.
Contact Info:
- Website: lorilofstrom.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lllofstrom/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lorilofstrommusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbq3FdrAVPKjTftfWGQwpzA
