Being a full time gigging musician is hard work. It can involve long hours, lots of travel and the rough and tumble of it all. It can also be very rewarding. The satisfaction of seeing a crowd well entertained and of getting home and knowing that music paid for everything you see around you.

Here are a few tips I've picked up along the way:

• Business: It's not called the 'music business' for nothing. As a professional musician you are basically running a one man/woman small business. So all the usual mundane things have to be sorted out; financial accounts, insurance, bank accounts, etc.
• Plan ahead: Keep an up to date calendar. Let people know when you are and aren't free for gigs. Work out how you're getting to gigs, how long it will take and how much it will cost to travel.
• Money: Keep an account of money you earn and expenses. Don't try to hide from the taxman; all he'll have to do is look up your gig list to find out how much you've been working.
• Royalties: If you are creating original music make sure you are up to speed with the basics of royalties and copyright issues.
• Agents/Managers: A good one can be well worth their percentage fee. Seek them out.
• Transport: You probably don't need a blacked out Mercedes, but you will need to have a reliable car big enough to carry all of your gear. Sat navs are almost ubiquitous these days and are an invaluable tool for the modern musician. If I had a pound for every hour I've wasted driving around unfamiliar towns looking for venues in the days before GPS..
• Equipment: It doesn't have to be the latest wizz-bang kit, but it does need to be fit for purpose and well maintained. There are many online retailers selling musical equipment, such as Gear4Music and Dolphin Music, and eBay can be a great source of second hand gear, but don't forget to support your local music shop - they'll be there when you need them.
• Musicians Union: Every trade has a Union, so why not join yours.
• Attitude: Be professional and friendly to sound crew, recording engineers, etc., and they'll respond likewise. Be a demanding prima donna and you may find your monitor suddenly going off half way through a gig.
• Respect other artists: You'll probably cross paths with artists who you just don't get, for one reason or another, or whose performances you actively dislike. Don't let that get in the way. Everybody who makes a living out of getting up on stage deserves your respect.
• Pace yourself: If you're going away for several weeks on a tour don't go mad on the first night. Just because the agent has put you up in a hotel with a mini bar doesn't mean you have to empty it. You won't make it to the end of the first week. Many experienced musicians have a routine they stick to on the road. It can be vital.
• Food: This can be very difficult on the road, but try to eat as healthily as you can.
• Illness: There will be times when you really just have to do a gig, even though you are ill and just want to go back to bed.
• Over-enthusiasm: It seems a natural law that the more successful and well known a musician is, the less likely he or she is to voluntarily start telling you about how great their gig was last night. Take note.
• Value what you do: You're good at what you do. You should be paid for it. Don't do too many freebies. If people ask you to play for nothing, or almost nothing, or worse, actually ask you to pay to play, be wary and avoid.
• A gig is a gig: You were planning a weekend away to see friends. A week of gigs come in. You know what has to come first..
• All gigs are equal: ..but some are more equal than others. Try to put as much effort into a sparsely attended gig in the back room of a pub as you would a live radio session. It may seem that some gigs are more important than others, but try to approach each one with the same attitude.
• Don't over analyse: Hopefully, your gig will go well, but if it doesn't try not to worry too much. It's only a gig and you can walk off stage at the end of the night and say "Well, nobody got hurt did they..".
• 'Resting': Hang in there during the quiet times. The phone will ring again. Eventually.
• You're lucky: Don't forget, while you're sitting half asleep in the back of a van on the motorway at 3am, that many people dream about being able to make a living at what they love doing. You can and do. You're lucky.