— To stream the interview click here.

— To download the mp3 right click here and choose “save as”

Today’s guest is a professional musician turned entertainment attorney and business coach. Jo-Ná Williams is the founder and CEO of J.A. Williams Law firm which helps artists, content creators and entertainers navigate legal and intellectual property matters. Jo-Ná decided to specialize in the IP law because she believes that this group is particularly vulnerable to exploitation without the right knowledge at their disposal. (Years ago, Jo-Ná was one of them… when she was NOT compensated or credited for her work! And that fueled her life’s passion to educate and protect the creative types.)

In addition to her legal practice, Jo-Ná runs the Artist Empowerment Group, which she established to empower artists to take charge of their careers and advise them on branding and marketing. Some of her clients have written best-selling books, created award-winning blogs, been nominated for Grammys and hit the Billboard Top 100 and iTunes Top Album Charts. Prior to venturing out on her own, she served as a legal clerk for a New-York based entertainment law firm and did pro bono work for the Arts in Massachusetts where she worked on intellectual property and entertainment law matters for low-income artists.

Several takeaways from our interview:

— What type of legal agreements you need to have in place as a solopreneur.

— Jo-Ná’s strategy for reducing her income inconsistency when she was starting out.

— How to find the right business coach and, more importantly, what you should do before hiring one.

If you’d like to learn more about Jo-Ná Williams, visit her website jawilliamslaw.com or follow her on Twitter @JWilliamsEsq.

My favorite quote from the interview: “My goal is not to work harder but savvier and smarter.” – click to tweet