For almost three decades, Lane Baldwin (known as Lane on Bass in the world of music) has led a double life as a professional musician and a business consultant, ultimately interweaving the two into a career that has seen virtually every aspect of the music industry.

While building his music career, climbing the ladder in the Mid-Atlantic Blues scene, Lane also built a second career advising other bands, helping them build their audience and their roster of clubs. He later spent several years in retail perfecting his True Service sales philosophy, which puts the customer first in more than just marketing.

It is Lane's penchant for ultimate customer service that caused David to bring Lane in for various Special Projects. That led to a much closer working relationship, with Lane eventually serving as David's second-in-command, acting as the company's main promoter and community builder, among many other duties.

For Lane, it's not just about making a sale. Rather, it's about creating lifelong relationships that are beneficial to all concerned. "My job is to make certain our service is the best in the industry," Lane says. "We treat every dealer and vendor like a partner, so that both companies succeed. And we treat every user like a top endorser, offering the same service to them as we would a superstar."

In addition to his work with us, Lane is VP, Sales & Outreach, for The Learning Dock, LLC, publishers of Roy Vogt's Teach Me Bass Guitar - one of our major cross-promotional partners. He also maintains a consulting practice, championing servant-leadership management and his own True Service sales philosophy. Based on True Service, his Write Yourself a Raise™ sales training shows sales teams how to succeed by serving the customer's interests first and foremost.

Recently Lane joined the Council of Equals (Board of Trustees) for the prestigious Spears Center for Servant-Leadership, headed by Larry Spears, one Lane's most important business mentors. He will soon be published in The Spirit of Servant-Leadership (Paulist Press, Spears, Ferch, editors), the latest in a series of anthologies that has included such notable management gurus as Stephen Covey (7 Habits…), Ken Blanchard (Who Moved My Cheese), and Max DePree (Leadership Jazz).

"Servant-leadership has been the core of my management philosophy for more than two decades," Lane says. "True Service, which is our guiding sales philosophy, brings the servant-leader ethic into the sales arena, serving the customer's interests above all. To me, that's the best way to ensure we succeed: to make certain every relationship is mutually-beneficial."

We should also mention that Lane has been a bassist for over forty years, with more than twenty-five years as a working pro. For several years, he has been the leader, vocalist and songwriter for Deeper Blues, winning international acclaim as some of the best Blues in thirty years. (For more on Lane's music career, read his endorser bio.)

As if that isn't enough, Lane also heads Danville Foodstock,the charity he founded in 2008, "serving food - and hope! - to those in need.™" Lane and his team of volunteers mount benefit concerts and food drives in support of their local food pantry, and offer a free monthly dinner series which served more than 2500 meals in its first year (2009).

Even with all of that on his plate, Lane still has time to enjoy time with his wife, Glenda. Reading, enjoying the many local parks, and spending time with grandchildren keep the couple occupied in their off-time. Lane also is proud that he grows the hottest habanero peppers, and makes the hottest salsas and hot sauces in his area.

Lane couldn't care less what he eats with his coffee, which he takes strong, with too much cream and sugar, in a very large mug.