How do I know if I am ready for an agent?

Before you start reaching out to obtain the services of a  booking agent  consider these suggestions:

1. If you are an EMERGING artist take some time to define your music goals and needs. Ask yourself, "Am I at a stage in my career where I need a booking agent?"
2. First, you need to find a seasoned and knowledgeable manager that can do the grunt work for you locally and regionally to get you gigs and help you build a team.  Therefore,  interviewing professional management should be a first step on the ladder to future success.  But be warned that this industry is FULL of pretenders and scammers, some could do you more harm than good.  Ask for several  references of their past and current clients  then, talk to some of them. Note, keep in mind that everyone has their own issues so don't base your  decision on negativity alone.
3. Like most agencies, here at KCA we prefer working with artist who have reached a level of consistent buyer success. So when we work with EMERGING artists we would prefer that they have a professional team assisting them.  Ideally that would be a seasoned artist manager, a veteran music publisher, a proven third-party record label, or a financial backer wiling to invest $20-40K or more.  Remember you are a entertainer and a BUSINESS that needs money to operate and grow.  It takes an average of 3-4 years with continuous music releases every 26 weeks in order to become a highly desirable  performing artist.  You need adverting, publicity not PR (there is a difference). You need money for self- promotion events to support your releases and to pay band members, travel accommodation expenses, etc.
4. Also, we would like to see that you have performed several live sets for at lease 6 months at different locations and in front of different audiences in your region and made some real performance money.  This is important to us because we want to increase your performance fee value once you are signed.  If on the flip side you’ve never played live or are just starting out (under 12 months) with a local following then, you mat not be ready to work with a booking agent.  
5. In the real world having a strong third-party record label behind you willing to invest in promoting your career by spending heavily on publicity and record promotion  will make your journey easier; most agencies won't touch you without this backing.  If, you are an indie artists with no money to push yourself and you do not do all of the above necessities, then you bring very little value to the agency.  
6. We also want to see that you’ve managed to build a dedicated, constant contact following on your own before committing to representing you. If you can prove that you have had several good turnouts when you play locally and regionally, then that will show us the potential we can expect  in pushing your career. 
7. After all, our goals are to align with your team's goal which is to see you selling out shows and making money for everyone! 
8. Even if you’re not ready to headline or sell out shows, there is always the potential to be booked as a lower paid opening act on various regional bigger tours. 
9. Finally, by having a clear vision of where you are at in your music career now and where you want to be in future will help you determine if a booking agent is right for you.