Great Networking Tips

        

The entertainment industry is one of the most competitive careers a person can pursue in life.  It takes a certain personality type to deal with people with inflated egos, power hunger production assistants, phony casting agencies, and outright rude directors.  But do not despair there is hope for those who can endure the initial illusion of champagne bottles, lights, and promises of stardom.  In reality landing a job in Hollywood is about having 10% talent and 90% networking ability.  In order to position yourself for the career you desire in the entertainment industry you must make a connection with someone who is already working for the motion picture studio or movie agent you want to work for.  In order to gain contacts in the industry there are a number of techniques you must learn. Here are a few keys to improve your networking. Learn to be a great conversationalist, avoid being apologetic, the art of working a room, and positional nosiness.

Learning to be a great conversationalist can open many doors for the person looking to work in the entertainment industry. Being able to seamlessly blend into the conversations of others without rejection or offense is a great skill.  The person who can grasp this technique will become the center of attention when he or she is speaking. A great conversationalist is viewed as a person who is confident, assertive, and professional. These traits are easily viewed by someone in a position to hire you as a great asset to the company. 

While networking at any entertainment event remember this cardinal rule “never apologize” when engaged in conversations. People who constantly apologize are viewed as weak or easily intimidated. Apologizing displays a person’s inability to handle difficult tasks, unable to meet deadlines, and lack leadership skills when a leader is needed.  Remember that you are socializing for a desired outcome. Perception is everything in Hollywood and the wrong perception could hinder your efforts.

The art of working a room is a great weapon to have in the arsenal of a networker. This one technique alone can gain a person entry into the presence of any CEO in the room. First check your attitude, a person must be able to approach strangers and establish a mutual interest while engaged in conversations. The person who takes on the attitude of “why should I bother to impress other people?” will create a negative energy that others in the room can feel. People will subconsciously avoid you.  Risk rejection by attempting to meet new people. One person may not want to talk with you but may refer you to the person you need to meet.  Keep conversations short without being obvious that you are merely talking to someone to get certain information. Avoid ending conversations abruptly as well. Short conversations allow you to establish more contacts attending the event.

 “Positional nosiness” is defined, as being in the right position to hear information that you were not suppose to be privy to.  Positional nosiness is an act of GOD, it just happens.  A person must be able to seize the moment without appearing as someone who is eavesdropping.  While working on a movie set as an extra, the producer was having a conversation with the casting director about needing a stand-in actor for one of the movie stars on set.  At the time I was in the wardrobe tent and over heard the conversation.  As they were talking I realized that I fit the actors description.  I finished dressing and casually walked out of the tent right past the producer and casting director.  Before I knew it the producer stopped me and asked me to stand- in actor for the movie star.  Positional nosiness is a great way to land a job in Hollywood.  

Networking is a necessary skill to master for anyone looking to gain entry into any industry.  The old cliché “It’s not what you know but who you know” holds true in Hollywood.  Networking is a way to avoid dealing with the gatekeepers of the industry. So remember to practice becoming a master networker and before you know it, you will be working in the industry of your choice.

The business of Managing Film Agents.

So you want to be an actor? A lofty goal with great rewards but the pitfalls and obstacles are many.  To navigate the entertainment industry in the areas of music and film, most people rely on securing the services of an artist manager or agent. For an actor, an agent is the person that would help an actor break into the film industry. The agent and actor would form an agreement in which the agent would secure work for the actor for a fee.   In an recent interview with a industry insider, I learned a different approach to hiring an agent. Our industry insider has appeared in “The 40 year old Virgin”, “Weeds”, and the new television show “No Ordinary Family”. The topics discussed included: why does a person need an agent, what an actor needs before talking to an agent, and the mindset an actor should have when dealing with agents.

According to our industry insider, one of the most common mistakes a new actor makes is misunderstanding that having an agent will guarantee steady work in the film industry.  An agent can only submit you for roles that meet the criteria that the studio is looking for.

If the actor does not meet the studios’ criteria then the agent is incapable of finding constant work for the actor. Our industry expert offered a solution to this dilemma. He stated that the agent must overcome this problem by negotiating with the studios to alter the criteria of the role. The agent must also present his client as the most marketable person for the role, not the most talented. This is key! The more marketable the actor is may affect the success of the project. Marketable actors will help determine what audience will show up at the box office. So in essence an actor needs an agent who is proactive in providing roles based on how marketable an actor is. In the beginning the agent must seek roles for the actor based on volume. As the actor makes a name for his or herself and has an established image, the agents’ focus should focus on higher paying quality roles.  This is the primary function of an agent.  Our industry insider will not sign with an agent who is not capable of this function.

Our industry insider was adamant about actors establishing themselves as an independent business first before signing any contract with any agent. This concept was taken from Michael E. Gerber the author of the best selling book called E-Myth.  The actor is the business and he or she must work on the business and not in it. The actor must establish a personal brand in which every role, television appearance, and radio interview must be create revenue and publicity for the business.  If the actor signs a contract or endorsement deal, having a legal entity in place will help with legal issues that may arise.  Most actor have no idea of this concept, therefore their careers falter when the industry takes a turn for the worst.

Mindset is the most important attribute that an actor must have in place before talking with an agent. Having a mindset of being success is only one part of the equation. An actor must think and operate as a CEO but know when to act as an employee. Too many actors rely solely on talent alone that hinders their career when no roles are available.  The actor must have his or her hands in every aspect of the film industry. When no roles are available, the actor and his agent must create new streams of revenue by pitching scripts, television pilots, and reality shows in which the actor stars in and have ownership in. Our industry insider sees the industry as a numbers game. Audition for as many roles as possible, somebody will say yes. The object is to get your foot in the door and bring your company with you. The agent should help facilitate this process while acting as an independent contractor of the actors’ company.  

Elements of Negotiation

             The word negotiation is heard often in the world of entertainment. On a daily basis we watch television shows like “Entourage” where the star’s manager and agent are in constant negotiations with each other about what movie role the star should take.  What about in real life? We see people at the local Starbucks drinking coffee or at Panera Bread having lunch, all while negotiating a deal. Negotiating is a daily part of our lives.  We negotiate more with ourselves than we do with anyone else. In the entertainment industry negotiation is a key skill that is necessary to be successful.  I had the pleasure of interviewing a successful individual in the entertainment industry who has mastered the art of negotiation. For reasons of confidentiality we will name the individual Mr. Lee. During the interview with Mr. Lee, he talked about certain elements of negotiating process. These elements are objective criteria, leverage and power, and status.

            Mr. Lee stated that he negotiated a tour for a well-known R&B star. While negotiating with one of the tour venues, a pricing issue arose concerning the percentage that the venue should receive per ticket sold. Mr. Lee never goes into negotiating a deal without using objective criteria. He has a goal in mind that needs to be accomplished by the end of the negotiation process.  The venue manager wanted 35% of the ticket sales as opposed to the 25% that was agreed upon. The venue manager advertised underpriced tickets by mistake and had sold a number of seats. To avoid having to refund the money for the underpriced tickets the venue manager wanted a larger percentage. Mr. Lee knew that 35% percent was not fair for the artist nor the future of the tour. If the other venues on tour heard about this incident then every venue would want to re-negotiate and the tour would lose major money. Anything over 30% would not work for Mr. Lee. So Mr. Lee negotiated for 28% and guaranteed that the artist would perform an extra 30 minutes on both nights of the show. The venue manager would redeem his mistake without having to pay refunds to customers and the artist would get rave reviews before performing at the next venue on tour.

            I asked Mr. Lee what was the key to effectively winning while negotiating. He smiled and simply said “leverage is the key.”  Mr. Lee said that negotiating and research are siblings and you cannot have one without the other. Mr. Lee expressed that he knows everything about the person he is negotiating with as well as the deal he is negotiating on.  Then Mr. Lee researches other deals the person has negotiated and the outcome of those deals. Mr. Lee looks for things that the person does not expect to come up in negotiating.  This technique was used while negotiating a marketing deal for the movie “The Express” the story about Ernie Davis who was the first African American college football player to win the Heisman trophy.  During the negotiation process Mr. Lee was viewed as smaller marketing firm who the film producers had never heard of.  The larger firm who was also in negotiations with the film producers was well known and had a record of marketing a number of films. Mr. Lee researched the other firm and discovered that the maliciously overcharged clients while only marketing to a limited market.  Mr. Lee asked the film producers to identified their target audience and asks that both his firm and the larger firm to present data from marketing campaigns performed within the last year. Mr. Lee and his team produces the data while the other firm did not.

            Ego is also known in the negotiation arena as status. Status could be described as a person in a position of power who expects to be treated in a certain way or how you compare yourself in relation to someone else.  Mr. Lee’s philosophy on addressing status while negotiating is to be confident but humble.  Being comfortable in his abilities allow Mr. Lee to negotiate with famous actors and R&B singers on a daily basis.  Mr. Lee is always respectful but stern when negotiating. He recently negotiated a role in a stage play for a certain actor. This particular actor demanded a certain salary while touring with the play. Mr. Lee expressed to the actor that the salary expectation was unrealistic. The actor became belligerent even to the point of using profanity. Mr. Lee smiled and said,  “You are a great actor. No one doubts that but your personality has caused you to not get roles.” After a long pause the actor apologized and agreed to star in the play. Mr. Lee has become a master at knowing when to cater to a person’s status and when to challenge it.  

            These are but a few of the elements used in the art of negotiation. The interview with Mr. Lee was very insightful. He taught me that when negotiating to always be confident, humble, and do your research. Look for some form of leverage to gain power. Use the power to create a fair deal. If you practice these techniques daily you will become a master negotiator.

             

Show Me The Money

The American dream is often interpreted as being able to live life on your own terms, the pursuit of personal happiness, and the ability to become rich. The ability to become rich in America is achieved by creating ownership through starting a business, investing in stocks, bonds, or real estate. The American economy is based on capitalism, which is an economic system where by goods and services are exchanged on a for-profit basis. The concept of capitalism, if implemented correctly, can make any individual who owns a business that operates on a for-profit basis extremely wealthy. However, there are thousands of individuals who attempt to open a small business to achieve wealth. Many small businesses fail within the first five years of operation. When starting a small business, an individual must be able to obtain suitable startup capital. There are a number of ways to obtain startup capital, which includes loans, family and friends, credit cards, and angel investors.

The most common and widely used method to obtain capital for a small business is to obtain some type of loan. The small business administration (SBA) is a great place to apply for a startup business loan. The application requirements for a SBA loan are a business plan, loan request amount, collateral, personal financial or business financial statements. A personal loan from the bank is another type of loan obtained for startup capital. The personal loan is usually considered an unsecured loan, therefore the bank may limit the loan to a maximum of $5000.00. The individual applying for the loan must have a good credit rating, show proof of income, and tax statements for at least two years. When applying for a personal loan, do not state you are using the money for the purposes other than personal use.

Family and friends are a great resource to obtain startup capital for your business. This method is often taboo in terms of mixing family and business. If the terms are structured right, the family and friends’ method can be a win-win solution for both parties. Creative financing can play a major role in which the family member loaning the capital may give you a great payment schedule to repay the loan. This payment schedule may allow a person to borrow $25,000.00 and make small payments at the end of each year for a time period of ten years.

Credit cards are certainly a risky way to start a small business, however many people have been successful. Credit cards are risky because credit card companies allow you to get a cash advance. The payments must be on time to avoid late fees and high interest rates being charged. If the business fails to make suitable capital to operate then not only does the business fail but also the owner is now responsible to pay off the debt. This method is not recommended to start a business. A small business loan or bank loan is less risky.

New business owners commonly seek after angel investors or equity investors. The angel investor is an individual with a large excess of capital that is looking to invest in businesses and ideas that will make them additional money. The angel investor will invest a certain amount of money for an equity share in your business. The angel investor may also have specialized expertise in your business in which he/she may offer more startup capital for a 50% partnership with the business owner. A rule of thumb when dealing with angel investors is to know how much of the business you are willing to give up before negotiating with them. Lastly, confidence is key. Know your business and your target market.

Reading the Numbers

The only thing that matters in any business is knowing how to read the numbers. Financial income statements tell the story of how any business is operating in terms of cash flow.  This income statement is the lifeline for any business that is looking for long-term success.  The income statement is also what determines if a business will receive funding for operation. This funding can be in the form of a bank loan or from a group of investors. There are some important factors that can affect the outcome of a company receiving money. These factors are net sales, gross profit, total expenses, and net profit.

The net sales on an income statement are the total amount of revenue made from sales minus the amount of returns and allowances. Net sales are important because it shows that the business has the ability to make some money. Net sales also show that the company may have a chance of growing in the future. In any business you are going to have some customers who are not going to be pleased with the product. So these customers will return the product. In terms of the film industry an example of a return would be a producer who is not pleased with the final cut of the film. In order to compensate the producer you would discount the original amount you billed to the producer to make the movie and pay a refund for the difference.

The gross profit is the amount made after you subtract the cost of goods sold. The cost of goods sold is merely the amount the business paid to actually produce the product. For example if a company was selling tennis shoes the cost of goods sold would be the raw materials, wages paid to the employees making the shoes, and other costs associated with production of the shoe.  Once the cost of goods sold is subtracted from the net sales you have the gross profit of the company.

Another important factor is the total expenses category. Total expenses is the brick and mortar of the company in which you breakdown each component necessary to conduct your daily operations. Total expenses will vary according to each type of company. These components will include salaries and wages, rent, insurance, employee benefits, etc. In order to establish an effective business, the business owner must have a clear understanding of what he/she needs to conduct the business as a whole. This is the purpose of the total expenses category.

Net profit is the one category that means the most to any business. Net profit is defined as the total revenue a company has earned over a period of time. This is calculated by subtracting the gross profit from the total expense category (minus the interest of long term loans). Net profit is also called the bottom line. The net profit shows the bank or initial investors whether your company is worth investing in.

 

If you are an aspiring business owner, you must master learning how to read an income statement. Many companies fail because the CEO entrust the reading of the numbers to other people. If you a CEO of a company can’t read the numbers then your company will fail or even worse be accused of ethical violations. The moral of the story is know your business financially or have no business at all.

Good or Guild?

In any industry there is always a group of people who desire to become advocates for the professionals that work with in a particular trade. Actors have the Screen Actors Guild, grips have a union, and the list goes on and on. While some may think that being a member of these various groups is a good thing, many do not.  These groups have been the center of scrutiny since the early 1900’s.  Film studios today still manage to have a love hate relationship with its employees who belong to guild or union.  In the world of movie production there is an intense battle going on that could affect all new and upcoming producers in the film industry.  The Producers Guild of America is pushing for a new standard of credentialing for film producers. The new designation would call for the “producers mark” p.g.a in lower case to be listed behind the name of producers who worked on a film that met the producing standards set forth by the guild.  The Producers Guild of America is not a union but rather an association that provides a membership to become apart of the organization.  According to the New York Times in a recent article The Producers Guild of America has been in a long dispute with the major Hollywood film studios through arbitration that will allow them to oversee the producer credits that are applied to each film.  What does this mean for a new film producer? It means that you can work your hardest to produce a film and receive no producers credit for your efforts. This is the reason why major film studios will not consent to this new designation. The designation will cut out those individuals who work on a film as a producer in one aspect and performed editing work as well. The new designation will also cut out film financiers from receiving a producers credit because the guild believes that film financiers did not actually work on the film as a producer but mere provided the monetary backing.  The Producers Guild of America may have help producers in the industry to obtain certain rights but now it seems as if the trade of producing a film is returning to the days of the mafia where you have to be “protected” by paying money and adhering to the guilds rules. Organizations such as the PGOA have affected not only the film industry but also many industries in America. You determine whether the changes made by these groups have benefited you over the years. As an aspiring film producer the verdict is still out on this matter.

The Power Of Having Mentors

The desire to fulfill your goals and dreams is often an arduous path to follow.  Many people have often heard that the best way to be successful in the field of your choice is to copy someone who is already successful and do what they do. This idea is noble but not always as simple as it may seem. Your particular business idol may be Donald Trump; do you really think that you’re going to land a large commercial real estate deal by copying his techniques on TV? It is highly unlikely.  What you can do is take on Donald Trump as a mentor.   In fact, many successful people can mentor you without having to be in the same place geographically.  The Internet is full of great tools to find a mentor.  TED.com is one of them. Ted.com is a website dedicated to spreading ideas that are worth something.   I had the pleasure of recently learning about TED.com. Ted.com is a virtual host of mentors in a number of disciplines.  If you’re looking for a mentor then TED.com is the place!  As an aspiring film producer and director, I wanted to see what TED.com provided in the area of film and entertainment. Upon searching a few famous film directors I know by name, the great James Cameron was among the speakers featured on TED.com. 

 James Cameron was featured as a speaker at a TED.com event, which can be viewed as an online video.  His story is short of amazing.  James attributed his natural curiosity of things as a child, his love for science, art, and science fiction which led to his success as a film director. As film directors and screenwriters creativity is our lifeblood, without it we would die.  James articulates how his creativity as a child needed an outlet.  This outlet came in form of drawing and painting, exploring nature, and even becoming a certified scuba diver.  These outlets combined help James to create some of the most famous movies in Hollywood.  Aliens, Avatar, Titanic, and Terminator 2 just to name a few.

Listening to James Cameron speak is compared to listening to an audio book that never bores you.  His stories are captivating and inspiring. His calm voice is trusting and commanding at the same time.  He takes you’re very being through an evaluation of where you are presently and what are you doing to get where you want to be.  James Cameron teaches aspiring filmmakers to never stop being creative, never stop being curious, embrace failure, give no place to fear, and take risks.  He tells the story of how he took a step back from making movies to spend time as an ocean explorer because he was “curious” about the alien life in the sea.  His obsessive curiosity of the ocean taught him that there are unlimited universes that you can create in you mind as it relates to film. He used this experience in the making of the movie Avatar.  While exploring on the ocean James spoke of how he learned the true meaning of leadership.  Each team member depends on each other for survival while performing the dangerous job of deep ocean exploration.  James said that the respect of the team is more important to the project and that was the essence of true leadership.  Every story he told was apart of the whole.  I understand now what makes James Cameron a great film director and my perception of the film industry is forever changed.  I understand now that great films are made if you stay true to telling your own unique story in your own unique way.