Helping you help your BUSINESS PLAN!!!!

Today we take a lesson on business plans. For all you young and inspiring entrepreneurs this blog post may give you some insight. Taking advice from expert business plan advisors Jay Turo and Dave Lavinsky, who are founders of the largest banking and strategic advisory firm will help to clarify the key components of a business plan.

 According to Lavinsky, the executive summary is often the first thing an investor will read. Lavinsky goes on to say, “ resources/skills/strategic positioning of the Company's management team make it uniquely qualified to execute the plan,” (Lavinsky 2010) marketing opportunity and profitability must be included in this executive summary to get investors to look at your plan. Mr. Lavinsky also expresses the importance of a financial model in your business plan. 

The financial plan seemingly important for it breaks down the expenses, cost and how the investor will be repaid. This is a critical component because if investor do not see a way to make their money back they are less likely to invest. Another expert who is a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal and a business writer, David E. Gumpert takes a different approach to the business plan. Gumpert feels that it is important not only to describe your company but how you will make profit. 

According to Gumpert, “it must do more than simply describe your business—it must also sell you and your business and convince the backer you have what it takes to make the business succeed over the long term (Businessweek.com, Jan. 2008).” Mr. Gumpert was quoted saying this in the Buniess week column about selling yourself to reach the investor. 

Also in that article Gumpert states the five key components to developing a successful business plan are an executive summary, the company analysis, the industry analysis, the analysis of customers and the competition. Also, another key component that could be used is a key tool that can be used to sway an investor according to Gumpert, which is the “ passion,” tool. He describes it as a “soft skill,” but says you must be passionate about your project and it must be displayed in your business plan.

2011 NBA FINALS

The 2011 NBA finals was one for the record books. It ended in six games when the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat respectively on the Heats home floor.
The ratings for Finals skyrocketed, as it was one of the most anticipated finals in decades. The NBA finals brought out entertainers of all kind, Bird Man a.k.a Lil Wayne's "father," of the young money cash money music group was in attendance for almost every game.
A few unexpected fans such as Lorraine Nicholson.com and Leonardo Dicaprio were seen present at the games on several occasions. The 2011 NBA finals brought together all different genres of entertainment from actors to musicians.

It was quite an excitement to be apart of for marketers, advertisement companies and other social media sources, I’m sure. As I sat down and watch game six in disappointment (yes, I’m a Heat fan) I could not help but think about how much money marketing companies were making.
Of course, everybody made money and it took a lot of work but what a reward it must be to had been one of the three hosting companies in ESPN, ABC and TNT.

All and all I must say I’ am a big sports fan but the more I learn about digital marketing the more business minded I become. It’s just like anything once you learn about it you see it everywhere. For example, remember when you learned a new word you started to notice that everyone was using that word or what about when you buy a new car you see your car everywhere on the streets (shrugs shoulders).

Sometimes I do wonder now that I know more than what I’m suppose to, if these sports finales are rigged to go full length so these “ big wigs,” can make their money. Imagine if the Miami Heat for instance swept the Dallas Mavericks in four consecutive how exciting what that be? I mean personally speaking I would love to see it but lets just be real the longer it last the money is made. It’s all just part of the marketing strategy I guess, what do you think?

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is one of the key elements needed to successfully sell and/or distribute your product. You could have the best product in the world but if no one knows about it, it does you no justice to have it. As an artist manager it is my job to bring awareness to my product (the artist). The Internet is a great tool to gain that attention, whether through social media sites like Face book or Twitter each of the sites can bring attention to your product. Many people think social media outlets are the one way to market your product digitally but this is not the case. You want to optimize your results by using search engine optimization (SEO). This is a way to bring traffic to your website through keywords used in search engines. 

In order for you to bring awareness to your product you must make it popular where others are interested in finding out more about the product and/or service. SEO makes your site visible for others to find. Honestly, I did not know there were so many ways to market using digital means. There are so many ways to market using technology it is amazing. For instance, you can pay a website to feature an ad or your website on there site when someone visits there site. This is called Banner Ad, according to Wikipedia.com it is “ designed to have the user click on it for more information.” 

If you use these and other digital marketing tools simultaneously than you have created a very effective marketing scheme for your product and/or service.

After learning about the various ways of digital marketing I instantly applied to my clients website and my business social accounts. I began to see more traffic come in, in just hours of making the changes. When your website is in the top five search results for that product or service that means you are doing something right. Even if your product or service is horrible it is still visible and the more people see something the more the want to know about it.  There are many sites to help you get started http://www.seo.com is a great site to help you began this process into digital marketing.

References:

http://www.seo.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_marketing 

The Cory Gunz show

Recently, I started watching the Cory Gunz show which is a show exposing the journey he takes to get in the music business. Cory Gunz a rapper from New York recently signed with Young Money has cameras follow him as he does his day-to-day routines from the studio to the office. Many times, when I tune in I often see a dispute between Cory Gunz lawyer, his manager and his father.

The issue normally is over management since all three parties feel they have some sort of a manager role to the rapper. I use the show as a learning tool because it gives real life experiences. For one, it seems to be a conflict of interest with his lawyer who also takes on the role of the “manager,” when he is in charge of Cory Gunz legal matters and his issues an artist. Nick Cannon an actor and entertainment executive takes Cory Gunz under his wing and plays the role of his manager. Cory Gunz father, a former rapper by the name of Peter Gunz also takes on the role of manager for Cory. So you can see where the situation gets sticky. For a young manager like myself the show gives me good advice about how to handle certain situations.

Ultimately the goal for the manager is to handle all business aspects allowing the artist to focus on their craft. The Cory Gunz show gives a behind the scene access and displays the complexity of being in the entertainment industry whether an artist or manager. The fun does not began because you are signed to a label but it begins when every on your team knows their role. MTV.com says,“ The show is an exclusive look at the process needed to be success in the entertainment industry.”

References: Mtv.com

Do it yourself!

Self-distribution is a tool that is used more often today than ever. Today there are many options for music artist, book writers and composers to self publish and distribute their work. Sites like createspace.com are great from up and coming book writers who do not have the money or investors to publish their work. A writer can purchase an ISBN-13 and a UPC code through print on demand services. Through this same service writers are able to order copies of their works upon request. These resources have been around for some time but have improved over the years. Since it is hard to get a record deal to have your music distributed as it is finding a publisher to do a deal for your book self-distribution is a great and inexpensive route to take.

 If you promote yourself through the social media outlets and distribute your works through sites like Amazon and ITunes you can make a great amount of money without spending a lot of money. Nowadays, with the new technology available we are able to get more things fasters and easier than before. If you take out time daily to promote your work and gain a little recognition through your promotion (not just Face book and Twitter) you can come in contact with the right people who may mention your work (music, books, composition) in an article or website, that could put you were you need to be and help your work become mainstream.

Many of the print on demand sites, like Lulu and Infinity are very popular and get heavy internet traffic so you will be in the right hands it’s just about what you do once you get there. As a songwriter it is hard to get a major publisher to pick up my songs but this could be a positive for an unknown writer like myself, being that once picked up by a publisher you instantly lose 50 percent of your profits. But if you become your own publisher you will keep more than half of the profits it will take more work and resources to get that but it is worth it with all the resources the internet provides today. 

Reference: 

filmspecic.com
Youtube.com 

Advice from Entertainment Lawyers: James Hertz

Yesterday, I had the privilege to interview Orlando based entertainment lawyer,

 James Hertz. Hertz who has lengthy experience in law and entertainment participated in a little Q and A about his background as well as some legal advice for my business, a video production company.

Q: How long have you been in the entertainment business

A: 13 plus years

Q: Where did you get your degree?

A: The John Marshall Law School Chicago, IL

Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Intellectual Property (1997)

St. Thomas University School of Law Miami, FL

Juries Doctor (J.D.) (1996)

Woodbury University, Burbank, CA

Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) (Finance) (2000)

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A.) (1990)

Q: How can I protect my business from legal issues?

A: Having the proper contracts and legal forms.  Having the proper business entity (LLC).  Protecting intellectual property and goodwill of business through trademark, copyrights.

Q: The company I have is a video production company what advice can you give that will increase the companies chances of success in the industry

A: Do-good work.  Network constantly.  Have lunches with or make introductions to key players in the industry.  Of course marketing is key as well.

Q: As a video production company how can I protect myself from liabilities?

A: See answer to 3.

Q: What legal advice can you give a video production company?

A: See answer to 3.

Q: What methods can the company take to avoid infringement and other illegal issues?

A: See answer to 3.  Also, be aware of inadvertently catching third party trademarks and copyrights in productions.  Make sue you have proper releases and clearances for every production.  Make sure you have proper work for hire agreements.

The advice Hertz gave will help me prevent liabilities and common mistakes made in the entertainment industry. I know I’m on the right track because several things Mr. Hertz has mention I have been taught in my adv. law class. What I have cleared from the interview is that you most always get clearances for others work but to be careful of those who do not have the authority to give you that permission. I want to thank James Hertz for his time and advice that will stay with me forever.

For more information on James Hertz and how to contact him go to: 

http://www.hetzandjones.com/

References:

Hertzandjones.com

Legal Advice from the Expert

Gordan Firemark a lawyer out of California provides a monthly podcast on www.entertainmentlawupdate.com. Whenever I have questions or even need free legal advise about the entertainment industry I flood this site. Although the topics of discussion are random they apply to common topics in different industry of entertainment. In episode eight, Mr. Firemark touched upon trade infringement. Apparently, Google will be releasing a new phone called “Nexus one,” a claim has been dropped from an author who used the name “ Nexus six,” in his published book. The discussion actually opened my eyes to a lot, and at that particular moment I realized people would sue pretty much for anything. Mr. Firemark went on to break down the potential case giving legitimate reasoning for why the plaintiff in the case mostly would not being. 

The term Nexus was only used once in the plaintiff’s book and the cell phone provider is in no way using the term in the same light as used in the book. While Mr. Firemark goes in- depth about the pros and cons he eventually gives his opinion stating the plaintiff had no case. This type of discussion can be applied to my business just as the discussion in episode number 17. In episode 17 Fire mark discussed a case involving potential copyright infringement. This incident is something all music composers should watch for because something that seems so incident and harmless could cause uproar. A young man created a song from tweets that Kayne West tweeted and actually preformed the song on a late night show. Although the young man was never tried in court Firemark makes a valid point when implying a potential case. He explains that if Kanye or Twitter tried to sue the young man could argue fair use and parody. 

He explains why throughout the podcast but cautions the listener to be careful. The young man could argue parody because the content of the song was comical, references random Kayne tweets. He could argue fair use Firemark explains because the attention was not to confuse or tarnish Kayne name or image. The song was created for pure fun and entertainment.  This is why I tune and to get my daily dosage of legal advice because you never know when a situation may occur in the entertainment when some of the podcast you hear may come into play, sense the entertainment industry is filled with con artist. In a final podcast that was my favorite since it relates directly to what I do Firemark brings up the issues in a copyright infringement case that left songwriters with 47.5 million dollars. In a case that involved Sony Canada the songwriter were awarded the millions of dollars after it was found that Sony had reproduced thousands of copies of the writer music without their consent. As a songwriter this is something I will stay aware of because release un-licensed productions can lead to a road of unwanted problems. Firemark explains that licensing and clearance needs to be received before other can use it for profit or any other reason.

References

www.entertainmentlawupdate.com.

thebillablehour.com