Using New School Tools For Old School Ideals

Eighteen years after receiving my Bachelor’s Degree, I decided to give it a go towards a Masters. In about a week, I will take a walk across another stage, shaking hands with another department head, while receiving another pretty piece of paper in a snazzy looking black folder. Though my Masters journey will soon end, the knowledge gained during that time will last a lifetime.

I initially enrolled in the Master of Entertainment Business program at Full Sail University so I could gain insight on making my television show (Will’s Christian Spotlight) bigger and better. Since enrolling, I have learned of new technologies that could propel my show concept to national, and even international, recognition and viewership.

One such technology is streaming video. This media avenue allows maximum exposure with minimal overhead. No longer will I have to struggle to get airtime on television networks. Now, I can have my recorded shows placed on any of hundreds of streaming sites in many different countries. Though the possible channels are many, two sites in particular are The Australian Christian Channel (www.acctv.com.au) and Streaming Faith  (http://www.streamingfaith.com). Both sites offer VOD (video on demand) and live streaming services over the internet. The average price to get started is miniscule compared to securing airtime on local, and especially national television stations. Furthermore, the possible viewership of online television dwarfs the same demographic of conventional TV. If you think about it, it’s a lot easier for someone to retrieve your latest show with the “on-demand” feature than it is for someone to watch your show at odd hours of the viewing day on TV.

Will’s Christian Spotlight aired for the first time on January 13, 2005. At the time, streaming television services were not available. The only way to get the word out was on conventional TV. Now, times are different, and options are limitless. I thank Full Sail University for opening my eyes to the possibilities of the NEW digital world!

Business Funding Resources

Starting a business is a major part of living the “American Dream”. Having the freedom to call your own shots and run things the way you see fit are main draws for potential entrepreneurs to step out on their own. However, the hurdle that most of those potential business owners are not able to clear is finding the capital to bring their dream to life.

This month (the last in my quest of a Masters Degree in Entertainment Business), we discuss ways to acquire the necessary funding for starting a business.

Believe it or not, even in this economy, there IS money out there for entrepreneurs. You just have to know where to look. Here are a couple of resources for beginning that search. The website http://www.eda.gov has a plethora of financing and investing information. One such opportunity listed on the site is a Waterfront Economic Development Grant which is awarded to the organization that finds the best way to preserve and advance the economic vitality of a waterfront community. This grant is worth $1,500,000, yet only $300,000 will be awarded to the chosen entity. The powers that be who are making the selection require the grant recipient to be a municipality, a Native American organization or an institution of higher learning, just to name a few.

Another funding opportunity can be found on the http://firstnations.org/default2.asp?id=69 website. However, this may not be for you if you’re not of Native American descent. This site gives Native Americans the tools needed for finding those elusive business grants and loans. For instance, the First Nations site lists several grants under the Native Youth and Culture Fund. One particular grant, The Owens Valley Paiute Language Program, awarded $20,000 to the Bishop Paiute Tribe of Bishop, CA for starting a language instruction and cultural enrichment class for after school and summer programs.

So remember, whether you’re the next superstar restaurateur or an Indian tribe trying to keep the kids culturally connected, there IS money out there to get you on the right path. You just have to know where to look!

Business Plan Development Done The Right Way

Business Plan Experts Paul Grant and Barbara Corcoran

In my last blog, I wrote about investing gurus Paul Grant and Barbara Corcoran. Grant and Corcoran are experts in business plan development, and they both have had hundreds of business plans come across their respective desks.

One segment of business plans that Grant and Corcoran both feel are the most important is the Executive Summary. Grant, the author of “Why Business Plans are Not as Important as you Think”, feels that “the most important part of the business plan because it is what the investor will actually read if they want to invest in an entrepreneur’s company.” Corcoran, the author of “If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails”, and, a “Shark” on the ABC Network show, “Shark Tank”, believes that investors receive a plethora of business plans, so the Executive Summary should be effective in telling your story.

For the business plan for my company, Spotdog and Angel Productions, I will follow the advice of Paul Grant and Barbara Corcoran. My Executive Summary will be the toast of the business plan town. Of course I will include the facts, figures and particulars, however, a large portion of my time and effort will be spent creating a “poem” of an Executive Summary. Initially, I felt that the financial segments of the plan would be what most investors would focus on. As Grant and Corcoran both believe, investors want to know about your ideal far before they look through your plan to get to the financials. If this is true, than the Executive Summary has to grab, and keep, the attention of the potential investor(s).

As a potential business owner, I don’t want my time and effort to go for naught, and my business plan placed in the round, plastic liner encased file cabinet on the floor! 

The Art of A Successful Business Plan 

Business plans are a necessity for entrepreneurs that are trying to turn a dreaminto a reality. Many of those aspiring business owners haven’t the slightest clue as to what investors are looking for in a potential business partner. A helping hand in the form of business plan experts or workshops can make a huge difference between a successful business plan and a flop. Paul Grant and Barbara Corcoran are two such experts in the field of business plan development.

Paul Grant, in an article titled, “Why Business Plans are Not as Important as you Think”, stated he is an experienced entrepreneur and former director of Capital Partners. He is also the founder of The Funding Game and NextMentor Mentoring Program. Grant believes business plans are not what investors focus on when considering potential investment opportunities. He states that the executive summary is “the most important part of the business plan because it is what the investor will actually read if they want to invest in an entrepreneur’s company.” He gives advice on how long a business plan should be. He has found that plans should not be more than 20 pages because, “many investors do not read business plans.”

Barbara Corcoran is a television “shark”, an investor on the hit ABC show “Shark Tank”.  She got her start as a realtor, and later penned a best-selling book titled, “If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails.” Barbara seconds the sentiment of Paul Grant concerning an eye-catching Executive Summary. She feels that investors receive a plethora of business plans, so the Executive Summary should be effective in telling your story. Corcoran also warns that far too many potential business owners “overestimate…(the company’s) addressable market. Instead, she gives the advice of strategizing as if 100% of your market was captured.

http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/

Retrieved on August 4, 2011 from: http://thenextwomen.com/2010/08/26/why-business-plans-are-not-as-important-as-you-think

Brad Macmayer: Publicist/Marketing Director at A2Z Entertainment

BRAD MACMAYER
        The hook goes, “…and it feels like money, money, money…”! Chances are you’ve heard the song “Buzzin” by Los Angeles-based rapper Mann. He is an up and coming star that has made a name for himself in the US and abroad. But this post is not about Mann. It’s about the man behind Mann. His name is Brad Macmayer, and he is Mann’s publicist. His job is to keep his clients’ “good side” as the only side you’ll hear about. His job is to protect the public image of his clients, and to thwart any image crisis that may pop up.

Macmayer is accustomed to multi-tasking. Coming up through the ranks of entertainment giant VIACOM, he routinely wore several hats at the same time. From coffee runs and donut orders as an intern, to casting and artist management later on, Brad knew how to get the job done regardless of the job title. Now he’s at it again, serving as publicist for Mann and Iyaz (another artist making big moves in the industry) and doubling as Director of Marketing for A2Z Entertainment as well.

In the ever-changing world of digital marketing, a Marketing Director has to have many tools readily available at their disposal. Brad takes pride in being aware of cutting edge trends and new media gadgets. Two of his favorites are Facebook applications called Band RX and Radio Request. The Radio Request app allows fans to send requests of their favorite artists to their local radio station.  

MANN 

He keeps abreast of what’s hot by checking out digital media blogs such as Digital Music News (http://digitalmusicnews.com/), Music Think Tank (http://www.musicthinktank.com/), Tech Crunch (http://techcrunch.com/) and Inside Facebook (http://www.insidefacebook.com/). Brad also uses social media sites for promoting his clients and partaking of all the new marketing technology he can get his hands on. One such site is Visibli (http://visibli.com/), where you can create banner ads to place on any URL you see fit. Tools like visibli keeps his clients in the public eye. As an artist, that’s exactly where you want to be. 

The "Help A Brother Out" Survey

This site has basically been used for class assignments, but I am ready to take it to the world! This survey is designed to get feedback on the layout and appearance of the site, not necessarily the content. Thank you for taking the time to drop by and answer the brief, yet very important questions. God Bless.

MY JOURNEY INTO THE STRANGE, NEW DIGITAL WORLD

Without giving my age, I will admit that the current state of the media industry is a world away from the days of my youth. Books, magazines and movie rentals, seem to be a thing of the past, as the constantly changing potential of the internet is driving the proverbial final nail into the old media coffin.

Let’s take movies for instance. The VCR was first introduced to the “general” public in the late 1970’s, with the “VHS” format of videotape. No longer did you have to go to the theatre in order to see a movie. VHS eventually made Blockbuster Video the premier entertainment venue, the ultimate alternative to the movie-going experience. Now, internet movie vendors like NetFlix, and neighborhood ATM-style kiosks like Red Box, have made convenience and low prices the new norm in home entertainment. Personally, I’ve enjoyed the “new technology ride”, knowing that I’ve seen the transition of technology from traditional movie going (drive-ins and theatres), to the sofa-and-microwave popcorn movie experience.

Given the fact that there was no internet available to “average Joe’s” like myself until the early 1990’s, traditional print was the only game in town. Now, with the “save a tree” movement and the emergence of eBooks and online news media, the paper version of the “morning paper” is becoming a thing of the nostalgia. I now watch the day’s news stories on my computer.

I will never be as new-technology-challenged as the people who refused to learn how to set the timer on the VCR, but I must admit that some of today’s technological advances are still way to Star Trek for me! Take for instance, cell phones. I’m from the “ol’ school”, where turning a rotary phone dial was the NEW technology! Okay, maybe not THAT ol’ school, but you get the picture! Nowadays, smart phones are already over 5 years old, and I’m yet to own my first. Though I’m content with the basic phone call and the every-now-and-then text message, I must say that seeing my younger classmates scanning credit cards and making bank deposits with their phones makes me a little covetous! Hopefully, there’s nowhere in the bible that says, “Thou shalt not covet thy classmates iPhone”!

Currently, I’m learning how to use Google as a tool to get more people to view my blog site, and in the near future, my website. It must be working because you’re reading this post! Nonetheless, it’s just another scenario of how things have changed over the years. Back when, companies would pay to have an advertisement placed in the newspaper, on billboards or in the Yellow Pages. Now, they use tools like Google that can track your search engine request patterns, and cater online ads according to your patterns! Is Big Brother watching you? Nah! Google is!

And finally, this is for the previously mentioned new-technology-challenged relatives of yours that always tell you to look something up on Google. This site allows you to say “Look it up yourself!” except in a respectful manner. For educational purposes, I started a search for “the number of days in June”, but you can customize it to fit whatever they asked you to search for. http://lmgtfy.com/?q=number+of+days+in+June

God Bless