One Producer in the City

Retro Wednesday: It's my money...

This week's retro wednesday post comes from 5 years ago! I was a lot wordier back then. 

This is a post all about dealing with money as a producer. If you are about to venture into a project, here are some tips from my former self:

July 25, 2008

It's my money and I'll spend if I want to

So, I thought I'd take a little bit of time today to talk about the title "Producer" and some of the misconceptions there are about producers. First and foremost contrary to popular belief, producers do not always have boat loads of money. There are a fewexceptions to the rule, but for the most part, there are very few full time producers. If you are producing on the independent level, you most likely have another job. Also, a producer is not always the person putting up the money for the show. Most of the time in fact, that money is raised.

Many first time producers feel that they are responsible for the entire financial burden of a production, and often end up spending money they do not have.  If someone asks you to be a producer on their show, you really need to take the time to find out what they are asking for. Some people are really looking for someone to manage their show, while others are solely coming to you for finances. It's important to iron out this idea before you end up saying yes to being a producer and then being asked to pay for everything and have no say in the production. Technically, that makes you an investor.  In any case, remember one thing:

Your money is YOUR MONEY. If you are the one raising money for a show or putting up your own personal money, don't let any one tell you how to spend it. I have seen many producers end up in over their heads because they let someone else dictate how the money would be spent. I had this problem when I first started producing.  I spent in places I shouldn't have and the show ultimately did not look any different. So here are a few simple rules for managing money when producing a show:

1. What do you NEED- I once had a theatre professor who stressed that to do a show all you needed was actors and an audience. He also told me that if you say you need an item on stage like a door, someone has to install that door and make sure it opens and shuts properly, is level etc. One thing always leads to a bunch of other things. So, if that door is never actually used or if you can get away with an entrance happening from off stage and a door being mimed, you can save money. As a producer, be scrupulous about what you NEED. You'll have directors and designers telling you they NEED intelligent lighting instruments and a chandelier, but it's ultimately your call. You know what you have to spend and sometimes you have to be the person who says "NO"

2. Careful with comps- It'd be great if we could let every member of  your lead's 41 person family into the show for free, but the fact of the matter is, that means you'd sell less than ten actual seats in the show and end up having a full house and only having the money from 1/4 of a house. Comps are nice, but if you don't limit them, your show will not make money and you may have to turn away paying customers because those seats are already filled. You need to be strategic with comps. Offer them to industry people, bloggers, and people who will hype your show. Do you have to ask your best friend's Grandmother to pay? Even I'm not that cheap, but I also think if someone's girlfriend is at the show for the 16th time and is expecting a comp, you have to be realistic.  For a revolutionary new way of thinking about comps check out this posting by Ken Davenport. 

3. Know your limits- If you have a budget, then stick to it! It's very tempting to say that you'll make that extra $50 you spent on the batman mask back in ticket sales, in reality, you should NEVER bank on ticket sales.  If you don't have the money, again refer to number 1. Do you absolutely NEED that item? If the answer is no, put your credit card back in your wallet.

4. Nothing is FREE- Remember no matter what you're told, there are expenses attached to everything.  Someone may offer you free rehearsal space, but you're probably going to have to have that space covered under your insurance, which will cost money.  You may get costume items donated to you, but that doesn't mean the donor will also pay the dry cleaning bill.  You may even find a designer who will work for a really low fee, but that doesn't mean that they will foot the bill for all of the supplies they need to do the job.

My point? In everything you say "yes" to, there is money involved and you have to be aware of each and every purchase you make because there are almost always other purchases that will come from that first one. Imagine all of the expenditures for your show and add a "batteries not included" tag to it and you should be fine.

Remember, spend wisely and you'll live to spend another day.

Excelsior!

 

Retro Wednesday: Go where you're Awesome

First and foremost, the link for proposals yesterday was flawed. This one works. I hope you'll submit.

Today's retro post is all about finding a place where you stand out. 

Enjoy!

March 30, 2011

Go where you're awesome

My freshman year of college was a time of discovery. I learned a lot that year about acting, directing, tech, etc. 

One of the most important lessons I learned that year actually didn't happen at college. It happened two towns over at my old High School.

I went back in the afternoons and was a drama coach for the operettas. What was pretty amazing about that was that I was second in command to the director, got to take notes during the rehearsals, and do scene work with the kids. These were people who were not much younger than me and yet I was giving direction because I was "in College" This alerted me to a very important principal that applies to every business.

Go where you're awesome. 

I could have volunteer ushered at Trinity rep and been seen as some college kid helping out, or I could go to my old school and be seen as a junior drama teacher. At Trinity I would have been another faceless helper, at Smithfield High I was awesome. 

The same applies for any business. An actor in the Indie Theatre Community could go and speak on a panel that is arts focused and be seen as another actor, or they could go to a college early career acting class and be awesome. 

A music producer who is just getting started could go to SXSW and be seen as another music producer looking to make connections or that same music producer could go to a college radio station and be awesome.

There are places where you are kinda cool and there are places where you are awesome.

Take a second to think about a space that someone in your business has never been.

Where would YOU be awesome?

Feel free to comment below.

Excelsior!

 

Being open to opportunity.

I'm a  film producer, and have been working on several projects for a few years now. The first thing people want to know is "How did you get into that?". They wonder if you  attended film school, or interned in film production, or had family in the business. No, I explain, I always wanted to do it and an opportunity to do it just came up.

And how did that happen,  you may ask? In this case, my Italian teacher who knew that I liked movies introduced me to another student of his who was working on a documentary. I met the other student, saw a rough cut and declared with full brashness "It's great, can I help produce it? I don't have an experience but I've read a lot about this and will work hard". The reply was "of course!" and thus we began producing this project.

Thus was born "This Time", a documentary about musicians whose careers are facing challenges, and how they try to overcome them, and the faith and passion that keeps them going after so many years of obstacles and disappointment.  Four years later, after the trials of Job, that final film is coming out in theaters on August 10th at the Quad Cinema in New York.  You can see our trailer and our facebook page below.  Please go see the film and support your fellow artists trying to keep chins up in a brutal business!

And this work on a documentary brought, through an introduction by generous super-connector Michael Roderick, to Kennon Hullett. She was beginning work on the documentary about obesity and the science behind it, and needed some help. Michael knowing my documentary background, put us in touch and I'm working as an executive producer, to shape the presentation, make introductions and just be an adviser to a hard-working, talented first time filmmaker. Little did either of them know that at the time I've done lots of reading on the subject myself over the past few years and was excited at a chance to do more work on the topic and see these ideas spread to a broader audience. Now that project is coming into the final stretch on kickstarter (please support us below if you can !) and it looks to be headed to filming and raising the full budget in the fall. The fact that I knew nothing about kickstarter before this is incidental, because our team managed to include someone who did and is a generous teacher.

So these two documentary projects I've been working on, among others, are really the fruits of nothing more than being open to an opportunity and  to take a risk. For the past few years I've always had lots of meetings where things didn't line up between me and the person on the other end of the table. Or projects that I thought would be a financial mess, or  where I didn't share the  view of the creator. But, before you meet that artist or creator, or the producing team on something, you'll never know if it's going to be a good fit.

So the next time, make sure you take that random meeting someone proposes and learn more about the vision and the business behind it. Think it over, see if it feels right, and be open to taking a risk. One of those random meetings is going to turn into a great opportunity for you to move you into a whole new level of creativity and visibility for your work, you'll just never quite know ahead of time. And this sort of risk taking seems to feed on itself once you make the leap, attracting the like-minded and other brave risk takers

http://www.facebook.com/thistimemovie
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/thistime/

and

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kennonhulett/in-defense-of-fat-the-documentary


Mark Bower

5 Tips to help you be a better boss

Once you decide to take on the role of producer, you are also making the decision to take on the role of being in charge of a team. This is something that is not to be taken lightly as others will look to you for guidance. So today I wanted to share with you all the top five things I have learned about being in charge of a team. Hope they help.

1. A team helps you execute, they do not do the job for you- This is the top failing that I encounter when working on shows, in new businesses, or even in starting groups. Once you have become the person in charge, you will be tempted to find anyone to do all of the things you don't want to do. You'll also want to give instructions and walk away. This is a VERY bad idea. If you want to be a great leader, you need to make sure that you are invested in your team and that you are working with them to execute on the vision. You need to check in and see if those tasks are being done and provide guidance throughout the process. Do not walk away from your team or your team may end up walking away from you. 

2. Recognition is essential- We all like to be thanked for the work that we do. Many times it seems like we are doing something simple, but still we crave that recognition. Make sure you give it to those you work with. They need to be thanked often and shown appreciation. Take some time to think about the work your team has done. Have you said Thank you yet? If not, stop reading this and fix that now. There are plenty of people who ask us to do things and never thank us. Strive to be one of the few who say Thank You whenever you can. Your team will be that much stronger and they will feel appreciated. 

3. Make the work mutually beneficial- If you are asking anyone to do something for you, you should be making sure that they are either learning something from it, getting an experience they need, or receiving some form of mentoring. Avoid ever giving "busy work". Take the time to sit down and ask what you can do to make working with you a learning experience. Ask the other person about their goals and dreams and do your best to give them opportunities to achieve that by working with you. You want your team to be intrinsically motivated and you want them to grow with each bit of work that gets done. If you push for this, you will find that everyone is growing as you move towards the common goal. 

4. Be clear about your expectations- Being vague helps no one. For any project that you are working on, make sure you sit down with your team and discuss the specific outcomes that you would like for the project. Set goals and be realistic about what you would like. Come up with milestones and check-in points. Make sure that everyone on the team is clear on the vision and the expectations and very few people will end up being surprised. This also makes it so no one can say "That's not my job" 

5. Calendars are your friends- When you meet with the team, create a calendar. Choose due dates and stick to them. Take the time to reverse-engineer the project so that everyone is clear how much time they actually have. One of the biggest mistakes I made in the past involved not adding something to my calendar and thinking I had loads of time. The more clear you are in these instances, the more successful you'll be. 

So there you have it, some tools to get your team working with you to get to that next level. Remember, you're the boss and that's a big deal. 

No go out and show them how it's done! 

Excelsior! 

P.S.- Early bird sales on Solving for X end this week. Grab your tickets HERE

A quick tip re: Pitching for new producers

Having been pitched myself a few times in the past week and watching a few pitches, I wanted to offer this piece of advice. Feel free to take it or leave it.

Stop pitching on the first meeting. 

It's awkward for everyone. 

Think about it.

If you go on a date, do you start the date with a passionate kiss and some heavy petting?

Do you ask the other person what positions they like in bed?

Do you ask the other person what they'd like for breakfast in the morning? 

Of course not. 

So why make your first meeting with someone who may invest or know someone who may invest all about pitching a project?

Here's something that works better:

Get to KNOW them. Ask the other person about the projects they are working on, answer questions they have about the producing world, discuss their goals and aspirations. 

If you do this well, they will be more than happy to hear a picth or pass your pitch on to someone who can help you. 

It ultimately comes down to delayed gratification. 

We live in a world where we want everything now and as a result, people have become presumptuous and often downright rude.

Our business lives and dies on relationships. 

Get someone to fall in love with you.

Then they'll be more likely to write the check instead of ask for it at the end of dinner.

Excelsior! 

Join me for the next Solving for X! Want more info? Check it out HERE. 

Lessons from my first year of business: Spring Cleaning

As the lovely extra hour I've been enjoying slipped by this weekend, I was reminded that spring is indeed on the way. That of course also lead me to the thoughts about spring cleaning and clearing up clutter in one's business. 

So today I wanted to share with you my top five ways ways to clean up the clutter in your projects and get moving. Here we go:

1. Not every email is equal- It's very easy to get completely bogged down by your email. A book that I recommend reading about this very topic is The Hamster Revolution, but in addition to grabbing your copy of  that, there are plenty of emails that waste time. What I do is create an autofilter for anything that I consider reading material. I can then get to it whenever and it isn't crowding up my inbox. I also have a folder titled "Social Media" where all of my twitter, foursquare, Linkedin info goes as well. This way I can check it all at once. Lastly, I take stock every once and awhile of the things I do not read and I simply unsubscribe. I realize that I don't need every new piece of info that comes my way and it makes me more productive in the long run. 

2. Templates- There are many times where I have to write the same email many times over. At the very beginning I used to spend hours doing this or some variation on it. Then I started creating templates for particular responses and it made my life so much easier. I now have a template for almost any situation that I can easily plug into an email blast service. It saves me a ton of time and cuts down on the clutter immensely. 

3. One sentence reminders on lists- When I have a ton of tasks cluttering my inbox, I look at the basic thing that has to get done and break it down into one sentence. I then file the email away and come back to it later when I am going through my list. This saves me a lot of time that I would spend surfing through old emails of things I have to do. 

4. End of day/ Early morning filing- At the end of my day or first thing in the morning I will take the business cards from the night before or the receipts and file them in a spreadsheet. I then can store the cards and receipts and get them off of my desk. The key here is creating a routine. If a routine is in place and you do this every day, nothing will ever pile up and get to be so messy that it is out of your control. 

5. Mobile phone as extension of the computer- One of the great things about your phone syncing to your computer is that you can deal with your email on there. The thing I do that helps me is to completely delete anything that I will not be looking at later. If a new blog post comes in, I read it and delete it. I can always find it again on the internet if I really need to see it again. This clears up both my blackberry and inbox. It takes some getting used to, but once you start getting comfortable with deleting, you'll save a lot more time. 

And there you have it. Now go out there and clean up that mess!

Excelsior! 

Join me for the next Solving for X! Want more info? Check it out HERE. 

 

A look back at 2011

Last year at the beginning of the new year, I created a post listing the things I had done in the previous year. If you've never tried this, it's pretty cool. So below are my accomplishments from 2011.

 

• Hosted a casting event for the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity

• Provided GM and Consulting services for productions in Planet Connections, Midtown International Theatre Festival, FringeNYC, and the New York Musical Theatre Festival

• Taught 12 Solving for X classes

• Created or co-taught the following classes: No Bullsh%$ seminar, Monetizing your Passion, The PLAE 2 Day Weekend, Raising Money, PLAE Academy, Time Management and Delegation for Control freaks in Entertainment

• Served on the board for Boomerang Theatre Company and Shotgun Productions

• Found out The Scottsboro Boys received 12 Tony nominations

• Made my entire income for the year from consulting, GM work, and workshops

• Wrote my new play BETH, which was produced in RI by Daydream Theatre Company

• Launched the Facebook friends experiment and have successfully connected with 30 people on my FB friends list who I had never met before. 

• Wrote my most re-tweeted blog post: Why NOT to start a Theatre Company

• Started the Lessons from my first year of business series

• Introduced my readers to the G.A.T.E. strategy

• Co-Produced 5 new shows, readings, and fundraisers

• Completed my 4th year of writing this blog

So there you have it folks! Feel free to comment below about your own acheivements in 2011 and let's make this a great 2012.

Excelsior! 

 

Raising money: Don't chase it.

Getting back to our series on raising money, I wanted to take a second to discuss the idea of chasing it.

It's very easy when you are about to go out and raise to think about the money first. You may say to yourself, who do I know who has it? How much do I need to get? How fast do I need to get it? 

All of these questions will not matter until you hit on what the money is for and why it's important.

When going after money, the best thing you can do is take money out of the equation and imagine what the vision is without the money.

Imagine that show you want to see on its feet

Imagine the look of those patients you'd like to feed

Imagine the experience of that child who you brought art to

Don't imagine dollar signs.

In all of the fundraising I've done, when the money came first in my mind, I was the last to get it.

Conversely, when the money came last in my mind, I found it fairly easily. 

Passion first, dollars second. 

If you are currently trying to raise money for a project you love, go out there and tell people about the project. Have them tell their friends, and if someone asks you what you need to make it happen, feel free to tell them how much you think it will cost, but please don't lead with that.

Try it and let me know how it goes.

Excelsior!

Have you taken Solving for X yet? Curious? If so, go here! 

And the number 1 thing that people want me to write about is....

Raising money.

It's interesting, I posted an entire series on my system for raising money and still when I sent the survey out this was the most requested topic. So I'll dig in again based on what I have learned about raising money in the last year. 

So as I had stated previously, you need to decide if you are raising money for a Not for Profit or a commercial project and each option has its own challenges. This time around before I get into any of the specifics, I want to talk about what makes raising money easier and (gasp) even fun. 

It really starts with you. 

Take a second right now and answer the following questions honestly about yourself.

1. Do you enjoy being around other people?

2. Are you helpful to others?

3. Do you love hearing other people's stories and sharing those stories? 

4. Do you go out of your way to go and see someone else's work? 

5. Do you make big promises and keep them? 

6. Do you volunteer to help out on projects and causes?

7. Do you have a group of people who believe in you and the things you stand for? 

If you answered yes to the majority of these questions, then you are in a position to raise funds. If you answered no to most of these questions, it will be more difficult for you. 

Notice in all of this there is no mention of how rich you are, how many clubs you belong to, or whether or not you graduated from a certain school. Those are all factors that may help you, but will be of little use if you are not willing to help others. Think of all of the great fundraisers you have met. Chances are that you enjoyed being in the room with them. They made you feel special and they took the time to get to know you and help you. 

In times when our money is precious, we are predisposed to give to the people who we trust and who give to us. It's just natural. 

One of my favorite stories is about how Bill Clinton would raise funds for his campaigns. He would take someone into his office and spend the entire time talking with them about the things they loved to do, about the person's family, passions etc. and at the end of the meeting he'd stop and say, "I'm so sorry we ran out of time to discuss the campaign, but I trust you to make a decision that works for you" and then end the meeting. 

Before you decide to raise money, make sure that you are a complete person first. Take the time to support other causes, listen to someone's story about their children, and build a base of people who believe in what you say.

If you do, I promise that you will have less trouble when it comes time to ask for some money and many of those people will be happy to give it. 

Excelsior!

P.S.- If you are interested in Arts Entrepreneurship, a number of great speakers just signed on for our PLAE 2 day weekend intensive, I hope you'll join us. You can grab early bird tickets here. See you there!

Lessons from dish washing: Get someone to unrack

When I started to get really good at dishes, I made a few mistakes that got me in a lot of trouble and recently I found that one of those main mistakes reared its ugly head in my existing business. 

When it would get really busy, I would dig my heels in and start racking as fast as I could. Then I would unrack as fast as I could, then rack again etc. I was a machine! I didn't need anyone! I- 

Was backed up. 

Not wanting to believe this, I would unrack even faster and try and re rack, then trash would need to go out, silverware would need to be done, the waitresses needed glasses now, mugs now, etc. 

So how did I get through it? 

I asked someone to unrack. 

Recently, I got overwhelmed with projects so I dug my heels in and tried to push even harder to put more out into the world and just like that, before I knew it, I was backed up. 

So I asked for help and a few friends jumped to my aid and helped me and you know what? 

I'm much more caught up now. 

It's a hard lesson to learn, but an important one: 

Before you get backed up, ask someone to unrack. They don't need to do it for very long, just long enough to get things back to normal. 

Do you have a story about being backed up? 

Feel free to share it here in the comments. 

Excelsior!