Little Miss Sunshine

Actress, Comedian, Host, Dancer, Model, Photographer, Creative Director, Creative Stylist, Artist Developer, and Visionary. Mindi has been featured in Television Shows, Movies, Commercials, and Music Videos. She was trained in Los Angeles, California...

[entertainingmastersofart]

The Grand Finale

“Momma I made it!” Honestly, I wish I could put into words how I feel about finally getting to the finish line in my mastery journey. This has been a journey I never thought I would complete, and yet here I am. In 2015, when I started this program, I admit to being naïve as to what I would learn and what information I thought I would be able to retain. I was concerned about the instructors I would encounter and how well I would obtain the information being taught to me by them. After reviewing my younger self and how minimal my expectations were of each course, I am glad that I have exceeded, learned, observed, and had positive experiences with all my instructors beyond what I had previously thought.  

I will admit that I feel like I was spot on with what I wanted to learn to what I have learned throughout this course. While these three points are extremely broad, they each have extremely technical nuances to pay attention to and be mindful of when creating and presenting a business plan. After creating my business plan for this course, I sat down with my father who had to create and present his business plan to multiple banks and investors many years ago when he first started. Although we are in two different industries, it was interesting to hear his perspective and how things ended up for him.  

My professor for my Final Project Business Plan class was everything I could want from a teacher. He was well versed in the language of business and explained thoroughly how some business plans fall through the cracks while others get picked up by investors off luck. One thing I took away from this course was that often investors are sold off your personality, who you are, what you have to offer rather than an actual product you might be trying to push.  

During my elevator pitch I realized I missed an opportunity to be more personable at the beginning of the conversation and ended up running long by failing to be more personable. I say “failing” because to get personal and be personable an exchange of information or cards should have taken place, and I was disappointed because in the real world I may not see that person ever again. That could have been an important contact, lost. When I was an actor, I was taught that we have five to seven seconds from when we walk in the audition room for the Casting Director to decide if they want to work with that actor or not. I wish I had remembered this tad bit of information before I started my elevator pitch, I feel like now I could absolutely do so much better and would be more comfortable for the next time that I find myself with a similar opportunity.  

When putting together my final business plan I realized how unsure of myself and business plan I really was. My business plan is a big venture and I feel as though I created a very safe business plan when what I envision for my business is so much grander. This is where humble kicked in and reminded me that I was not born with trees that grew money in my back yard, and that I would have to start my business on a smaller scale. The financial part always terrifies me the breaking down each cost for employees, rent, and equipment fees then having to assume what profits the company might make never ends up well for me. I am a big dreamer.  

During my presentations I always just hope that I provide accurate, important, and captivating information. My business plan presentation is only going to be more of a personal presentation because this business is something I believe in, and I think could work and be an amazing asset not only to the Florida Film Industry but the entire industry. The confidence I have in myself after finishing this long journey has sparked a light inside of me, and I just want to keep creating things for the world, the future of art and entertainment, and for my family.

[entertainingmastersofart]

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                                Mastering Business Plan Development

When looking back on when I first started this program, I noticed the original posted date May 1st, 2015. Six years ago, I was given the task of predicting and posting my master’s journey, along with individual posts on each class of what I expected to learn or gain from each specific course. Going through my expectations from so long ago I realize how in over my head I felt when I first started the program. Yes, I did well in most of my courses, however, I did not have the confidence in my work that I do currently. I look back at all the things I wanted to learn and expected to gain from this program, and I think to myself how young and ambitious I was.  

When it came time to look over my initial post from six years ago to compare my previous predictions on my current class, Business Plan Development, I had to laugh a little. While all my other class predictions had previously been a thorough list of detailed information I expected and wanted to learn from those classes. My one prediction for this class was that I would be creating a structured formal business plan, and to my astonishment that is exactly what I am learning and doing in this class. Specifically, writing out all the details of my business plan in chapters has helped me put all my thoughts and gathered information together in a proper and formal fashion.  

Along with creating the business plan, I have studied deeper into the depths of details that come along with creating a business plan and starting a business. The further along we get the more confident I have become in my work, and in my business plan. I have done several SWOT analyses, and have researched all my larger competitors, as well as the upcoming competition that is just waiting for that one big opportunity. While I know my business currently does not compare favorably against the larger competitors such as Walt Disney Studios and Universal Studios. I am proud of how much I was able to accomplish and the level of professionals I worked with under my business prior to the major entertainment industry collapse in March of 2020 due to COVID-19. I am excited to move forward with all the collected information and ideas I have worked so hard on for so many years, this course and this program will play an extremely beneficial role in my future and the future of any business venture I decide to jump into.  

[entertainingmastersofart]

Mastering Media Publishing and Distribution

It really is hard to believe that I have been able to come back after starting this journey over five years ago, and here I am so close to the finish line. When I first started this journey, I originally had so many goals and I had an extensive list of things that I wanted to learn and looking back on that list I realize that I had no idea what I was going to be doing during this degree program let alone in this class. I see a lot of goals set that belong more in other courses previously taught. I think my original main goal starting out was to learn about the different distribution models and plans. In week two learning about the different deliverables for each section of the Entertainment business and the process of pitching an idea, who to pitch your ideas to, and how to pitch your idea. I also learned about the value of a query letter, how to write a proper query letter, and how to shorten up an idea in few sentences that will grab the attention of the intended reader. I was not fully aware of the tedious process that a pitch goes through prior to even being pitched on a major scale. Having worked in the music video industry I have made, seen, and worked with so many different treatment styles, and this month I was introduced to a new treatment layout. I must admit that at first, I was not particularly thrilled to be writing a treatment in an unfamiliar style that I was used to, however, once I started putting together the pages correctly and writing I realized how much more efficient this treatment style is not only for the writer but especially for the reader. I will be utilizing all the new tools I learned this month to pitch and safeguard my treatments by registering them prior to submitting them. 

[entertainingmastersofart]

Mastering AEL

A month and six years ago I created goals for this class, and if you would have asked me about them a year ago, I probably would have not even remembered about them. Yet here I am pushing through doing the best I can. Coming into this program I knew very little to nothing about law or entertainment law, but I had experience with bad entertainment contracts which really pushed my desire to learn entertainment law. Looking back, I wanted to learn about intellectual property protection, case studies, protecting rights, entertainment contracts, and exploiting rights. Having set these goals so many years ago I can only imagine what I had in mind for this class. I can say however, that I am more confident now than I was before when looking at a contract, even though I will still want a lawyer to review anything I sign. I did some research on a few cases, and I was really interested in the information I learned regarding some of the laws in Florida. During these case studies I was able to obtain information on how media can exploit Floridians who were in the news. Learning the different ways to protect a company or an asset and how to differentiate between an LLC and a Corporation and then the different types of corporations was a totally new concept to me. I know that I can confidently move forward in some of these areas because I am more comfortable after having obtained this information. When it comes to contracts every single word matters and has a meaning. If there is something that is not understood in a contract get clarification, never assume. I think when I put protecting rights six years ago, I meant specifically trademarks and copyrights. In no way does completing this class classify me as a lawyer, nor would I ever pretend to know as much about law as a lawyer. However, this class did give me the confidence to write and review my contacts and provided me with the tools to help protect my business and help avoid any liability risks my company might face. I know that I have a lot left to learn, I am a forever student of entertainment as it continues to change and evolve over time, and I know that having come into this class with an open mindset helped me gain information I would not have years ago.   

[entertainingmastersofart]

Mastering Product and Artist Management

Years ago, when I first began my journey to obtain my master's degree in Entertainment Business I had so much fear, stress, and excitement built up. I wanted to learn everything, I wanted to be a sponge in every class. When I look back onto my Mastery Journal and am reading everything that I wanted to learn in Product and Artist Management, I still want to learn those things. I wanted to learn about the interconnections between the Artist and the Products, I wanted to learn more about the relationships between the artists and the manager and what is needed to prepare not only the artist but as a manager for bigger scenarios or problems. As a manager there is a ton of advising that needs to be done over any artist or product, one of our assignments was a manager case study, during my research I learned a lot about how a manager goes about advising an artist on any scale. I also was able to obtain from that assignment how counseling personal and professional affairs with the artist is extremely important in the role of the manager. You will lose a client so quickly over something as a simple as a bad day with lack of communication between an artist, and I wanted to learn about how a product or artist manager sets long-term goals not only for themselves but their products and/or artists. From my prior experience as an artist manager, I know that goals are extremely important especially when working with actors who tend to get sidetracked or musicians who are easily influenced by “the lifestyle”. I’ve learned from my Manager Case Study and some of the other assignments that in this industry everything is completely uncertain, especially after the industry shut down this past year. Long-Term goals are great, but the manager and the artist must be on the same page when working together on long-term goals or projects. Not only is about the artist and manager’s long-term goals but it’s about the fans and the audience being marketed to. Music is always evolving, television and movies are constantly coming out with new grander technology, and those who are in a management position should always be ready for the fast-changing lifestyle of the industry. Also, while an artist may have long-term goals the management might not so it’s very important to constantly have an open dialogue with each person or product team as a manager. There’s so much more to learn, and I am a little disappointed that I didn’t learn as much as I aspired to, however, I am glad that this class refreshed my memory of how things are still pretty much the same. My journey for this set of skills is not over, I have so much left to learn still as an artist, as an artist manager, and as a product manager. I’m grateful for the things I experienced in the past to help me navigate through this course, I don’t think I would have done as well this month without those experiences.

[entertainingmastersofart]

Mastering Digital Marketing

I started my “Master’s Journey” maybe six years ago, and there is an enormous difference between how much digital marketing is needed and utilized today more than it was six years ago. After going back and reviewing the goals I originally set out to learn in this course, I noticed that not only has the degree program changed but so has the internet and the way companies and artists market themselves digitally. My goals, like my mindset at the time, were small and simple. I wanted to learn and create marketing plans, coordinate initiatives, learn the differences between desktop and mobile marketing, and learn how to maintain a professional online presence. Now, six years later, we have integrated digital marketing between desktops and mobile phones. Thanks to the growing popularity of social media as well as internet services becoming more available on mobile phones, and the continuing evolution of the mobile phone and the phone’s technology, application advancement, and service capabilities desktop and mobile marketing have become one.  

I did not realize how different my goals were coming into this class until I read the PDL Timeline I created so many years ago. While I am sure many of the marketing channels have remained the same, or have had to make small adjustments, there are many marketing channels that have been completely replaced due to the change caused by technology. One marketing channel to have been most affected is Direct Mail marketing, simple example, growing up I remember phone books or The Yellow Pages, T.V Guide, and tons of advertising magazines all these marketing channels coming through the mail. These channels are now all accessible via desktop or mobile devices as internet search engines are now on both. The T.V. Guide has its own set television channel so instead of selling direct mail advertisement space they sell commercial advertisement space on television.

During one of the lectures, we were given, I think, 10 minutes to produce an extreme marketing plan for our company. I remember how crazy I felt presenting this wild marketing plan in front of everyone and how I terrified I was that my professor would just laugh at my idea or shake me off like a waste of time. My professor did not laugh or shake me off but inspired me to continue researching and driving forward the marketing plan I created. The biggest thing that I learned that I know I can easily share with others is that with social media marketing you do not want your brand to get lost in memes. It is important that everything shared or reposted has to do with or is connected to the brand or the company the social media account is under, this is maintaining a professional online presence.  

While many things may fall under a different marketing channel now, or the channels may be different. I am confident in moving forward in my journey because I learned everything, I set out to learn six years ago while also learning more about the uses and importance of Digital Marketing in the business world. I have begun helping an older business out that relied on direct mail and word of mouth only to build an online presence through building a website, creating an SEO through Google, and creating a Facebook page for the business to connect to a younger audience.  

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Mastering Business Finance

HOLY MOLY, what a ride this month has been!!!  

I have never felt more confident in counting my money, and more confident in talking to investors and even understanding enough to make a possible investment. Coming into this class was extremely nerve-wracking for me, I am not good with number or math and sometimes I add too many numbers for no reason. I had a nervous breakdown and almost dropped out of the class due to the high level of fear and anxiety I was feeling moving into this class. Thankfully with the help and guidance of my professor we were able to identify a lot of those problems within the second week which made it easy to finish the more “mathy” assignments and helped add to my confidence when looking at numbers.  

So far this month I’ve learned an extensive amount about running a business and the how important being able to manage the business’ finances let alone personal finances are. I’ve learned a variety of valuable information from the definition of a business to the different types of business organizations, and what those organizations individually mean and do. I’ve learned about the different types of corporations and what they do, I have learned the differences between Finance and Accounting, how they both make up the financial book, the definition of cash flows and accruals, the different types of accounting and what each type does individually. I have learned the difference between a Calander year and Fiscal year, as well as the difference between both Financial Managers the Treasurer and the Controller, the difference between a CEO and a CFO, amongst a ton of other important information regarding Business Finances.  

Everything that I have learned thus far this month really has made me humble my thoughts on this business idea I had. Going over the numbers and the reality of the past mixed in with the total unknown of the past makes me more cautious than I have ever been when working on a product, brand, or business. What might seem easy could be very detrimental for your professional finances as well as your personal finances. What I have noticed especially this past year has been that business owners have had to pull out from their personal finances to help along a slowing business. Alternatively, I have also seen family's close generational businesses to help their family’s personal finances during this time. I feel like with this knowledge and understanding along with all the financial statement analysis work and understanding mergers and acquisitions I can confidently move forward in any business venture I see a great opportunity in.  

[entertainingmastersofart]

Mastering Industry Liabilities

After researching recent legal controversies within the Entertainment Industry I have come to the realization that you really need to trademark, patent, and copyright everything you create. The first article I reviewed went into detail about the recent lawsuit between Universal and former N.W.A manager Jerry Heller. The article also discussed similarities between the N.W.A lawsuit and the lawsuit between Viacom and former TLC manager Perri “Pebbles” Reid. These movies are shown through the artists’ perspective while trying to maintain the essence of the group’s stories.  The two lawsuits suggest that biopics should be extremely careful with regards on how to treat former industry associates within the film. Personally, I think it’s good to see each side of the story everybody has a different view and thought process it only makes sense that there are going to be different opinions and different views on the situations. While we are on the docu-train we might as well take a stop at a lawsuit claiming that the hit series ‘Quantico’ was stolen from a documentary presented to Mark Gordon and the Mark Gordon Company. After reviewing the entire article it seems that the three plaintiffs in the case really just want credit for their hard work. The writer of the script, Paula Paizes apparently still has emails exchanged between her and Mark Gordon regarding the script. It seems that the plaintiffs have a valid case and just want to be recognized for their work and their efforts. That’s all an artist really wants is to be able to be credited for their work. Finally, the last article was in reference to Pandora agreeing to pay $90 million in a deal that will end litigation over Pandora’s use of pre-1972 recordings. By publicly performing recordings that were created before music fell under federal copyright law Pandora had instantly violated New York state law. In late 2014 judges in New York and California came to the conclusion that their state laws protected any performances recorded prior to 1972. It is my personal opinion that more restrictions need to be made when it comes to digital media. I think it’s great that California and New York stepped up but what about all of the hits that Motown produced, where would those records fall? It’s just a big pool of unknown at this point and I think we are heading in the right direction to avoid product/recording misuse in the future.

 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/what-lawsuits-nwa-tlc-biopics-836176

 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/producer-mark-gordon-hit-quantico-835625

 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/pandora-agrees-90-million-deal-833979

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Mastering Negotiations and Deal-Making

Seven months ago I was asked what I expected to learn in this course, and it dawned on me that this course was everything I had expected and more. A few things listed; a desire to learn how to have a strong business presence, as well as how to structure deals, and develop contracts. This month we learned about objective criteria and how it should be used instead of a battle of the wills.  In a negotiation a battle of the wills is inefficient and unlikely to resolve any issues. Having an objective criteria will help you stay true to principles and will help you avoid succumbing to any pressure. We also discussed having a best alternative to a negotiated agreement to prevent us from accepting an agreement we should reject. A best alternative to a negotiated agreement is not a bottom line. A bottom line is usually set to high, and limits us on imagination when trying to come to an agreement. In a negotiation you want to use questions rather than statements to obtain more information this also places the ball in the other person’s court. Questions are less threatening because they are used to educate, helps to hold back any criticism, and gives the other side a chance to respond. Negative emotions will be present in most negotiations, know how to handle them when they come up. A strong emotion teaches you about someone’s interest and should motivate someone to cooperate. With negative emotions, if not handled properly, they could sideline your negotiation. Instead of venting try to focus on understanding the underlying message, venting usually makes a bad situation worse because it makes each person feel increasingly justified about being upset. Taking immediate action is risky when you are dealing with negative emotions in a negotiation because you are unlikely to be thinking logically. Prior to a negotiation you need to develop a theme or plan to cohesively present the information you have prepared. Create a negotiation plan to address issues in the order you want putting small issues first to build a better foundation for the negotiation session. Rather than dealing with the ever-changing emotions during a negotiation, focus on the five core concerns constantly. These core concerns are appreciation, affiliation, autonomy, status, and role. The core concerns often blend together, but need to be determined if they are being addressed appropriately. Utilizing these core concerns can stimulate positive emotions in a negotiation.

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Interviewing An Agent: Techniques To Mastering Contract Negotiations

Interviewing An Agent: Techniques To Mastering Contract Negotiations

 I was privileged enough to have the opportunity to interview an Actress/Agent currently working in Los Angeles, California. As both an actress and agent Chrissy Metz is constantly negotiating contracts not only for herself, but for her clients as well. Chrissy is the Youth & Young Adult Agent at The Premier Talent Group, LLC. She is also known for her latest role in “American Horror Story: Freak Show”. After reaching out to Chrissy, she agreed to answer a few questions I had regarding contract negotiations. Keep in mind that every negotiation is different, and that each contract should be treated differently and according to the needs of both parties involved.

 1.     Can you give me an example of how you worked toward a mutual benefit when you were negotiating a deal?

                       During one negotiation the opposite party was not willing to agree to a higher pay rate for an actor. Instead of the higher pay rate the actor         received a nicer hotel room, and travel pay. During another contract negotiation instead of a higher pay rate the opposite party agreed to allow the actor to have three guest-starring roles on other television shows during the run of the project being negotiated.  Both of these negotiations ended up being mutually beneficial for both parties. Some other examples she provided were instead of having higher pay having a single card bill during the            beginning/end credits of the television show or movie.  

2.     What objective criteria do you mostly utilize when going into a negotiation?

                       Professional standards, especially when negotiating a contact for someone who is union affiliated. You have to make sure the contract meets with SAG and AFTRA laws.  She also talked about using the latest information regarding market value to help with a negotiation.

3.     How do you separate the person from the problem when you in a negotiation?

                       Really listen and be aware throughout the entire negotiation, because there could be underlying hints that the other party is dropping that if you aren’t paying attention to, you could miss. Don’t allow your ego to get in the way, and always try to see things from their point of view. The best thing to do is to play the nice guy, and kill them with genuine kindness.

4.     What advice would you give to someone going to into a negotiation?

                       Research the other party you will be negotiating with, use your contacts to find out any tactics the other party might try to be using, and make sure that you know exactly what your party’s wants and needs are. Don’t be afraid to make a soft pass in the beginning especially if the negotiation seems to be going in a repetitive circle. Prior to going in you should know what kind of leverage your party may have, and always remember that each contract is different and should be treated as such.

[entertainingmastersofart]

Mastering Business Finance

“It’s a dog eat dog world, and I am wearing milk bone underwear.”

 Over the past four weeks I have been attempting to master one of my biggest challenges, finance. As this month comes to close I have come to the harsh realization that I have so much left to learn and understand within the world of finance. Going into this course I knew I needed to come out understanding the basic economic concepts and the importance of finance as it related to individuals and businesses. 40-50% of new business ventures fail within the first five years, most due to poor financial planning. During my time in this course we went over factors that affect interest rates, opportunity costs, taxes, and the importance of systematic planning, profitability and liquidity.  We reviewed and discussed the different forms of business ownership, the advantages and disadvantages to the different types of corporations, as well as reviewed three different chapters of bankruptcy, and the time and value of money. We went over financial statements and the basic format for constructing a financial statement, and the problems that come up when dealing with financial statements.  I struggled with the full process of forming a balance sheet, understanding basic accounting equations, and understanding the difference between current assets and fixed assets.  I still continue to struggle with understanding the formula and process of the vertical and horizontal analysis.  As difficult as this course was for me in terms of the formulas and understanding the information, it is very important information that I need to know and be able to recount later in life if I want to own or even manage a company. The book Entrepreneurial Finance really helped me to better understand a lot of the terms used throughout this course, as well as gave me a clearer understanding of why certain things needed to be done the way they needed to in order to have a smoothly running business. With all the information I have been able to obtain during my time in this course I realize I still have so much left to absorb and understand in order to be able to run a stable, successful, and long lasting business.

[entertainingmastersofart]

Mastering Talent Agencies

Talent agents for the past few years have been in the process of transforming from talent bookers into multi-headed media ventures that advise, invest, and engineer deal in media, sports, and technology worldwide.  The business of representing television and movie talent while pocketing 10% of the talents paychecks was once stable and lucrative. DVD sales have plummeted, TV dials have broken, and star salaries have been lowered, forcing agencies to venture out of Hollywood for growth.  Recently talent-agency William Morris Endeavor Entertainment spent $2.4 billion dollars to acquire fashion and sports powerhouse IMG Worldwide. Though the firms financials are private William Morris Entertainment-IMG Agency has about 4,5000 employees with a large hand in sports business. With dozens of agencies in Hollywood William Morris is one of the largest and one of the fiercest competitors, constantly poaching agents and clients from one agency to another. The expansion of William Morris in the past few years has been made in part by capital from private-equity firms. Investments and the growth they have helped engender have sparked speculation that WME might go public within the next several years. The acquisition of IMG highlights how William Morris has grown through deal making, a path other agency competitors have begun perusing too. Negotiating contracts for NFL stars is not very profitable, especially with commissions under 5%. Many sports agencies have begun diversifying themselves into related businesses, such as sports marketers and leagues and helping to sell stadium naming rights. Digital units help launch startups at the agency’s office in exchange for equity stakes, and making direct investments in other firms. Investment bank Evolution Media Capital has been involved in many deals the agency previously would have never seen or had to refer out-of-house. This includes helping media companies raise money and advising sports teams and leagues on television rights. Despite resent industry trends the transformations aren’t driven by a traditional business, they are to create new opportunities for clients. By diversifying revenue an agency may be able to ride out the uncertainty afflicting Hollywood, with fewer movies being made and the ever splintering of video-viewing options lessening the value of some hit shows.  An agencies film and TV divisions serve as a funnel for a steadier income stream to help open other doors.

Sources:

http://www.wmeentertainment.com

http://www.img.com/home.aspx