Justine's Mastery Journey @justinesmasteryjourney - Tumblr Blog

Final Project: Business Plan - Online

Wow! I am extremely excited and proud to say this is my very last assignment in order to complete my Masters degree of Science in Entertainment Business at Full Sail University. This journey has truly been a blessing and test to my perseverance, ambition, dedication and commitment. I am also very proud to announce that I completed this journey with a 3.70 GPA Honors graduate. Within this last year while completing my Masters program I also worked a full time accounting manager position, along with a part time accounting position. I also gave birth to a gorgeous little man name Jagger Hendix in February 2017 and have two older children named Keilah Faith, 8 years and Garrison Jeremiah, 6 years.

On top on work, school, family I also manage a pop artist in Atlanta and work with a few executive producers and songwriters on several projects and marketing plans. I also work very close with a non-profit as their board member and CFO. My greatest hope and desire is that my drive and ambition will rub off on my children and they can believe that they can achieve anything they want in this life. I also want to teach them that it doesn’t matter where they start. I was on my own at 15 years old and starting working and paying taxes at 13. I had to get a work permit from my middle school. I’m very grateful for every experience in this life and hope to give others hope in knowing that anything is possible.

The Final Project Business Plan class provided me with a wealth of knowledge and allowed me to apply everything I learned this last year into a powerful business plan. One of my favorite assignments was the elevator pitch and finishing up my financial plans. I have over 10 years of accounting experience but completing my own was a very exhilarating and powerful experience. I’m also very grateful for all the additional resources provided like the job sites, home business tax deductions, and the video on how to present like Steve Jobs. This month has very educational and I was able to apply several of the skills to my professional life.

I am very thankful for everyone in my life that believed in me and helped me along this path towards living my passion and purpose. These include my Mother Lee Braun and sister Danielle Rodriguez, my significant other Justin Sanders, and last but not least my children and ultimate reason why, Keilah, Garrison, and Jagger. Thank you Full Sail University for hiring amazing experienced professors and for the love, dedication and knowledge you provided. I look forward to enlightening the world with the powerful knowledge I obtained at Full Sail! See you at Graduation!

Justine McLaurin

My Reason WHY!

Business Plan Development

Business Plan Development has taught me several valuable resources to implement and apply in my professional career and personal business development. In week one my favorite assignment was the CEO job ad for Stellar Echelon, outlining the company and its growth as well as the main qualities and skills required for the CEO position. Some of the main qualities required for the CEO position at Stellar Echelon include authenticity, a powerful vision, positive influence, empowering attitude, committed and full of integrity, consistent, offering clarity and discipline, mindful, emotional intelligent, and passionate with a purpose inline with Stellar Echelon.

In week two I was able to distinguish and interpret the value Stellar Echelon brings the entertainment industry and what specifically sets Stellar Echelon apart through a differentiation exercise. This gave me full clarity well completing my business plans. Offering me insight on my strengths, opportunities, threats and weaknesses as well as why customers would choose Stellar Echelon compared to one of our competitors.

Throughout the course we also watched several insightful and inspiring videos from Jayson Whitmore on the entertainment business, professional growth and development. He discussed the importance and power of your ideas and following through the creation process and fully believing in your abilities. He also discussed the importance of selling yourself through creativity, passion, a positive attitude, being humble, and fully confidence. Professionalism is key from presenting yourself in all aspects of life and Jason discussed the importance of selling yourself before you can sell anyone else’s products or service. Lastly he discussed the importance and value a diverse virtual team can bring to any organization, offering multiple gifts and unique talents from all over the world. Jason offered some great insight I plan to implement within my own professional career and personal business.

The most valuable tool in Business Plan Development was completing several components of my final business plan project. I was able to compile my research and findings into a professional written format, which I can present to possible investors and for personal development. I truly enjoyed the last several weeks and found significant value in the information and knowledge obtained.

Justine McLaurin

References:

S. (2013, February 06). Retrieved August 21, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLY9FC8A2PQ

S. (2013, May 03). Retrieved August 21, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04iJRpWfutQ

S. (2013, May 03). Retrieved August 21, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4ykUNj8Rr0

S. (2013, May 03). Retrieved August 21, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiwGTaYc45k

Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution

This month in Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution I learned a tremendous amount of valuable information to help further my professional entertainment career. Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution exceeded my original goals and expectations and provided me with some useful tools and resources to use currently in my personal business negotiations. I am currently working with an executive producer/songwriter and several artists for a company called, I Manage Stars. He actually was offered a distribution deal a few weeks prior and with the help and knowledge of industry standards and expectations I was able to give him some concrete and factual advice on why not to accept the deal and how to use that specific deal as leverage for other realistic and more profitable deals. Through the help of this course I was able to offer an educated and professional response and recommendation.

Throughout the course we reviewed several different assignments, readings, videos and PowerPoint’s. One of my favorite assignments was learning the necessary components on how to draft a professional query letter to solicit my songwriting content and securing a publishing deal with the help of a popular and qualified agent. I found this assignment extremely important because I will need to draft query letters for myself in songwriting, music and for my personal book, but also for other professional artists I represent in the industry. Another one of my favorite assignments this month was creating my own Electronic Press Kit or EPK. As an artist manager, I have had the opportunity to help create, review and give suggestions on other artists personal EPK’s, but I have never taken the time to complete my own. This project was exciting and fun and I was very pleased with the final product.

Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution gave me the knowledge and understanding on how to find an agent to publish my professional work as well as self-publish and distribute my content. I was able to learn about the profit margins as well as the initial direct costs involved. Lastly I was able to learn about the different marketing strategies and channels I can use to market my published content. I plan to use all these new tools in my very near future!

Reference:

Craft, K. (n.d.). Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution(Fourth ed.)

Advanced Entertainment Law

I learned a tremendous amount of knowledge this month in Advanced Entertainment Law; far greater then my original goals and desires for this course. Based on my PDL timeline goals from my Mastery Course my original goal for Advanced Entertainment Law was to learn key strategies for protecting and exploiting rights within the digital domain. With technology completely changing the way the music industry operates, understanding the digital world from a legal standpoint is extremely important. Some other key topics I learned this month was understanding common legal exposures in the music industry like copyright infringement, the legalities behind contracts, royalties and licensing as well as understanding how radio and internet royalties are processed.

One of my favorite activities during week 1 was watching the extremely valuable interview with Julee Milham and then writing my discussion response on what I learned. Julee provided great low cost recommendations for artists and business professionals searching for legal council and advice. She also gave great advice regarding the red flags of the entertainment world and provided some key examples to ensure all signed contracts are transparent, detailed and do not include wording like transfer of rights or vested power of attorney.

Another one of my favorite assignments was designing and developing my keynote presentation for my leadership portfolio, detailing the interview from legal expert Elsa Ramo. I learned how to protect myself in regards to idea thief and copyright laws. I also learned that you cannot copyright a general idea, but only the expression or elements of that idea is copyrightable. I learned about the rights for using logos in media and the difference between using them in documentaries and scripted films. Lastly I learned about obtaining life rights for a story or film and the legalities behind them. Also when you might want to obtain them and if you could tell the details of the story without them and still get the point across. This I believe is extremely important because I plan on writing my life story very soon and this will help me avoid and legal issues or problems.

Overall this was another great month in my journey to obtain personal mastery and my Masters in Entertainment Business! I look forward to applying this knowledge to my personal business and professional life.

References:

Main menu. (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2017, from http://www.ramolawpc.com/people/elsa-ramo/

Milham, J. (Narrator). Willard, C. (Narrator). (2016). Advanced Entertainment Law [Online video]. Winter Park: Full Sail University.

T. (2014, December 15). Retrieved June 25, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFmc-UTD3gc

Product & Artist Management

The Artist & Product Management course was something I have been interested in and looking forward to as soon as I applied for my masters program at Full Sail University. I have had the opportunity to manage two separate artists professionally and I could not wait to learn as much as I could, so I could implement these key concepts into my current artist and professional resume. I truly enjoyed reading the artist manager case study from week 1 because I have experienced some of the exact same circumstances and nuances within my own career. I also loved watching the first achieve video and reviewing the definition and cold hard reality of show business. Show business is all about the business first and foremost and unfortunately if you do not have the business principles down then you do not have a show. Making a profit selling your creative ideas and products are key in show business. Many artists in this industry are struggling with the business aspects of music and forget that “the music industry is 90% business and 10% music.” according to Armando Christian Perez also known as Pitbull.

Artist management and a great team is key when representing a professional artist that’s ultimate goal is success. The artist manager’s ultimate role and goal is to bring all the right people, to the table, at the right time to shine light on their personal artists talents and abilities. They ultimately become the artist’s and overall teams personal coach, mentor, advisor and trusted friend. They must provide a well thought out vision or road map and be willing to be flexible and realistic. They must be creative and have the ability to alter and change plans at the drop of a dime. They also need to be able to communicate and understand the power of emotional intelligence.

Artist managers often are responsible for brand content and product management as well. Your artist’s products consist of merchandise, showcases, commercials, tours, songwriting and appearances. As an artist and product manager you must use narrowcasting to discover your artists primary and secondary markets as well as key metric segments such as geography, demographics, psychographics and spending behaviors. Technology has given you ability to analyze this information through multiple social media platforms and the World Wide Web. Of course marketing comes at a cost but this information could be the difference between failure and success. Or even possibly multiple years wasted on the wrong target market.

Lastly I truly enjoyed watching, The Future of Social Commerce & Direct Distribution conference panel from Midem 2015, for the week four discussion response. The video was filled with powerful information and knowledge from key industry professionals. They really stressed the importance of fan engagement and the power of authenticity. I also enjoyed reading my peers analysis on what they learned as well as some key points and different perspectives they had on the information. Overall a great month of learning with valuable information I plan to apply to my professional career.

References:

Duigan, M. (2000). Tank 29F Pitbull{trademark} Eductor Evaluation. doi:10.2172/765409 http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/20/how-singing-star-pitbull-is-building-a-business-empire.html

M. (2015, June 07). Retrieved May 24, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=682m_0a4rE0

Negotiation and Deal-Making Course

The Negotiation and Deal-Making course exceeded my original objective and expectations. I found the class discussions, weekly readings and videos as well as the weekly assignments extremely valuable, both for personal use and in my professional life. I actually have already applied some of the skills learned in this course at my current job and with the artist I manage. I will also use these skills in my future business Stellar Echelon. Overall I am extremely satisfied with the knowledge I obtained this month.

I plan to use several key concepts from this course in my future business negotiations. First, separating the people from the problem and not allowing my emotions to control the negotiation. Secondly, truly listen to what the person is saying and not saying and finding their underlying interests. Thirdly, I will also continue to use game theory and emotional intelligence to plan out all possible outcomes and solutions. Mutual benefit and seeing from the other person’s perspective is something I have always been good at in negotiations. Lastly it is very important to be well prepared, understanding key industry standards and statistics and objective criteria as well as key facts from other comparable negotiations.

One of my favorite assignments this month was researching Jay-Z’s and Live Nations 10 year 150 Million-dollar contract for the APA research paper. This is was key moment in the music industry and this partnership ultimately created a business empire. This negotiation achieved Jay-Z’s goal to be at the front lines and find a solution for the music industry’s crisis and decline in profits. The deal created mutual benefit for both parties and the overall business deal was successful and lasted long term. I am very interested to see what Live Nation and Jay-Z decide to do next since the 10-year contract is almost over. Only time will tell.

Digital Marketing

My original goal for Digital Marketing was to use the tools, techniques and strategies to create my own personal digital marketing plan for my business. I wanted to learn various options on how to track my progress so I can make changes and alterations when needed. In the past I have used digital marketing for several projects, artist promotions and my own personal website and business, but I have not had the proper digital marketing training. I strongly believe that this course will increase my overall marketing efforts and brand awareness through search engine optimization, researching key competitors and understanding the value of keywords. I am super excited to learn all that I can about digital marketing and applying these key concepts to my personal business.

I choose to watch Small Business Marketing Fundamentals with Brad Batesole on Lynda.com. Brad did an amazing job explaining key marketing concepts for small businesses along with offering many other resources and videos that could help with my overall marketing efforts. A key resource I learned was the value of sizing up your competition. First understanding who is your competition by making a list of direct and indirect competitors? Then collecting valuable data from their website, research organic SEO, social media platforms and blog to find out as much as you can about them. The overall goal is find out everything that holds a possible threat against your business.

The next key resource I learned was selecting proper marketing channels by starting with things with a high value and low effort. Understanding the costs and how to effectively market with limited resources and when I should investment money into AdWords, direct mail and radio or television commercials. The last key resource I found extremely valuable was how to measure my overall marketing results. This data is so extremely important for current and future marketing efforts. It allows me to use Google Analytics or resources like them to determine the overall results of your marketing efforts. I can tract paid advertisements and product promotions to see the cost and value of the campaign. The overall goal in measuring my marketing efforts allows me to investigate my businesses needs against the marketing investment to ensure the proper value and the necessary checks and balances are in place.

I personally and professionally will apply the knowledge I obtained from the Lynda.com course as well as the Digital Marketing course in my personal business-marketing plan as well as all of my current marketing campaigns for several artists I manage and partnerships I currently work with. I found this exponentially valuable and look forward to see the results of my efforts.

Entertainment Business Finance

It has truly been an exciting month in Entertainment Business Finance! This is one of my personal favorite subjects! Especially since I have spent my professional career in accounting management and financial positions. I truly enjoy the fundamentals of finance and the excitement of researching and analyzing financial statements, comparing prior years and reviewing annual reports to discover what the financial statements are actually saying.

One of my favorite assignments this month was the Time Value of Money Assignment. I personally have not used the time value of money tables since being an undergrad during my bachelor program. These types of calculations excites me and I love researching and calculating the correct answers! Coincidentally a few weeks ago I had a conversation with a close friend on whether it was better to take an annuity or a one lump sum cash pay out for lottery winnings. Not only was I able to explain the answer but also I was able to show them the calculation using the time value of money tables and explain the importance of the time value of money.

The final assignment was to complete Pro Forma Financial Statements for my personal business Stellar Echelon. I found this assignment very powerful and valuable because it provided me with a detailed income statement with my annual costs and revenue projections to present to potential investors and lenders. This brings me one step closer to officially starting my business and finding the necessary funding required officaily to opening the doors. It also provides me with template where I can add, change and update costs and revenue projections when needed; as well as an idea of what initial start-up capital investment will be required and how much capital I will need to have on hand in order to start successful stay in business throughout the year. As many of us know most businesses fail because of lack of financial planning and insufficient capital. The Entertainment Business Finance course provided me with the resources and knowledge necessary to successfully achieve my personal business financial goals.

Business Storytelling & Brand Development

The Business Storytelling and Brand Development masters course at Full Sail University has brought me so much excitement and knowledge to my personal business plan and company’s brand awareness! This class/topic is something I personally have not had as much experience and I was able to learn a tremendous amount that will overall positively impact my brand for years to come. The class has truly opened my eyes and awareness to consciously study other brand stories, archetypes and overall brand development to analyze what has worked historically in the industry. Throughout this month I have unconsciously caught myself identifying and distinguishingly companies brand identities and personal branding archetypes and visual hammers. Overall it has been extremely exciting and knowledgeable.

This has been a very productive and successful month in relation to my personal companies brand and story development. I can truly say that this class was was not just a class full of knowledge or information that I may or may not incorporate into my company’s overall business plan. I have had the opportunity to make some productive changes and advancements to my overall business plan. Throughout this month I was able to identify and document my personal brand story. I also was able to conduct market research on USPTO.GOV and review trademark protection. Lastly I was able to completely distinguish my brand identity, brand story and archetype as well as start working on a visual hammer to bring my brand to life! I truly have grasped the critical components of storytelling and branding and learned through strategic planning I can build a solid foundation in a competitive marketplace.

I personally want to thank Professor Ken Degilio for his passion and powerful knowledge and resources he has provided the class and myself this past month. This is one class I have literally saved every video and resource he has provided and I will use this in the future to reevaluate my company’s brand story and development!

Project and Team Management

Project and team management has increased my overall knowledge and understanding and taught me many new management concepts, ideas and solutions this past month. I especially enjoyed the vibrant and detailed weekly class discussions, as well as the weekly reading assignments from the book, 101 Project Management Problems and How to Solve Them. Honestly I truly enjoyed most all the assigned tasks and overall class as a whole. The professor did mention in the first discussion that this class was intended to be enjoyable and fun! Mission was proficiently accomplished!

My favorite assignment was creating the timelines for my personal project as well as my digital leadership portfolio. The timeline structure taught me some valuable knowledge on how to break a big team project into multiple steps from start to finish. As well what content and additional information I needed to improve the overall success of the project. The explanatory details will allow me to thoroughly dissect each step to ensure success and time management. I was also able to assign tasks to the appropriate person, which will provide me with a complete overview of project completion rates, expectations and timing and management.

The small group assignment was also one of my favorites and truly taught me a tremendous amount about working remotely in small groups. I was able to learn a lot about the personalities, passions and goals of my teammates. I also learned a fundamental way to arranging time schedules to ensure each team member was able to successfully complete their portion of the project. Luckily we were blessed to have a proactive and attentive team ready to learn and work.

The book, 101 Project Management Problems and How to Solve Them taught me in problem #43 how to handle undependable contributors who impede the project progress. First it explains to clearly confirm the overall team impact and specific timing commitments with all members. Then it taught us to verify ownership of specific task and ensure the team member has the correct knowledge and understanding to successfully complete the desired task. If necessary you might need to assign other more experienced team members to help complete. Then finally it taught me to renew and confirm an agreement with the undependable contributor. Ensuring they are completely aware of the expectations, timing and knowledge. This is powerful knowledge to implement in the future on team projects and management.

References:

Kendrick, T. (2011). 101 project management problems and how to solve them: practical advice for handling real-world project challenges. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association.

Leadership Mastery Journal

“Leadership is influence. That’s it. Nothing more; nothing less…” (Maxwell, 1993) My personal goal and mission as a leader is to positively influence and impact the world through love and light. I believe my personality and personal leadership style is most closely compared to John C. Maxwell. Maxwell’s leadership style encourages a passionate, positive and empowering attitude well leading. He states, “Growth and development of people is the highest calling of a leader.” My personal passion, purpose and mission on earth are to serve, love, lead and empower people to live their dreams and purpose in life. To understand the power of the mind and realize that no matter where you came from or what circumstance life brings you have the power to change for the better. One of my favorite quotes which Maxwell actually just recently re-tweeted recently by Charles Swindoll is, “Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react,” Your response is everything! Your attitude is everything!

Maxwell encourages that true ultimate leadership begins within. Understanding your internal emotional responses as well as the emotional intelligence of others allows you to lead more effectively. I believe I also have several characteristics or qualities Maxwell encourages in great leaders. Some include commitment, integrity, discernment, initiative, responsibility and vision. I would also describe myself as extremely caring, ethical and I daily live with the upmost integrity at all times.

As an aspiring leader within the music entertainment industry I believe Maxwell’s philosophies and leadership concepts coincide with many of my own inner personal beliefs. Your name reputation, integrity and personal ethics are keys to your success. Leading by Maxwell’s philosophy will encourage a positive and influential leadership position in the world.

References:

Maxwell, John. Developing The Leader Within You, Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1993

Maxwell, J. C. (2016). Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. -Charles R. Swindoll. Retrieved November 13, 2016, from https://twitter.com/JohnCMaxwell/status/783275808504840192

justinesmasteryjourney

capice2003mastery

Its amazing having my other half crank out her masters journey in Entertainment Business. I always wanted to go and get the foundations of it down. Having her at my side is amazing because now I can focus on the things that matter as well as get through some new aspects that business school at Full Sail can present.

The both of us are a dynamic duo and this is one of the thins that I have been praying for that I can truly say has cone to past!

justinesmasteryjourney

Twin Flame love!

Do you know where you are going ???? How are you getting there? You can watch every #MondayMotivation video on YouTube to start your week off and make you feel like you're in motion ✈ ... OR you can let this be the week you stop consuming and pondering and start DOING .. Time to level up gang ✈✈

#Monday #motivation

#pareto principle

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Justine's Mastery Journey