MY REFLECTIONS OF THE EBMS PROGRAM!
I started this journey with this phrase in regards to the Masters Program which I still think is true at the end of this journey. “I believe this is my calling and purpose to be here which is to help people gain wealth and keep it and to influence the world with my faith in media arts and entertainment. I love the business side and love working with genuine people. I have big dreams and I will not stop until they come to fruition.” Shakeerah McPherson
Let me share what a great journal I encountered while obtaining my Masters degree at Full Sail University.
Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership
One of the highlights about this course was reflecting on my personality professionally and personally and discovering the type of person I am. I enjoyed this class because immediately I was outside of my comfort zone and I had to create a video. The turning point video had to encompass myself speaking on camera about why I enrolled in this course and what my aspirations was in hopes to get something out of the program. I was able to share my passion with my classmates and the world I wanted to make the video public. Reflecting upon myself and low self esteem or confidence to move forward in my career was not an easy task but this course helped to overcome certain fears while developing my character as a future leader and CEO.
My original goal was to uncover more of my mastery skills and identify what is necessary for me to succeed in the entertainment industry. I want I understand my role in the development of leadership mannerisms and characteristics and I accomplished this during this class. I used the resources such as entreprenuer.com and others to succeed in this course. The book read in the class called Mastery by Robert Green was insightful and a tool I will use in my career going forward.
Executive Leadership
My original goal was to become an organized leader in the industry and find a way to introduce my uniqueness to the world. To help create great business relationships. The skills that I learned in the course was phenomenal. I listened to podcast on how to be an effective leader and gain great knowledge and acquired new leadership skills. Organization was one my my main struggles but this course has helped me greatly.
In this course we learned the different type of leaders. I loved this class and took the tips from watching Lynda.com. We discussed both authors Greene and Robert Maxwell. One of the Law 38 Greene discussed was the Law Mastering the Art of Timing. The story of Fouche showed how important it is to adapt and be patient in the process. Of course it is great to have big dreams and imagine getting there but it is also important to realize there is a process to follow. As mentioned under law 35, there are “three kinds of time for us to deal with, long time, forced time and end time. One key thing about them all is that they are not all predictable but its about knowing when to make the next move without falling. There so much to learn studying these leaders such as the Pareto Principle, which is the 20/80 and says 20% of your priorities will give 80% of your production if you spend your time, energy, money and personnel on the top 20% of your priorities. According to the rule: Develop top 20% of producers, Spend 80% of personal development money on them, Determine what 20% of the work gives 80% of the return and train an assistant to do the 80% which frees up time for the producer, Ask the top 20 to do on the job, giving them responsibility and accountability. I know I will continue to reference these leaders to asses my character.
Project and Team Management
I absolutely loved this class because it opened my eyes to see where I wanted my company to go and the logistics behind it. I created a timeline to advance things in my business such as the logo, calendar of events, etc. I kept the timeline up until I conquered all the assignments I set in place for this class. This course was about how to manage others, grow in your particular field and expand knowledge of the industry while learning about you. This course certainly accomplished and exceeded my expectations. The readings were great and I will take them with me for the rest of my career. I initially established InfuzionWorld Entertainment but now the company is called InFuzion Entertainment.
This course also opened up my personality traits and allowed me to take a quiz that would share a little about myself which some of it I knew and others I discovered. I learned 42% of personality is covered by the Dominance trait. I definitely love competition and challenge (at times) and love meeting goals and deadlines. The instructor was helpful and gave great feedback for every assignment. I learned I need to have an administrator within my company right away once I am able to gain revenue to hire personnel.
Business Storytelling & Brand Development
This was one of my favorite courses because I learned so much about branding. I have learned to pay more attention to branding. While reading the 22 Immutable Laws of Branding (Ries, 2010), one law that stood out to me was the law of fellowship. This course has far exceeded my expectations because of the application and challenging assignments (well at least for me). This course has been a joy take and I have received an array of information and developed a new outlook on branding and creating my business story and reaches the consumers and targeted audiences.
I also learned about brand auditing and researching competitors while understanding their brand strategy. I reviews brands as netflix, us virgin islands, comcast, redbox and checked social media links. I worked with helping my company with a brand identity model and created a creative brief sharing the strengths and weaknesses of the company name, logo ideas and target audience and goal of the brand for growth of the company. I still have to do some tweaking to my branding but now I have a blueprint to follow thanks to taking this course.
Entertainment Business Finance
Math is not my specialty so I was not too excited for this course but in order to have great revenue, bookkeeping, taxes for any entrepreneur financial order is necessary. Some entrepreneurs begin the process with a thought but never allow the full picture to be revealed and considering the “what if” factors involved. This course was challenging in a great way because I learned new techniques to addressing the financial aspect of my business. I did not know much about investments, stocks and bonds and never considered them until taking this course. This financial course has opened my eyes to think differently about my finances and the impact it not only has on me personally but professionally.
Not only did we deal with personal finance such as bonds and certificates of deposit to gain interest on personal funds. We began to learn how to complete a pro forma template and reviewing start up costs and creating sales. I reviewed fixed and variable expenses, payroll and taxes. The course was the beginning of creating the business plan. I calculated what is needed to get started for my business and the formulas necessary. I am thankful to have these sheets to reference for the future in case my financials change.
Digital Marketing
During this course I have been introduced to new marketing websites, such as Google analytics, social mentions and the effectiveness of blogging. The key has been to find what will work and how to apply the right strategy to my company. When seeking successful companies and their social marketing strategies I have noticed the consistently and effort required to remain relevant. I have learned what I need to do and realizing I must make time until I am acquiring a profit. Digital marketing is not solely social media presence increase but it’s being steadfast, reading other blogs, post in the preferred industry.
The most vital key to this course was coming up with a plan to market and strategize the direction of my social media tactics. My original goal was to apply digital Marketing and learn from every assignment and project. To be able to see revenue from my marketing tactics after taking this course. As I am growing my company and relaunching it to gain more traction to the website. I created a marketing canvas that discussed how the social media campaigns will generate resources and gain likes, view, shares and ultimately make more revenue. The campaign projected a total budget in the amount of $18,000 with 61 total sales in order to break even to cover the budget set for the year. I will now use this strategy for future campaigns.
Negotiation and Deal-Making
What a fun course. I was able to interact with fellow online students and complete an mock negotiation. While completing the assignment with a fellow classmate I used the negotiation tactics such as research, listen, take my time to know what my BATNA’s were. It was an awesome learning experience to learn the power of negotiation. We learned about separating the people from the problem and not being emotional and personal with the negotiation process. Its important to understand the goals of each negotiation and being bold but open to working out a deal with the other party.
I learned I am a socializer and tend to enjoy networking and meeting new people but when it comes to delegation I can be a controller in that area. ·We learned how to separate the people from the problem, positional bargaining, mutual benefit and dealing with dirty tricks. I researched the case Prince versus Warner Bros. studying the negotitation between Prince and record companies, ultimately Prince won. However, he did not gain full access due to his death of his full catalog of music. This course opened my eyes and challenged me with my research skills, communication skills and writing skills.
Product and Artist Management
Product and Artist Management was the class I couldn't wait for because it relates to my company which is artist management. Christine Winn was so supportive in her feedback and advice to help with the advancement of my company. She was personable and had much knowledge that I am thankful to reference in the future. The course was informative, factual and allowed me to apply to my personal and professional goals to the assignments provided.
My goal is to continue growing learning and moving from a “sidepreneur” to a real entrepreneur. I am thankful for this class as it will make me a better talent manager and has equipped me with what is needed to grow. One great assignment was creating an event or project and I created a community film festival. I had the opportunity to have 2 classmates work with me on the project and I am hoping to organize it with help in 2017. I learned how to create a proper artist management agreement. I never realized the work that goes into planning an event until we put the details in the plan in regards to creating revenue. I’m truly exciting about the possibilities and year ahead.
Advanced Entertainment Law
Entertainment Law was a necessary course because I learned the terminology of law in entertainment. I studied the case Herb Reed Enterprises LLC. vs. Florida Entertainment Management Inc. In the case of In the case of Herb Reed Enterprises, LLC v. Florida Entertainment Management, Inc. there were many learning lessons for all parties and a long process to learn such information based on the lengthy litigation time period and costly court visitations. In the end, the ninth circuit changed historical processes based on trademark injunctions and difficult to prove trademark infringement based on this case.
The course was very analytical which I enjoyed greatly. I was able to review case laws with a new eye and see the argument from both parties objectively. The course is very beneficial to any entertainment company and will enforce those in leadership roles to be alert. The weekly sessions were helpful in completing assignments and explaining terminology easily without confusing a potential client.
Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution
The Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution course met my goals because the assignments were in alignment to what I was currently working on in real-time. I recently had a book to promote but was unsure of the proper steps to ensuring its professionalism and by completing the assignment it allowed me a better grasp on the direction. I enjoyed the projects and assignment because I had to think about what was being presented and it was not only a course of reading but putting what was learned into action.
I learned the reason why gaining an mechanical license is important. Royalties are derived from the sale of recordings embodying the song, such as CD’s, Vinyl, Digital Downloads, and streaming services. Also, covers your artist recroding their own version of a previously recording and released song (cover song). I learned about mechanical Licenses, Performing Rights, Print Rights, Synchronization Rights, Grand Rights, and Transcription Rights. Personally taking this course has shown me that I must be diligent and patient in the process of growth.
Business Plan Development
My original goal for this course was to learn how to create an effective business plan for my company InFuzion Entertainment. As a result of completing this course I have learned my mission, goals, purpose and function of InFuzion Entertainment. The business plan development class was informative and a lot of work that was necessary. I was able to see the company formulate a real plan. The pro forma financial sheet was added into the business plan.
I plan on using this information with my company and I am able to network and seek investors in this company and future companies that I will create. Personally this course has taught me what I wanted to really do with my company and how to delegate tasks within my company. The business plan development course allowed me to see all of the courses come together and use all forms of marketing, company structure, licensing, contracts and all documents needed.
Final Project: Business Plan
The elevator pitch was a highlight of the course because I have trouble shortening my business goals. I had to reassess all of the information learned over the course of these 12 months. From creating infographics to recording keynotes and power point presentations. I have gained many new sites in regards to jobs and financial sites that are unconventional funding sources. The professor provided great insight on financial alternatives, stocks, understanding investments.
This course was the final class needed to write a complete business plan and write an effective plan for investors. I learned how to tweek my financial statement, cash flow and business taxes learning what I can write off as a new business owner. I am thankful for this course and ending the masters program with much knowledge, a wealth of books, sites and links and better relationships.
“Start everyday with new hope, leave bad memories behind and have faith for a better tommorow” Unknown