How To Get Started and Stay In The Business

I don't know anything about BNI but anything that gets YOU involved in your business community and the industries you serve can only help you as long as it is legitimate.

One of the first things we did when we relocated to Vegas 6.5 years ago was join the Chamber and GET INVOLVED by volunteering to be on committees and attending functions. Everyone there is doing the same. You meet a lot of people who maybe don't use your services but some of them know people who do. We volunteered to do some pro-bono projects for the Chamber and within six months I had met and interviewed pretty much every CEO of every large company in Las Vegas, plus most of the local politicians.

Going right back to some of the original posts in this thread, I asked the CEOs "who would I talk to hear at Nevada Power, Cox Cable, Southwest Gas etc about your advertising and video production"? In some cases I got a personal introduction right there on the spot or when I called and said President XYZ gave me your name to call I almost always got straight through.

Organizations are a good way to network but you have to WORK them, you can't just join and wait for the phone to ring.

Robert
 
Happy New Year!

With the new year, what are your resolutions and business marketing plans for 2011?

Robert
 
chromeboy007 said:
Has anyone joined a BNI or BNI-like networking group? I have been to a few of these meetings and I have to say I don't LIKE their formats and structures. I guess they work, I guess. Are any of you a member?
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Was less than impressed with BNI.

Rob's idea of getting involved with your local chamber of commerce is spot on.
 
robstar1 said:
Happy New Year!

With the new year, what are your resolutions and business marketing plans for 2011?

Robert
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Simple but elusive:

1. Stop spending effort on angles that don't pay off.
2. Spend more effort on angles that DO pay off.

Being honest and getting to know what you're actually good at and actually bad at, especially when it comes to marketing and bizdev, is a hard thing and can take years. Or at least it's certainly taken me years. And I'm sure 10 years from now I'll look back and laugh at how misguided I was in 2011, as well. However, 2010 was our best year in business yet and I have no intention of letting up any slack.
 
robstar1 said:
Happy New Year!

With the new year, what are your resolutions and business marketing plans for 2011?

Robert
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Happy New Year!

Here are my immediate resolutions:

Promote my two features that will be releasing early in 2011

1st STEP OFF (formerly known as Battle) will be released by Lion's Gate on March 15th!!

2nd Immigration Tango which hasn't had a firm date set but is planned to be released in a limited theatrical platform by Roadside Attractions.

After promoting the heck out of those (and securing foreign distribution for Battle/Step Off) then we'll be jumping into production on a new feature in April and likely again in September. I also have offers to produce other indie features that I'm weighing at the moment.

-Martin
 
robstar1 said:
Happy New Year!

With the new year, what are your resolutions and business marketing plans for 2011?

Robert
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Focusing on developing my existing network and warm contacts. I have a decent sized list of past/current clients and an even bigger list of warm contacts. I have never tried to leverage those relationships for warm introductions to new business relationships. The main theme of 2011's business model is mining the existing network.


Jason
 
robstar1 said:
Happy New Year!

With the new year, what are your resolutions and business marketing plans for 2011?

Robert
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Tackle my local market industry by industry. Will carpet bomb them with emails first then snipe them with cold phone calls then poison them with promo items like DVD demos and finally if they are good clients, give them terminal cancers in small gifts.... then they will be clients for life aahahahahahaaahahaa!

Setup more professional business policies like 50/50 payments (for end business and consumer clients. agencies just get invoiced), sort out my pricing structure.

Get some wedding gigs and add them to my standard line of service.

Make enough money to pay rents, buy food, and have a decent social life.
 
robstar1 said:
Thanks for the kind words!

Why not make lemonade out of lemons on this?

Suggest that you teach a part or full-day training class for their staff on how to use those little cameras and how to get the best results out of them. Charge for it of course or maybe not and don't talk down to them. Teach them the "when it's okay to use the little cameras and when not".

By teaching them you do several things: First you establish yourself as an expert in the area, second you make yourself available for future questions and third you spend an entire day or half day making new relationships. Give them no-brainer tips and tricks and maybe even a few ideas on how to use consumer technology.

Frankly, I'd even consider doing this training for free but I'd go in with a written curriculum, very organized and very upbeat on how they can succeed and help the company being their own little in-house production.

You're likely never going to get or want that lower level of production anyway, so turn it into something positive. By educating them, you set a standard for when it's time to call a professional.

This could be a very positive move for you! This is marketing and sales that costs you essentially NOTHING but your time and builds your brand / recognition.

That's what I'd do!

Robert
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Hot damn! Great post!
 
robstar1 said:
Thanks for the kind words!

Suggest that you teach a part or full-day training class for their staff on how to use those little cameras and how to get the best results out of them. Charge for it of course or maybe not and don't talk down to them. Teach them the "when it's okay to use the little cameras and when not".

By teaching them you do several things: First you establish yourself as an expert in the area, second you make yourself available for future questions and third you spend an entire day or half day making new relationships. Give them no-brainer tips and tricks and maybe even a few ideas on how to use consumer technology.

Frankly, I'd even consider doing this training for free but I'd go in with a written curriculum, very organized and very upbeat on how they can succeed and help the company being their own little in-house production.

You're likely never going to get or want that lower level of production anyway, so turn it into something positive. By educating them, you set a standard for when it's time to call a professional.


Robert
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I have a (now ex-) friend who used to say that to me all the time. Then I tried to set up a workshop teaching XDCam usage techniques, but we only got one respondent. This same 'friend' tried to get me to write a complex syllabus for a one-day course lecture that was to be associated with a new web portal for videographers who shoot stock footage. My ex-friend didn't think my experience and skills warranted a paycheck for this course, despite the fact that it would consume many hours of my time to write the course syllabus, plan the lecture topic, commute across the state to present the lecture and any associated expenses. That was the last straw that ended our 25-year friendship.

I can't get into teaching in the public school system either, because our school district requires a Masters Degree.

I've given a number of free lectures for local organizations and computer clubs over the years, as an act of good will, assuming that the exposure would be good for my business, however, no such benefit resulted.

In entrepreneurship, you can't be an ugly geek with no marketing genius.
 
I look at this type of exposure as a marketing expense with long term payoff or maybe no payoff but that's no different than any other form of marketing, networking and advertising; you need repetitive exposure.

Frankly when a university or film school invites me to do a demo or teach a one day class they're serving up 20 or so potential new friends, colleagues and future clients. I can't tell you how many times the PA on one job became a Producer 3-4 years later and they remembered I treated them with respect and called me for their project.

Mark, you have lots of experience and knowledge but you rarely paint a very positive outlook in your posts and that may be filtering out to potential clients without you realizing it. There are two very old-school but invaluable books I suggest everyone read or get on audio: The Power of Positive Thinking and How to Win Friends and Influence People.

And, it doesn't take a genius to market it takes a simple plan and years of consistency and persistence!

Robert
 
Well I have noticed that cold emailing doesn't work very well. I got one positive response out of maybe 130. Though it was a very positive response. My plan was to email them first before I call them but from now on I think I'm just gonna call, if the convo goes well chances are they will ask me for my demo. Rob if you are reading, should I be aiming for better results than just asking me for a link to my demo? I have been hitting small advertising and design firms whom clients go to for marketing work. What should a reasonably positive response from cold calling these folks?

Thanks
 
robstar1 said:
The Power of Positive Thinking and How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Robert
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Don't take "How to..." to the extreme. I have friends who don't say anything in a conversation other than ask me questions about me, my day, my job, my lunch, my pencil, my shoe lace, my everything. So poo pooing annoying. They are kind people but com'on! Be interesting as well! Not just interested!

Edit: if there is one book I can truly recommend to the introverts is "How to Communicate effectively" by Carnegie. Now that's a good book. "How to win friends and influence people" is written for the extroverts who couldn't keep their mouths shut, IMHO.
 
chromeboy007 said:
Well I have noticed that cold emailing doesn't work very well. I got one positive response out of maybe 130. Though it was a very positive response....should I be aiming for better results than just asking me for a link to my demo? I have been hitting small advertising and design firms whom clients go to for marketing work. What should a reasonably positive response from cold calling these folks?
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First, congrats on your email campaign! I think you did better than you think you did!

Cold anything doesn't work very well especially if that is your mindset that it is "cold". However, your results on the emails, especially considering the deluge of email people get wasn't so bad. Think of it this way, if you were a spammer and sent 13 million emails with the same results and got just a dollar from each responding person using the same response ratio you'd have made $100,000.

Even the best of the best ad agency designed campaigns would die for a 1-2% response ratio on any campaign... die for it! We can't expect our responses to be any better. This is why I continue to press home the point that you have to invest the time in researching your market AND getting involved in the client based industry or town you are serving. When you are doing press releases, attending industry functions, trade shows, calls, emails etc. and have a complete marketing package you'll see your success rate of calls and jobs go up; it's a multi-faceted "CAMPAIGN" to build your business not just a set of calls or emails.

You may have gotten just one response now, but you've planted a seed and hopefully your name. The seeds of success don't always sprout immediately. It took up to 7-8 YEARS for us to get jobs from some prospects; we just kept in touch and never gave up!

As long as we knew they were qualified prospects we kept in touch (not to be confused with badger) until they told us to stop which rarely happened. Calls, mailings and postcards kept up current with their names too so when we were at a show or event their name badges were great identifiers and a way to shake hands and say hi.

Change your terminology from cold to warm or info gathering and realize if you want to get in the business and stay in the business it is a long-term investment that never ends.

Robert
 
Doesn't the IRS look at businesses that don't turn a profit in 5 years as 'hobby businesses' and thus disallow equipment deductions after that time?

I've been running unprofitable computer-based businesses since 1987 and I had to keep closing and restarting a new business every few years because of tax issues, both local and federal.
 
I don't know where the IRS stands on anything at any given time about anything; it's a F'd up and out-dated bureaucracy IMHO!

How could they enforce a rule that you must make a profit as long as you are gainfully and regularly engaged in work that you are legitimately trying to build a business? Plenty of people live off of savings, loans and/or spousal incomes. Maybe something like this could be applied to a "hobbiest" but if you can show proof that you are regularly engaged in activities to build a business (maybe through proof of an ongoing, active business and marketing plan?), I think they'd have a hard time proving otherwise. There's nothing against the law about being a ineffective business person.

It's an interesting question but this thread is not intended to get into accounting / tax principles, nor is it intended for the hobbiests in our midst; this thread is focused on how to get in the business and stay in the business. IMHO, as long as you're giving it your all and are fully committed to treating your business like a real business your success timeline is irrelevant.

If you have been starting and ending multiple businesses for 25 years to satisfy some form of government needs, you should either get a regular job or get a new accountant!

Robert
 
Well a big part of business is dealing with government burocracy from at least three government levels.

Yeah, I suck at business, but I sucked even more as a low-wage manual laborer. I can't tell you how many jobs I got fired from. None of them were worth getting up in the morning for, anyway. At least now, I don't dread "going to work", I just need to start making real money.
 
I didn't like the post. sorry. but this is kind of a misleading advice. specially if you want to make films for the passion of it and not as a business. and 20 calls everyday for 3 months - unnecessary waste of time, instead of running after people, make good films with your heart and people will come to you.
my opinion. no offense.
 
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