Well before I get started I want to give you some backstory.
My Name is Alex and I graduated from high school in 2009 and jumped right into college
attending Full Sail University for a Bachelor Degree in Film. Almost two years
later I was graduating with my Bachelor of Science and then on to my Masters in
Entertainment Business. I wanted to posses not only the skills I needed for
being on the set of a production but also know how a production was put
together, who did it, and what was their job like. All of these questions and
more needed to be answered. So I got on board and less than two weeks after I
graduated I was starting my masters.
Month 1 – Media Research and Methodologies
Our first class was online and called Media Research and
Methodology. This was about researching and getting the skills and know how to
accomplish your market data, industry statistics, and other important research
for your final project business plan. We also learned that being plugged into
social media is a good thing. By giving people a place to go to when ever they
want to see your product and what you have to offer gives you a fighting chance
with those huge competitors and establish people in the industry.
Month 2 – Executive Leadership
This class taught us leadership and we learned Leadership
through two outlets, green or Maxwell. Some of us ran for Greene, memorizing
the laws as if it was a bible to them. Others were more expressive and dealt
more with Maxwell and his view of making others happy to get what you want.
Both of these books were for us to find out what leader we wanted to be and not
which way was better. We also learned through studying our past and
present leaders, giving presentations on their methods to success, how they
became a leader and what kind of things they have done that make them a leader. This was our first class together and our
class had only seven people in it. It was easy to understand and connect with
students because of the small size. Our teacher Steve Adkins gave us valuable
insight to becoming the true and best leader that you can be.
Month 3 – Project and Team Management
After we learned who we were as leaders it was time to work
together. Its was like taking all the chiefs and making them work together.
After giving us this sense of leadership the tables were turned and a new set
of skills had to emerge, being able to let others lead at times and working
together. We also learn that in a business, team-building exercises are amazing
and here is a link to some. I also like to call them icebreakers and they are
very efficient and that website offers even more than just icebreakers.
Month 4 – Business Storytelling and Brand Development
Now that we could work as a team and lead we were able to
work together and start developing our business plans that would be built and
develop over time to the final month where we would present them. This class
taught how to create your brand for not only your company but yourself as well.
We learned how companies created their brand and how specific thing we required
when using a companies brand. This was a great experience and helped me further
my concept for my company project.
Month 5 – Entertainment Business Finance
After our idea was developed and we had our story we needed
to find out if it could actually survive in the market and if there was an
actual revenue stream. We learned how to create a pro-forma that showed monthly
expenses, marketing expenses, start up cost, and a 3-year projection of all
cost and sales. This challenged us to find the right market and the right place
for our business. This is when I was introduced to Shark Tank. We learned how
people use equity and interest to attract lenders and investors. If you can
show you will make them money with numbers showing dollars and cents, you might
just get what you were asking for!
Month 6 – Negotiating and Deal Making
This was by far the best class in my opinion. In Negotiating
and Deal Making we learned how to create a better understand of what the person
we are negotiating with wants and channel that to a better solution for the
problem at hand. It was about figuring out why that person wanted a 35 %
royalty, or that 50,000 dollar bonus. We learned that people all have different
wants and needs, when negotiating if both parties can explain those needs and
wants, a better understanding will create a win for both parties. But our
teacher didn’t stop there, after the mock negotiations were over and our skills
were at the best they have ever been, she told us we were about to play the
most loved and hated game of all, Monopoly. This game however wasn’t played by
all of the rules and we created unique and clever deals with each other giving
the game new depth and our brains a whole new look on how to negotiate with
people. In the end I took the most out of this class with the understanding
that we all have different wants and needs, even when working on a project with
your peers. To find out how to get people what they want along with getting
what you want it the true power of negotiations and getting people motivated as
well. There is a reason why people want it, you just have to figure it out and
then you see what you are actually negotiating with.
Month 7 – Product and Artist Management
In this class we discuss how to deal with the artist and the
product they are selling. We specifically discussed artists in the music
industry and learned about what is required when artists perform shows, how to
negotiate pay and royalties with artist, and how to mange the work load. We
watch educational video that our teacher provided that gave us a view into the
world of going to a label and trying to get an artist signed. This was a very necessary
component for classmates that were looking to start a recording studio or
produced an artist’s music.
Month 8 – Advanced Entertainment Law
This was the most feared class among my classmates. We heard
horror stories but soon came to really enjoy our teacher and the material. She
talked about intellectual property rights, copyright infringement, and
trademarks. We also go more information about different types of companies and
corporations. We reviewed cases that pertained to our industry and analyzed
them to create a case assessment that we would turn in. We review contracts and
understood how to make changes and understand the wording and language that
comes with reading a contract.
Month 9 – Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution
Our instructor in this class taught us how to self publish
and distribute our works. We became familiar with legal terminology, industry
specific contracts, and licenses. This helped us understand agency agreements,
publishing deals, distribution agreements, and licenses. We also learned how to
effectively write treatments and other material that publishers want to see
when trying to get a traditional publishing deal.
Month 10 – Digital Marketing
Yet another one of my favorite classes, Digital Marketing,
in this class we discussed new ways to market your company and get the market
you are searching for the most effective and strategic way. This class gave us
the resources and know how to use Google analytics, adwords, and other sites to
create search optimized content along with developing a clear and cost
efficient marketing plan. Digital
Marketing opened my eyes to the world of the Internet. It taught me what the
real power of Facebook is and how the ability to reach your market, no matter
what business is now super easy if you take the time to research.
Month 11 – Business Plan Development
This class was where we took all the information and
knowledge we learned form the previous classes and put it together in something
investors and/or lenders could read. We were given even more resources to find
data on our markets and industry stats and created multiple pages of what are
company was about, our market size, and our industry analysis. Our teacher was
preparing us for out final stage in the Master Program, the presentation. This
class let us refine and put all of our data collected together. While in this
class I was working on my project for school and creating less of an
entertainment business on the side. I was able to find even more data to back
up my financials and my projected market. This gave my side business plan an
extra flare and was perfect when presenting it to investors.
Month 12 – Final Project: Business Plan
Our hard work was done. We were at the final stages of
developing our entertainment business. Our teacher helped us tweak our
financials and on the three week we presented our final business plan to a
panel of judges who acted as investors. We also had to have a full written
business plan turned in and completed. At the end I had a production rental
equipment company that was more high tech and involved in social media than any
other today. It had interactive applications, a new approach to renting gear,
and was place in the perfect place where the market needed it.
Over all this was my favorite degree out of my two. I felt
like I learned how to look for opportunity in the markets. I learned how to
build a business with data and research while learning the day-to-day
operations of a business. By this I mean dealing with the contracts, the
negotiations between clients and artist, and paying the bills and your employees,
all vital things to know when operation a business. Now the only thing for me
to do is get out into the industry and start using my skills. Goodbye Full Sail
University, Hello World.
No comments:
Post a Comment