My Business Plan - Applying what I've Learned from Experts

Winding down to the end of my class, Business Plan Development.  I’ve started the process of writing my business plan.  When I first began writing the Mission Statement of my Business plan I must say honestly that I was a bit overwhelmed.  I was over thinking my Business Plan as if it was set in stone for life and I had to make it perfect.  Also, I have so many interests in concert production and sports entertainment and it was difficult to narrow my services down. Then I reflected back to the article I posted on July 1^st, where I talked about Barbara Corcoran and Steve Ellis. 

In the article Barbara Corcoran wrote, she stated that a lengthy business plan is useless and suggested to keep your business plan simple.  Her suggestion was to just list what’s most important to attend to, and to imagine what exactly you want your business to look like when it is successful.  Make a simple “to do” list of what’s most important to make your dream a reality.  These were excellent suggestions and I was able to keep my business plan simple and focus on what is important for the purposes of this business plan.  I can always change it later. (Burhoe, 2011) 

Steve Ellis suggests concentrating on your product, what you’re trying to sell.  He believes that the critical component of a business plan is the name of the company.  He believes that the name of the company must represent who the owner is and the concept the owner is trying to portray.  The company needs to be unique and marketable, and grab the attention of the investor.  The name of my company is JPS Music Tour Management.  Although I’m still struggling with the name and would like to be more creative, I would say that the name of my company does represent who I am with JPS and what I am trying to portray is Music Tour Management Company.  (Glaenzer, 2011)

The most important part of my Business Plan would be the Mission Statement and Executive Summary as both tell the investor what it is I am going to do.  Barbara Corcoran also stated that the Investor does not want to read the entire plan, and to treat it like a resume.  Put what is most important first, if it grabs the attention of the Investor, they will read further. 

Sources:

http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/tips/ThemeGallery/777018

Burhoe, Steven. (2011, March 31). Expert Views on Business Plans. Retrieved on June 30, 2012 from: http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/


Glaenzer, Stefan. (2011, October 27). We al know that business plans are a sub-genre of science fiction. Retrieved on July 1, 2012 from:   http://fanuscripts.blogspot.com/2011/10/we-all-know-that-business-plans-are-sub.html

Experts Key Concepts of Writing a Business Plan

The world is full of successful business people.  But how did they become successful?  For the most part, it all started with a Business Plan.  In this blog I will discuss two successful business people, and what they believe are the key components in a Business Plan. 

Barbara Corcoran, a member of the Shark Tank Crew, is a Real Estate mogul who started Real Estate Company in New York with a $1,000 loan from her boyfriend.  Her Real Estate Company turned into over $5 billion in 25 years.  She also wrote a national best-selling book about business called; If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails.  Corcoran believes that a critical component of a successful business plan is a great executive summary.  She makes a very good point in her reasoning as she says most investors will not read the whole plan because they have so many other plans to consider. You will grab the attention of the investor if you answer the questions, “What problem are your trying to solve?  Why are you uniquely qualified to solve it?  Is it good business? What’s it going to cost?  And how long is it going to take?” I guess you could compare this to a hiring authority looking at your resume.  You want to list your most qualifying skills and/or experience first.  Corcoran also stated that two of the biggest pitfalls in writing a business plan are overestimating your company’s addressable market and downplaying risks.  (Burhoe, 2011)

Additionally, when Corcoran was interviewed about writing a business plan, on the show Shark Tank Tips, she stated that a lengthy business plan was useless.  She suggested keeping the business plan simple.  Just list what's most important to attend to and what's not. I thought a great suggestion from her is to imagine what exactly what you want your business to look like once you are successful.  Like a daydream. Make a simple "to do" list of what's most important to make your dream a reality. http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/tips/ThemeGallery/777018

Steve Ells founded the restaurant, Chipotle in 1993 with a loan for $85,000 from his father.  Ells is the co-Chief Executive Officer and was appointed Chairman of the Board in 2005.  Before to launching Chipotle, Ells worked at Stars restaurant in San Francisco for two years, and graduated from the University of Colorado with a BA in art history.  He also graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1990, and is currently a top investor on NBC’s, America’s Great Next Restaurant. Ells suggests to concentrate on your product, what you're trying to sell to the investor. (Glaenzer, 2011)

The investors on America’s Great Next Restaurant believe that one of the key and critical components investors look for in a business plan is the name of the company. They believe that the name of the company must represent who the owner is and the concept the owner is trying to portray.  They also believe that the concept of the company needs to be unique and marketable and grab the attention of the investor.  (Burhoe, 2011)

Sources:
Burhoe, Steven. (2011, March 31). Expert Views on Business Plans. Retrieved on June 30, 2012 from: http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/ 


Glaenzer, Stefan. (2011, October 27). We al know that business plans are a sub-genre of science fiction. Retrieved on July 1, 2012 from:   http://fanuscripts.blogspot.com/2011/10/we-all-know-that-business-plans-are-sub.html


http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/tips/ThemeGallery/777018

Musicians Utilizing Social Media

As we know, social media is a way of life these days, especially for digital marketing.  Just look at all the advertisements on Facebook.  Speaking of Facebook, the recent news of Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO) starting at $38 per share, has U2’s front man Bono in the news.  Bono bought into Facebook when it is fresh and word is that he may now be one of the richest musicians in the world (after Paul McCartney).  Bono has more than a two-percent stake in Facebook and it is worth $1.5 billion.  (Kaufman, 2012) This brings me to the topic of how musicians are utilizing social media to share their music with the world and interact with the fans.  How many musicians are utilizing this? I would say that if you are a musician and not on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media networks then you are in the dark ages.  I would guess that some utilize it more than others.  It’s not surprising that Bono is on board with social media and interacting because after all, it’s Bono! U2 uses social media to be connected with the fans during their live show.  Although U2’s tour is an enormous production, I’m sure there are other bands who use social media during the live show to connect with the fans. 

Recently I attended 2 concerts, Roger Waters and Coldplay.  While attending these concerts I was involved in social media, as were people sitting around me in the audience.  We were all taking pictures and I know that I was posting them on Facebook.  I would take a guess that others were doing the same.  In 2009 and 2011 I attended the U2 360 Tour.  A blog article in High Talk, 3 Social Media Lessons from U2, by George F. Snell III, talks about how it was difficult to avoid social media at a U2 live show (the article refers to the actual show I attended in Foxborough, Massachusetts).   Snell talks about how U2 used technology and social media throughout the show to interact with the fans.  It is well known that U2 care about world issues (e.g. One.org, Amnesty.org) and they used technology, social media and the web to create a strong bond with their fans and to get them on board with the causes they care about.  While U2 is entertaining their fans, they are also getting them connected and using the power of the web to tell stories, get people connected and sell their brands.  Most consumers want connection to the people behind the brand they are interested in buying, Bono creates a human face to U2 while he showcases his products and ideas to his fans.   So in this case what Bono is selling is a cause and he can sometimes get a bit political, but the way he interweaves it into an amazing show works.  He is also selling his music. 

In my last blog I said I was going to attend Roger Waters in San Francisco.  I also said I would give a review, as I had posted a blog about the difference between the arena and stadium shows.  But I don’t have much to report, the show was basically the same (fantastic) but just larger.  I will add a video of Roger Waters discussing how he uses social media.  

References:

Kaufman, G. (2012, May 18). Facebook IPO Could Smash Records, Spur New Tech Wave:  MTV News takes you behind the scenes of Facebook in a    2011 documentary that explores the company's unique non-corporate culture. Retrieved from: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1685335/facebook-ipo-diary.jhtml

Kaufman, G. (2012, May 18). Bono's Billion-Dollar Facebook IPO Haul: By The Numbers: You could buy nearly seven million pair of Bulgari Bono sunglasses the cash. Retrieved from: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1685414/bono-facebook-ipo-billion.jhtml

Snell, George F. III. (2012, September 2009). 3 Social Media Lessons from U2.  Retrieved from: http://hightalk.net/2009/09/21/3-social-media-lessons-from-u2/  

The 2012 Concert Season

Last year around this time I wrote about what the 2011 summer concert season looked like.  

Well, it is now 2012 and a whole new year of concert production on the road.  Last year may have been U2 but this year it’s Coldplay, at least for starters.  Other bands expected to tour in 2012 are Madonna, Lady Gaga, Van Halen (with David Lee Roth), Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, Phish, The Dave Matthews Band, Radiohead, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, to name a few. 

Last week I attended my first concert of 2012, Coldplay.  The concert was at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, and the first Coldplay concert I have been too.  I’ve liked the band since the song “Yellow” came out in 2000.  I had tickets to Coldplay in 2009 but had an accident and broke my leg a few days before, gave the tickets away.  So I have been looking forward to them touring again.  I have to say, this concert was worth the wait.  Upon entering the concert, I was given a pink bracelet that said Coldplay on one side and Twitter on the other, and told to put the bracelet on; it was part of the show. 

When the lights went off and Coldplay came on stage my bracelet lit bright pink: and those around me did the same: a myriad of rainbow-colored lights: red, yellow, pink, blue, green. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen at a show before, sort of like glow sticks but high tech.  The stage was painted with black light florescent paint, and the lights were like black lights, there was also a lazar light show. It was fantastic!!  The show went on with a continuous array of lights and neon colors, along with confetti falling off at different times throughout the show.  At one time the singer, Chris Martin, was rolling around on stage in the confetti.  Not only was the light and confetti show cool, but Chris Martin’s singing, piano playing, and guitar was very impressive.  Stacy Scales of Spinning Platters.com gave a great review on April 30, 2012. 

I think what really impressed me was the audience interaction. Chris and the band really made a point to interact with the band, starting with the bracelets, and ending with the band appearing on a small platform, in the audience at the back of the arena for the first encore.  This show was worth every penny and I would see Coldplay again. 

It looks like the 2012 concert season is going to be a good one. 

Next week I will be attending Roger Waters, The Wall, at AT&T Park, San Francisco.  I will do a blog post for this concert as it connects to a blog post from November 2011.  In that blog post I talked about the difference between Roger Waters, The Wall arena tour vs. stadium tour. 

http://soundcheck.ocregister.com/files/2012/05/coldplay1.jpg

http://spinningplatters.com/2012/04/30/show-review-coldplay-with-the-pierces-and-metronomy-at-hp-pavilion-4282012/

Jeff Kravitz/WireImage/LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images/Kevin Mazur/Johannes Simon/Getty Images

Get Writing that Book!

This month, the class I took for my Masters Degree in Entertainment Business Management is Media Publishing and Distribution.  This class rocks!  Not that I haven’t liked the majority of classes I’ve taken so far, but this one was very valuable. See, I’ve been talking about writing a book/memoir for years.  I even took two classes on writing a book and writing your life story.  Those classes were helpful in how to put your thoughts on paper, but not in getting published.  I had no idea where to start.  For those who know me, I am writing a book about my interesting life because people always tell me I should write a book.  Not only do I have interesting stories, I am good at telling them.  It must be my Irish heritage. 

My book is about concert production and life backstage from the view of someone who worked in various jobs that people outside the music industry, and possibly those in the music industry, may not even be aware of.  One of these jobs is hospitality catering and the other is a concert runner or production assistant (production assistant is really just a glorified runner in some cases). A concert runner is usually one of the first to report for work in the morning and the last to leave. The book goes beyond just the jobs but into the personal friendships and short-term relationships that came about as the result of a passion for music, the excitement of backstage, the artists, and the variety of people from all over the world who are involved in music.  This book is also about a simple life in rural Vermont during 1992-1998.  Interweaving life in the music industry while raising 2 children as a single mother, attending college. 

Through this class, I found some great resources.  I also found out that there are many agents out there looking for all kinds of material.  It is a good idea to find the agent who is looking for the kind of book you want to write.  There are also many self-publishing websites out there, some with step-by-step instructions on getting your book published.  A site that I found informative is www.writersdigest.com. I now receive email from Writers Digest.  Writers’ blogs on the internet are also very helpful.  There are so many of them.  It’s a bit overwhelming when you first look at them all, you have to go through them and find the ones that apply to you.  I did find this article that explains writers blogs and lists the best 39 blogs for writers, in fact, the article is called The 39 Best Blogs for Writers.  (Klems, 2012)  This article refers to another article by Writer’s Market editor Robert Lee Brewer called Best Blogs for Writers to Read in 2012.  These blogs are really good for finding people and information so that maybe I can get my book published.

(Klems, Brian). (February 12, 2012). The 39 Best Blogs for Writers. Retrieved on February 16, 2012 from http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-39-best-blogs-for-writers

http://robertleebrewer.blogspot.com/2012/02/best-blogs-for-writers-to-read-in-2012.html

A New Take on the Concert Industry: Playing for the Audience

Let’s take a look at the concert industry for the last 4 years. Who has been touring and selling out shows?  How much are consumers paying for tickets?  Who is the audience?  Are people still interested in live music? 

First, it seems as though the bands that are selling out, are bands that have been touring for many years, bands that were popular in the 80’s.  According to Live 2.0, the top grossing touring acts hasn’t changed much since 1988.  Here are the bands on that list that were also touring in 1988:  Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and AC/DC.  (McCarthy, 2009)  Other “older” bands that are still touring and selling out stadiums are U2 (top grossing band of 2011), and Roger Waters.  Roger Waters, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and the original Van Halen are already selling out venues this year. 

So, who is the audience?  The audience is not just the “baby boomers” or those who could have been to any of these concerts in the 80’s.  Now a younger crowd, probably the children of those baby boomers are attending.  I think that the reason people are attending concerts is because they want to be there with their favorite band and be part of the music.  Ticket prices are high, but seeing your favorite band live is worth paying the high prices. 

I found an interesting article written in 2011, by Jim McCarthy, CEO of Goldstar.  The article included some informative links and a Ted talks audio, and talks about how the concert industry has evolved over the past 10 – 15 years.   A lot of this has to do with record sales.  Record sales have gone way down over the past few years, with the inexpensive price of downloads, verses vinyl and/or CD’s.  Because of the cheap price of music, people are placing a higher value on live interaction than ever before.  In the article, Jim made a good point, when he said that younger bands are going to have to start “tuning up” to entice the audiences of tomorrow.  The older bands like Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, and even U2 are not going to be selling out stadiums, or even smaller venues in 2020.  Other bands, venues, and artist managers are going to have to work and find out what the audience wants in a live performance.  






(McCarthy, Jim). (Jan. 15, 2009). Maybe I Should be Writing this on my Commodore 64. Retrieved on February 16, 2012 from http://www.download-not-available.com/quick-takes/maybe-i-should-be-writing-this-on-my-commodore-64-too

(McCarthy, Jim). (Nov. 10, 2011). Live Music Needs a Tuneup To Entice the Audiences of Tomorrow. Retrieved on February 16, 2012 from
http://www.fastcompany.com/1794113/pricing-live-music-to-lure-tomorrows-fans#ixzz1dmdaGsrS

Entertainment Law Update Podcast Episode 13 - by Gordon Firemark

Gordon Firemark and Tamara Bennett Trademark, Copyright, Entertainment Attorneys discuss a variety of issues on August 25, 2010.  The following are two issues I found interesting:

Invasion of Privacy issue:  Justin Beiber tweeted 15-year old Kevin Krisopik’s phone number on a Saturday night, telling his 4.5 million followers that it was his own phone number.  Kevin received 26,000 calls and text messages from fans of Justin Beiber.   Justin admitted to going this and said that he did it because Kevin got ahold of Justin’s cell phone number, and had been bothering him with unwanted, annoying text messages. Kevin’s father is worried about the phone bill.   Gordon and Tamara discussed what the possible damages would be.  There were not any monetary damages because Kevin had an unlimited text messaging phone plan.  It may have cost money to change the phone number, but that is small claims issue, probably not worth pursuing. It was the responsibility of Justin.  Was there a right of privacy violation?  Since the phone number was private, a reasonable person would think it is a violation of privacy.  Was it an intentional and willful act of Beiber?  Probably not.  The discussion of this case was interesting because the attorneys did bring up any possible legal liability, that could apply to this case, but none of them applied.  

The next discussion that I found interesting is the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) indecency policy ruling that, the FCC must allow for isolated instances.  This case involved, Fox Broadcasting, which had been cited by the FCC for comments made by Cher and Nicole Ritchie during the Billboard Music Awards show in 2002 and 2003.  (Teinowitz, 2010).   A Fox spokesman, Scot Grogin, stated, “we must allow for the unfortunate isolated instances where inappropriate language slips through.”  (Teinowitz, 2010)  The Federal Court had tossed the FCC’s indecency policy, ruling that it violates the First Amendment and admonished it for vague enforcement.  The court referred to incidences such as Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” and Bono’s f-bomb at the Golden Globes.  The three-judge panel at the U.S. court or appeals called the FCC policy “unconstitutionally vague” and it “creates a chilling effect”. 

The podcast discussed the fact that the networks indecency policy is impermissibly vague, and that it results in a standard that even the FCC cannot articulate or apply consistently.  I agree with Firemark and Bennett, there has to be flexibility in the law to protect kids and those with sensitive ears for when these things happen.  This issue has to do with an expression of excitement, that sometimes happens on live television.  The FCC has a list of 7 bad words you can’t say on live television.  Should there be a list of the 7 bad words?  Is the list the right criteria?  Maybe the list should be updated. And, the policy has to be clear and concise so that it can be followed.  I also agree that the policy is unconstitutional and the FCC must update it. 

The second issue is something that could possibly apply to my business plan.  You never know if the artist I manage could win an award and I would be there with them to accept it.  Some of the other issues discussed on the podcast were on-going and more research would have to be done to go back to the original cases.  

Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, WSJ. (August 17, 2010). Justin's Evil Prank. Retrieved on January 29, 2012, from http://theweek.com/article/index/206135/justin-biebers-evil-prank

http://firemark.com/2010/08/25/entertainment-law-update-podcast-episode/

Teinowitz, Ira (July 13, 2010). Fox 'Pleased' by Indecency Ruling: 'Must Allow for Isolated Instances'.       Retrieve on January 29, 2012, from http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-post/court-tosses-fccs-indecency-policy-first-amendment-  violation-19182