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Creating A Business

Below are my initial expectations for the Business Plan Development Course:

 It is going to provide me with the resources to have someone experienced within the entertainment industry and in business to review my plan, and help me perfect it. Getting feedback from others and creating a potential plan I can expand on over the years to help me thrive throughout my mastery journey.

 1   Develop a business plan that involves relevant trends to kick-start an influential business. 

2   Utilize advice given from teachers and classmates to better my plan.

3   Work with an outside (perhaps with their own business) to give feedback and potential guidance in areas where needed.

4   Continue to work and perfect my business plan.

After going back and reviewing my initial expectations I can say my goals have been met. This course really forced me to look at the mistakes I was making in the creation of my business plan in throughout this program. What I do find interesting is that not everything about my plan is perfect right now. Financially, I still have work to do and need a plan to help better improve the money being used to make my potential business run efficiently. What this course has shown me is how to break down a business plan and truly explain every detail needed. It has forced me to stop looking at the business under one overall blanket, but allowed me to tear apart the business and really focus on all of the key components needed to create a business. From having an administrative team to trends within the industry I am choosing.

 This course has forced me to have a change of heart. Although I have decided to utilize my plans for a video production company for the sake of the program, this course has given me the tools to further plan for a business venture I am motivated to take after this program is complete. What I have learned from entertainment business is to really show investors how you intend to make a profit and why anyone would be interested in what you have to offer. Creating a business is all about showing why you have something different to offer. I have been wanting to break into the movement of natural hair care for African American men and women for some time now and have been afraid to make the first move. Understanding how to put together a business plan and how to identify my niche and purpose, give me the confidence to know I can do this.

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Starting Your Business

According to the New York Times, there are five key elements investors look for from small businesses:

1. Background in the industry

2. Proof of a demonstrated need

3. Pricing and Sales Strategy

4. Market Research

5. Profits and Exit Strategy

In each of these components a business owner must prove there is a future in the business they are trying to create. In completing market research and even a profit and exit strategy, it ensures investors that the business owner has a plan for potential situations. Understanding how to market is doing currently, will help the owner figure out how their company can change the market for the better and make a profit from it. Investors are looking for proof of knowledge of the niche a business owner is looking to dominate and are knowledge of their target market preference as well.

Two experts that discuss the importance of a business plan are Chuck Blakeman and Steve Blank. Both experts in a sense believe that business plans are not the best way to start a business. Chuck Blakeman is an entrepreneur, best-selling business author and business advisor. According to Blakeman, he prefers business owners be tactical verses strategic. In his article How: the worst, most asked planning question, he explains that creating a long term plan is something that business owners never truly use because life naturally gets in the way. Things change and a company must change a long the way in order to adjust and be objective. 

As for Steve Blank, an entrepreneur, co-founder of E.phphany, and Professor at Berkeley Hass School of Business, he also believes that business plans are not the way to go for a start up business. According to Blank in No Plan Survives First Contact With Customers- Business Plans versus Business Models, business plans become more concrete for business owners. Once it is created many entrepreneurs feels as though it is the plan they must follow and have a hard time deviating from that plan. On the other hand with a business model, business owners have the ability to change their model to fit what is happening with the business. By utilizing the business model a business owner has more flexibility to make changes that reflect what they need for the business to succeed at the moment, once that model is created the business plan can then follow.

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Go To Them

“…understand where your consumer is, and meet them there. Don’t make them come to you.” – Gary Vaynerchuck

When thinking about digital marketing it is impossible not to consider the power of social media. Everyday people find some way to participate in online social activity through some type of application or interactive website. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even SnapChat have all become digital platforms that not only consumers can enjoy for leisure time, but also that marketers and business owners can take full advantage of. Commercials’ and visual ads have for years been a great way of grabbing the attention of a consumer. With the power and tools of today, business owners have the power to be creative and open minded to finding innovative ways to market their business.  

As someone looking to one day start my own business, digital marketing has definitely been a major interest. Below are my initial goals for the digital marketing course.

Digital Marketing- Gain the knowledge I need to understand how to reach my target audience via Desktop or Mobile, and effectively market a product to them.

1.     Gather techniques needed to create and manage my online appearance.

2.     Learn how to utilize different forms of digital platforms to distribute and promote a client or product.

3.     Utilize my strategies properly so that I can exercise the within my own business.

4.     Practice techniques learned in outside platforms.

Being only half way through this course, I can say that half of my goals are met. I understand the importance of having an online presence, and have gained the tools needed to access whether or not my presence is actually making an impact. Being a millennial, I understand the power of digital platforms. I constantly sit with my phone within 3 feet of me no matter where I am, and I find that I pay more attention to the advertising I see during my “phone break” times.

Short creative videos about new hair products or quick cooking tutorials stay in my mind and further inspire me to look into a business. In this course thus far, I have been learning what I can do to make the information I am giving out more relevant, searchable, and interesting. It is important for me as a future business owner to know what my consumer is looking for, what they are interested in, where they are, and how to effectively reach them. Gary Vaynerchuck has been the most inspiring for me in this course because he says it short and simple: Attention not Impressions.

I have always been so focused on making people believe that my business ideas have potential. My main goal was to make sure they remember who I am the first time. After learning a little more in this course, my focus now is getting my target audience to just see me. The impression will be made in the long wrong, but I have to get their attention. The best way to do that is to go to them and reach out to them, rather than trying to make them come to me. I feel that thus far I have developed the tools needed to make my business more attractive to, not only consumers of now, but of the future. The digital world is changing everyday, and this course is teaching me how to keep up with it and use it to my advantage.

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How Can I Reach You?

Below I have listed my original expectations for the course:

 To become comfortable with the strategies used for protecting my companies products, but also how to develop the best plan of action for the business.

1. Learn what it takes to develop the process needed to successfully distribute a product. 

2. Learn how to utilize techniques in course to help me develop my own product

3. Learn the skills needed to protect my company and products.

 After taking 3 weeks of this course I would say my goals have been accomplished after learning what steps need to be taken before approaching a publisher with a product. For this course I developed the idea of creating a magazine that gave up and coming lawyers, within the industry, inside access to tips on how to become successful starting off new. With that idea I was able to learn that it is not as simple as going to a publisher and simply talking to them, but it takes a complete plan. Creating a book proposal, some type of presentation, and then connecting with some type of agent to help me reach the next level. The creation of a book proposal is necessary because it is almost like creating a SWOT analysis. It is a document to show publishers that you are prepared and ready for anything, but you also understand why your product will succeed, and what it will bring that is different from what is already out there.

 Over these past few months I have become more fond of the idea of creating some type of a business that gives fathers with daughters the access to hair tips, courses, and even products to help them become more confident in being able to help their daughters with beauty task. After taking this course I have gained the basic knowledge I need to figure out how to market my ideas, but how to also kick-start any products I decide to develop. This course has taught me how to protect myself, but also seek out the proper guidance and support needed to become successful. Even if I do decided to one day use some type of self-publishing platform, I know that it cannot be the only way I put out my work, but I have to put in the additional effort to ensure that my product or work stands out from the crowd of many.

 So far this course has been very enlightening and motivational. I now feel more confident in the idea that I can one day own my own business and or product.

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Watch Out!!!

My main objectives for this course initially, were as followed:

1. Learn the laws and strategies for developing and understanding contracts for an artist or product.

2. Gain the knowledge needed to understand how to utilize entertainment laws within my business and to protect my future clients.

3. Find a mentor within the entertainment law industry and combine skills from this course to help me be better prepared for areas in law school.

______________________________________________________________________

Being in my last week of Advanced Entertainment Law, I must say I am sad. This course has turned out to be one of my top classes taken so far. I can honestly say I have met all of my original objectives except one. I am still working on connecting with someone within the entertainment law industry that would be willing to help mentor me throughout some of my law school journey. Professor Cassi Willard has been a tremendous help to me in and outside of the online “classroom”. Being able to get feedback on how I can improve my assignments, as well as being pushed to think a little deeper about the questions I am asking of my peers, or even while writing a paper, have made me a stronger student.

From this course alone, I have learned the various steps that need to be taken in order to help protect my brand, my client, and myself. I now have the basic skills needed to look at a contract and find the “holes” in an agreement, and to understand what the rights of each contract participant are. I can say this course really allowed me to apply some of the concepts learned from other courses, such as Negotiation and Deal Making. For instance, when looking at a contract, I was able to review it and use my prior knowledge to understand when a manager was asking for too high of a percentage of income, or when certain restrictions set in the contract allowed the client very little wiggle room to get what they deserved. This tool alone is helpful because it gives me the background knowledge and skills to assure my clients that I am doing the best I can on their behalf.

For this course, my favorite video was the Full Sail University interview with Julee Milham. Within this interview Ms. Milham went over tips that people attempting to start in the entertainment industry, should utilize to maintain and gain success. This interview stood out to me the most, because it allowed me to see how important it is to always ensure I am double checking my sources and doing the best I can. What I think was most important, was the understanding I gained of how much entertainment lawyers are needed within the industry. That inspiration alone was needed for me, to give me that extra push to continue on my journey towards law school.

Ms. Milham also talked about entering the industry with realistic expectations. Although a few of my peers that I spoke to in class about the topic agreed with Ms. Milham, I took this “tip” as an inspiration for me to strive for more. Having the background knowledge to deal with contracts, copyright law, trademarks, and much more, I feel my expectations going into the industry should be high of myself. If I want it, I must go for it and take it. Overall, what I did learn is to always be willing to be open minded, pay attention to any “loop holes”, network, establish my brand, and to be prepared to always work hard.

This is definitely a course I am not looking forward to ending.

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(Arctic Lake)

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(Arctic Lake)--> true musicians. Love Arctic Lake. 

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Favorite album of 2015

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Video by Miguel: "Miguel - waves"

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Knowing Who Your Talking To

My initial expectations for this course were as followed:

 Become a stronger part of the workforce by practicing the skills I need to provide the business with positive outlooks on how to make a crisis a positive, and potentially beneficial situation.

1. Learn how to successfully evaluate my client(s) needs.

2. Develop the skills needed to find proper opportunities for my client or product.

3. Utilize techniques to turn business crises into a positive situation for a client or product.

 It is now week 4 and I am actually walking out with a different perspective. I was still able to learn techniques of what I can do to be a stronger part of the work force, but not in a step-by-step manner. What I mean by that is in my opinion there were no clear cut ways to deal with an exact situations, but instead I have been given a “Mary Poppins bag” full of tools to utilize, when I am in different situations. For instance, when dealing with a difficult client that may only see things in one perspective, it is important to be able to understand your own style of working and figure out how to connect to them. I’ve learned a lot about my own leadership style and understanding that I have to be able to listen to what people have to say, but then also balance that out by knowing when to be a leader and delegate things that need to be done to complete an overall goal.

 What I have also learned is a lot about understanding other people. When looking at something as simple as the laws of diffusion, it is amazing how you are able to approach people in different ways just by understanding the type of buyer they are. Understanding someone who is an innovator and knowing they are willing to take risk is important because as a manager it can really dictate how you approach your client. You can take risk with this type of person; you can push them to try something new. What is important to also understand is that although at times a person may be an “innovator” they may have their own personal reasoning’s behind it. Each person within a market has their own perspective and “root” for making certain decisions. It is unfair for both the client and the manager or business owner to assume that all clients willing to use a product or be apart of a mission have the same underlining drive and reasoning.

This class has really taught me to be open-minded and to really take the time to understand my client. I must say thus far, this class has helped me the most professionally. I have been able to step back and really look deep into my target market, for my potential future business, and really figure out what they are looking for. Not only has this course taught me to figure out what they really want, but in that I have learned how to do the research necessary to figure out how to reach them the right way, how to deliver my message, and the perfect timing. This course is about understanding and learning, and has definitely put the breaks on assuming about others based on face value.

Very interesting course and just may be my favorite.

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Had to be the best concert I have ever been to. That was awesome.

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This is the best kind of coffee.....especially since it's the only I drink. Haha

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Extremely interesting to see an artist develop over time. #Miguel #Inspiring #ForTheLoveOfMusic

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Here it is again. My obsession.

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My favorite song on the album. video by Miguel: "Miguel - ...goingtohell"

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Negotiate Negotiate Negotiate

Negotiation and Deal-Making: Understand what it takes to negotiate a deal professionally, but also what it takes to understand how to analyze a negotiation and seek the potential benefits of one being provided.

1.     Gain the skills to become a successful negotiator.

2.     Learn professional skills to help me build connections and opportunities within my chosen field.

3.     Utilize the skills gained to understand a proper and effective deal.

Going into this course I was excited, because I think being able to understand how to negotiate is one of the most important tools a person can have. Many people look at negotiating as the process of who can argue their points the best. Going through this course I have realized that it is much more than that. One of my favorite techniques I’ve learned in this course is separating the people from the problem. In speaking to people within different industries, people within this course, and even just people within my home, the most common problem amongst most is being able to keep personal emotions out of it. It is important to be able to do this because most times those emotions are negative. It is important to be able to gain the skill to control that emotion and understand where the other party is coming from. This opens a whole different world for you as a negotiator, and not only gets you closer to getting what you want, but increasing the potential for a beneficial future relationship. Anyone that is able to master this technique is sure to get far in the world of negotiation.

 Although I have much more to learn, the information that I gained from the course is definitely something I am going to continue to practice throughout my academic journey and future career. I want to go into law and being able to negotiate effectively is not only going to land me clients, but a possible job at a law firm that is going to start me out on the right foot. On an even smaller scale, a great internship as well. In my personal life I have learned how to think about how I can benefit others. Usually when I am walking into a “negotiation” I think about what I want at the end of the discussion. What this course has taught me is all about mutual benefits. What am I able to offer them? If a decision is made, will we both be happy? This is extremely important because it makes it clear to the other party that you have their best interest in mind. This course has definitely opened up doors for great potential and opportunities; I think it has exceeded my expectations.