Shark Tank Review 05/10/13

Hello entrepreneurs! It's good to be back posting and sharing with you. I have some good ideas going forward including interviewing artists and entrepreneurs about what they're doing as well as getting back to reviewing some lessons from my favorite show, Shark Tank. This week had some fairly decent entrepreneurs and products. I won't review the pitches, but I will indicate some useful lessons learned from this episode for the next entrepreneurs that are pitching to investors. 1. Be flexible to change when pitching to the investors. By change I mean be able to listen and appreciate the feedback and quickly determine whether it will work for you, as opposed to being unmovable on your original idea. 2. Don't try to expand too soon. Sometimes what is working is working because of the factors surrounding the idea. We all want to expand but make sure your original concept is tried and true before expanding into a bigger market that is untested by yourself. 3. Be prepared for the presentation. This sounds simple but sometimes people go to court without pictures to help their case and sometimes people approach the sharks without having all the information i.e...forecasting profits, marketing plan, etc. Have answers and exhibits ready for the investors as opposed to having to say "I'll get you that information." 4. Be willing to negotiate and compromise while being firm in knowing your company valuation. This is similar to point #1 and actually goes with the next point even better. When the investor makes an offer be quick and know how this offer affects your bottom line. 5. Make strategic valuations and smart counter offers. As mentioned in #4, know your company's value and present your offer in an upfront and honest approach. Sometimes entrepreneurs over or undervalue the company to look good and get more money. But numbers don't lie. Take into account what's fair for the company and for the investor. 6. Know when a good offer is made and jump for it. Try to work out win-win situations and don't be too slow to move on opportunities. Til next time, Let's Build Empires Together!

You're an indie artist!! Get noticed!!

Here's an interesting article I ran across from TAXI, a great resource for indie artists! Enjoy!

A&R — Getting Signed

By Kenny Kerner

One of the most difficult things to understand is what the A&R Community is really looking for. What does an artist have to have to get signed to a recording contract? For lack of a better name, I call these intangible things "signing ingredients." And the more of them you have, the more likely you are to get signed!

During my 30 years as an Editor and Music Journalist, I've interviewed over 200 members of the A&R Community and, based on those interviews, was able to compile a Top 10 list of important signing ingredients. So, in order of their importance, here's what you need to get signed:

1. Passion

   That intangible, inner-emotion a singer or band possesses that makes him/them believable. Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin--all possess it.

2. Songs

   The very essence of success. The reason this did not come in at #1 is that songs can come from many different places--publishers, covers of other songs, the artist, himself, collaborations, etc. So, if the artist isn't an amazing songwriter, he/she can still obtain amazing songs.

3. Live Show

   This is how a musician sells his CDs and merchandise. A poor live show, and you turn off your audience. A great live show, and you've made a fan for life. Live shows also tell an A&R person whether you are communicating with your audience and if they are accepting your music.

4. Star Quality

   Is there someone bigger than life in your band? A Gene Simmons? A Mick Jagger? Rock star Billy Idol wasn't much of a singer, yet he went on to become an international rock icon because of his star quality. Skid Row's Sebastian Bach had star quality. Remember him?

5. Marketability

   Can your image and music be marketed to a targeted audience? Who is likely to buy it and why? There is little demand for Lithuanian accordion music, so regardless of how you shine on that instrument, the chances of you landing that big-bucks record deal are slim, at best.

6. Group Focus

   For a solo artist or duo, this is a no-brainer. But, as a band, is everyone pulling in the same direction? Does the band/artist have a plan? Is the manager aligned with the artist's plan? Where are the trouble spots?

7. Hunger

   How hungry are you to make it? And I don't mean when did you eat last! Is the artist spoiled? Will the artist do anything to make it? Are they willing to earn a record deal? Many artists that have been around for years are under the misconception that because they're still performing and staying together, they've earned the right to be signed. Not true.

8. Business Savvy

   Does the artist know how things in this industry really work? What kind of "Pro-Team" have they assembled? Do they need a manager? Attorney? What do they expect?

9. Red Flags

   Are there any troublemakers in the band (or is the solo artist himself unreliable)? Any personal problems like sex? Drugs? Money problems? Is there anything or anyone that might prevent this artist from pursuing a career in the music business? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Former wife? Children?

10. A&R Instinct

    What does my A&R instinct tell me about this artist? Am I in love with this band? Am I willing to risk my job, my benefits, my vacation and my expense account to get them signed? What do others in my company think? Bringing an act into a record company when you are the only one championing their cause is the beginning of the end--for both of you.

    Before making his final decision, an A&R person will see how many of these talent ingredients his act has--and then go from there. Considering it takes about one-million dollars to properly promote each new act, don't expect a flurry of signings at any one label.

Need a Record Deal, Publishing Deal, or Film and TV placement for you music? Then check out TAXI: The World's Leading Independent A&R Company.

Unwrap Chicago

Chicago is a wonderful place to get lost, experience culture and visit thriving small businesses that add to the overall health, pride and well being of the neighborhoods.  The Chicago Black Business Network has started a website highlighting businesses in the many diverse areas of the city (http://www.eatdrinkbuylocal.org/).  From Divine Healing Herbs on the southside at 87th and Ashland to businesses in Wicker Park, Old Town, Hyde Park, and all over the city, shopping at a small business is a definite must for this holiday season. Support the small neighborhoods and especially minority owned businesses. We are all as strong as our weakest link and we know the minority communities spend billions of dollars. Please use some of your spending strength on a neighborhood small business and/or a minority owned establishment.

Click the link and Unwrap Chicago

Coaching Creativity

As I get remotivated to continue working on my second book as well as the many other projects that I juggle on a daily basis, I'm reminded of my conversations on keeping a job as opposed to creating one. Some of us are great career builders, others of us have to figure it out. Furthermore, the economic standings of today are forcing some of us to create. So I'm here to encourage us to do just that, CREATE! Don't wait for that pink slip before you start following your passion. Don't wait until the bills pile up, the creditors are calling and you're having sleep for dinner. CREATE! Determine what you love and start figuring out how to go for it.

I love coaching so let's do a virtual coaching session to determine how we can be more creative.

1. What do you really love to do? Or restated, what would you do that you love without being paid for it? I may be hurting myself with this statement but I love dj'ing and have been doing it for the love since day one. Yes I have been paid to dj, but it's my passion and I would do it without being paid. (Shhhh, don't tell the promoters or club owners =)
2. Are you good at doing what you love? Are you good enough to charge for your services or products?
3. Who is doing what you love and getting paid for it? If they're doing it, do you think you can do it?
4. So what's stopping you?

Simplistic thinking perhaps, but that is the point. Try to keep it simple. Often our minds will throw up hurdles that make us pause (hem and haw) instead of moving full steam ahead (scurrying). Don't listen to ALL those voices in your head, some of them whisper frustration, desperation and insanity. Listen to the angels whispering for you to follow your dreams because all of them are rooting for your success. CREATE!!

Until next time, let's build empires together! 

3 Event Planning Lessons I've Learned

As a business coach I love talking to people about their business dreams, and this week 2 new clients signed up for event planning coaching. I have done many events of different types: social, fundraising, and others. I really enjoy doing events and currently planning two as we speak.  As you peruse the internet there are plenty of tips for successful event planning that cover everything from establishing the theme, setting up the budget, marketing and sponsorship relations.  The goal of this post is to tell you a few of the mistakes that I've made and how you can avoid them.

1. Be as diverse in marketing as you possibly can.  I threw a nice looking white party a few years ago. I was able to get sponsors to provide wine and food, nice cheese and fruit trays, the venue was free and helped me make fliers. Everything was perfect except the attendance. This was due to poor marketing on my part. I could point to factors such as this was pre-facebook and social media, I was a one man team, and I don't have many contacts. But the bottom line is that I did not market effectively. I had fliers and word of mouth then. Today there is facebook, Twitter, blogs, email, text messaging and more. Use all of them together. Be persistent without overbearing. And respond to R.S.V.P.s if possible, it adds a personal touch.
2. Develop an eye for the details. As you form partnerships and sign contracts do not take your partner's word that they have everything on the contract covered because we can all miss things. A few years back we partnered with a food vendor to help us with a community picnic. The food vendor said that his license covered amplified sound so that we could play music. The day of the event the park district shut us down because his license did not cover amplified sound and no one on my team looked at his license to double check.  Double check the details and avoid embarrassment later.
3. As for your team, how do you deal with people that don't pull their own weight? I've worked recently with people that say they want to do events but won't do anything to make that happen. The best way is to get dead weight off of your team. When, for whatever the reasons may be, you can't drop them then you must learn how to use the talents they may have, and to spread the other tasks out so that they aren't a burden to the rest of the team. You may not be able to drop family members, senior partners or even friends. But you can make their responsibilities smaller and leave the important jobs to those that you can depend on.  Lastly, when you have a member of your team like this be sure to follow up on any job you give them to make sure it's done right and you have no mistakes as in lesson 2 above.

These are just a few of the lessons I've learned. I have had many successful events and you will too. Be organized and have fun.  Take lots of pictures and try to enjoy the event on the day of. If you need any help or have any comments feel free to email me at fremusic3@gmail.com.  Good luck!!!

Thanks to the good people at www.planyourmeetings.com for the video. Enjoy!!

Please Indulge this Shameless Self Plug

Hello and welcome to the second posting of this music and business blog. Thank you to all those that read the first post, I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day. This second post will be a shameless introduction to the author, my background and some upcoming activities that I'd like to share with you. Again, thank you for your time. Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated.

My name is Fre, like free. I'm a business coach, entrepreneur, dj, and eventual philanthropist. I've worked in many industries including teaching, real estate, nonprofit management and event planning. I also teach Entrepreneurship online with The Global Institute of Enterprise Development. http://www.theglobal-institute.com/

I know I have been put here to touch and help a lot of people. One of the vehicles for this is my nonprofit organization, Fre Music. The purpose is to give artists an outlet to showcase their skills, provide music and business education to youth through teaching them the craft of djing, and help provide scholarship funds through different events. Programs include: 

• National Battle of the Bands  http://thebattle4america.com/
• Fre Music DJ Curriculum
• Fre Music Men's Basketball Tournament

The first annual tournament will be held Saturday October 27, 2012 and will benefit youth programming at The Ark of St. Sabina in Chicago. This one day event will be 10 teams, double elimination, and championship trophies to the winners. For team and sponsorship information please email me at FreMusic3@gmail.com.  Also please visit us on facebook, https://www.facebook.com/FreMusic3

Lastly I'm a dj and would love to play some house music in your favorite club. Please check out and follow me at http://djfre.podomatic.com/.  There are plenty of mixes available for downloading. Listen, share and enjoy! 

Thank you for tuning in to this shameless plug. Til next time....Let's Build Empires Together!!!

Fre

Can Friends Negotiate Business?

Thank you for tuning in to this blog concerning music business topics, music reviews and everyday topics of business that the entrepreneurs and artists might find interesting.  The reason for this blog is that I've been put here to help a lot of people and I love discussing business concepts and goals. I also love music and the different aspects of the music business. My goal is to educate and entertain with relevant information and perhaps to start a dialogue. This first post is based on a recent negotiating experience that I had with a friend who is also an entrepreneur in which I failed to achieve my goals, but learned a few lessons in the process.

So in addition to being an author, entrepreneur and business/artist coach I'm also a club dj here in Chicago. My entrepreneurial friend also does many things and has asked business favors of me in the past which I've happily delivered. This time he requested that I edit a few of my mixes and put his business name on them for a mini-mix he would release every Friday on his Facebook business page. In exchange he would put the link to my podcast on his personal page. I felt and expressed that his offer wasn't enough and sent him a 'Co-Sponsorship Agreement' proposing mutual promotion of each other's businesses and events on our respective Facebook business pages. This is when the negotiations began and our initial conversation ended up with him angrily hanging up the phone.

This year my goal has been to create smart collaborations that are win-win for all parties involved.  In fact I fit one of the 5 types of negotiators, Collaborators, in which win-win is the objective, but sometimes we can make things a little more complicated. This is what my friend expressed and perhaps there is some truth in his belief.  In his eyes his request was simple because the mixes we already done and his exchange was fair. In my opinion his request was not as simple as he believed because of the time involved in the editing and the quality of the total product on my end, and what he was offering in exchange didn't meet my needs.  Since I have been focused on building my businesses I felt that our agreement could be used as leverage for other agreements. I also need people to attend the events we host as opposed to needing exposure to my podcast mixes. His position was that his business doesn't promote other events and that exposure from his personal page was sufficient. It wasn't win-win in my opinion and our second conversation about the matter ended with me suggesting we table this discussion until a future date. The reality is that we probably won't work together, and while this is a little disappointing I'm ok with that.  But the experience did leave me with a few questions and thoughts for all of us to ponder:

• Was I being unreasonable?
• Should I have just done the favor for my friend as opposed to complicating it with business?
• Is what I was offering a value to the other party or just my own perceived value?
• Did I truly recognize the value that he was offering?
• Was my communication poor?

Upon reflection I don't regret my position or the outcome and I feel confident that I listened as well as I could. I tried to compromise and even offered ways for both of us to compromise. Some things for you to consider as you enter into your next negotiations might include:

• What do they want?
• What do I want?
• How can I help us to get what we both want?
• What is the costs involved and are they feasible?
• What is the value of your product?
• Is it ok to not get what you want from the negotiation?

In conclusion check out the wikipedia page on negotiation, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negotiating, it gives a good explanation of different types of negotiations as well as other good resources for further research.

Good luck with your next negotiations, especially if it's with a friend and business person as well. Try to make sure that the relationship is not damaged. We can find other businesses to collaborate or partner with, but we can't replace our friends so easily.  

Lastly I'll leave you with this fun little video illustrating another type of negotiating known as haggling from Monty Python. Enjoy! 

Til next time, 

~Let's Build Empires Together~

Fre

Youth Entrepreneurship Teacher with Global Institute (www.theglobal-institute.com)

Certified Coach at Fre Thought Coaching

Founder of Fre Music

Events planner and dj with Evolve Entertainment

mixes can be found at www.djfre.podomatic.com