Hey Guys & Gals,
I have never really considered myself a business woman. But if I really look at what I have been doing with my life since I left college it's being an Entrepreneur. That's really what any artist has to be in this day and age. The times of having a studio back you are pretty much non existent to my awareness anyway. And every smart successful A-list actor now attaches themselves as Producers as well.
I still feel like I am a few letters away from A-list, so I do have to start treating myself like I am a small business. Yes, the agent and manager are great to have, but with any small business the owner has to do a lot of leg work to grow into a bigger business. Creating & maintaining connections with casting people for one. Being a casting person myself, has also helped me grow my network and knowledge with directors & producers. But it's little things apart from that, that I am starting to discover that make a big difference. Starting with my commitment to myself, asking for my worth, and keeping track of my money. THOSE ARE BUSINESS SKILLS. And in the past I have never really paid attention to that before.
You might have an agent, and technically they are getting paid to handle your money. But what if your money is lost or worse taken? I wonder how many people, like the old me, just don't think to pay attention. I have been hunting down money from a job since NOVEMBER. It's not a lot, but its a lot for me. And it's money I planned to have for my Xmas trip but it never came. My agent blamed production and the postal service, production blamed my agent and the postal service, this also cost me my SAG status as I was counting on that to pay for Dues, SAG didn't know who to blame, and I didn't know who to trust. After reaching out to casting, then production, then payroll - which all took hounding people for 3 months. I finally got to the bottom of it, that is if Payroll has the correct information. and it should finally be resolved with any luck. But I will let you know if I see my final check in a week or not. It's been a headache, and time consuming and annoying and I always thought this was someone else's job. BUT truly, what this has shown me is it's mine. It's MY money which I EARNED, I need to be responsible for it. Because agents have 100 other clients and emails and breakdowns distracting them, you should be able to rely on them since it is their job they are getting 10% for but you can't always depend on that.
So LESSON ONE: Pay Attention to your money!
Now today I am working on a commercial, low-budget all night shoot in SANTA CLARITA. 40mins out from where I am. Our call time is at 6pm and they are planning to wrap at 4:30am! Yikes right?! So this, I have never done before. I asked for a Hotel. They eventually came back and said they didn't have it in there budget and in hindsight it would have been nice to know it would be so far and an all night shoot so we could have planned ahead but alas, this is low budget production. So I got a no, but I am proud of myself for asking and even thinking about taking care of myself in that way. The old me wouldn't have even done that. Afraid of stepping on toes or coming off like a diva. But the simple fact is it's taking care of myself. Truthfully, an extra $100-150 probably wouldn't break the bank but that times 4 people, could. And I understand production enough to know that offering that to all actors could add up to $500-$800 and that money could be put into crafty or equipment instead. It's a good little pay check I will eventually get so I could make that investment for myself and trust it will come back and I am grateful to have that. So tonight I will play it by ear and I am excited to be on a shoot at Disney Ranch. But with all that said. I asked for more, for my comfort. That is a HUGE step for me.
So LESSON TWO: Know your worth and ask for it!
Commitment to myself can be tricky when I am not only pursuing a creative career but juggling a few PT jobs in the meantime. That casting office got super busy this week, so I have been working there as much as possible to ride the wave and make money while I can. However today, I realized I had been so busy with someone else's work I almost forgot to BLOG this week! I have committed to myself that once a week, every weds, I will post a blog acting related. And it literally slipped my mind. But you see this is EXACTLY WHY I wanted to create this commitment. To keep my attention on MY OWN purpose as well. Even in the mist of the survival jobs. All to often I have gotten caught up in other people's dream jobs and supporting their cause to "make money" taking energy and focus away from "making money" on my own pursuits. Today, I remembered. Not that I haven't thought of acting at all. I had a fitting and meeting with the director of this commercial, I knew my shoot was coming, and was looking forward to that. But I didn't think about Marketing, or breakdowns as much as I would on a slow week. So at least having this weekly commitment is a good reminder to get back to my OWN GOALS and keep some consistency.
So LESSON THREE: Be as integral with your own personal commitments as well as you are with others.
A great teacher in the BUSINESS of Acting is DALLAS TRAVERS. She helps you organize goals, think outside of the box with Marketing tools, and helps you stay on course to pursue your dreams. And she is a savvy entrepreneur herself! Definitely worth checking her out! She has awesome classes and also offers tons of free advice & inspiration on her blogs and Facebook page!
Thanks for letting me share my weds commitment on friday!
So LESSON FOUR: Stay Flexible!
xo-Nicole
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