The Angel Investor With Jamaican Wings

       Entertainment tourism is a major money-earner in Jamaica and more and more tourists are flocking the island annually for the high-class entertainment that is offered in the hotels and at the annual music festivals, for example, Reggae Sunsplash and the Jazz and Blues Festival. SadaBlue Media Solutions specializes in training and grooming local talent to perform specifically in the hotel and cruise ship industry and hopes to be the one stop shop for talent in Jamaica. The official launch of SadaBlue Media Solutions is slated for January 31, 2015 and funding for this venture is a top priority.  An angel investor, as an alternative source of funding, is being sought to partner with the company.

       I first learned

THE VALUE OF A BUSINESS PLAN

       In the article, “What is a Business Plan and Why Does my Company Need One? Achieve Company Goals and Objectives Through Writing a Good Business Plan” Rosemary Peavler states that:

“A business plan is probably the most important and useful document you, as a prospective or current owner of a small business, will ever compile. It is a written statement that sets forth your business’s mission and objectives and, in detail, how it is going to reach them. The business plan details the ownership and management structure of the business, the operational and financial details, and how it hopes to achieve its objectives.”

       In developing

Promoting My Business Through Social Media

       When I started my company SadaBlue Media Solutions I did not have a business plan, I did not have any marketing strategies on how to promote and make my business a success. A retiree from the public sector in Jamaica, with a background in Industrial Relations, I was relying mainly on word-of-mouth and referrals from fellow practitioners and my budding clientele. After a while it became apparent that this was never going to work and I was

From Screenplay to eBook to Self-Publishing?

Writing a screenplay can be a daunting task for most people. What is even more daunting is trying to sell your screenplay in a market that is already over saturated with all genre of movies. Hollywood has seen and produced everything, not to mention the fact that fewer movies are being made year after year even with the recovery from the economic recession of 2008. In order not to give up on your dreams and allow your screenplay to gather dust in a draw somewhere or in a folder on the desktop of your computer, one alternative would be to adapt (rewrite) and publish your screenplay as an e-book.

       When I wrote the screenplay “The Story

The Music Manager: Much more than glamour and glitter.

       Many persons view the role of the music manager as a lifestyle filled with excitement, glamour and glitter, but the real hardworking music manager will tell you that his job is no bed of roses and definitely not an easy road to travel on. The music manager of today is a far cry from the music manager of the old days whose focus was mainly on getting gigs for the artist and collecting money on behalf of the artist. Artists nowadays are much more educated and not only do they demand a lot from their managers, they also expect them to do a lot more than what they are contracted to do.

        “The manager will do whatever else is necessary to effectively advance the career of the artist.” (Allen 47).

       This is exactly what the role of the music manager should be, a role that effectively thrusts his artist into stardom as he advances his career. If the music manager does not have this as his main goal then he needs to step aside from his artist and let someone else who has the heart for this take over.

       What does a music

Negotiation Techniques That I Am Sure Will Assist Me In Becoming a Master Negotiator In The Jamaican Entertainment Industry!

       My aspiration of becoming a Contract Negotiator in the Entertainment Industry in Jamaica will see me negotiating to get the best deal possible for my clients. However, before I undertake my first negotiation there are a number of techniques that I will have to master to ensure success. The most important techniques that I will have to learn and master are a) Separating the People from the Problem, b) Positional Bargaining, c) Using Objective Criteria, d) Mutual Benefits, e) Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) and f) Handling Dirty Tricks.

       In my research on the afore-mentioned topics, I discovered three (3) videos on YouTube that will be helpful in my quest for mastery. These videos are a) William Ury: The walk from “No” to “Yes”, b) Negotiating Strategies and Tactics and c) Margaret Neale: Negotiation: Getting What You Want.

       Firstly, William Ury, in his video ‘The walk from “No” to “Yes”‘, gives a lot of insights on how to separate the people from the problem. In his story about the camels

THE STORY OF THE SONGBIRD

There was once a songbird that sang beautifully in the gardens of Heaven. This songbird had the freedom to go anywhere in Heaven, but her favorite place to be was in the palm of GOD’s hands. One day, as the songbird was singing sweetly from the palm of GOD’s hand, there arose an emergency on Earth. GOD had to visit Earth immediately to see what was happening. HE took the songbird along with HIM.

When the songbird saw Earth, she fell in love immediately with it. She gazed about like a newborn baby recognizing its mother for the first time. The emergency dealt with, GOD was now ready to return to Heaven. He noticed that HIS favorite songbird was no longer singing, she was looking so forlorn HE had to ask, “What’s the matter Whitney?”

How important is it to have a pro forma statement as a part of your business plan?

       My business idea is, in Jamaica, to negotiate recording contracts for my young protégés and others, be a Booking Agent and conduct classes in general deportment.

       When I first got the idea for starting my own company, I never gave much thought about financing it. I just figured that when the time was right I would just use some of my little savings, the ‘beggings’ from my family and friends and get to work.

       I am currently enrolled in the Master’s Degree Program in Entertainment Business at Full Sail University trying to learn as much as is taught about the entertainment business. The reality, of what it would entail to have a successful start-up of my company, knocked me over the first day of the class in Entertainment Business Finance. What I have learned so far is proving to be a real eye opener. I am learning, and seeing clearly, that having the financial capital is not enough to run my company, I will also have to show

INTROVERTS TO THE RESCUE!

       For almost all of my adult life I have been telling people that I am an introvert. Their response is always, “No Marcia, you are not introverted!” They are all of the opinion that because I am always smiling and taking charge of situations I must be an extrovert.  So finding out who really is an introvert has become my mission in life. Who then is an introvert? According to an article by Carol Bainbridge, on the website about.com, “an introvert is not simply a person who is shy. In fact, being shy has little to do with being an introvert! Shyness has an element of apprehension, nervousness and anxiety, and while an introvert may also be shy, introversion itself is not shyness. Basically, an introvert is a person who is energized by being alone and whose energy is drained by being around other people.”  I must say I agree with all the above and because of this I was  fascinated by Susan Cain’s speech on TED.com.

       In her well researched and informed presentation, “The Power of Introverts” on TED.com, Susan Cain

Me, a brand?

       Happy New Year! It is freezing! I cannot believe that I am so cold in ‘sunny’ Florida! Anyway, today I started another course in my Master's Degree Program in Entertainment Business - Business Storytelling and Brand Development, it is the fourth of the twelve courses and I am really excited about this.  Notwithstanding the fact that this class comes right after the winter break, we will have to get pretty busy and buckle down to some real hard work.

       Some of my