entertainment industry coach question 371: How do you get to go to the Oscars if you're not nominated?

I assume you're not a star who would be a presenter either. There actually is a way to attend if you aren't invited. You can be a seat filler. Research it for next year.

For mote tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 370: Is it fair for me to get a dog if I'm in the entertainment industry?

You're asking a dog lover so, here's what I'm going to say:

IF you are already working regularly, traveling all over the country/world where it is really impossible to bring a dog along, then no, it is not fair to get a dog.

However, IF you're still building your career, don't put your life on hold. No one knows what the future holds. Get a dog, get two, and when the time comes for you to travel for work, they'll have their routine and you will have people to take care of them.

My dogs, Barkley and Jake agree, giving this blog post 8 paws up!

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 369: How do I make MONEY in this industry, I'm GREAT at what I do!

I could have asked him what he does, but it doesn't matter. I imagine all of my readers as being great at what you do. You're great at what you do and you want to make money at it. This is the frustration of the dreams we have. You see, I know a lot of people who make a lot of money doing jobs they could care less about, hate in some situations. When I ask them why they don't do something else, they all say the same thing, "I don't know what I want to do."

WE on the other hand, know exactly what we want to do. Some of us since we were young children have know the dream and imagined it in all of it's glory.

How do you make money? You let go of your attachment to your dream, and respect this industry for what it is, a business. When you start strategizing and networking like the CEO of a A-lister's company, combined with the attitude of a passionate, determined artist/craftsman/technician, then you will make money. You may think you're doing this already, but in my experience,I've yet to meet a client (and I've coached over 1000) who had this formula down before they met me.

Because most people don't have this formula down, it takes time to grow your business to the point that you're making good, steady money. Therefore, having supplemental income to keep desperation from creeping in, is essential!!!!

Keep your eye on the dream and your mind on the business.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 368: Is it okay to talk biz at a dog park when the person is there for his dog?

It sounds to me like you recognize someone famous who goes to your dog park. I'm making that assumption because you're asking if it's okay to talk to someone about business and how would you know he's in the business unless you talked about it already. So you recognize someone. Instead of just walking up and going straight for the business talk, talk about your dogs, build a relationship. Eventually, you can bridge the gap, because obviously if you recognize him, he knows he's famous and that you know who he is (unless you're the character from Knotting Hill who didn't know who Anna was when she came to the birthday party- okay it's 1:24am and I'm babbling a little... a lot)

The bottom line is, when you bring up business, do it in a professional way where you're asking about something that will help you move forward. Just spewing out fan banter, may cause him to change the time he comes, or change dog park completely. Okay, I'm tired. You get it. If not, write me back and I'll revisit after some sleep.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 367: Where are some places in LA where industry people hang out?

The question continues: "I am looking for coffee houses? Bars? Restaurants? Markets? Dog Parks? Parking meters? Etc. I want to network but really don't know where to go. I have post cards that I want to place at strategic locations. Any suggestions would be great."

"Places where people hang out" is a very general question and as my readers know, I am very specific and strategic. First you have to ask yourself, "who is my target market?" Because I can tell you where actors hang out, but if you're an actor, actors don't hire you. So really your question could be, "where do casting directors, producers, directors, and executive producers hang out?" If you're another classification you'd ask the same question based on the people who hire you.

Once you know your target market, then you can research the entertainment organizations, philanthropic organizations, clubs (and I mean sport, nature, parent type clubs not Sunset strip clubs), unions, etc., where they congregate.

As far as leaving postcards around, that's like a needle in a haystack. People who are hiring have so many relationships with people who are inviting them to things. Why would they pick up a postcard of a complete stranger and say, "I think I'll take 3 hours out of my valuable time, to go see this stranger." Not to say it can't happen, but you can spend your money and time in a better way.

Again, you're better off taking those postcards to a networking event and handing them to people once you have a conversation with them and build rapport.

If you want to put a comment in the section, telling me what classification you are, I can be more specific about what organizations you should check out.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 366: How do I get a mentor if there are only a few people who do what I do...

"...and I already know as much as they do?"

This was asked on my teleclass this morning and it brings up a very universal issue. When it comes to getting mentors, while it's great to have mentors who are doing what you want to be doing already, if you are in this person's position, at the same level, they're not the type of mentor you need.

In this case you'd be seeking out business advice and guidance from either:

1. The classification of people who hire you (so unless you know everybody who hires your classification, this type is good for you)

or

2. Any parallel classification who gets hired by the same classification as you. For example: If you're an Editor, a parallel classification (ones who also get hired by producers and directors) would be a DP, Production Designer, Actor, Writer, Key Hair & Makeup, etc. Why? Because if they are successful, they can give you advice on what they do. You're all in the same boat, just different classifications.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 365:How do you do anything (business related) for 365 days straight?

WELL OF COURSE I HAD TO CHOOSE THIS ONE! Thank you everyone who contributed your questions for the 365th day of my blog! I will answer all of them that came in. You have to admit, this person was savvy. He knew I was going to choose his. Why? It's timely, it ties into the theme of today, AND he specifically put in "business related" so I couldn't remind him that he eats, drinks, and possibly showers every day. So, well played, my friend. YOU are the one-year-anniversary question.

How do you do something business related for 365 days straight? Here's how I did it and will continue to do it...

1. I made a decision to commit to the business related task

2. I built in MAJOR accountability

3. I knew people needed my help and were counting on me

Let's take each one individually so you can apply it to your career:

1. Make a decision to commit to a daily business task that you KNOW will improve your business. It can be committing to 1 business phone call or email/day, saying a daily power statement, posting on business contacts' walls on Facebook, a daily business tweet, etc.

These are easy examples. You can commit to more complex daily business tasks, like committing to 1 power hour of focused business work, posing a daily video on YouTube branding you as an expert, etc.

2. Building in accountability was KEY for me. As you may recall, there were about 3 blogs that I posted after midnight, dating the blog for the next day. I would write, "Because I haven't gone to sleep yet, this still counts for Tuesday." As a career coach, I am setting the bar. To miss a day, may have been human, but I prefer to be a superhero for my followers. My readers are important to me and I didn't want to disappoint them.

Whose opinion is important to you? Who can hold you accountable for your daily business task. Can you post a status on a social media site daily so you know people are watching and seeing how consistent, dependable, and professional you are?

3. What's bigger than you? On those nights that I was falling asleep after speaking for 11 hours straight after my Greenlight Your Career Bootcamp, a voice would pop into my head and say, "wake up, you forgot to blog!" I could have answered the voice, "it's just one day, they'll understand." But it wasn't about me and it wasn't about how understanding everyone would've been. It was about making a commitment to something bigger. Sleep could wait a few more minutes.

Who do you care about so much that letting them down is not an option? You may not know them personally. They may be the people who need the message of the work you want to produce. How can you get your work out there if you're not doing the "business work" it takes to get your work seen?

Or maybe you do know them. Maybe it's your family; parents whom you want to see you succeed, children whom you want to be a role model for, a spouse who always believed in you who you want a better life for.

How can I blog everyday for 365 days straight? How can I not? I'm committed to your success, and as long as you're out there reading, and sending me questions I will stay committed to you for as long as I'm physically able. SO KEEP THOSE QUESTIONS COMING!

It's been a pleasure to serve you this past year and I look forward to the many blogs to come...

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 364: For filmmakers who distribute independently and do it as a national release, how much money do they raise

...on average for distribution an marketing costs?

This is a perfect example of a question you would ask a mentor. There are people out there who specialize in distribution and people out there who specialize in marketing. There are also people out there, to whom the questioner referred to, who have done this before.

Your job is to seek out the companies that independently raised their own marketing costs and have found a significant measure of national success.

Once you have a target list of these companies, you want to either seek out mentors within the company or request an informational interview. You will get different answers from different people and then you will find your average.

You can also post your question on Twitter & Facebook to see if people will share their experiences with you.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 363: Is it okay to walk up to someone you know from Facebook but never met?

Is it okay? It's the beauty of social media. On Friday I was at a networking event and a guy walked up next to me and I instantly thought I knew him, like he was my buddy. Before he could introduce himself, I said, "Facebook friend!" We talked for a while, and it was so easy because he does comment on my posts so we know things about each other. Isn't that what a friend is? Someone who knows what's going on in your life and cares enough to talk to you about it. These days it doesn't have to be a phone call or an email. It can be someone in your Facebook friends who was once a stranger, telling you that he/she sends good thought to you when you've lost someone, or tells you to eat when you post that you haven't eaten all day, or has an Anchorman quote showdown with you on your wall.

I find the industry getting much smaller thanks to Facebook. I attended the SOC awards at which many of the members in attendance were at the time, only Facebook friends. Nw they've become friends and business associates.

Absolutely walk up to the person and say, "hey, we're Facebook friends!" BUT as always, be professional about it. If the person appears to be having an important business lunch--- not the time.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 362: How can I meet Casting Directors?

This was a question asked of me last night at a networking event, by a very charming young man. Our conversation didn't start out about his acting, it started out regarding his book which became a best seller. It's subject matter, imitates what my favorite writer did 30 years ago, so I was instantly pulled into the conversation. As we got further into the discussion and he brought up acting, I asked him the first question I always ask, "how many people do you know in the entertainment industry." His answer was 300 (that's 100 more than the "sweet spot"). Now I knew something was missing. How can he know so many people and not be making any progress.

Naturally I asked him my next question, "how many casting directors do you know." He floundered for a moment then said, "one, sort of." AH HA! Mystery solved. So naturally he asked me how he was supposed to meet casting directors. I told him I'd answer him in my blog.

1. Ask the people you already know to give you referrals to the casting directors they know

2. Build relationships through casting director workshops (there's a whole strategy to this, but you have to coach with me... I can't give you all of my secrets for free)

3. Offer to do an internship in casting directors' offices

4. Attend networking events that involve casting directors

5. Join philanthropic organizations that casting directors are a part of

Yes, you have to do research for 4 & 5. Remember casting directors are people, treat them with respect and always look to create a win/win.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 361: Can't post the question it involves nudity...

Question: What do I do if I'm asked to show my boobs for an audition when they've posted "requires nudity?" My friend had to do this today and she was mortified and left. Was this the right decision, should I ever be asked?

Ah, I remember the days when I swore I'd never show my boobs. Then you reach an age when you're so excited someone wants to see your boobs, you flash the casting director when he actually said, " show me your moves."

Okay, so that didn't really happen to me BUT, because this is a very touchy (bad choice of words?) subject, I thought I'd open with a little humor (lame as it may be.)

Here's the thing... You have to trust your instincts. If it's a Craigs List posting and the casting office is in some weirdo's garage, RUN. If it's in Deb Aquilla's office and they want to make sure you don't have any crazy scars that will not work for the shot, then you show them. Look, you agreed to go to an audition that clearly stated your part had nudity. If you think, "I'm going to go there and be such a great actress that they'll cut out nudity just to have me," you're going to piss off the casting office.

Be clear with your representation if you don't want to do nudity. If it's okay with you, expect that they are going to want to "check you" for "deformities." Only you can tell by your gut instinct if it's something fishy, so trust yourself.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com