entertainment industry coach Question 453: Help I'm at a MD bbq now and I want to approach a director without seeming like a fan.

I feel like I can hear you whispering. Okay, pretend I'm one of those bugs in your ear talking you through this. Walk over to the director and ask either 1. how did he come to be here? 2. If he's having a good time? 3. If he knows if there is a secret 2nd bathroom.

Work with me here, I don't know the logistics, so go with whatever doesn't seem obvious. The third should make him laugh because everyone knows that it's a pain to stand on line waiting for the bathroom at a party and there's always the bathroom no one is privy to.

Then, if he's friendly, acknowledge him and either 1. tell him what you do in the industry 2. even if he's a film director, ask if he was confused by the series finale of Lost (or if he is a she, ask if she watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy) 3. Tell him you consider this a rare opportunity that you don't want to miss and seeing as he is as successful as he is, you know he understands, then ask him, if he could give you most impacting lesson he has had in the industry that you could learn from.

Wherever the conversation goes, it should somehow lead to #3 before the conversation ends. Then thank him for his time and say that you're going to take his advice and follow up with him in the future to let him know how he helped you. Then shake his hand, look him in the eyes and say, "so remember me, my name is ____ and I look forward to telling you about my success."

Good luck. This blog will self-destruct in 60 seconds.... no it won't.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 452: Umm what's the obsession with cheezy people from NJ on reality shows?

Alas, a question that has finally stumped me. I have many DEAR friends from New Jersey, NONE whom are anything like the Garfield/Snooky chick from The Jersey Shore, Teresa from the Real Housewives of New Jersey, or anyone from Jersey Couture or Jerseyliscious.

I truly don't understand this new reality phase. I suppose it's the "train wreck syndrome"; something so awful, yet you can't tear your eyes away from it.

I have no answer. In fact, I just have to leave it at this because I find it disturbing (although I am happy for all of the crew members who have jobs because of them, I just hope their brains are capable of tuning out the awfulness of these freaks.. and by freaks I mean everyone on those shows EXCEPT the Manzo Family members- I'd like to live, and Albie's hot).

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 451: Do I have to send a cover letter with a resume?

Unless it's someone who knows you really well and says, "hey, send me over your resume," then YES you must have a cover letter. And more than that, the cover letter should make you stand out from the rest of the pile.

Preferably, you want to have a referral name that will be recognized automatically getting yours pulled from the pile. But if you don't, there is a art to crafting a cover letter that stands out.

Otherwise, you're just one of hundreds of people sending in your cold resume with a standard cover letter. Odds are the amount of time you're putting into sending these is not paying off in the same way that spending less time on focused work would.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 450: When should I call studio people? Do they have summer Fridays?

Why are you waiting until Friday to call someone? Everyone's hours are different. Call when you think you'll get the person with whom you want to speak in. It's as easy as that.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 449: How do I get answers about who hires me when my only sources of info are the people I'm competing with?

This is a great question that people in many different classifications struggle with. When you're let's say, a still photographer, it's not as obvious who hires you for a job. Yet, the people who WOULD know are other still photographers, who are your direct competition, right?

Not necessarily. The only ones in direct competition with you are the ones at your level. If you're breaking into a new market, established still photographers shouldn't feel threatened by you. Some will. Some are very closed off with information. Remember, you can reach out to still photographers all over the country. The camera guild has a directory (it also has one for publicists, which is crucial for still photographers because it lists photo editors and VPs of photography, etc.). If you live outside of Los Angeles (which this person does) you want to do the research of the people who hire you, develop a mentor/advisor relationship through phone and email and then, as you get to know them pretty well, find out a good time of year to come out for a week of meetings. There's nothing like meeting in person, and people really respect someone who is willing to fly out to meet with them.

Los Angeles still photographers (or insert your classification here if you live somewhere else) may be more open to speaking with you because again, you are out of state and therefore, they may not view you as direct competition.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 448: I've spent my entire career being typecast. How do I get out?

This inspired by one of the comments on my Facebook wall, when I changed my FB picture from my split screen with my one true love Jack Bauer, to seeking out love with another spy...

My new split screen is with tough-guy spy John Casey from Chuck. My friend suggested that I come between Chuck and Sarah. My response was something along the lines of "why can't I be the nice spy who is secretly a double agent "playing" a bad spy, and finally gets to reveal she's a good spy and fall in love with John Casey. Why do I always have to play the bad girl who splits up the all-American couple?" to which he replied, "you should know better than anyone... sometimes people spend their whole careers being typecast."

True Seth, but as a coach, I also know that once you're typecast it's easier to break out than if you've never been typecast at all. First I encourage people who are fighting against their type, to just give in and get cast as you are seen. Which I finally did many years ago when I was flat out told to "stop telling people you're the 'girl next door!' You're the girl down the street who steals the girl next door's boyfriend." Of course that killed me inside because I would never do that in real life, but as an actress, I had to embrace my type.

Now that I've built up a reel of layered vixens, I can make the break... part of that is exactly what got your attention on Facebook. Writing quick blurbs of story lines I'd like to be "written into." Put outside of the box ideas into the minds of people who've cast me one way that they could cast me another. This character isn't too far off... it's not like I was trying to play Jeff's nerdy girlfriend or something. I would get to be the best of both worlds, hence making the transition without people noticing how.

So, what's close to your typecast that you can reframe people's opinions about? Are you known for shooting comedy but would love to shoot an action film, why not target action/comedy hybrids? Have you directed sitcoms and want to break into episodics? Why not target a dramedy?

Hybrid out of your type-cast- You can do it!

To keep up with all of my fun story-lines, follow me at www.facebook.com/JessicaSitomer

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 447: I'm trying to get work on TV but people aren't returning my calls. What's wrong?

You're not necessarily doing anything wrong. This is the hiring season for television, so people are really busy. If you're leaving messages about being hired, they most likely "got the message," but if they don't have an opening for you, it can be uncomfortable to return a call where they have to tell you, "I don't have anything for you." And if you're not asking for work, you're just "touching base," you may not be a priority because they are trying to get hired or doing their hiring.

That said, be conscious of the messages you're leaving; your words, tonality, requests, etc.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 446: repost of question 384:Will Bret Michaels win the Apprentice?

HECK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations to Holly & Bret for an amazing season of the Celebrity Apprentice, I was rooting for both of you from the start! Bret has always been my guy since Poison debuted in the 80s, so I did have a stronger attachment to him.

That said, I'm still singing "Funky Godfather" Holly SO should have won that task.

Donald, it was a tough task, but you hired the right guy! Now let him rest so we can have him around for a long while!

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 445: What do I do now that my favorite shows have "finalied" ?

Are you kidding? Can you say new summer line up? There are SO many new shows debuting and some old favorites like Drop Dead Diva starting up again. Check your local listings or get on Cynopsis.com free daily report to see what's premiering every day of the week. I can't wait for the new shows. Woo Hoo!

Hi, I'm Jessica and I'm a television-o-holic... but it's my job!

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 444: If I'm producing a feature, how many people do I have to hire?

Yikes! Where to start with this one. You need to do some (a lot) of research before you produce a feature film, because that is NOT the first question to ask. You don't pick a number of people and produce around it, you pick a project to produce and find out the budget and location. Once you have these basics down (and a few more that a producer mentor could advise you on) you have to cast the project (which is one group of people) and the crew (which is another group of people).

Each project's location, budget, and equipment will dictate the crew you need and can afford.

Recognize that producing a feature film is a huge endeavor and this is a really basic question. There are a lot of books about filmmaking that you should read before investing your money or anyone else's.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 443: I worked with a director not knowing how big he is. Can I compliment him after the fact?

Of course! If you haven't sent a thank you note yet, start there, and then follow up with a letter regarding the work you want to compliment. Be specific about why you're addressing the work, and it should have questions that require you to follow up with a phone call to get the answers.

This is an in depth question that really requires a very specific strategy per situation. I gave you a general answer, so others could make it their own.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 442: How and when do I tell my boss I'm pregnant?

I'd love to throw this under "life-coaching" and say it's not my department.

When to tell: I'm not really the right one to speak to about this because there are laws depending on what your job classification is. For example, if you work at a studio, there are protections for you so you can't be fired for taking maternity leave.

Now in other classifications, it can work against you. For instance, a camera assistant, may want to work as long as she can not feeling that her job is putting the unborn baby at risk. However, the production team may feel differently because the camera assistant is carry heavy equipment cases, etc., and may be worried about injury and a potential lawsuit.

My advice, talk to a union rep or someone in human resources.

How to tell: not really sure why you're asking me this. Most people get excited and say, "I'm pregnant," getting all glowy and stuff. Is there any reason why your boss wouldn't be happy for you or that you have to tiptoe around him/her? I'd need more details to be able to help you out with this one.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 441: Is it good to meet entertainment people in bars?

Ummmm so many ways I could go with this, but I'll stay strictly business. It doesn't matter where you meet new contacts as long as you are building a genuine relationship and it is clear that all you are interested in is talking business. Many industry people go out in bars so yes, there is great potential to meet people. Just be sure to watch a few episodes of Entourage, so you don't get sucked into anything you hadn't bargained for : )

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 440:What is the pay scale for an editor?

Questions like that should be directed to the Guild, in this case the Editors Guild. If you go to their site www.TheEditorsGuild.com, under employers is a section titled wages. I don't know that every Union offers the wages online, but you can always call a union and ask to speak to someone regarding wages.

Know that these are union wages. If you are working non-union there are no set rules, but using the union wages as guidelines can help you when putting in a bid on a job.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 439: What is the difference between an agent and a casting director?

There's actually nothing the same about them except that they're both human beings.

The basic responsibility of an agents is to represent clients, setting up meetings and submitting them for jobs. In some situations they have a lot more personal interaction, they may negotiate contracts, and they can even use leverage by packaging clients.

A casting director brings in actors for acting jobs. They may or may not have the final say in the hiring process.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 437: how many scripts is enough to have written?

There's no exact number. You can have one script that is the next big blockbuster/hit pilot that sells and that's it. Just know, if you want an agent, they're going to want to know what else you have because once you sell something it's a great time for them to pitch more of your material.

If you're a television writer, you should have at least 2 spec scripts for current shows. That means if your favorite show is 24 and you have a spec for it, you had better write a new one because 24 has 3 hours left. These days, agents are also interested in seeing an original pilot.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 436: I've heard of the SAG Film Society. Is there any reason to join?

You have to be a SAG member in good standing, and if you are, then there are many great reasons to join.

1. You get to see at least one movie every other week and bring a guest for $90. If you do the math and factor in that some weekends are double features, during voting season they have TONS of bonus movies, and if you're in the society many movie theaters allow you to see SAG award nominated films for free, you'll see it's a great deal.

2. At some of the screenings they host Q&A sessions with the actors and filmmakers. This gives you numerous opportunities to maximize.

3. Because you can bring a guest, it gives you the opportunity to re-establish relationships as well as deepen relationships by inviting industry people to pre-releases and other blockbuster or art house films.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 435:How do I find work out of LA market when states offering tax incentives are mandating local crew hires only?

The only way I'm aware of (and if others know of any, please chime in) is to be able to work as a local hire. The point of the states offering these tax incentives is so that their residents can have an advantage over the Hollywood people who have worked out here for so long because that's were the work was. Now it's being spread around.

Recently an actress I've worked with booked a job in the Bay Area because she grew up there and they could hire her as a local.

I personally know this person has already relocated to Los Angeles, so if he's not interested in relocating to a state with incentives that's busy and keeping LA as his production city, then he and everyone in his position are going to have to focus on generating work in LA.

In the mean time, get involved with http://shootmoviesincalifornia.com/ where they are working with politicians to get better incentives and other forms of enticements to keep producers in California.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 435:Why is it nearly impossible to make friends in LA who hang out like my friends from FL?

Ironically, I've had this conversation twice this past week, with people from Florida. You Florida people must be very cool to hang out with and very loyal to your friends.

Let me start with this analogy, even though many people in the entertainment industry don't fully relate to it because they didn't need to go to college since they were pursuing an art or a trade.

Most kids (excluding those who were moved around a lot) grow up from elementary school through high school with the same friends, give or take a few. That creates a serious bond. Then they are sent off to college where the first people they meet are those who live on their dorm floor. They tend to gravitate to these people at first because they are close in proximity and all going through the same awkwardness of the lack of familiarity they had with their home friends. These are what are referred to as "Freshman Year Friends." Now, in some cases, people stay friends throughout college, but in most cases, Freshman Year Friends are left behind until you find the people with whom you're truly compatible.

That's pretty much what happened to me and everyone I know in LA. The first two years of friendships were total bombs. But eventually, you find the people you click with.

Now this particular question went further by adding, "If someone calls me it's because they want me to work for them, no one wants to just hang out."

I refer to that as an A-List problem. Getting called for work is a good thing. You're going to have to examine the values of your friends back home in Florida and get really clear on them so when meeting people you can easily identify those who share the values and then make the extra effort to create a friendship. If you've tried this and it's not working, perhaps you should seek friends out of the industry.

Keep in mind, as people get older, their responsibilities change, their time is limited by those responsibilities, and therefore it's more challenging to make friends. But when you do find those few (and really that's all you need) they are SO worth it!

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 434: What are good side jobs for making money?

That depends on the flexibility you need, your skills, and your interests. Temp work is always an option. I encourage people to go to temp agencies who place people in entertainment offices or check if any of the studios still have temp pools. Then you can be creating relationships while making extra money.

If office work isn't your thing, it's a matter of looking at your interests, seeing what jobs are in someway connected to your interests, and then deciding if the hours, flexibility, and money work for you.

I've known people who've sprayed perfume at department stores, done handy-work/construction, made jewelry, sold gym memberships, personal trained, or taught exercise classes. Really, there are so many options, it just depends on job availability and meeting your needs.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 433: When is an agent not enough and I need a lawyer, a publicist, etc?

The easiest answer is- you'll know. The biggest mistake people make is when they feel their agent isn't doing enough they immediately think they need more people to make things happen. So they pay a lot of money to publicists and lawyers hoping to get more leads.

The problem with this is, if you have nothing unique to market, you've just spent a lot of money for nothing. Agents, overall, are very good at what they do. Why? Well, the obvious reason is that if you don't make money, neither do they. If you have something that's "hot and sellable" your agents will be all over it. Once the frenzy begins, then you want to get a publicist involved. Again, a publicist can't publicize "nothing." If you don't have a hook that's interesting to the media, there's not much an expensive publicist can do for you.

Now, once the agent is promoting your "hot and sellable" and the publicist is getting your hook out there to the media and EVERYONE wants a part of you, contracts are going to start coming in, deal offers. That's when you need a great entertainment lawyer on your team.

One of the exceptions is, if you don't have an agent, and can't send material to production companies without representation, you can get an attorney to submit it for you.

This is a huge topic because there are exceptions all over the place varying from how motivated you are, what you have to promote and the potential team members you meet. But my blog is for the general public. So if you feel you're in a specific situation that needs more clarity, we can do a coaching session on it and even include current team members and potential team members.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 432: There are so many classes in Los Angeles, how do I find the best?

This was asked by an actor who was writing about acting classes in Los Angeles. The answer, applies to any classification that offers classes to improve skills/art, in any location.

You can interview different teachers on your own, though many teachers are sales people as well, and can be very convincing that they are the best.

When I first moved to LA, I found myself some mentors, an agent, a working actress, and a casting director. I asked them which they felt were the top acting schools/teachers in LA. Based on their answer there were 4 schools that were on all three lists. I interviewed each and made my decision.

Choosing a good school/teacher is important to many casting directors when they look at your resume.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 431: How do I work when I'm uninspired?

Maybe you don't. Maybe you're uninspired because you need a break. Or maybe you are inspired but are afraid of what will happen if you work through the fear. You reached out to me, therefore you want answers, you want more. Know what your big picture looks like. Where do you want to be in ten years? Who do you want to help? What change do you want to create? What is your purpose? Knowing these answers may not inspire you at the moment, but they keep you reaching out to people like me. They keep you in the game. Maybe that means that you take a break, or maybe it means pushing through even when you're uninspired. Just because you're not inspired doesn't mean the journey is wrong. Continue to ask for help and for answers. You may find them in the most unexpected people. And have faith that you will be inspired again.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 430: Can anyone work in entertainment?

I would imagine the answer to that is yes. It depends on what you want to do, but if you have no specific preference, there is something for everyone. The more into a craft/art/skill you target, the more of an education/natural gift/tools you need. But there are plenty of positions that don't require an education, natural gifts, or extensive tools if you just want to be a part of the team that makes the magic happen.

The one thing I will say is that anyone can work in entertainment if they are willing to be located where movies/TV etc., are being made. You can't expect to work in entertainment if you're living in a small village in a third world country and you're not willing to move. That's even extreme. You can live in a small town in the US, and never work in entertainment if you're not willing to relocate.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 429:Is it possible to have a full time job and pursue a career in entertainment?

Is it possible? Of course. You definitely have to master the art of the 80/20 principle in that you want to be doing 20% of your work for your entertainment career and have 80% results coming from that focused work. I had a full time job for 11 years and wrote screenplays, auditioned, produced 1 pilot and 4 episodes of a television show, acted in projects, directed a short, and on and on.

It's about time management. When you get to the point that your entertainment career needs more time than your full time job permits, that's what I refer to as an A-list problem. Give me a call then and we'll work it out.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

entertainment industry coach Question 428: I'm a mom and I wonder if it's unprofessional to bring my baby to commercial auditions?

I know of a few babies who have lofty college funds because their moms took them along on an audition and the mother and baby both got cast.

If you audition a lot commercially and you're in the "mom-range" I'm sure you see babies all the time. But since you're asking this question, I'm guessing you don't audition a lot and you're afraid to put yourself out there because now you have a baby.

The best solution is to find a friend who can come with you and take care of the baby while you're in the room. This way if the baby gets fussy, your friend can go for a walk outside of the casting office. BUT, just in case they're looking for a mother/baby team, it could be a great opportunity having your baby there. And you'll certainly feel a lot more comfortable auditioning with your own child than a strange baby.

Disclaimer: If you do not have a friend who can come with you, it would not be professional to tote your baby into your audition- especially, unannounced. Nothing worse than improving with a guy who's supposed to be your husband and you're deciding if it's time to start a family and your baby in the corner starts crying.

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

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!