entertainment industry coach question 316: How do I balance my life and career work based on your blog yesterday?

My blog yesterday, was about treating your freelancing career like a business. That stated working at least 20 hours per week on your career even when you're not "working at your craft." Keep in mind, in the business world, 20 hours is considered part-time.

In answer to your question about balance though, what do you consider balanced? If I drew I pie graph and had you put slices in the pie like: Work/Career, Finances, Family, Friends, Charity, Spirituality, Personal Growth, Fun/Pampering, Health, etc. Then I asked you to fill in each piece of the pie rating it from 1-10, what would your pie look like?

Most people think that to be balanced, the pie needs to be equal; everything at an "8." Not true. It's what balance means to you. If you want to spend 3 days each week in the gym and you're going twice a month- you're out of balance. If you value your friends and family but are spending all of your time at work and barely make time for a phone call let alone seeing them in person- you're out of balance.

To determine how to balance your life and career, ask yourself what's important to you, and how you want to spend your time. Then map it out and see if your definition of balance is in alignment with your goals. In other words, if you want major career success but want to spend 10 hours a day playing with your kids, perhaps you should watch the movie Daddy Day Care and go into a new line of work.

When you are looking at balancing your life, what you value shows up. There are a lot of sacrifices that people in the entertainment industry are forced to make due to erratic schedules, working on location, long hours... I could go on and on. However, it's one of the rare industries that when people are working they are living their passion, they are truly fulfilled. So if you don't feel that way, this may not be the industry for you. If that is how you feel, and you can't imagine doing anything else, then balance means, budgeting your time so that you can generate work for yourself, and then maximizing the experience of everything else on your list.

For clients I've had tell me their kids miss them when they're away, I tell them to do everything in the power, to create special memories when they do have time to spend with them. That could have more impact on their children, then the parents who work 9-5 jobs every day and then come home tired and blow their kids off.

I could go on and on about this topic, so if you want more, just let me know what you want to hear about specifically and I'll blog about it.

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

entertainment industry coach question 315:All my friends are on 9-5 schedules, how do I delegate my time as a freelancer?

Many people who work as freelancers in the entertainment industry have trouble maintaining motivation when they're not working on a project, because they're not accountable to anyone. Your friends who have 9-5 schedules, are accountable to someone and don't get paid unless they work those hours and are productive during them.

As a freelancer you have to recognize that you do have a daily work schedule. In fact, you may have to work more than just 9-5 in the beginning to have the career you desire. And by "beginning," I don't mean the beginning of your career. Many of you have been at this for 10+ years. I mean the beginning of when you start treating yourself like the CEO of YOUR company.

Here are a few tips to start the process:

1. If you are self motivated, set a time to wake up in the morning and "go to work." That requires having a designated space in your residence, for an office. Set your lunch hour, give yourself two 15-minute breaks, and know what time your day ends.

note: If your friends ask you to do favors for you because they know you're "not working," now is the time to start setting boundaries. Just because you work from home doesn't mean your work isn't equally as important as theirs.

2. If you aren't productive at home because there are too many distractions, find a place with free wi-fi and go there at least 4 days a week for at least 5 hours.

3. If you are not self-motivated, find a partner or a group of freelancers, who would like to be productive and meet 4 days a week for at least 5 hours. A group works well for this because then if someone has to miss a day you can't skip out like you can with a single partner. You can take turns at each other's houses or meet at the place with free wi-fi.

If you are not working at least 20 hours/week on your entertainment career, you are not being competitive and therefore, are losing out on jobs to the people who are getting themselves out there the right way.

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

entertainment industry coach question 262: How do you live off of freelance?

You recognize that being a freelancer is the equivalent of being an entrepreneur. You treat your business the same way any CEO of a company would treat his/her company. In addition, you recognize the nature of being a freelancer. That means that because work could potentially be feast or famine, you save for "rainy days."

What I personally encourage my clients to do, is:

CREATE MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME!

I once believed that if I spent even a week taking a vacation, that it would cost my entertainment career. It didn't. Nor did having a supplemental, full-time, income job for 11 years. People in our industry are so afraid to take the time to build an additional income stream. You can choose fear, or you can take a risk. With fear, you know you'll never get any supplemental or passive income streams going. With risk... you never know.

For more tips and articles by the top entertainment industry coach, the Greenlight Coach, visit www.theGreenlightCoachBlog.com

Question 55: Can one get a steady job in the entertainment industry?

Is any job really steady this day and age? For the most part, positions in the entertainment industry are freelance. There are some studio and agency jobs that are contract jobs, but the reality is, nothing is truly stable in this industry. 

Some people are fortunate enough to get on a series that lasts for ten years. They, unfortunately,  have their own set of complaints.

If you were a teacher or a janitor and had tenure, your union would protect your job. In the entertainment industry, a union protects your contract and safety. An entertainment union can not guarantee/secure a job for you. Basically, you are a business owner, so the success of your business depends on you. 

Knowing this, I suggest multiple streams of income.

for more tips and articles by entertainment industry coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.thegreenlightcoachblog.com