entertainment industry coach question 687:What do I make of someone who says he wants to meet with me but keeps rescheduling?

You "make" another appointment. If he says he wants to meet with you, take him at his word. I don't know what position he holds, but if he's working, he's probably very busy. Things come up all of the time, pushing you down on the priority list.

What kind of urgency did you create, if any? Do you have to meet with him because you have a deadline of some sort coming up that you want advice on? If not, there is no urgency, and that's okay. It just means that you have to be understanding about his priorities.

Until someone says NO, and tells you to leave them alone, you keep rescheduling. Also, don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Set up meetings with many people so you're not waiting on this one guy.

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entertainment industry coach question 686: What's the best way to handle it when contacts get pilots?

He continues: “These are contacts I know somewhat but I'm pretty sure I'm not their absolute first call. They're also facebook friends.”

This answer is going to depend on your credits. I happen to know the person who asked this question has an impressive credit list and has worked for the studio system before. Therefore, in your case, you can contact them to congratulate them on their pilot, and tell them that you imagine they already have their “person,” but you’ve learned by getting shows like (insert 2 of your most impressive credits here) that you never know when someone is looking a fresh (or use your own adjective) sound. Should they be interested in hearing a variety of composers (in his case) before making a final decision, you’d be happy to send your (insert marketing materials here).

If you are not established enough to be this bold, I’d like to invite you to my FREE SEMINAR OPEN TO ALL “HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF PILOT SEASON” The Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles has graciously opened it’s doors to EVERYONE on my list. This is a great opportunity to network with people in various classifications and learn some new strategies for getting work during pilot season. Wed, January 26th, 2-5pm or Thurs, January 27th, 7:30-10:30pm RSVP to events@theGreenlightCoach.com SUBJECT LINE: RSVP Pilot Season and specify the date and time. You will receive confirmation and location

entertainment industry coach question 685: How long should I wait to follow up when I think an email didn't go through but I'm not sure?

My first suggestion, is to always BCC yourself on emails, so you know that it went out properly.

As far as suggestions for how long to wait, it depends on the urgency of the email.

If you send an email that is time sensitive and think that for some reason it didn't get delivered, you can immediately send another email, stating, "I apologize if you're receiving this twice. I received an email error and wanted to be sure my time sensitive email went through."

If the email is not time sensitive, you can follow up 3-7 days after by forwarding the original email and putting in your new message, "Following up, to be sure you received the email below."

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entertainment industry coach question 684: I want to do work regularly as an extra. Where should I start?

Making a career doing extra work in Los Angeles is absolutely do-able. If you are in the union, you can even get benefits, so if you're not in the union, it's a goal to aim for.

To start, sign up with multiple extra casting agencies. Here are three to start with:

Central Casting http://www.centralcasting.org/

Bill Dance Casting http://billdancecasting.com/

Prime Casting http://www.primecasting.com/401.html

Next, once you're hired, you want to be on-time, professional, and easy to work with. Remember, being a background artist's job is to blend into the background, not to "steal the scene."

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entertainment industry coach question 683: I used to work a lot and now people I worked with work all the time and I don't, what gives?

You MUST stop comparing yourself to other people. For all the people who you notice are working, there are hundreds who like you, had a career and are struggling to revive it.

What you SHOULD do is:

1. evaluate what you are doing to generate work for yourself

2. Analyze what the successful people are doing

3. Model their success

Consider the fact that you have a track record and how to utilize that.

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entertainment industry coach question 682: I moved out to LA 6 months ago and I'm homesick. Does this mean I'm on the wrong path?

If your football team is in the playoffs, it's no wonder you're homesick (he's from Chicago). Seriously though, do you think it means you're on the wrong path? That's a question only you can answer. If you moved to LA to pursue a career in entertainment and you expected certain results within 6 months, and because you haven't achieved them, you're discouraged and homesick, it's understandable. BUT, you have to know the nature of the industry that you're pursuing. It could take a lifetime, there's no telling. So, YOU must decide if this is the path you want to follow.

I can give you tools and strategies for getting faster results, but ultimately, you have to decide if this is the business for you.

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entertainment industry coach question 681: I'm always the 2nd choice. What am I doing wrong?

If you're the second choice, it seems that you're doing a lot right. I jut had a discussion with an actress who has been the 2nd runner-up for everything she's gone up for recently. Her name is unknown, and the actresses getting the jobs have powerhouse parents, or there's an offer out to a "name".

Is she doing anything wrong? Heck no! Can she be doing more? Yes. I suggested she get herself some powerhouse mentors who can make a call on her behalf. Maybe she wasn't born into Hollywood royalty, but she can certainly get herself "adopted".

If you are interviewing for jobs as part of the crew and coming in 2nd, that means you're really close. Can you do more? Yes. If you feel the interview went well, stay in relationship with the person you interviewed with. You never know where it will lead.

Patience is a mindset to master for success in this industry. Be proud of how far you're getting. Don't let it discourage you or it will start to chip away at you. Instead, let the butterflies of excitement stir in you knowing how close you are, because one of these days, it's going to be you!

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entertainment industry coach question 680: Publicists are so expensive. Is there any way I can do this myself?

My friend, Lisa Manyon once did a call called: No Cost & Low Cost Online Press Release Strategies. This is Lisa's area of expertise. She gave so many great ideas. Hopefully, you can contact her and get a copy of the call. Tell her Jessica Sitomer, The Greenlight Coach, told you to contact her and ask if you can get a copy of the No Cost & Low Cost Online Press Release Strategies call.

Here's what she spoke about, so if it's up your alley, I'll give you her contact information:

1. How you can use press releases to get more traffic and visibility

2. How to use press releases to get more credibility and exposure

3. How to get free press

4. What is a press release

5. The difference between paid and free publicity

6. What happens to a press release once it's out there

7. How to build relationships with people in the media

8. How to leverage local media

9. What makes newsworthy press releases

10. Tip sheet press release

11. Nuts and bolts of writing a press release

To learn more about Lisa Manyon go to http://www.writeoncreative.com

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entertainment industry coach question 679:My New Years resolution is to get a new agent. How do I do that?

I gave a seminar last year around this time and the majority of the people had that same resolution. Well, some just wanted to get an agent. You saying you want a "new" one, implies you have one. I have posted on this topic before, I've also made a video about it that you can watch at: The Greenlight Coach Channel

Instead of repeating myself, I'll just give you a few tips:

1. Create buzz about yourself that an agent will take notice of

2. Know the timing of the industry (If you're an actor, agents who rep TV actors are headed into pilot season, so a better time to pursue an agent would be after pilot season when they've let go of their clients who didn't deliver)

3. Remember that agents get +10% for a reason. You are still 100% responsible for your success and an agent is icing on the cake.

GOOD LUCK!

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entertainment industry coach question 678: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.

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entertainment industry coach question 677: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.

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