Good Article by Bob Frasier, I posted it here b/c this is my mindset. I remember watching an interview on TV One and Will was on there with his best friend and producing partner I believe his name was James ( I think), anyways they went to Overbrook High School together in Philly. In their interview, Will said his goal was to be become the #1 actor, and he did that by booking roles that were geared towards the typical number # box office films which are family films ( after they did the research about this). Anyways, their interview was awesome and educational. So this article relates to that interview…and of course me. Read on…
ACTING FOR MONEY
By Bob Fraiser
One of my hobbies, during my active career, was watching the
results of other show biz folks. I kept journals for about
5 years, then I noticed that I didn’t need to keep a journal
because it was becoming redundant. The fact is, that all the
successful people I met over 40 years, (and when I say ALL I
mean 100%) were capitalists.
I don’t mean that in a political way – I’m talking about
store-keeper capitalism. All the successful people I’ve known
in the show business are successful because they are good
business people. Good store-keepers.
The other side of the coin is the unsuccessful actor, writer,
director, producer, etc. Believe me, most of them are not
untalented, or unlucky, or unconnected. Generally, their real
problem is that they are just lackadaisical business people.
The biggest mistake I see is the total time and energy the
unsuccessful actor puts into the business. This amount of
time can be described as: NOT ENOUGH.
IMPROVE YOUR PRODUCT
If we are not working at our business to keep things running
smoothly on a daily basis, if we ever sit back and wait for
things to happen, stop marketing and promoting, or quit
trying new ideas to get people into our store (to buy our
product) well, every business around us will say a big thank
you – and grab our customers.
If we don’t devote enough time to our business, if we don’t
plan what we’re doing, if we don’t put in a lot of thought
and energy, if we don’t have vision, if we’re not excited
by it all, then, then the sad truth is that we’re just not
going to get very far. we’re going to be crawling along,
while all around us, sincere, hard working capitalists will
be charging past.
What can you do to become a better capitalist? A good start
is to understand the difference between actually being in
business and just having the store open.
The number one way to improve your business is to improve
your product. The best product is not always what the
customer buys – but it’s always the product the customer
wants. Your odds improve as your product gets better.
Be sure to advertise. If one kind of advertising isn’t
working – try something else. (Get new headshots until
you get one that works.)
It doesn’t hurt to keep the store open 12 hours a day.
Don’t worry about hiring a salesman (An Agent) until you’ve
done a lot of market testing and selling, yourself.
You want a smart salesman and a smart salesman knows better
than to try to sell an untested and unproven product. An
agent cannot afford to sell one of his customers (studios
and producers) a sub-par product. Keep in mind that your
salesman will probably represent a lot of different “lines”
and he will give more attention to the better ones.
Always present your product (you) in the best possible way.
The key to good business is to accentuate the benefits of
the product and work hard to eliminate any reasons for the
customer not to buy. This requires a lot of thought.
After all, your product is a human being and we all have
flaws – which sometimes (after some thought) – turn out to
be benefits.
WORKING HARD AND SMART
That’s what capitalism is: Taking your product out into the
marketplace, defining your customer base, doing good product
testing and research, hiring good salespeople, advertising
well, and keeping the store open late.
Watch the capitalists around you. You know, the folks who
run their own dry cleaning store, sandwich shop, or quick
print center. If they are successful, study them carefully
and find out how they run their businesses. You will
discover that most of them WORK VERY HARD.
Is it worth working very hard?
Well, their dream is probably just security. Our dream, on
the other hand, is fame, fortune, respect and a bit of
immortality.
And security.
Don’t kid yourself, it’s a capitalist’s dream … with a
twist and a cherry on top.
The question is – how hard are you willing to work to achieve
your dream?
Keep in mind that the number one benefit of capitalism is the
money – and money equals freedom.
I think that’s a dream we can all get behind.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“Reprinted from ACTOR’S TOOL KIT, the email course just for
subscribers of Show Biz How-To, the free e-zine for actors.
Get your own subscription at: www.showbizhowto.com
© 2007 Bob Fraser Productions All Rights Reserved”
3 Comments
June 25, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Good writing. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed my Google News Reader..
Matt Hanson
June 25, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Thanks so much for including my article in your blog. Will Smith is one of those people who gladly gives away the ’secrets’ of success and is one actor that all actors should listen to. By the way, my name is misspelled in the first paragraph – not that there’s anything wrong with that. LOL out loud. Bob
June 2, 2009 at 7:54 pm
This article is very misleading.
Capitalism is not neccessarily about competition or even hard work. Sometimes, it’s about using people. This article makes it appear that everyone who is successful worked hard for it and deserved it. This is not always true… many people simply bank on other people to do work for them, and claim credit for it. People have counted on me to do favors that they later did not extend to me, and have counted on me to give them advice when they needed it. Often times, capitalism is just a one-sided game of taking without giving back. Hardened capitalists are opportunists who bank on other peoples’ misfortunes, and have an egoistic, self-centered mindset.
How is that laudable?
People lament the egoism of many celebrities. Articles like this one further it instead of humbling people into understanding that success comes from many factors. We are all part of the larger society that shapes us, although many of us like viewing ourselves as “self-made.” At its best, the media shows us how indebted we are to “the little people.” This is why acting is not just about money, but this article seems to portray it that way.