Actor’s Tool-Kit #1

Recently I subscribed to an excellent service from Bob Fraser called Show Biz How-To. Bob’s information is focused toward on-camera actors for television and film; but there’s a bunch of valuable information that applies to those of us who act entirely or mostly with our voices. I’ve asked his permission to reprint the series of Actor’s Tool-Kits that he sends to his subscribers, and he has given me permission. What follows is the first installment. I’ll post more of these in the coming weeks. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
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ACTOR’S TOOL KIT #1
ACTING FOR MONEY
by Bob Fraser
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.
NEXT INSTALLMENT: ACTING LIKE YOU’RE A BUSINESS
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“Reprinted from ACTOR’S TOOL KIT, the email course just for subscribers of Show Biz How-To — The Free Actor’s Monthly.
Get your own free subscription by going to: showbizhowto.com
Copyright © 2006 Bob Fraser Productions All Rights Reserved”
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