SelfDiploma.com

When it comes to the Entertainment industry in Cincinnati there's one thing I know for sure, and that is with success comes setbacks and even in some cases failure. Four years ago a partner and I had a vision, we already owned our own promotions company and at the time, we were running the hottest bars and nightclubs in the city. However, it came to us why are we all working our ass off for someone else when we could start our own concept. And that's when everything began to change. We decided instead to start throwing our own concerts and live events featuring celebrities from all sorts of genres. 

Here I'm going to give you a brief summary of how we came to become the biggest entertainment company in Cincinnati and how to take the proper steps and some key factors you should keep in mind when starting your own business.  

Our Brand:

 

SelfDiploma.com

You may have heard of us before - Since we've launched our company in 2009 we have thrown over 200+ concerts in the Tri-state featuring some of the biggest artist in the Entertainment industry today. A-list stars such as Avicii (ranked top 25 DJ's in the world), J Cole (signed to Roc Nation - Jay-Z Record Label) and even giving young hip hop icon Mac Miller his first break before he became the number one recording artist last year at the age of 20. 

Some may call it serendipity, or being at the right place at the right time, but truth be told in order to make any significant change and make a strong impact in any industry it all comes down to hard work. Success doesn't happen over-night. And any true Entrepreneurs knows this. Proper planning, brainstorming, brand protection, your dream team - all goes into creating a concept that works to develop a brand that lasts.   

 

Key factors: 

Focus: When it comes to the Entertainment industry you must have a specific focus in mind. The field is just so broad and there are so many different avenues you can chase down. My whole life I've always wanted to work in the movie industry. If I was to go that route I would have moved to a bigger city like New York or LA and tried to schmooze with the best of them at a local Synagogue (since we all know the Jews run the movie industry) Instead, growing up, I found myself falling in love with live music more and more. So once I knew what I was passionate about I ran with it!

Process (brainstorming): Coming up with a concept in my opinion was the fun part. This goes hand in hand with branding but I will go more into detail shortly about brand recognition - Finding something that hasn't been done before isn't easy. It takes much research and energy consulting with your dream team to find your niche. In, time this brings all of you closer together. You will fight back and forth and have disagreements why this particular idea would work or be a better fit than this one. Sometimes this is what can make or break a business before it is even started. Still, once that light bulb goes off and everyone finally comes together and starts to believe that's where things start to get very exciting!  

Branding: After coming up with a concept, one of the most important key factors is to keep building your brand. I could talk about branding for hours but instead I’m going to highlight a few key terms. Brand Protection – one of my mentors stressed this idea more than anything else. The people you’re associated with and those who are around you supporting your brand, are also representing your brand. Wrap your head around this idea for a second, if you were to throw a concert next week and you put on 30 guys who you think could potentially help you sell out a show, that core group now has a tremendous impact on your brand. If one kid accidently makes a mistake, or talks badly about another company, or he words things a certain way on social media that offends someone – that directly impacts your company and everything you worked for. Social Media is now making and breaking companies so when it comes to building, make sure you’re building your business around the right people. Social Proof – this is everything you see on the surface. Your website, photo’s you’ve shared, twitter timeline, etc. Everything that is posted on behalf on your company becomes the so called “personality” of your brand. If people want to get an idea of your company they’ll check your Facebook timeline, your yelp account, past events you have thrown, etc. Be sure to always protect your brand, because an in instant one person on your team could possibly ruin everything you’ve worked so hard for.

Difficulties/Reality: Those who work in the entertainment industry know that it’s not just all fun and games. Yes, the payoff is sometimes great but to work in an environment that is always moving and constantly changing, you and your brand must do the same most always do the same as well. The cool thing last month may not be the cool thing this month. In Live entertainment if you have an event outside and two days before the event you find out the biggest storm in 10 years is headed your way you have to be quick on your feet and make a decision. Overall, when it comes to the pros and cons of the entertainment industry it’s a very slippery sloop.

I could go on for days on this topic, but I just wanted to share, in my opinion, the three most important things to keep in mind when jumping into the entertainment business because sometimes it’s all glitz and glamour but in reality it’s a doggy dog world.