I have always had a gift for the GAB....
Substack track 1. - Michael Jackson- Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough!
I am not a “writer” by trade, but I love to write and have a lot to say. A creative producer with over 20 years working across every platform, at every level, creating both long and short form video content. I love people, stories, ideas and I LOVE to share all of the above. I often joke that I have taken the path of most resistance when it comes to my career. This industry which is ever changing is not for the weak. I have had a lot of great success, and many failures. I have learned a lot about how to work with people, sell ideas, and find creative solutions for almost every hurdle I have encountered. I also LOVE music and soundtracks. So with each post, I will have a song and this can create my substack soundtrack for y'all!
I am often asked for “15 minutes of my time” to pick my brain, seek advice, make introductions, and share some of my experience. I am hoping this can be a place for young and not so young creatives, makers, hustlers, dreamers to find a place where inspiration and practical advice can help them on their journey.
So welcome to my substack. I hope you will find it entertaining, useful, inspiring, and educational. I will also use my voice and platform to share other’s voices, and make this a place of discovery.
My first topic, HOW TO MAKE IT WHILE YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE IT…..
When I started my career, I had big aspirations. I was certain I would be a huge successful producer. I was destined for greatness. I was going to be rich and famous. I had a lot of vision and not a lot of experience. I believe my blind optimism is what has gotten me this far. What I DIDN’T know was just how hard it was going to be.
One of the best lessons I learned over time, was to not FULLY bank on my future success. I had a few lessons in needing to check my ego at the door. Ego’s are a very important and essential part of being in a cut throat industry. You have to believe you are better than everyone else. I don’t think I believed that I was “better” maybe just as great. When I was younger, I thought I had a lot of time… I kept kicking things down the road. It was a lot of “when this happens” I will… buy the house, get the car, win the award.
One of my favourite stories, that I often reference when giving advice began with what turned out to be a career defining moment for me. I had been producing films as an independent producer for about 6 years. I was hustling. I had an amazing ability to get in the room. Making movies is truly a miracle. All the odds are against you. It is really hard to get a movie made, and find the money to do it. I had made a couple of short and indie films at this time, one even had a lot of success, but I was not really making a living. I remember my brother who works in finance once said to me “ you know most people work and have a job to make money…” I had heard of this, but hadn't really experienced it.
Then I had my first baby and I knew I needed to figure this out. My son was about 1 at the time, and I reached out to a very good friend of mine. His name is Jared. He is an absolute creative genius, a madman, and one of the smartest entrepreneurs I have ever known. He also makes more fart jokes, and uses poop humour in almost every conversation. He had just started a new company called Jingle Punks. He and his partner Dan created a music agency, that was comprised of a stable of composers and a first of its kind library of listenable music for content creators that rev shared with artists and allowed the user to search for music using non musical terms to find the track that fits. They had a patent on this incredible technology which was a game changer.
He had just opened his first office in NYC with about 12 employees, and was doing the rounds in Toronto. I said Jared, let me run your Canadian business. I will help you build it. He is a good friend and Said OK. I was employee 13 and number 1 in Canada. I was excited, and this was a big pivot for me, but I was ready for the challenge. I felt excited and defeated. I was a FILM PRODUCER. I wanted that to be how people saw me. In my mind, this was just a stop on the road, and I needed to make money. I said, ok Jared, I am going to do this BUT I am still telling people I am a film producer. If you know Jared, he moves 1000 miles a minute, and listens to about 30% of what you might be saying. He said OK.
I laugh now when I look back, because our combined crazy is what allowed that conversation to go the way it did. NOW if someone said that to me now… they would get an earful. If I am paying them, and they are the face of the company, whose job it is to build the business and develop it, they better be putting this at the forefront. My ego was getting in the way. If you know me well, you know I don’t do anything half ass. I do give everything my all. I was dedicated, and of course I ended up contributing to the success of the company and its growth in Canada and globally. I was there for over 4 years, and I became the general manager. I learned so much in that job. I learned about sales, business development, managing people, music supervision and licensing and I opened up an entire new network in the commercial production world.
This job that I thought I took to help pay for my career, ended up being one of the most important stepping stones for my next chapter. I didn't know it at that time, but it was integral in my future success. Jingle Punks went on to have 2 acquisitions and 1 final sale which put it in the hands of other people. It was a huge success story and also taught me a lot about stepping outside of the box and take risks when it came to marketing and branding. That was all Jared, Dan and Jesse. We are all still friends and I am still in touch with many of the people who worked there and some that still do.
So what is my point? Don’t ever be ashamed of doing what you need to do to make a living. What we do, our job titles, do not define us. We can be many things at once. I was a film producer, and continued on projects during that time, I was also a really amazing executive, and more importantly, none of that mattered. Dream big and bet on yourself, AND also make sure to save for the rainy day and operate in the moment, DO what you need to DO without shame to pay the bills and more. Drive the uber, walk the dogs, babysit, ONLYFANS, do whatever it takes to make it while you are trying to make it.