Don't Be Fooled By Some "Businesses"!
Why is it that everyone believes that they can start their own business or company without any knowledge, experience, or invested time/interests in a particular industry?
Do you know your market? Do you know your competition? Do you have formal training, schooling, and contacts in the industry? Do you have a "real" and "complete" website that is not published for FREE? Have you ever worked in the industry you are pursuing? Have you ever gotten paid for your services in the industry you are pursuing? Would you be more successful by working for a similar company instead of trying to do "your own thing"? Do you have the proper licenses and registrations in order to run that business or company?
These are all questions that you should ask yourself if you are starting a business or company. Without being able to answer those questions you will find yourself in a precarious predicament. Many "CEOs" or "Bosses" fall into this situation just because they do not know better and it is scary some of the industries that this happens in. It even occurs in the music and modeling industries among many others.
Have you ever heard of record label IWB? Of course you have! The record label IWB ("I Wanna Be") is the most popular record label known today! All of the "wannabe" record labels that claim they are a label but have no foundation or basis. No website, no producers signed to the label, sometimes no music even professionally produced, and 1 artist who is also the music executive of the record label.
How about the model agency AYS? Come on... you have to know those guys! The model agency AYS ("Are You Serious") is the organization of high school students and college freshmen that are "So Fierce!" They have no experience in the industry and every single member believes they belong on America's Next Top Model (male and female). They create their own fashion shows with no production standards of the industry. They don't do much to enhance a true model's career other than local exposure. The saying is "All PR is good PR" but it is definitely not "All exposure is good exposure" and that is for a very good reason. Has or will this organization ever had paid clients? Does the "CEO" or "agent" have any "real" experience or contacts in the industry to benefit a model's career? Is the owner of the "agency" also a model (concentrating on their own career)? Does the "agency" have an official website that is not published FREE? (do they have anything to lose by not obtaining paid assignments) Does the "agency" ask for you to pay anything upfront? (not an agency)
Do not be fooled by the "pop-up" companies who copy and paste information off of another company's website or charge registration fees for agency representation or talent management. Real agencies and real record labels eat the costs of representing models and talent and only get paid commissions on the back end once sales are made and clients pay for the talent services.
BUSINESS 101:
The principles of planning are very important factors in successful management and being a successful manager. Planning very much needed and is seen as the basis by which organizing, influencing, and controlling and used to achieve objectives. Organizational objectives greatly provide a better understanding for how things are done internally and the reasoning behind what the managers do using the input, the process, and bringing about a specific output. An MBO (management-by-objectives) program can be very beneficial for a manager to use. This program allows for managers to rate, reward, and evaluate based upon performance, progress, and objectives set for employees.
Another important principle would be decision making as every manager has to at some point make a decision about something. There are two types of decisions: programmed and non-programmed. Each decision situation must be evaluated and alternatives are reviewed and considered to make a decision and solve a problem. Every good and successful manager knows how to make a good decision. When making decisions try to evaluate all possible options and take a close look at the resources available to determine which option should be pursued. Begin by narrowing down the options and then when there are two left try to plan out both options. The option that has the best outcome is the option that should be selected to proceed with and thus a decision is made.
There are various types of plans: standing plans like policies, procedures, and rules; then there are single-use plans like programs and budgets. Each plan has 4 dimensions to consider: repetitiveness, time, scope, and level. If a plan is not well organized it can and will fail. This is why forecasting is used to review the plan carefully in relation to the resources available.
Strategic planning and tactical planning are also important principles to solve a problem as a manager by forming a strategy. These are the individual steps that are taken to accomplish the set objectives. However, the difference is that they are formed by different levels of management; they have different amounts of details, as well as they cover different periods of time. Strategic are less developed by upper –management and tactical are intricately developed by lower-management.
“The interaction of the top management team (TMT) and middle managers (MMs) is central to effective strategy formulation and implementation, but researchers have remained notably silent on the actual nature of this interaction. Here we specify the functions of the TMT-MM interface and formulate a series of propositions linking TMT and MMs’ interaction processes, role behaviors, and trust to strategic decision quality and implementation quality. Studying the interface provides a new avenue for both TMT and MM research and enhances insight into the impact of TMTs on organizational performance.” (Heijltjes, Glunk, Raes, & Roe 2010)
Heijltjes, M.G., Glunk, U., Raes, A.M.L., & Roe, R.A. 2011. The interface of the top management team and middle managers: A process model. Academy of Management Review, 36: 102-126. Retrieved from
http://www.aom.pace.edu/amr/
