I was in the grocery store, freezing my ass off in the produce section looking for organic celery, carrots and ginger.
I’m hurrying out of there, onto warmer places when I look over and I see this tall display of bread with this muscle-y guy on it. Was it the muscles that caught my eye? I didn’t look further, I was FREEZING!
So, onto the butter. Check. Roasted chicken. Check.
Onward to the bread section. I look for the healthy breads and right in front of me is this muscle-y guy bread again! What? They’ve got this bread all over the store? OK, I tossed it in my cart and headed home.
SCENE CHANGE: We’re now at home where Joe is devouring the roasted chicken with the bread.
I’m like, “Did you try the new bread?” (Joe is into bread, in fact, he makes European bread from scratch. Dee-lish.)
Joe says, “Yeah, the guy who baked it was in prison for 15 years, wanted to do something with his life and now he bakes amazing bread.”
Me: “How do you know that?”
Joe: “Well, the story is written all over the package.”
I’m like “Whaat the…”
Holy crap. I am endeared to this bread now.
Guys (and gals) THIS is the future of business.
This guy tells his STORY, he inspires us with his hard work and triumph. The store put his bread is all over the place and people buy it like crazy.
Do you want to make people hire you like crazy? You can.
If you want to succeed in the entertainment industry, you must create a PERSONAL CONNECTION with your buyers. Your buyers are the people who hire you!
Even corporate America gets that you have to endear people to you, to get people to care, and to BUY.
In the film business, you can’t be one amongst a million and think you’re going to get noticed just by showing up. You need to learn how to set yourself out of the crowd. You need to put yourself in situations where you are working alongside the professionals so you can build relationships. We do this by telling our stories, endearing other people to us through our experiences and dreams.
This is the only thing that will get your career going.
Talent is everywhere. Classes… you’ve probably had enough by now.
Personal relationships with your buyers, that’s what’s missing.
The fact is, you WILL stand out because…
People still don’t get this. They’re still doing it their tired old ways. They’re doing what everyone is doing. Playing the numbers game.
And obviously, it doesn’t work in this crowded industry.
Bottom line: What gets your career moving, is forming relationships with professionals who become endeared to you. The fastest way to form these relationships is to get inside and work in the business.
Don’t worry if you aren’t there yet. You can be!
It’s not as hard as you think and you are WAY closer to being a film professional than you’ve probably ever thought you were. There’s far less steps in between where you are now, in retail, corporate job, service industry, wherever, and a career in film.
These relationships are the key and they’re easy to make. As always, you must be on set.
Janet
