Making your New Business a Success Hollywood Style

The story of the Blockbuster Business

By Andrew Ekwang

 There is always this great excitement about the next box- office big hit, the expectation of something new, fresh, entertaining that you just can’t let pass you by. Most of us have had such a feeling whenever Hollywood is worming up for something.

Have you ever thought of what it takes to make a movie a box- office hit?  What has to be done to create the excitement before the movie is released? And have you ever imagined these ideas can help your next launch of a new business, product, or even re-branding a great success?

Once a new movie is released critics are all heated up and movie lovers hit the theaters or a nearby video library and some online. We all enjoy those epic movies – those feet sweeping romantic sagas or the unforgettable adventures, we just don’t often consider the rough-cuts, the big breaks and days and nights of onset and offset production that goes behind the curtains. To us that’s the Hollywood magic?

Making this magic can be compared to producing and epic start up, an epic product or an epic re-branding. As an entrepreneur as you take this holiday a watch one of you best movies try and learn a thing or two from the filmmakers. And armed with your all-star cast (employees), prepare for a blockbuster year in business this 2012. You must still be asking yourself how I can do this, let me give you an offer you can never refuse – the eight epic tips for to turn your start-up, new product or re-branding into a box-office(Market) hit. My does was given to me by Erica Nicole of YFS Magazine.

Now get the popcorn ready, sit-back and enjoy.

Write your own killer script.

Hollywood can never take you seriously if you don’t have a script and most times a convincing one, likewise banks, investors, some of your big customers will never take you seriously without a good business plan, convincing profile or at least a smart business proposal. And when your blue print in now well researched and put together, you should ensure in can convince the people you are targeting and it is not only done to win a business or funding but will be followed. To put it in a few words – plan the whole thing up.

Sell yourself to the right people

You ever wondered were Paramount studios, Walt-Disney, SonyPictures and the likes get all these killer ideas and turn them into blockbuster movies; wonder no more Script writers or their agents hit their doors every day. Now you have your script in your hands, start knocking the right doors to put together the resources and then line up your dream team for the project. What I am saying here is you determine the right skill sets and the resources to get your project operational.

In this process it will not add a lot of value to shop you idea to your best friends, colleagues or any other persons who will not be able to contribute to its success. You will be tempted to go full swing in that direction trying to gain consensus from people unqualified to move the production process forward and may only be discouraged when your script meets critics from this lot. “Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t even have the power to say yes” (advice from Eleanor Roosevelt – you’ll need it at this time)

Become an Award winning producer

In Hollywood film-making, the writers involvement stops here, or at least becomes significantly minimal not in entrepreneurship or business, you just got a chance to step up to the most interesting role. When you turn up at work with your producer costume on - am talking to the managers, team leaders , project managers and directors and SMEs business owners, know you have come to take control over the production of the motion picture and you are ultimately responsible. So as a producer of your new company, product or the upcoming re-branding it you’re responsibly to guide it to the blockbuster success.

Learn to direct or find a seriously good director

Now if you are milt-talented and armed with the energy to pull this off, you can put on both the producer and directors hats or you can recruit a co-founder (director) whose talents matches your business needs.

A director is the most important person on set, armed with the clearest vision of final outcome and oversees the tactical execution of the cast and crew selection and ensure the flavor is not lost. The roles such as team development, delegation and detail management falls here. So who ever is directing your business should have a good grasped of strategy and tactics and most times some experience in the industry

Brace yourself for production hell

In the movie business production consist of long hours onset, a lot of moving things here and there and plenty of discomfort, the same could be said of start ups, new projects or re-branding. to create something from nothing takes more than just passion and resources available there will be allot of team disagreements and sometimes tradeoff, change in what you thought was already done but you need to stick on, work hard, encourage and  motivate the team and not lose sight of the final product expected.

Fail early and often in post production

Don’t be afraid to fail and believe me you it’s necessary to fail, failing early in production gives you the chance to correct your failures or improve before you release your work – in movie industry post production corrections include editing, re-shoots and marketing . Not everything is ever perfect at first attempt, prepare to fail 10,000 times just like the American Inventor and Businessman Thomas Edison to is credit we now enjoy the benefits of his persistence like the photograph, the motion picture camera, and even the electric bulb. Now if it doesn’t come out right the first time edit, re-shoot until you have it right.

Shamelessly promote your release

Your new business or product or re-branding is a new release and its perfectly okay to promote it shamelessly to your target market. Get to your profitable and viable audience and promote the features and benefits of your upcoming blockbuster. Get the message out first to your target market, remember romantic comedies and high school dramas are never targeted to the 55+ year old's. So get your “business genre “right and serve them well and on launch day I’ll only advice you to visit   YouTube and search for some of the best videos of the late Steve Jobs in a Apple launch or anything better.

Measure commercial performance

Hollywood has made you believe they are there to entertain you, now let me remind you that they are also in business- with a profit motive at that. So do you have a system set to measure your commercial box-office collections? You should be in position to measure financial and other performances indicators, what have you grossed this week, this month, and this year all should be known to determine future profitability.

Prepare for and enjoy the Launch days, the premiers, the publicity that will follow, the distribution deals that will need to be stuck and industry awards and more  after all that’s what makes blockbusters lovable to everyone of us.