Credit

What is the most important thing to a new Entrepreneur and/or Independent filmmaker? There Credit... Credit can be a beautiful thing if you know how to use it. You must know your weapons to win the battle... What are your weapons?

Credit Report - Know your Credit report! Almost everybody have something wrong on there credit report.

Credit Score - I think the lowest Credit Score for most lenders are 578. The higher your credit score the better your chance to get a loan and the better the rate you'll get, but if you can come up with the collateral to secure the loan, but for an unsecured loan you will need a good credit score or a co-signer with good credit to bring up your credit score.

With these weapons you will be able to get a loan...

Remember: Knowledge = Power... Ok there are many lenders you can go to for a loan.

Here are the ones I have done research on:

www.Beneficial.com - They do not base there loan on credit alone. They base the loan on your ability to repay the loan.

www.Americanunsecured.com - They go by many names, but they have a clean bbb report... The minimum credit score is 680. They are not a lender, but a loan Consultant.

www.Credit.com - Also not a lender, but has a lot of services and will match you up with the best lender for you. Here is my friend that works at credit.com She can help you with any question you have "Shannon" shannon@credit.com tell her Lao sent you, lol...

Remember to read over everything before signing and to get promises in writing.

Getting Your Film Project Funded

There a lot of Independent/Ameture filmmakers trying to break into the film industry. They think that they need a lot of money to push out a good film or they need a studio to back them. This is untrue... The money is out there you just need to know how to get it. Want to know the secret to getting your film funded? You must be like an Entrepreneur... You will need business skills to survive in the film industry. I have a few steps you can follow to get your film funded.

1. "Write a Business Plan or Investment Memorandum." Yes write a business plan or learn how to write a investment memorandum. These are the keys to getting funded by private investors (Angels)... But there are rules to giving out your investment memorandums... YOU CAN'T: Just give out the investment memorandum all crazy like you can't just walk up to people and say "I was wondering if you would like to invest in my film" NO! Do not do this! If you do you will get in a shit load of trouble. You will have to IPO if it's get back to the SEC. The best way to approach an investor is in normal everyday talk. It should go like this: You: Hi, My name is John Doe. Investor: Nice to meet you John Doe my name is Blink Blank blinky. You: So what do you do? Investor: Well I'm a doctor. You: That's cool. Investor: Yeah it's fun... What do you do? You: I'm an Independent filmmaker. Investor: Really? Have you worked on anything I seen? You: Only little a indie things... I just required a great screenplay that I'm trying to get funding for now. Investor: What's the movie about? You have just made a way to hand your investment memorandum to a potential investor.
   
2. "Network! Network!" Another key to getting your film funded is networking. Getting invited to galas and little get togethers by friends or your doctors, lawyers, bosses, etc... Will help you meet potential investors. Who are potential investors? They are doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, etc...
   
3. "Bait and Trap" This is another key skill into getting funded. Like in step one is the ability to make the potential investors interested into your project.
4. "Know your industry!" This is the most important step of them all. Know what your talking about... Know the numbers, how much things cost, keep updated on the industry, know box office numbers, know the budgets of films... Know everything, but don't come off as a "Smart Ass".
5. "Stay away from Venture capitalist!" I love venture capitalist, but they are not right for film project. Trust me on this one... Venture Capitalist + Film Projects = BIG HEADACHE!
6. "Stay away from Assholes!" You don't want assholes to invest in your project. I don't care how much money they are offering and the deal might sound good, but don't. I had a guy wanted to invest $5 million into one of my film projects a few months ago. He wanted 85% of net profit and a shit load of stuff and he was giving me the run around for a few weeks until he show his true colors and I let him go. Assholes want too much and want the movie to be the next blockbuster. When they should know a independent film has a 89% chance of making nothing and they could lose all there investment.
7. "Let them know the Risk" Let your investors know the Risk of investing into a film project that there is a high risk that the film will make nothing back and they will lose all the investment. Let them know this up front.
8. "Get a lawyer" Get an entertainment lawyer... Why do I need a lawyer? You will need one both parties should have a lawyer while writing up the limited partnership agreement.
9. "Know the Law" Know the Law enough said...
10. "Hire Knowledgeable People" You might not have all the skills to run a production or you might not have the contacts to get the people you need. Hire people with the skill and contact you need you can most likely get the contact information from IMDB.com you will have to pay for a membership for that feature.

You might be thinking why should I trust him? Within a few months I got an asshole investor for $5Million (That I let go because of his assholelyness) and now I'm working with some investors on some films with budgets of $20million each. They are applying for a $500Million loan from The Lights, Cameras, Illinois! Program. If you can get up the investors with the collateral you can all so apply for the loan. The Loan Committee meets every first and third monday.

More helpful links:

Movieplan.net - Investment Memorandum Template (Very helpful if you don't know what you're doing)

Indietalks.com - Independent film, filmmakers, filmmaking. Resources for video and film makers. Movie news, reviews, and information. Indie film forum. (I got bashed at first when I was starting out on my own because I didn't know anything.)

Copyright.gov - US Copyright Office is an office of public record for copyright registration and deposit of copyright... (You will need this to copyright your stuff.)

Do It Yourself!

Most entrepreneurs now of days find out there are people willing to invest into their company and they set out to find these people, but here's the key most Angels and Venture capitalist will not give your company a second look because you are un-proven. Do your self the favor and do it yourself if you can you must show people you can get that deal signed or push out products and can make money off said product. If you have good credit apply for a loan and bootstrap your ass off. If you don't know what bootstrapping is you need to find out. Here's The Art of Bootstrapping by Guy Kawasaki I recommend that you read his blog and buy his books. This guy is full of helpful information and he has been doing this for years.

Ok ok back to the topic at hand. Once you are proven and you can make money or get deals you can approach investors cause you have something to show. The more you have to show the better the chances to get funded.

Story

My mum and dad started a business back in 1995 and they build it by hand and cash out of pocket... No loan, No investors, No nothing just hard work and the drive to succeed. After a few years they have build a customer base of 200+ and was bringing in about $2,000 to $6,000 a week at times. What to know the thing... This was a part-time business my dad worked full time and did this on the side. My dad had the skills and the business knowledge and my mum also had the business knowledge and was tought some skills from my dad. They made a great team... This is what I'm trying to build with my wife. When my father died in 2003 from cancer we didn't have the skills to keep the business running. Me and my brother was young and stupid and didn't learn my father's skill. That is one thing that I wish I could change and if my dad was alive today and I have learned everything that I have. I would have made there business great.

So do the hard work it does pay off in the long run. You will feel more better and more fulfilled that you made something out of nothing. Don't wait on people to give you hand outs... It might take you years to build a great business, but you'll have a great time while doing it.