Category: Entrepreneurialism - The Guerrilla Rep

How to Write an Independent Film Business Plan Part 7/7 - Pro Forma Financial Statements

10/31/2018

In the final part of my 7 part series on writing a business plan for independent film and media, I’ll be going over all of the financial statements you’ll need in your business plan. This is a section that you’ll want to write before you write the financial text section of your plan, as it will have great impact on that section, and potentially other sections of the plan. Each document should take up only a single page.

How to Legally Structure Your IndieFilm Production Company

3/7/2018

I’m not a lawyer, but I get a fair amount of questions about the legal structure of a Production company and a film. So I thought I would write a blog about how I’ve learned to structure each individual entity, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of each choice.

Generally, you’ll want to have one legal entity that exists as your production company, and one legal entity for each project you produce. Generally, your production company will be a general partner in each project, and when each project has run it’s course, the entity will be dissolved. If you’re producing episodic content, you can probably get by with one entity per season.

5 Do's and DON'Ts for Selling Your Film on Social Media

2/14/2018

I sell a lot of stuff on social media. In fact, that’s probably how you’re reading this blog right now. Since I’m very active, I also get a lot of people trying to sell stuff to me on social media. This blog is an amalgamation of some of what I’ve found works on social media, and some of the stuff I’ve found does more to harm your brand than build it.

5 steps to Vet your investors.

6/7/2017

Just like all filmmakers and Entrepreneurs are not created equal, nor are all “Rich Guys.” Many will jerk you around, and not actually deliver on what they promise. So how do you know if your potential investor is legit? Well, here are a few tips.

The 7 Main IndieFilm Deal Points

5/3/2017

A lot of people are afraid of the complexity of deals with sales agencies. They have a reputation as being very dense, and difficult to understand. While there is truth to this, there’s also a general layout every filmmaker should understand. Many of the pitfalls for distribution can be avoided by knowing these 7 major deal points. That said, you should always have a lawyer or a producer’s rep look over your contract.

The 9 Ways to Finance an Independent Film

4/26/2017

A lot of Filmmakers are only concerned with finding investors for their projects. While films require money to be made well, there’s are better ways to find that money than convincing a rich person to part with a few hundred thousand dollars. Even if you are able to get an angel investor (or a few ) on board, it’s often not in your best interest to raise your budget solely from private equity, as the more you raise the less likely it is you’ll ever see money from the back end of your project.

6 Things Stopping a Sustainable Investor Class in Film

4/2/2017

Why should those "Rich Tech People" invest in Film? 6/7

Much of this series has been focused on the numbers behind film investment. While metrics like ROI and APR are very important when considering an investment, they’re not the only reason that high net worth individuals (HNWIs) tend to shy away film. Here are 7 things that are stopping them.

How can a Film Slate make more money than a Tech Portfolio?

3/1/2017

Why Don't Tech people invest in Film? Part 3/7

In the words of Albert Einstein, “The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.” He also called it “The 8th wonder of the world, he who understands it, earns it. He who does’t, pays it.” In this post, we’re going to be examining how we can use the notion of compound interest in comparison to tech and film investments.

The 7 Best Indiefilm [or Entrepreneurial] Side Hustles

10/19/2016

Starting a career as an independent filmmaker is exceedingly difficult. Essentially, you’re starting a company from scratch. It may only be a company of one or two to start, but a lot of places start that way.

Due to the fact that your early days of being an independent filmmaker, your early days will be primarily sporadic gig work at odd hours, filmmakers who choose to take a full time day job can often lose out on many opportunities. Even when they do, they're often underpaid, and exposure doesn't pay the rent.