The Business Of The Business

Wednesday April 8th, 2009 - Chicago, IL

Most people have no idea just how many different facets it takes to be successful in the comedy business. And that’s exactly what it is too - a BUSINESS. It isn’t just a matter of being funny and in fact I’ve always said funny is one of the least important requirements.

There are a lot of very funny people who never make it past a certain level because their business skills are lacking. There are also many others who aren’t very funny at all but are whiz kids when it comes to doing what’s required to put them out in front of the public.

Being a comedian requires wearing a lot of different hats. We’re performers yes, but we are also writers and sales people and promoters and travel agents and marketers too. That puts everyone in the trick bag because nobody is good at everything and something out of all those things is usually sorely lacking. That’s why most comedians seek representation.

There is a myth that once a comic is signed by a management company all the problems disappear. I don’t know why people think that way but I’ve seen it over and over. I hear a comic say ‘If I can only get a manager I’ll be on my way.’ I don’t think that’s the answer.

Colonel Parker may have helped Elvis in a lot of ways but I think he hurt his career too. Having management is like a professional marriage. It’s a partnership. There has to be an understanding that both parties need to come together and agree on a shared action plan.

I’ll be the first to admit my business skills have been pretty horrible. I’m not at all alone in that department unfortunately. There are a lot of people I know personally that are even worse than me and in fact look up to me for my ‘business acumen’. That frightens me. If I am the role model of someone’s business plan the whole business is in a very sad state.

I’m really trying to get better at it as I get older and I’ve made great strides from where I started but I still have a long way to go. At this point I am too busy working to plan career moves and it’s a common problem for many of us. We’re wearing too many hats at once.

One of the things I am going to do as a part of my comedy class is come up with a solid blueprint of what to do business wise in addition to the comedy part of the business which is an entirely separate thing. Most of us never think about it at all until it’s way too late.

If I had the knowledge I have now when I started I’d be in a way better position but that is part of life in general. A lot of ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda’ situations face us all. I am still in the game though and the most important thing is that I am attempting to make a change of direction. I know I’m weak at the off stage end of this business and I need to improve.

A big part of show or any other business is networking. I’ve been painfully weak at that over the years so today I made an effort to begin changing. I signed up to be a member of the Lake County Convention & Visitors Bureau for a year. It cost me $300 but it‘s a good networking opportunity so I risked it. Now I have to get some work and make it pay off.