Sunday July 11th, 2010 - Lake Villa, IL I need a manager. Finally. But I definitely do. Everyone seems to think some wizardly mystical guru type is going to pop out of a limo with a long cigar and wallet full of $100 bills, but I’ve yet to see that happen for anyone. I’ve heard horror stories of long term one sided contracts with management companies, and that’s not what I’m looking for at all. First I think I need to determine exactly what I mean by a manager. I’m talking about a personal manager who takes care of my immediate ongoing needs like sending promo to gigs, making sure promo is updated, handling website updates, a newsletter and any other constant chore that needs regular updating but most comedians rarely do. It’s a valet type. In a perfect world a manager would organize tax records, arrange media interviews and also handle the lion’s share of marketing and merchandising. I don’t want to spend all my time doing things that keep me away from being a better comedian, but they’re necessary to the big picture and those who don’t do them don’t advance. I feel like I can use a hand. Bookings are another area which could use a swift kick in the aspirations. I know I stink at sending out my avails each month to a list of bookers I already work for. Most booking work is done online these days anyway, so a manager type could not only keep that list up to date, but create a new one of places I don’t work yet. It could be a total win/win for us. The incentive I could offer is a percentage of each booking, with a higher one going to a gig I couldn’t get myself. Private shows could be gone after with a direct mail package for relatively low cost. I’ve never done one before, but I’ve always thought that would work. I’m the first one to admit I’m all over the place, but I also know what I want to work on. I tend to wander quite a bit, but I’m always working on something. If I had a manager, I’d draw up a plan with that person as to what needed to be done when, and have a plan down on paper as to what needed to be done when so we could check and balance each other. It would have to be the right person, preferably someone who has had some experience in the entertainment business and isn’t coming into it blindly. I can think of a few people I would consider, but they’d have to want to do it and be willing to take direction. I’d be in charge, and have final say. That person would work for me, but I’d still take suggestions. A management deal is something completely different. Signing with a big agency where they handle the career is not what I’m talking about. In that scenario, they have contacts I don’t and can get movies made and projects done. Right now I’m looking for someone to be my personal pit crew so I can concentrate on driving the race car. I’m getting nowhere. It seems like I make a little progress on something and then everything else falls by the wayside and doesn’t get done at all. I need someone out there doing the littler stuff so I’ll be able to pick and choose what needs to get done so I can get on to bigger projects other than working the small time gigs I’m doing. I want to find my way to the elusive big time.
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