First Year In My Business BPerryFilms
Origins Of BPerryFilms
June 7th 2021 marked the day I launched my business BPerryFilms. Let me tell you, marking the decision to start my business and becoming a full time creator and entrepreneur was one of the hardest decisions that I had made. This marked a new journey and new beginning for me and my mission. BPerryFilms is a Arts and Media Production company that offers services such as Podcasting, Webinars, Video Production, Web Series, Business Coaching and lastly Product & Service Reviews.
The goal of the company is to help Content Creators, Small Businesses and Performing Artists to get more exposure through film. I thought this would be a neat return on investment because it gives people an opportunity to market themselves to a wider audience at an affordable price. I know back when I started my career in the entertainment field as a Dancer at age 3 it was hard to market yourself without much exposure. After years of training I transitioned into starting my path as a Choreographer after watching the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform. It was something about Dance that made me feel alive. It was the Artistry of Storytelling using different mediums and elements such as Music, Movement, Costume, Lighting and Concepts that brought the story to life. It felt like I was watching a movie that reached out to you feeling like you are a part of the experience. I’ve worked with different organizations and Institutions such as Topf, Uptown Dance Studio, OrigiNations, Eliot Church School, Boston Arts Academy, Boston Renaissance Charter School, Harvard University, Boston University, Ailey Camp and much more. Every program I participated in has evolved my path to success. I have performed all over Massachusetts and in some areas in New York City. I always let my students and self know to be grateful for all the experiences you have gotten because not everyone has access to those resources.
What inspired this company was my Grandmother, Susan Nathaniel Smith. She got to live a long life. She is the first person I know personally that got to live to the age 100. She passed on April 30th 2021. 2 months before I launched the company. I remember when I came up with the idea of trying to document her life. Please keep in mind it took 3 years to record all the footage. In the footage I recorded it shared milestones such as her birthdays, holidays, special moments and much more. In 2016 I decided to ask her if she would mind if I could record her story with a camera and she said sure. We spent 2 weeks filming her and interviewing some family members about some of the highlights and monumental moments they had experienced with her. I wanted to highlight memories about her version of what the true meaning of life meant to her. When watching the film 1921 Documentary you will see that it talks about Love, Family, and Dedication so I thought it was important to bring it to life. It was all about her story and what she wanted to share about her personal life. It was pretty neat to get to know about the family history through her lens.
Now that you know the history of how it came to be now I want to share some life lessons I have learned since launching. 3 Lessons that I have learned include: Developing A Business Plan, Managing Finances, and Defining Friendships
Developing A Business Plan
Making a business plan helps you outline your ideas and helps to create a roadmap that can be altered overtime. I tell people all the time to people who want to start any kind of business to take out a sheet or paper and pen and write some words that describe who you are in the current moment and where you want to be in the future. These words could be nouns, verbs, adjectives, and much more. They should transform that list into a detailed list and break it down into 4 categories that mark out your SWOT Analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Think of it as a proactive list that records your pros and cons but more realistic.
Strengths: Highlights what your good at and feel like you have mastered the skill
Weaknesses: Are areas that you feel like you need some improvement
Opportunities: Are external factors that could take you to the next level
Threats: There could be a market that has a lot of competition and competitors that do similar or same thing that your doing
When writing out your business plan you have to figure out what your niche is and how you're going to market it to your target audience. We call this creating a “Customer Persona” that will help you identify what factors go into making that sale to your potential audience. You are also trying to understand their pain points and how they will navigate using the resources that you are trying to provide whether or not it is a product based business or service based. Once you identify all those external factors it's now time for you to start.
Managing Your Finances
After developing your business plan and you feel confident with all the notes you have written down it's time for you to implement action. This is the time you all been getting ready for and that is registering your business. I recommend having your business plan out and read and hire a Registered Agent to help you file your EIN. EIN stands for Employer Identification Number. What you need for this is to come up with a business name that has not been already used. I know this part can be tricky because we always think our business name is original and hasn't been used. Believe it or not but most names are already taken and Trademarked meaning the company has all rights to the name. I recommend coming up with at least 10 names that describe you and your business. Once that's situated you need to bring your Social Security card and lastly pick out what kind of entity that your business will fall into. Some Entities that you could look into are Sole Proprietor, Partnerships Limited Liability Company, S-Corp, Non For Profit, and much more. There are about 26 different avenues of what you could register in. I recommend doing your research before selecting because it will shift how your business could be run. Each entity you sign on has its pros and limitations. Prices range depending on the type of entity you register for and the state you file in.
After that you wanted to figure out what your expenses are going to be for your company to sustain month to month. A lot of people don’t do a lot of research on how much its going to cost for a website, marketing, buying a domain for your company, tools, software, bookkeeping, etc. I recommend don't be cheap when it comes to these resources because you do get what you pay for. I recommend doing your own bookkeeping before hiring someone else to do it because they might charge $100 more per month on top of the software you're using. For my business I use Quickbooks because I can record all my expenses and profits on the website and make filing taxes easier. Quickbooks & Freshbooks offer invoicing features, expense reports, money tracking, and data collecting features on one device. You can also get a card reader in case you're a physical company and have clients you meet in person. Lastly, make sure you are aware of copyright laws and Legal Expenses when it comes to protecting your work. I recommend talking to a legal professional for steps to protecting your business.
Defining Friendships
Choose your the people you keep around wisely for this section I made a list
Supporters
Will engage with you content by Sharing, Commenting, Subscribing and Liking Your post
Believe in your vision and willing to pay for your expertise, products and services
Will speak very highly of you
Will ask how you are doing
Imposter Supporters
Will claim that they support you but are waiting for you to fail
Will speak negotiate about you behind your back
Can show enviousness and don't like when you show growth
Looking for ways to get you off the market by finding insider secretes
Distant Supporters
Occasional show support
May not be willing to buy into your products and services
Not the most likely to depend on in certain aspects of your business and personal life
Bonus Tip: Get Outside Your Comfort Zone
This is the most important step of anyone who is looking to do anything like this is to have an official start date. Mark this date on your calendar and stop coming up with excuses as to why you can’t start now. Many people keep getting in their head exhibiting imposter syndrome of self doubt but we believe in you. If you don't start you will never be able to make any money or lose that opportunity of growing potential clients. Just remember you invested a lot of money to get this up and running so why not now. Mistakes are natural. You can't learn without making mistakes and everyday is a learning experience. For me being on Social Media would be something new for me so each month I spent time reading books and articles about how to use platforms like Youtube, Facebook, LinkedIn and much more. I think now in days to reach your audience you have to be on at least 1 or 2 different platforms to help market what you have to offer and this gives the opportunity to a wider audience to see your value proposition and testimonies
In conclusion, everyone wants to be an Entrepreneur and don't want to put in the work and take on the responsibilities that comes with it. There are no shortcuts to getting ahead. I would try to avoid networking with companies that have had rapid growth in the beginning because their business model could be un sustainable in real life. Like I said take baby steps and journal your experience so you can keep an eye on what works and what doesn't and make tweaks as you go along.
I recommend anyone who feels like they have issues in any part of their business to sign up for a Discover Call with me and we can make a roadmap to your success. There's no cap on how many sessions you can sign up for.
Hope these tips add value to you and profession.
