Expert Opinion on Business Plans

Creating a business plan can be hard work that takes forever, and impossible if you have no idea what you are doing.  What better way to learn the keys to a successful business plan that to research what the experts have to say?  The first expert that I have looked into is, Chuck Blakeman.  He stood out to me when looking for expert opinions because his point of view on business plans is very unique.  Chuck is a speaker, author, and the founder of Crankset Group.  (Blakeman, 2015) says, “Not a single Fortune 500 was started with a business plan; not one.”  He also goes on to say, “Successful companies do it more like HP. They come up with a very simple idea, get moving, then evaluate and plan as they go” (Blakeman, 2015).  I find his view to be very interesting and more of a practical approach.  He basically feels that you do not need to waste time putting a well thought out business plan together.  He rather feels that you should take you business idea and get running with it. 

The next profession opinion that I reviewed was from, Steven Gedeon.  Steven is a professor, motivational speaker, coach, entrepreneur and venture capitalist.  According to (RU, 2016), “Steve has won over 20 awards including the President’s Award of Teaching Excellence, Experiential Teaching Award, and the USASBE National Award for Entrepreneurial Experiential Education Best Practices.”  Gedeon feels that the most important part of a business plan is, “The process by which you think through what is a successful business” (Daily, 2011).  I find this to be very interesting.  He goes on to say, “Your concept of your business – idea, customers and competitors – is one of the top three things that venture capitalists look at, according to Gedeon” (Daily, 2011).  It makes perfect sense that one of the top things venture capitalists would look at is the your business concept itself.  This is the most import of your business plan.  Without a concept there is no business.  They will also look at your management team and your financials.  So make sure that these areas very strong.

When writing my business plan, I will definitely concentrate on the main three items that Gedeon feels will be looked at the most by investors; my business concept, my management team, and my financials.  I will make sure that my business concept is very descriptive and detailed so that possible investors are able to see the full picture and vision for Battle Mind Records.  I will focus mainly on my business idea and my future customers.  I feel that the expert opinion I have found through my research today will help me to build a stronger business plan.

References:

Blakeman, Chuck (August 11, 2015).  A Business Plan Is More Likely to Hurt Your Business Than Help It.  Chuck Blakeman.  Retrieved on July 2, 2016 from http://chuckblakeman.com/2015/08/texts/a-business-plan-is-more-likely-to-hurt-your-business-than-help-it

Daily, Sean D. (December 13, 2011).  Dr. Steven Gedeon on Business Plan Writing.  Sierra Investment Group, Inc.  Retrieved on July 2, 2016 from https://sierrainvestmentgroupinc.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/dr-steven-gedeon-on-business-plan-writing/

Saving Lives Through Music

Most people enjoy music in their everyday lives, but most do not understand the true power of music.  The mission of Battle Mind Records is to save lives through the use of music.  This is not a new concept by any means.  Many have been using music as a form of therapy for many years now.  Music therapy can be a very useful and powerful tool for many situations.  Sometimes the words of a song can be even more powerful than the music itself. 

Within the veteran community, we are always searching for more ways to help fight PTSD and its effects on our daily lives.  One of the most powerful tools for combating PTSD is telling your story.  I feel that writing lyrics to tell your story can be even more helpful.  Not only will it help you clear your mind, it can help other veterans to understand and realize that they are not alone in what they have experienced and feel today.  The record label Redcon-1 Music Group is a great example of this.  They have made it their mission to make music for the warfighter community.  In their music they tell their stories and spread important messages for warfighters everywhere.  For example, the Redcon-1 song, “Red Flags” confront the issue of suicide among veterans.

Battle Mind Records, Inc. intends to provide therapy for warfighters through our lyrics, messages, and signing other warfighters to tell their stories.  BMR wants the stories of war and military life to be told from every angle possible: from the military, veterans, and their families.  We want to be able to paint the entire picture for those who know nothing about it.  We also want to take things a little further in saving the lives of veterans.  Battle Mind Records will be run and operated primarily by veterans.  We will employ other veterans to help us build the label and our cause of helping veterans.  Will also plan to go one step further and use 25% of all Battle Mind Records profits to help house homeless veterans.  Together we can build something great.  Let’s keep fighting for each other just as we did oversees.

You Don't Need A Record Deal

As the music industry continues to change and technology continues to grow, more and more artists are staying independent.  You may wonder why an artist would want to stay independent instead of signing a record deal.  As an independent artist I will say that it is nice being the only person in control of my music.  In a record deal the artist loses all of the power, while the record label executives, publishers, and distributors become the ones with all of the power.  The artist will also loose a great deal of profit from his/her own music. 

Yes, there are artist who make millions of dollars every year because they have a record deal with a major label.  However, imagine how much these artists would make if they owned the rights to their music and were able to keep the majority of the profits.  For the artist that would prefer to chase their dreams alone there are many routes they can take.  Today I will be focusing on publishing and distribution.  It has become much easier for an independent artist to publish and distribute their own music while maintaining the copyrights. 

Print On Demand companies have become a new music industry trend for independent artists.  According to (Renegade Producer, 2016), “Independent music distribution and the self-distribution model offers you a way to make your own music available to potential fans without handing over the rights to your music to a record label.”  What is the easiest way for an independent artist to publish and distribute their music to potential fans?  Print on demand companies such as CD Baby and Tunecore are a great tool for independent artists looking to sell their music.  With sites like these the artist maintains control over the rights and is only required to pay a low registration fee and very small commissions.  For example, with CD Baby you can register an album for $89 and CD Baby will basically do the majority of the work from there.  They will affiliate you as an artist with the performing rights organizations along with registering your songs with the PRO’s so that you can receive royalties from the use of your music.  They will also distribute your music for you physically and digitally worldwide to help maximize your reach.  They do all of this plus more for only 10% of your sales.  For an independent artist, this means that you get to keep 90% of the money you make.  You won’t have a bunch of other hands dipping into you revenue. 

For independent artists, these print on demand companies are like one-stop music shops.  With the PRO registration you will also gain another source of revenue.  Every time someone streams or uses your song, you will get paid.  Knowing that you are in control over you own music will definitely make your life as an artist less stressful and bring you a higher return on the music you work so hard to make.

References:

Renegade Producer (2016).  Discover Independent Music Distribution Options for Electronic and Dance Music Producers.  Renegade Producer.  Retrieved on May 18, 2016 from http://www.renegadeproducer.com/independent-music-distribution.html

CD Baby (2016).  CD Baby Pro: Boost you income.  CD Baby.  Retrieved on May 18, 2016 from http://members.cdbaby.com/pro.aspx?gclid=CN-V_aj-48wCFQkyaQodFqkHpA

Legal Issues

Today I will research and discuss three different recent legal issues that have occurred within the music industry.  The music industry as a whole is always facing struggles all around.  Copyright infringement has been a huge issue throughout the industry, but it’s not always just someone illegally downloading music.  Sometimes the infringement comes from within the music industry. 

For example, in 2015 Osama Fahmy sued Jay-Z over his 1999 hit song, “Big Pimpin.”  Fahmy claimed that Jay-Z had illegally used a part of his uncle’s (Baligh Hamdi) 1957 song entitled, “Khosara Khosara.”  However, the judge about a week dismissed the case later and Jay-Z was able to come out victorious.  According to (Carroll, 2015), “The judge ruled that Egyptian law did not apply and that the case should not go to a jury.”  This was a relief for Jay-Z, as he was now off the hook.  However, illegal sampling does occur almost every day within the music industry and it does need be put to a quick stop.  I you would like to use a sample from someone else’s work, you should obtain the proper permission to do so.

Taylor Swift faced a similar situation for her song, “Shake It Off.”  Jessie Braham sued Taylor Swift claiming that her song was an infringement and copy of his song, “Haters Gone Hate.”  The judge compared the two songs and decided to dismiss the case because she did not find the two songs to very similar at all.  I actually listened to both songs myself and do not understand where Braham’s accusations came from.  The two songs are completely different with no true similarities.  The only similarities are that both songs talk about haters hating, players playing, and fakers faking.  The wording is even different in both songs.  I agree with judge Gail J. Standish that the songs do not have enough similarities to pursue the case.

The third case that I have chosen to research for this blog is a little different from the first two, but just as important.  Almost everyone knows that copyright infringement occurs almost daily, but do not realize that trademark infringement occurs and is also a big issue in the entertainment industry today.  Will.i.am has sued Pharrell Williams over a trademark issue.  Will.i.am feels that his trademark “I Am” and Pharrell’s trademark “i am Other” are too similar.  For many people this would not seem to be an issue and most would not understand why this was brought up in the first place.  However, a trademark is just as important, if not more important, than a copyright.  The trademark is a brands signature.  It is what we know them by.  If someone else’s trademark closely resembles another it can hurt the original brands business and cause much confusion. 

References:

Carroll, Rory (October 21, 2015).  Jay Z wins copyright infringement case over Big Pimpin’ Egyptian song sample.  Guardian News and Media Limited.  Retrieved on April 7, 2016 from http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/21/jay-z-wins-copyright-infringement-case-big-pimpin-sample

Rizzo, Kevin (November 13, 2015).  Judge Shakes Off Suit Against Taylor Swift Using Her Lyrics.  Law Street Media, LLC.  Retrieved on April 7, 2016 from http://lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/ip-copyright/judge-shakes-off-suit-taylor-swift-using-lyrics/

Blistein, Jon (June 26, 2013).  Will.i.am Takes Legal Action Against Pharrell's 'i am OTHER' Brand.  Rolling Stone.  Retrieved on April 7, 2016 from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/will-i-am-takes-legal-action-against-pharrells-i-am-other-brand-20130626

Effective Negotiation

At the end of the day, any negotiation is about getting all parties involved to say, “Yes.”  There are many ways and different techniques to get to this ultimate goal.  However, the negotiation is not very productive if we don’t get what we want in return. 

The podcast titled, “Entrepreneurship -Part 7: Negotiation” covers many different negotiation techniques and principals.  However, I would like to focus on using objective criteria.  This can be very useful and necessary to avoid the parties arguing about their positions.  To avoid conflict in a negotiation, you can bring in a set of third party standards or criteria.  This can include things such as industry norms and standards.  Instead of battling over who is right and who has the best position, you can use objective criteria to set a standard to work from.  This can help with any aspect of a negotiation to include price and the amount of time a job can take.

            From the next video that I watched in regards to avoiding conflict in negotiations titled, “HandlingConflict in Negotiations” I will focus on how to “Separate the people from the problem.”  In many situations, the best way to avoid conflict is to focus on the problem and remove the people and emotions from the situation.  The speaker in the video discusses how personal emotions can ruin the chance of an agreement and ultimately ruin the relationship all together.  He talks about how we need to be “Hard on the problem and not the people.”  Once we are able to remove emotions from the negotiation we are able to come closer to an agreement that solves the problem and benefits all parties involved.

            The next video that I have chosen to view for this blog is titled, “BATNA – Negotiation.”  In order to understand how this can help us to the “Yes” that we are looking for, we must first understand what a BATNA is.  BATNA is simply the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement.  The speaker defines this as, “A comparison of your options.”  The speaker uses a continuing example of a salesman trying to sell a car and how you need to analyze the individual interests.   In every situation you need to know what you best option is.  Maybe your company can perform the task instead of outsourcing with the other party of the negotiation.  We also need to determine what each party’s interests are in the situation.  In a situation of getting paid now or later for a product or service, most would rather have the money now.  However, it’s not always that simple.  What if you could have $25,000 cash today or $30,000 a week from now for the same product or service, which would you choose?  Now, that changes the game.  You now have to look at your needs and interests to determine which is better for your company.  If you need the money now, you only have one option it seems.  If you need more money and can wait, then you wait.

            Negotiations may not be easy or cut and dry.  However, there are always many different ways of avoiding conflict and getting to the bottom line.  I have only discussed a few of them here in this blog post.  In my opinion these are some of the most helpful tools in negotiation.  You always have options and interests; at the end of the day it all depends on what is best for you or your company.