The Modern Entrepreneur

Marketing has undergone a major shift in the last five years with the explosion of the digital age and the significantly increased access that consumers have to Internet, with smart phones, tablets, and the advancements in wireless networks. This new technology and the new found love for social networking has led to marketing revolution and a seismic shift in corporate marketing budgets, but also has led to many opportunities for small businesses and young entrepreneurs alike. Many young entrepreneurs have seen this trend grown, watching the shift importance to digital and internet marketing from traditional television, print, and radio advertising. Such modern technologies and tools such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC) , and paid Banner Ads, marketing techniques have improved demographic targeting and customer focus, allowing businesses to engage customers who are in search of their product already, in a more cost effective and efficient manner. The development of social media from, Twitter to Facebook, has improved this technology and has allowed for small businesses and major corporations, to be competitive and have access to similar marketing channels.
The best part about this new technology for young entrepreneurs is that much of it is cheap in comparison to older models of developing an entire print or television ad campaign which would be costly and consume many more resources and time. Today many entrepreneurs can do things are their own, by optimizing there companies websites, products, and services on all search engines. You can run ads on Facebook and twitter to focused demographics. There are many free tools that can help any entrepreneur analyze and boost your company’s performance online. You can utilize tools such as Google analytics, Site-Perf, Crazy Egg, and many more which can help you with the optimization and market research to better understand not just consumers, but also competitors. Another huge trend that entrepreneurs should take advantage of is the Q/R code generators and the ability to connect with users in person as well as digitally. Websites like QRStuff.com among many others can provide you with barcodes which can be distributed physically and strategically to provide a physical medium between customers and the digital world. These can provide business owners and customers with a medium to share, connect, provide information, deals, and interaction on a whole new level.
Many young entrepreneurs have watched these trends develop and will be able to maximize their growth and impact on their market space with the utilization and efficient application of these tools which are available. Every entrepreneur should carefully examine the many options available and not leave any on the table which could give your business an edge in the increasingly competitive landscape of digital commerce.

As a young Entrepreneur you should look to do things effectively and efficiently, two areas where both Apple and Amazon excel as far as distributing, marketing, and monetizing content. As I talked about previously, there are many platforms for content providers to distribute their material both free , with a fee, and some with deals along the lines of traditional publishing deals. Obviously products and services vary among all of these, whether it is from Apple and Amazon, or Hulu and You Tube, or something else.
Apple and Amazon have set themselves apart, being the largest and most popular digital publishers and distributors in the World today. They can provide a platform which is easy to access, distribute and market through. Through each avenue of entertainment whether, print, music, video, or applications ( Apple: iphone / Ipad) ( Amazon: Android, kindle, etc.) these platforms can generate content for almost anyone. What sets these two apart is the fact that you can market and distribute content in a cost effective manner, and you can pinpoint consumers much more efficiently by understanding consumers preferences and desires. Another major advantage is the ability to directly monetize your content! Apple and Amazon offer songs in the range of .99 cents to $1.29, they have e-books available at a variety of prices generally cheaper than the physical copy, and movies available for rent at $5.00 or Digitally in HD or standard definition for a price also less expensive than physical copies. This is a benefit that other mediums such as YouTube and Hulu have yet to perfect, trying to properly gauge ad revenue, or monthly fees, it is possible for these to be successful, but is much more difficult to specifically monetize.
Even though Apple and Amazon are technically two very different companies, one being a technology / computer company, and one being a pure online retailer who specialized in selling all products from music, to food, to clothes, and more. Besides the fundamental differences of the company, their futures are very closely related in the digital content arena. As young entrepreneurs it is important to take advantage of these distribution mediums and conduct their businesses as effectively as possible. A hybrid strategy utilizing multiple platforms may be the answer, but it will depend on the specific product and opportunity, and each entrepreneur will have to make that determination on their own understanding the benefits, and the dynamics of their consumers and target demographics.

The Relationship between Content providers and publishers used to a lot more one-sided. Publishers and Distributors have traditionally always had the leverage on new content providers and writers who don’t have a proven track record. Many writers, musicians, and artists in general would have to give up the majority of their financial stake in their product just to insure it would enter the proper traditional distribution channels, because of the investments required to have products physically produced, and distributed to brick and mortar establishments which would also then take a cut of the bottom line.
As a young entrepreneur the digital age is a tremendous benefit to young writers, musicians, game developers, film producers, and any artist in general. The digital age has a given the content providers and creators the power to monetize and produce their products on a variety of digital mediums which have proven quite effective with consumers even preferring digital content on the many devices they utilize daily from smartphones, to tablets, to e-readers, to their computers, and even new smart televisions, and gaming consoles. The possibilities are now not just endless, but expanding every day. Entrepreneurs and Artists alike now can just as effectively if not more effectively market and distribute their products through the likes of Itunes / Apple TV, Amazon (create space), You Tube, Pandora, Bit Torrents, just to name a few. These channels can market and distribute content efficiently maximizing profits and allowing to even offer lower prices, because there are no added costs of production, materials, and companies taking a cut at each level of the supply chain.
Entrepreneurs now only need to worry about small fees for certain channels like Amazon and Itunes, or they can utilize free channels like Vimeo, Youtube, Film Buff, Hulu, Meta Café, and Pandora, and can even generate additional ad revenue through such mediums, as well as create a greater presence for you personal brand.
The digital age is creating many opportunities for young creators and entrepreneurs and will continue to become a greater opportunity as long as you know how to monetize such content and manage consumers expectations.

Whether you are well versed in litigation, or the complexities of our legal system or not, having a general understanding of the legal implications surrounding your business or industry is extremely important. The litigious society and governmental regulatory environment we are experiencing today is more impactful and visible than any other time in our history. The list of potential legal issues and liabilities for any small business owner has never been more significant, and impacts the way companies are run and structured. The entertainment industry is experiencing growth, but is becoming more and more complicated, with distribution issues, social networking issues, etc. all related to copyrights, trademarks, patents, and licensing. These legal issues have always been around, but they have become complex and economically impactful with the evolution and growth of technology, media, and society. One other industry under serious legal scrutiny is the financial institutions and the regulations of funds and banks, because the recent financial crisis has finally revealed the serious fraud issues that have become common practice over the past decade.
Being a diligent and vigilant entrepreneur in this environment requires you to stay apprised of the legal issues and changes within your industry. Doing so can help minimize risk and liability, and be able to grow and adapt your company without any shocks or surprises which could bring it crashing down over night.
Whether you have major legal resources, friends as lawyers, or neither, being ignorant to the legal and political landscape is just bad business sense. Regardless of resources or not, todays technologically connected, globalized society, there are ample amounts of free legal resources online to make sure you are up to date. Recently I have been listening to legal podcasts online, which have increased my awareness and knowledge of the legal issues surrounding the Entertainment and financial industries.
There are an abundance of materials, from online legal platforms such as leagalzoom.com, to government websites, to free podcasts available on individual websites or Itunes. I utilized the podcasts which were both available free online and on Itunes, these podcast last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. I utilized the Entertainment Law Podcast by Gordon P. Firemark, the Trademark & Copyright Law forum by Thomson Compumark, and the Clayton UTZ podcast which deals with hedge funds legal issues.
Gordon P. Firemark is a well renound Entertainment Lawyer, who uses his podcast platform to engage a variety of issues across the entertainment industry, utilizing news, legal cases, and special guests for insights and analysis. In his episode Law update 20 on May 11, 2011 titled Tattoos and Topiaries, there was a variety of interesting examples and insights. This episode talked about the Bratz dolls property rights, copyright infringements for the movie Alien vs Predators and more. Perhaps the most interesting example deals with the copyright infringement case involving Mike Tysons tattoo artist Victor Whitmill and the use of his design in the second rendition of the Hangover. These stories and examples really give you a good idea of the scope of protection required in todays legal environment.
The second podcast I utilized was the podcast titled : “Technology agreements that work”. This podcast really gave me a good in depth analysis, regarding the evaluations, drafting, negotiations, and enforcement of complex technology agreements. This really applies to all businesses, but technology agreements can involve many people and have many contingencies which are important so that you business can produce assets instead of liabilities.
The third podcast was one produced by and Australian Law firm Clayton Utz, in a series of podcasts that discuss the issues surrounding insolvent hedge funds and equity funds around the world. Podcast 3: “Riding the wave of insolvency, narrated by Jennifer Ball a partner in the firm, addresses the major issues with certain funds around the world, utilizing legal and business experts around the world. In this they highlight the importance of certain regulations that need to be changed, as well as the major issues of locating and distributing funds, which have become increasingly adept at hiding and allocating their funds in offshore accounts around the world.

There are plenty of resources out there, both free and costly, regardless, ignorance is not bliss when it comes to lawsuits and your business. The idea is that it is necessary to stay up to date on your knowledge of the evolving legal landscape, and keeping your personal life and business in line with such expectations and ideals.

Funding any entrepreneurial venture has become increasingly litigious and complicated, especially with the credit markets and banks tightening their lending policies since the Financial meltdown of 2008. Hedge funds and private equity firms have had to pick up some of the slack, where credit is dry, such firms look for opportunities to capitalize with favorable deals and the use of leverage. Leverage and high demands of return by investment firms has led to many more contracts becoming increasingly more specific and complex among Financiers, Business partners, project contractors, etc. Such complex agreements, along with the volatility and uncertainties throughout the investment industry is making for and even for difficult time when disputes reach the courtroom.
Many hedge funds and equity firms run things properly and ethically and do not create any problems within the industry. Some are powerful enough and have enough capital to create seismic shift throughout the markets. Some are just run by crooks and swindlers who feel they can do as they please with investor’s funds. Those few rotten funds, run by shady executive have brought quite a bit of attention and shame recently, whether it has been by defrauding longtime investors of their life savings in a ponzi scheme, inflating their books, offshore tax shelters, or downright not living up to their contracts or agreements.
A few of these cases provide examples of how you should and should not handle such legal situations. I feel in many cases, lawsuits can be avoided, obviously by being open and ethical, but if a lawsuit is threatened, you should do everything within your power to make sure it gets worked on outside of court to limit the negative press toward your firm or business. In the case of the Aramid Entertainment fund manager David Molner this has not worked. David Molner and one of his top Movie investors are now embroiled in a serious lawsuit which has been filed in both New York and L.A. because other investors are now concerned, with the funds value being depressed by hidden offshore accounts and shareholder suspicion which has limited the funds effectiveness to conduct normal business.
Another example of this, is the lawsuit between Shawn Carter (Jay-z) and Highland Capital management, a hedge fund out of Dallas, Texas. The firm secured a loan of around $52,000,000 dollars to buy and renovate a Boutique Hotel in the Chelsea district of New York. Highland Capital defaulted on the loan as they lost funds and could not live up to their bargain, effectively sabotaging Jay-z’s plans for the hotel, and the money already invested in to the project! Yes it is understandable if for outside factors that you default, however this company has a history of holding investors hostage and not delivering on contracted agreements.
All hedge funds need to operate more openly and ethically, by creating a comforting and straight forward environment for successful investing. Some firms have shown their inability to do this, and their complete disregard for the clients money they manage. If you want to have a successful investment company it is imperative that you conduct business in a manner that is productive and transparent, not secretive and shady.

The evolution of social media has really affected the way businesses grow, operate, and interact with their customers and fans. Social media and the ability to connect on a whole new level with consumers and proven clientele has changed the entire Marketing and media landscape for good! Every industry from hotels, to large corporations, small businesses and projects have their own unique ability to target their market and grow. All business owners can utilize and quantify the information they gather to address customer concerns, meet certain demands, and engage their brand on a whole new level. Aside from the immense effect social media has had on the Marketing aspects of growing a company, it has revolutionized the entire way entrepreneurs and CEO’s react and develop their company’s identity and brand through crowdsourcing and crowd funding.
The crowdsourcing phenomenon has given entrepreneur’s an
unprecedented resource with the ability to tailor your company exactly how your consumers and you find best. Websites like Kickstarter, Talenthouse, LaunchHub, Kiva, Media predict, Ideas culture, and TwitterOpera among many other emerging sites, which allow entrepreneurs to literally source and connect with random willing consumers for anything. The majority of the projects solicit Financing, creative direction, logo design, marketing strategy, to even contracting jobs. In some cases “the crowd” has financed and directed entire movies, and in at least one case the consumers designed and created and entire restaurant and bar! The possibilities are endless now that companies and small businesses have the ability to access data and receive feedback almost instantaneously! Some shows on CNBC, ESPN, are even utilizing it these days to direct questions in interviews and drive polls and content amongst the media. “The Crowd” has spoken and no matter whether your business in private or public consumer and clientele relations will be changed forever!

I met Tom Herter by sheer chance, he and his partners just happened to be staying at our hotel in Indianapolis during the weekend of the Indianapolis 500 closing a new deal with the NFL for their company Eye Level Interactive. As a young Entrepreneur or business professional, you need to take any and every opportunity to expand your network and showcase your talents and abilities. I had noticed Mr. Herter’s Super Bowl ring and NFL Players Association blazer and decided to inquire. It just so happened that Mr. Herter Lives in Orlando, Florida, where I just moved, soo we immediately hit it off. He gave me his information and we have talked and emailed multiple times since. I met with Mr. Herter and his assistant this past Friday July 22, 2011 to discuss his new company as well as the historic day in which the NFL labor negotiations had ended.
Mr. Herter is the Vice president of the NFL players association in Florida and had won 2 Super Bowls both as a Player and a coach. He also owns several businesses including Pak Mail franchises, an Arena Football team, Champion sports training facility, and now he is Vice President of Eye Level Interactive. We spoke about the intense nature of the NFL negotiations and what it took to get such a long and arduous deal signed off and sealed. He believed that the solidarity and unity of the players and owners was essential, for the sheer fact that both sides were at least on the same page with their constituents and knew what each side was looking for. The mutual respect and mutual benefit were also key factors in the negotiations, respect was crucial to the players who had earned it, and both sides understood that the popularity of their sport was at an all time high and there was too much money to be lost by both sides had they let their ego’s get the best of them! This insight into one of the most historic labor negotiations in recent memory was amazing. But I was most interested in my potential role with Eye level Interactive.
Mr. Herter explained to me his role with Eye level, which was to open the door to licensing negotiations. Eye Level has patented E-reader barcode tag, which is a new social marketing application on Consumers cell phones, which can connect consumers with their favorite companies and brands through one click. The main goal of the meeting was to see if I could get involved in this brand new company, which was founded in January and has already generated over $200 million in revenue. The company only has a few employees and I wanted to continue to grow my network, get involved on the ground floor to learn and maximize my potential, and then utilize my connections and network to be a viable asset to this new company. I began by expressing my interest in all new businesses when I first met Mr. Herter, expressing my love and passion for investing. I also showed my appreciation and intrigue for new and promising technologies, which is why I believe Mr. Herter wanted to get together and discuss this potential. Little did I know, he really wanted me to work for Eye Level, which only has about 6 employees as of now. I knew that my affiliation with certain entities and my connections with the IRL, Mountain Dew, Simon malls, and Live Nation would be appreciated and could be used as leverage when discussing my potential role. My knowledge of Marketing and Finance also helped me significantly, but when I began to spit out ideas and potential clients for the company he was very excited and even offered me a huge percentage of commissions. Utilizing my experiences and connections we had an amazing meeting and conversation, which will hopefully lead to some great deals and tremendous personal growth, thanks to my negotiating and social tactics.