As performers, most of us view ourselves as individuals looking to get a job, get a “break”, or find someone who can “help” us.

Suppose that paradigm were turned on its head…  What if you were the CEO of your business, a.k.a. your acting or performing career?  How would that change your approach to accomplishing your goals?

Good CEOs need to understand the marketplace and where their product or service - their "brand" - fits into that marketplace.  They need to articulate that brand succinctly and powerfully in a way that will attract potential partners and buyers.  They need to have a plan for bringing their brand to market, a strategic approach to goal-setting.  And, they need to understand their target demographic so that their brand penetrates the market and their business grows.

In a nutshell, you, as the CEO of your business, need to understand four things: Your Brand, Your Plan, Your Team and Your Target.

Your Brand

Your Brand is what makes you unique.  It is your essence combined with your goals.  Your essence is comprised of everything that’s unique about you: your look, your energy, your “voice.”  A brand is a clear articulation of these things.

Your Plan

Your Plan is your strategic approach to accomplishing your goals.  It includes a clear articulation of your goals, a specific, detailed, plan for accomplishing those goals, and a structure to support you in getting it done.  Your Plan can be called your business plan, your blueprint, or your strategy, but it includes all of the above. 

 

Your Team

Your Team is the group that will succeed along with you.  Your team can include a career coach, an acting coach, an accountability partner, a support group, an agent or manager, a producing partner, and more.  It’s important to remember that if everyone on your team isn’t winning at the game they are playing, then it doesn’t matter how much you are winning.  This is an important distinction to keep in mind when it comes to representation because sometimes we forget to think of agents as people with needs.  Remember: As your team wins, so you win.

Your Target Audience

Your Target Audience is the group of people that you need to know and that need to know you.  This is a much bigger group than we typically think about.  For example, often actors are focused on casting directors to the exclusion of other people.  Newsflash: Casting directors don’t hire actors.  Producers and directors hire actors.

Your Target Audience is two kinds of people:  1) People who can hire you and create with or for you.  2) People who are true believers.  What is a true believer?   A true believer is someone who understands your brand and has their antennae attuned to jobs and projects that are a fit for you.  It is this last group that shows us that no one is irrelevant.  A PA can get you an audition for a television role if they really are a true believer of yours.

In Summation...

In summation, adopting a CEO mindset is a distinct way of approaching your career.  It means that the buck stops with you.  It means that you take responsibility for what happens and doesn’t happen in your career.  It is an empowering way to be in the world—charismatic, committed, passionate, playing a big game.

Learn More...

Strategy Coaching is committed to causing your career breakthroughs with velocity. Utilizing support structures, accountability, career strategy and hands on tools, they work with their clients to hone their ideas and dreams into bold actions that produce results.

For more information on how to learn the skills of being the CEO of your career including branding, goal-setting, and team-building, go to www.Strategy-Coaching.net.

Have questions? E-mail them at:
info@strategy-coaching.net