Don’t know anything about the pain of giving birth or having a child grow inside you for nine months? Neither do I!

But I do know about the pain and discomfort about giving birth to your career in the entertainment industry. The first 2 to 3 years are killer.  Every successful person is the biz didn’t start out that way. I’ve been kicking around these industries my whole life and have talked to thousands of pros in all the entertainment production industries who hold all types of positions in those industries. And in ALL cases the story is the same.

Didn’t matter whether it was music performance, broadcast programming, concept writing or striking a concert stage. All the people I’ve met along way have the same thing in common, the early part of their career was terrifying. You never knew if you had “what it takes”. If you were ever going to meet the right insider” who was going to give you that break. The list of questions we had stretched far beyond the answers we found.

Sound familiar? 

Of course it does!  Because nothing has really changed.

This is a tough biz to break into. There is no clear path in or up. But if you hang in there you will get your chance and once you’re in it is SO WORTH IT. (Despite what those cranky old industry folks will tell you.)

I developed a few basic rules I followed which got me through those lean years:

• You have to stay focused. Give yourself a set time to try a particular way in. Then adjust.
• You have to stay the course. Don’t change career paths every time you lose a gig.
• You have to learn who to listen to. Not every pro’s position means they have valuable insights to share.
• Learn who to trust and who not too. Be wary of false prophets. The industry is littered with them.
• You need to know when to walk away and when to fight through the fear.
• You need to develop your instincts (refer to my other blog on Ferro City, (INSTINCT, GUT FEELING, HUNCH)

*To hear firsthand how many of the industries leaders and visionaries made it into the biz and leveled up their careers, log onto FerroCity’s On Location series. 

NOW YOUR IN….

When you finally land that first gig you will be terrified or at least you should be. Over confidence is the first sign that you’re not doing your best and in turn you’re not going to get the most out of the experience.

That fear or nervousness is what will help you successfully “birth” your career.

If you make it passed those first few years you will have at least an eighty percent chance of moving your career forward.

But even though you found a crack in the wall to get in doesn’t mean your place in the industry is secure.

The dropout rate, or the “infant mortality rate” (as statisticians refer to them), is between forty to sixty percent.  This group usually abandons their dream not because they don’t have the skills or the desire but because they couldn’t land the gig they felt they deserved or simply got tired of trying. Many of those who refused to accept a lesser gig to start usually miss out on advancing to the dream job.

We all know those years are tough. Self-doubt kicks in, the people who were supporting you begin to fade. Your significant other is looking for your financial contributions. Parents want you to move onto a “real” job. You need health insurance, rent, food. Your friends in other businesses are moving on and have money to enjoy a “real life”.

But they aren’t you and don’t have your dream or destiny.

Solutions: Surround yourself with people in the entertainment community who are also struggling. Get a job in the support part of the industry. i.e. studio, rental house, retail stores, taking tickets at an arena. Anything that you can make a few dollars in the support sphere of the biz, while you keep knocking on doors for your dream job. Or at least a job near your dream job.

Keep your eye on those of us who have weathered the storm and are better off for having done so. We have built careers that we enjoy and are proud of. We have been able to find a balance between our professional successes and our personal life successes. We have been involved in, lead or been witness to some of the industries’ most historic moments. Regardless of what those cranky old timers say, ninety nine percent of us would never trade our professional life for any other.

There is plenty of room in here for you. Keep looking for a way in, I guarantee you it’s there. It may not be a door with a welcome sign. It might be the door to the kitchen which will lead to the main ballroom. Maybe it’s a window.  Maybe a hole in the roof. Maybe you need to borrow a key from someone. But keep trying, I guarantee there is a way in. 

Hang in there the best is yet to come.