There aren't many jobs in this country that the compensation is slightly more than min. wage in NY, LA, or SF and you find yourself bound by two contracts, one governing your employment, the other your $$$ obligations to a talent agent. 

The payment terms and your financial commitments aside, there are days that you probably feel completely handcuffed. You've become burned out, stressed, and anxious about whether you can continue.

Your anxiety is coming from the unknown. You keep searching for validation that you're on the right path but you can't find confirmation. Now your thoughts take you to the deepest and darkest places.

You begin to convince yourself that you have little or no control in your career. Although this is contractually true, you are always in the driver's seat of managing your own brand and the trajectory of your career.

Listen, take a breath. You have a great toolkit to pull from. The path to where you find yourself today took years in the making and you have some AMAZING experiences to leverage going forward. Your ability to write, shoot, edit, produce, and storytelling set you apart and you can start to leverage them to take back control.

There are great opportunities ahead that although you can't clearly see them right now, they are waiting for you and YOU are the only one with the keys to unlock the handcuffs and put a spotlight on your next amazing chapter!

The Keys To Taking The Handcuffs Off Your Career Today!

For the early and mid-career talent, or even the new/recent college grads, the future has never looked brighter if you begin to manage your career differently than those before you. By following a new path I believe you can wrestle your brand back from your employer and talent agent.

Here are some of the things I would be thinking about if I were in your shoes.

Stop constantly thinking about moving up and start thinking about 'playing time'. Sitting on the bench in a big market or in a perpetual support role gets you nowhere. In fact, it might be setting you back in the long run. Playing time is critical for skill development and no one gets better sitting on the bench. You should be developing your current skills first and foremost!

The gap between number 1 and number 4 in a market makes all the difference in the world. A market dog in DMA 10 can be drawing a smaller audience than the market leader in DMA 20. DMA 10 with a 10% share is 240k. DMA 20 with a 30% share is 400k, more than 50% larger. It's eyeballs and exposure that will help your career in the long run not the DMA number on your resume. Why you ask? Here's why …..

Your future will be tied to your audience across multi-channels. Your Instagram audience could end up being twice the size of your television audience and it will have much higher retention and stickiness. As channels become blurred, it becomes a math exercise at some point. Think about the number of YouTube stars with 1 million followers/subscribers that have never been on broadcast television. Start balancing your energy between traditional outlets and new multimedia platforms.

Early in my career I wouldn't spend my hard-earned money on an agent and rely on them for job placement. I would instead focus on a broader talent management relationship with a PR Agency or a Talent / Marketing Manager with a focus on two things: brand building (content development) and multi-channel placement. The process is super simple in structure, super hard in practice. Segment. Target. Position.

Consider lateral moves when necessary. My most disgruntled clients are the ones sitting on the bench in markets that might be two-three years beyond their current development. A move laterally gives you a rare opportunity to reinvent yourself and step up your game without baggage. Let's face it, within the first 3-6 months of a new role, you are being sized up and cast. Also, it just might be the fact that there is a log jam in front of you in your current position. You need to find clean air because drafting is getting you nowhere quick.

I would build a one- or two-page media/press kit immediately. You need a visual that is not a resume or a reel but a graphic introduction that you can repurpose for your resume, LinkedIn profile, or an industry bio for a speaking engagement. This can be a simple PDF. If you need an example, feel free to reach out.

Stop trying to impress your friends and begin thinking about who's going to pay you and for what. Those swimsuit photos drinking with your girlfriends are great but we generally don't accept multimedia TV news clients with a constant stream of booze and bikini photos in their social media. Think about your future audience and the path to it. Now, if you are panning for a role as a bikini model or a spokesperson for White Claw, that is obviously a different story.

I would spend at least 60 minutes each day looking at alternative distribution channels. What's coming, how to use it, when are the best times to post, etc etc etc. If you aren't getting the playing time, why aren't you developing your own channel of live content on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, to name a few.

NEVER put all your eggs in one social media basket. We all know of someone who lost access to their IG or Facebook account and they lost everything. Lost their content, lost their audience/followers. Think about a hub and spoke approach. Keep all your original content on a personal blog or website as a hub and central distribution point. Wordpress and Wix are great options. Use social media outlets like IG and Twitter as your spokes. Nothing changes other than you ALWAYS have a contingence plan.

In summary, and your BIG takeaway, channels are becoming blurred and you can't take a traditional path inside a business that is facing severe disruption. The key points are:

If you are a MMJ/reporter and have less than 5 years’ experience, you should NEVER hire an agent. If you can't find work on your own, you have skill development opportunities, either presentation, image or interview issues. You need a coach or mentor, not an agent.

You should ALWAYS have a 3-5 minute reel on hand, an updated resume, a LinkedIn profile, and a great elevator pitch on a moment’s notice regardless of audience.

You should create a social media strategy and put in practice behavior that reflects your personal brand. Brand is the convergence of your differentiators, passion/skills, and target audience.

You should network on 3 levels - below you, at your peer level, and above. You should include influencers from all three levels.

Be intentional with EVERYTHING. Live with intent and work toward a goal but always understand the next step.

Enjoy the ride! You won't get many opportunities to relocate or reinvent yourself, so you need to enjoy each one! 

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