19 - What I Learned From Laying Someone Off

Episode Transcript

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Welcome to the entertainment entrepreneur, the podcast for actors, writers, producers, and really anyone working in the entertainment industry with a passion for entrepreneurship.
I'm your host, Monica Hammond, a serial entrepreneur in the entertainment industry. 3 00:00:16,919.999 --> 00:00:18,69.999 I hope you enjoy this episode. 4 00:00:25,11.995464853 --> 00:00:30,361.995464853 Hello, hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Entertainment Entrepreneur Podcast. 5 00:00:30,441.995464853 --> 00:00:43,921.994464853 I'm your host, Monica Hammond, and in today's episode I'm going to get a little bit vulnerable with you and talk about something that people don't really love to talk about, which is failure. 6 00:00:43,922.094464853 --> 00:00:49,121.995464853 Um, 2023 was an interesting year for me. 7 00:00:50,11.995464853 --> 00:00:59,281.995464853 I had a lot of wins, a lot of successes, some really big ones, lots of small ones, but I also completely failed in some ways. 8 00:01:00,221.994464853 --> 00:01:05,971.994464853 And one of those was I failed, um, really one of my employees. 9 00:01:06,451.995464853 --> 00:01:07,961.994464853 So I'll give you some backstory here. 10 00:01:08,1.995464853 --> 00:01:13,281.995464853 My murder mystery company, Broadway Murder Mysteries, which I love, is one of my favorite businesses. 11 00:01:13,281.995464853 --> 00:01:14,651.995464853 I just have so much fun with it. 12 00:01:14,991.995464853 --> 00:01:16,401.995464853 So much potential. 13 00:01:17,21.995464853 --> 00:01:46,406.99446485 I decided to make 2023 A year of investment and growth and just really focusing on seizing every opportunity and growing as big and as fast as I possibly could, right? Because I felt like in years prior, we'd been doing okay, we'd certainly done well, but there was so much untapped potential in the live events side of things that I decided I'm really going to go hard this year. 14 00:01:46,776.99546485 --> 00:01:59,426.99546485 So, I invested early in the year, I mean it must have been, all told, 25, 000, 30, 000 in attending a, um, corporate event convention, conference. 15 00:01:59,696.99546485 --> 00:02:11,646.53894311 We did two big events, we had booths at this, this conference where thousands of corporate event planners attend, and so that was one way that I invested in growth. 16 00:02:11,646.53894311 --> 00:02:15,811.89546485 Another one was through hiring a full time employee. 17 00:02:16,161.99546485 --> 00:02:20,691.99546485 And I had already had a full time employee who was split between many of my businesses. 18 00:02:21,201.99546485 --> 00:02:26,371.99546485 So, her time wasn't solely focused on Broadway Murder Mysteries, which made it a little bit more affordable. 19 00:02:26,731.99546485 --> 00:02:34,361.99546485 I was paying her a reasonable salary, nothing extravagant, but, you know, a decent living, considering she lived in the Midwest as well. 20 00:02:35,742.14158957 --> 00:02:43,142.14158957 My goal was to really try to compete with, um, a company out there that has been doing this a lot longer than my business. 21 00:02:43,142.14158957 --> 00:02:48,262.14058957 I mean, I don't actually know how long they've been along, but probably like the 80s, 90s, maybe. 22 00:02:48,792.14158957 --> 00:02:51,602.14158957 And they have a presence all over the country. 23 00:02:51,612.14158957 --> 00:02:54,222.14158957 Like, literally, they have troops of actors. 24 00:02:54,222.14158957 --> 00:03:00,587.14158957 And Or people who they hire to be actors, whether they're talented or not. 25 00:03:01,267.14158957 --> 00:03:10,547.14158957 And they have them within like a 300 mile radius of basically any location in the United States, right? So they can keep their costs really low. 26 00:03:11,137.14158957 --> 00:03:14,957.14158957 Because they don't have to travel actors from big cities and all of that. 27 00:03:15,197.14158957 --> 00:03:19,187.14158957 They can take every, you know, opportunity or sale that comes their way. 28 00:03:19,187.14158957 --> 00:03:24,7.14058957 Because ultimately they have a really easy way to fulfill on it with these troops all over the country. 29 00:03:24,557.14158957 --> 00:03:31,617.14158957 Okay, so my challenge was, we get a lot of inquiries, again, from all over the country. 30 00:03:31,707.14058957 --> 00:03:43,467.14158957 And I was feeling like we were having to turn down so much business because we were quoting these crazy actor fees and travel fees to be able to get someone from New York or L. 31 00:03:43,467.14158957 --> 00:03:43,727.14158957 A. 32 00:03:43,737.14158957 --> 00:03:54,477.14158957 where we have most of our talent pool, really good talent pool, trained professional actors and We were just losing a lot of opportunity in my eyes. 33 00:03:55,307.14158957 --> 00:04:01,157.14158957 So I decided in 2023 that we're going to launch new, you know, pools of talent all over the country. 34 00:04:01,157.14158957 --> 00:04:20,122.14158957 We were going to do, you know, three to five launches every year and just continue to grow and grow and grow our talent pool so that we could ultimately try to take more gigs without having to quote crazy prices, right? So, we launched, we did a launch in LA, where we originally had a few hosts that were great. 35 00:04:20,262.14158957 --> 00:04:21,892.14158957 So, that was actually a big success. 36 00:04:21,892.14158957 --> 00:04:25,92.14158957 We got a ton of really awesome actors in the LA area. 37 00:04:25,852.14158957 --> 00:04:30,572.14158957 And then we did a launch in Denver, that was a total bust. 38 00:04:30,982.14058957 --> 00:04:35,432.14158957 You know, we got some actors out of it, but ultimately it was not a huge success. 39 00:04:35,997.14158957 --> 00:04:48,127.14058957 And we did, uh, another kind of launch in New York City as well, just to try to get some, even more actors, where we, I want to say we had maybe 20 actors in New York, and, uh, we're up to probably 40 or 50 at this point. 40 00:04:48,427.14158957 --> 00:04:50,97.14158957 Really wonderful talent pool. 41 00:04:50,460.4749229 --> 00:05:10,700.5749229 So that was a bit of a struggle and I just kept saying, like, why can't we find more actors all over the country? Why is it costing so much to find these actors? Do I really have to fly my full time person out to manage these auditions and a second person to help? Like, it just cost me a darn fortune and ultimately was not. 42 00:05:11,265.5749229 --> 00:05:21,5.5739229 The success that I really wanted it to be, but I had this full time person and this was part of her job, part of her role to grow this talent pool and one of the main reasons why I hired her. 43 00:05:21,5.6739229 --> 00:05:39,55.5739229 And so after seeing that that was not successful and really what I had done is this business is very seasonal, basically nine or ten months of the year we would break even and then in Q4 we would make a lot of money. 44 00:05:39,410.5739229 --> 00:05:42,630.5739229 So I really put all my eggs in the Q4 basket this year. 45 00:05:42,630.5739229 --> 00:05:52,230.5739229 I invested heavily, I was losing money every single month, racking up a credit card debt, because I knew that I'd be able to pay it all off in Q4. 46 00:05:52,350.5739229 --> 00:06:07,480.5749229 So, when my Amazon sales explode, when of course, all this effort we put in all year, going to expos, doing all of these, you know, actor trainings to get actors all over the country, I just knew we were going to just crush it in November and December. 47 00:06:07,590.5739229 --> 00:06:09,865.18319563 Well, guess what? We didn't. 48 00:06:09,865.18319563 --> 00:06:12,334.20174108 It was definitely better. 49 00:06:12,334.20174108 --> 00:06:18,90.5749229 Our sales grew by 200 percent on the event side, but. 50 00:06:18,620.5749229 --> 00:06:24,617.3749229 And I did, I think I did another episode about this, about how my e commerce sales just tanked this year in Q4. 51 00:06:24,647.3749229 --> 00:06:29,7.3749229 They're down by about 30 percent because of some competition that came on the scene. 52 00:06:29,887.3749229 --> 00:06:39,657.3749229 So I took my eye off the ball there because I was focusing so much on trying to grow the live events and ultimately, I hired this wonderful woman. 53 00:06:40,77.3749229 --> 00:06:43,807.3749229 Wonderful, wonderful actor, immersive theater creator. 54 00:06:43,807.3749229 --> 00:06:55,277.3749229 And I was, you know, trying to just throw everything I could at her, at the business to try to help it grow and make it make financial sense to have her as a full time employee. 55 00:06:55,527.3749229 --> 00:07:06,747.3739229 Cause it was a huge investment, right? She wanted a lot more and she was worth a lot more than I felt I could comfortably pay, but again, I was like, I'm investing in it. 56 00:07:06,757.3749229 --> 00:07:07,507.3749229 We're growing. 57 00:07:07,517.3749229 --> 00:07:08,717.3739229 This is going to be huge. 58 00:07:09,297.3749229 --> 00:07:10,597.3749229 And it didn't pay off. 59 00:07:11,157.3749229 --> 00:07:14,327.3749229 And I, I still feel a little bit like I failed. 60 00:07:15,207.3749229 --> 00:07:16,627.3749229 I failed her in a way. 61 00:07:17,817.3749229 --> 00:07:27,127.3749229 And I just did not plan and structure that business and the growth of that business in a way that was effective. 62 00:07:27,624.04158957 --> 00:07:42,647.3749229 And, That has led me to really make some drastic changes in that business and just decide what are the opportunities? Now that I see how difficult it is to find the level of talent we need in, you know, smaller markets. 63 00:07:43,14.04158957 --> 00:07:44,794.04158957 And, also the demand. 64 00:07:44,854.04158957 --> 00:08:01,274.04058957 Like, is there a huge demand for Murder Mysteries in Denver? I don't know, we haven't been able to tap into it, right? Um, and then the corporate events side of things, the, expos that we did, I will say I don't know that they've paid off yet. 65 00:08:01,769.04158957 --> 00:08:17,649.04158957 But I am so confident that it was, it was the right move and we made a lot of amazing connections, we're on the radar of a lot of people, but it's a very long lead cycle, right? So when I was thinking when I signed up, ooh, like, we'll get a bunch of holiday parties, office holiday parties out of it. 66 00:08:17,979.04158957 --> 00:08:18,969.04158957 Like, no. 67 00:08:19,229.04158957 --> 00:08:27,204.04158957 We got some, but The majority of these corporate event planners are planning things for the end of 2024 or even into 2025. 68 00:08:27,684.04158957 --> 00:08:31,154.04058957 So we're not going to see an ROI on those events for years. 69 00:08:31,364.04158957 --> 00:08:42,930.70825624 And I can't keep paying this huge salary on this relatively small business in the meantime, right? So, that's how I failed and some things that I learned. 70 00:08:43,0.70825624 --> 00:08:48,820.70825624 So now we're focusing on Which I feel so silly, it was like in front of my face this whole frickin time. 71 00:08:49,170.70825624 --> 00:08:53,250.70825624 We have amazing talent and demand in New York and LA. 72 00:08:53,890.70825624 --> 00:09:09,910.70825624 So instead of focusing on trying to grab every party that comes in and like, you know, tiny towns in Iowa and Indiana, Missouri that we can't easily fulfill or affordably fulfill for the client, we're focusing on New York and LA. 73 00:09:10,600.70825624 --> 00:09:36,467.3749229 How obvious is that, right? I was so blinded by my own desire to grow and to seize every little opportunity That it was just staring me in the face like focus on The areas where you have the most demand and the most ability to fulfill So now I had to let this amazing employee go which was so Sad and painful because it was no fault of her own. 74 00:09:36,477.3749229 --> 00:09:37,297.3749229 She was phenomenal. 75 00:09:37,297.3749229 --> 00:09:38,177.3749229 She did a great job. 76 00:09:38,177.3749229 --> 00:09:42,167.3739229 I just couldn't, I just can't afford that salary. 77 00:09:42,807.3749229 --> 00:09:47,277.3749229 You know, like every month I would see money come in and even more money go out. 78 00:09:47,757.3749229 --> 00:09:53,837.3749229 And again, there were many reasons for that, but such a large salary for me was, was a part of that. 79 00:09:53,847.3749229 --> 00:09:55,37.3749229 So I had to let her go. 80 00:09:55,607.3749229 --> 00:09:56,587.3749229 She's wonderful. 81 00:09:56,587.3749229 --> 00:10:00,697.3749229 She's staying around in a very part time capacity to help fulfill on some things. 82 00:10:01,67.3749229 --> 00:10:09,407.3749229 But yeah, it was a really tough decision, but I had to put my, you know, big girl panties on and make a decision that was really hard. 83 00:10:09,685.70825624 --> 00:10:22,312.3739229 But ultimately that I knew was in service of the business And of me, you know, like this whole year we made Mid six figures like a very healthy amount of revenue more than years prior. 84 00:10:22,312.3749229 --> 00:10:23,742.3739229 So we succeeded in that sense. 85 00:10:24,132.3739229 --> 00:10:46,837.3749229 We definitely Grew the top line revenue, but I actually lost money this year Like i'm in the red on this business so It was a huge eye opener and something that I've always prided myself on with all of my businesses is that they've always been profitable, right? I've never run any of my businesses at a loss. 86 00:10:47,742.3749229 --> 00:10:54,22.3749229 Or even just focusing on growth, because to me, each one of my businesses, this is how I feed my family. 87 00:10:54,352.3749229 --> 00:10:56,82.3749229 This is how I pay my mortgage. 88 00:10:56,252.3749229 --> 00:10:58,812.3749229 So losing money is not an option. 89 00:10:59,102.3739229 --> 00:11:21,122.3749229 Now, because I have four different businesses, I have a little bit of room to lose money, but Investing that amount of time and energy and resources from, you know, all different departments on my team into that business just to lose money was really, really eye opening, and it showed me I don't have a choice, I have to make a change. 90 00:11:21,792.3749229 --> 00:11:39,222.3749229 So, what does this all mean to you? First of all, I get a lot of questions about when is it time to hire help, and what positions should you hire for first? And for me, it's always been, what is, like, really not worth your time? Right? That's sort of number one. 91 00:11:39,222.3749229 --> 00:11:51,772.3749229 What are, how much do you value your time at and what are the positions that you could, what are the things that you're doing on a daily basis that are literally you could outsource for less than what you would pay yourself? That's number one. 92 00:11:52,112.3749229 --> 00:11:59,752.3749229 So like a virtual assistant, maybe an administrative assistant, personal assistant, those types of things are the ones that I would go to first. 93 00:12:00,582.3749229 --> 00:12:06,822.3749229 And then, there's also things you want to outsource where, if it's necessary, but just not your area of expertise. 94 00:12:07,292.3749229 --> 00:12:10,492.3749229 So like, a lot of times marketing will be that, or sales will be that. 95 00:12:11,82.3749229 --> 00:12:22,732.3749229 For me, that was part of why I hired this woman for this business was, it was just an area where I just didn't have the connections or expertise or insights that she had, right? Which remains true. 96 00:12:22,962.3749229 --> 00:12:30,182.3749229 But ultimately, it wasn't a core function of the business, or it didn't need to be a core function of the business in a lot of ways. 97 00:12:30,532.3749229 --> 00:12:32,492.3749229 So, um, so yeah. 98 00:12:32,512.3749229 --> 00:13:10,630.70825624 Think about in terms of if you want to hire someone, or you're thinking about hiring someone, Be a little bit cautious, really be measured about it because once you hire someone, especially if they're like a full time contracted employee with benefits, like that's a really big investment and costs more than you even think because an extra 10 percent on top of what you're paying them goes into like workers comp and social security and then there's the benefits if you want to be competitive as an employer you have to offer health insurance and all of that so Be measured, especially as a small business, about when you take on employees. 99 00:13:11,380.70825624 --> 00:13:24,700.70825624 I recommend starting people part time or freelance, and then if the need is there, the money is there, growing them into full time, and then transitioning them into a full time actual, like, salaried employee. 100 00:13:24,715.80825624 --> 00:13:28,735.70825624 So that's my advice. 101 00:13:28,795.70825624 --> 00:13:30,815.70825624 That's all about my failures. 102 00:13:31,765.70825624 --> 00:13:34,175.70725624 Um, I hope you learned something from this. 103 00:13:34,215.70825624 --> 00:13:37,825.70825624 I hope you learned something from my mistakes and some of my successes. 104 00:13:38,55.70825624 --> 00:13:44,685.70825624 So anyway, thank you so much for tuning in and I will see you next time.