[Mick Haensler]

[Steve Wargo] “Sorry Mark. I was speaking to Mr. Cadieux. I forgot to quote his post, as I often do. I forget that my reply is not connected to the original post.

My apologies.”

No worries mate. I was just a little confused.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

[Steve Wargo] “I think you need to quit your job before making statements like you just did. I you worked for me, I would not allow you back in the building, EVER! “

Are you speaking to me or the OP Steve??

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

I was in a similar situation before I started my company last year. There were some key differences though.

1- I wasn’t getting paid what I ASKED for. My request for a raise was turned down cold.
2- I wasn’t working in a beautiful waterfront home 9-5, I was working in a claustraphobic noisy glorified machine room 55-70 hours a week including most weekends and holidays
3- I was bringing business to the company that would go with me if I left (and they did)
4- I didn’t trash my employer in public therefore I didn’t burn that bridge. My old employer is now a client because they couldn’t find anyone to replace me. They account for 20% of my business now
5- I developed an exit strategy over 6 months and built up cash reserves to see me through the initial stages of a new company
6- I asked a lot of questions on The Cow instead of complaining on The Cow

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

Just what I’ve been looking for. Thanks Mark.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

[Timothy Allen] “Don’t forget to have your accountant 1099 them for $50k next year.”

Oohhhh, I likee!

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

The production music industry is saturated right now. Even if you have a top notch product that stands above the din, it could take years to establish yourself. And more time after that to turn a profit. One option to consider is to find a niche that’s not being serviced very well. Bluegrass production music comes to mind. Most of it is being produced by “non bluegrass” musicians as an adjunct rather than a focus and it sounds like it. Kind of like the old Lawrence Welk show when they would do a theme show like country music. It’s pretty abysmal.

I’m in the talking stage with a good friend of mine who was a Nashville “utility” man for many years about creating a niche product for another genre. Like Tim said, we probably won’t make a huge amount of money, but we’ll be doing something we love that will definitely improve our songwriting skills as well as recording prowess.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

[grinner hester] “I wasn’t bashin’ on him so much as pointing out there are oodles of online tutorials out there.
My thinking is you stand to lose money by training someone who has not taken the initiative to teach themselves a craft. I’d hate to see you write a check, kick him up a notch then he move on to a different place because he’s now marketable.
If he’s under a non compete, I could see investing but if he’s not, you really stand to lose a good editor in the long run.
You’ll find oif you hire a young gun AE wiz at half his salary, that’ll light a fire under him quick to stay top dog. Self motivation is a good thing.”

As someone who has been using ONLY online tutorials to learn Motion I can say in all honesty, I have become an OK compositor. I’m sharp, motivated, creative, and have some spare time to devote to this but have found tutorials can only take me so far. I also know Todd runs a busy shop and probably works the guy 50 hours a week as it is. So add another 10 hours a week for AE training and now you have a guy pulling burnout hours which is counter productive to the business, the employee and his family. AE is a career in and of itself, learning from online tutorials is like taking a correspondence course for brain surgery.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

I added photography last year for my existing clients which has spawned a whole mess of potential profit centers And during the winter slowdown this year I started diving into Motion to learn motion graphics. I started advertising the recording studio aspect of my facility to singer/songwriters for demo work. And I just started a new duo with a good friend of mine who is a former Nashville side man. We’re not sure of a name yet, the two on the table are “Blunderbuss of Love” or “The Red Hot Swingin’ Johnsons”, what do you guys think? Livin’ the dream baby!!!!

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

[Nick Griffin] “As [Mick Haensler] said: “relax, take things in stride, do some extra marketing, learn some new revenue generating skills, do some pro bono work, and most of all keep a level head.”

If you have extra time on your hands, put it to good use.

Back to the original intent of the thread”

I thought this was in keeping with the original intent of the thread. Joel asked how we are faring and this is how I am faring. I preceded it with a detail of how much actual business I had and have coming up. This part of my response deals with how I am faring on other levels besides the financial aspects of my business. I take a holistic approach, just because my books might be healthy doesn’t mean the rest is. No worries though, just caused me to think a bit about my initial response and was it in line with the intent of the thread. I think it is.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

Good point Rick. I guess I was being passive aggressive to Nick Griffins’ response to my first reply which I thought was in keeping with “the original intent of the thread”. Sorry Nick, I should have responded to you directly instead of getting silently indignant. Where are those smiley faced emoticons when you need them. I will now respond to Nick directly….

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media