Your digital reputation is key

Today I wanted to discuss  the importance of your digital reputation.  Specifically, I want to talk about how you can protect it, how to nurture it and how to avoid missteps which can potentially ruin it.  The truth is, your digital reputation is your real world reputation.
Recall law 5 from Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power

Law 5 So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard it with your Life
Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once you slip, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.

Your reputation as a marketer, blogger, journalist, musician, poet or any variety of digital professional is your greatest asset.  Personal PR really matters, especially in an environment where titles are altogether meaningless.  It’s vital on several levels:

• Personally – you are a company of one and your reputation follows you everywhere you go
• For the company/agency you work for – what you say publicly on the web is tied directly to the reputation of your employer
• For clients – your clients can and do read content you put out on the web on any of your social outlets

The obvious examples of reputations being ruined are people losing their jobs from inappropriate/unprofessional photos on their social networking profiles.  Sadly, many do not realize those are public spaces.  But what’s not so obvious is negativity or attacks on other companies or professionals in a manner which is derogatory and/or unprofessional.

I’ve written before not to be afraid to have opinions or take sides, and I stand by that.  But, discussing something intelligently and backing up what you’re saying with facts, observations or opinions is a far different animal than being outright negative to someone you disagree with merely because they rub you the wrong way.
People who do this only succeed in:

• Making themselves look unprofessional
• Undermining their own company’s reputation by representing them poorly
• Burning bridges with future employers who have seen the negativity (the web, especially within niches, is a small space and when you post things publicly the world is watching)
• Ruining the chances that their own content is actually shared
• Slowly degrading their own reputation, authority and trust

There’s far too much negativity in the world, and smart businesses and professionals want to keep themselves as far away from negative attitudes and mindsets as possible.  This leads us to the paths for your own success in cultivating the right kind of reputation for yourself:

Being a positive force and thoughtfully contributing is the right path

Look at thought leaders like Chris Brogan or Seth Godin.  One of the reasons for their amazing reputations is the fact that they are an overwhelmingly positive force in a negative world.  People crave those who inspire them, and both of these individuals do that with stars.  The right kind of leaders are never negative.

Debate and disagreement are fine, but should be conducted professionally and with tact


You can debate, you can have opinions, you can align yourself with ideas you believe in.  But you can do this without embarking down a slanderous path.  There’s a fine line between intelligently pointing out things that are wrong and being unprofessional.  Steven Hodson at WinExtra is a master at being snarky, but if you read what he writes, he carefully backs up his points in a way that even if you didn’t agree with him, you’d still respect him.  Snark done properly is a style, and not necessarily negative.

Contribute to discussions on your industry in the same manner online as you would in person

A simple formula is this:  if you wouldn’t say something in person to someone else’s face, don’t say it on the web.  We’ve blurred the line between online and offline and many of us who have been online daily for more than a decade see no difference at all.  If you say something about someone, especially something negative, count on that person both reading it and reacting.

Any fleeting attention gained from negativity is overshadowed by the destruction of your reputation

Being a PR professional, I’m familiar with the phrase all PR is good PR.  And I think that is absolutely true for companies or individuals who have strong, unassailable reputations, loyal followings and in the end are on the good side of the force.  It’s when you personally draw attention to yourself in the wrong light and for the wrong reasons the attention you gain is not worth the dent in your reputation.

Authority/trust is different than popularity

You can be insanely popular, but have no trust or authority in the world.  While you might be able to court attention, it’s worthless if at the end of the day people don’t respect you or view you as an authentic individual.  Authority is built slowly over time bit by bit.

Nobody likes an immature expert

You could be the best in the world at something – but if you’re immature, people aren’t going to look forward to working with you, plain and simple.  Mature individuals are virtuous in their actions, even when they disagree.

The web doesn’t forget

The web is permanent, and anything you say is etched into a digital presence that isn’t easily removed.  Upset the wrong person and you could end up with a scar on page one of Google for your name that stays with you for a long time.  More than half of adults Google each other, so this is a real problem you could make for yourself if you don’t think about your actions carefully.  This also speaks to the importance of having a large digital footprint and owning your personal SEO so a spiteful individual could not easily harm your reputation in this regard. I recommend reading Marketing in the Age of Google: Your Online Strategy IS Your Business Strategy

Everyone knows there is snake oil in social media/digital marketing and PR

Both your proven track record and reputation are what allow you to stand out from the hordes of “experts” in the space.  In reality it is a small inner-circle of talented individuals who are proven leaders  at web-based marketing, and for the most part they are all friendly with each other.  It is telling if an individual is totally unknown to those at the head of the industry, or immediately known as having a negative reputation.


Know that an attack is inevitable

Even if you do all the right things, eventually – for whatever irrational reason -  someone will attempt an attack on your digital reputation.  Just consider the source first, and carefully weigh whether it’s even worth paying them attention.  In many cases, the individual attacking you may just be trying to get you to strike back to use the attention against you.  Where it’s an unknown/untrusted individual provoking you without just cause, taking the high road and ignoring the instigator may be the most prudent move.

Conclusion

The importance of your digital reputation can’t be stressed enough – especially during times when companies are assessing their partners and agencies are laying off individuals.  We’ve seen examples time and time again of both professionals and companies making unfortunate missteps.  Being thoughtful in what you publish, a positive force for good, and engaging others tactfully goes a long way in positioning yourself in the right light. If you have time get this book The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, 2nd Edition

 Mr. Dangerfield is an I.A.P.D.A Certified Debt Specialist whom has worked in the finance industry for over a decade. He manages www.beingbrokesuckstoday.com , is the author of "A Dangerfield Manifesto" and co-founder of SMG Holdings, the parent company of Squad Music Group, Dangerfield Artistic Entertainment,SMG Publishing and Taboo Dangerfield Publishing Follow me on twitter

The New Demo Tape

By Mike Pineau

From the minute a shaggy-haired kid plugs his slightly used guitar into his slightly used amp, frailly  strumming his first chord, he dreams of making it big - selling out stadiums, buying mansions, decorating said mansions with endless platinum records.  Like most kids, he dreams of being discovered by an A&R scout through his band’s demo tape.  In the case of A&R scouts, the same applies in a sense.  The twenty something dreams of getting the demo of the next big thing, making his bosses happy and getting that big chair and that big office.

"In the digital age, the... demo tape is not dead." 

In the digital age, the traditional demo tape is not dead.  Calling anything non-human dead is foolish.  Just ask vinyl collectors.  However, the traditional demo is no longer the best way for a band to get exposure.  Sure, there have been artists signed on the strength of their demos this year.  The industry is too massive to exclude such a thing from happening.  Although all four majors refuse to accept demos for a variety of reasons (mostly attorney-driven), many indies still do, relying on armies of interns to listen to the first thirty seconds.  The truth is that the sheer amount of music being made in what I call the “Garageband Era” - an era of mass, high-quality bedroom recording on a shoestring budget - makes the traditional demo submission route grossly ineffective.  Artists should still have a demo available, but submitting it to labels without a prior relationship there, even if the songs are amazing and life changing, is generally a waste of resources and postage.
 Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day

The best use for these “old school” demos can be found in fan-to-fan promotion.  Handing out demo CDs after shows, hiding flash drives in random places and placing download cards on cork boards can slowly gather a crowd, boost name recognition and establish a “brand” of fans that acquire the music and take a personal stake in promoting an artist.  These are the same fans that wear artist shirts, talk about music with their friends and record cover songs.  Having an established fan base would definitely make an artist more palatable to a label which has its pick of artists that it could sign.  Demos are still useful for cultivating this relationship.

In terms of making an artist visible to a label, for the past ten or so years, the answer has been MySpace; it has become a cliché.  Many artists create pages on the site before they even write a single song.  Many people still consider MySpace to be a music destination, but today this mostly applies for artists looking to maintain a fan base, not establish or grow one.  MySpace as a tool to connect artists with A&R scouts has become largely ineffective for several reasons.  First, because of the “Garageband Era” of music, the sheer number of artists on MySpace make the site ineffective for music discovery.  Also, there are many artist profiles without a single song in the music player, yet they may have thousands of friends and pages of pictures.  In addition, many artists choose to promote by spamming the comments of more popular artists hoping for a click through.  Some include a flash player in their comments to override the artist’s own player.  The number of active users on MySpace is also declining compared to other social networking sites and MySpace has been slow to make changes in response to the decline, especially in regards to artist profiles. Colbie Caillat and Owl City may have found fame through plays and friends, but the time of MySpace for artist discovery has largely passed.

"Twitter is not the future of digital A&R - yet."

The emergence of Twitter in the last couple years has led to speculation about the possibilities of artist discovery through the service.  I recommend reading Twitter Power 2.0: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a TimeWithout native audio, video and photo sharing capabilities, Twitter is not the future of digital A&R - yet.  It most certainly could be, but as is the service has the most use in growing and maintaining artist-to-fan and fan-to-fan relations.  Fans could use Twitter to spread the word about the great artist they just heard.  Trending topics could be spurred by a lyrical meme.  The service is still in its infancy as an artist discovery engine though.  It runs the risk of becoming a marginal player in artist discovery unless the service adds more features for artists to connect with fans and, ultimately, labels.

With MySpace largely being left behind and Twitter still part of an undecided future, digital A&R should look towards video.  In a sense, they are already there, but it has yet to be fully embraced.  YouTube, the popular video sharing site owned by Google, is the best artist discovery medium available for the Garageband Era.  A&R departments need to pay closer attention to YouTube.  It should not be a mere part of an A&R or marketing strategy, but a central component.  Of course, this does not just apply for discovering artists, but also for promoting their debuts and extending their careers.
Justin Bieber has probably been the best example of YouTube being used for artist discovery, albeit unintentionally.  Justin’s mother posted videos of her thirteen year old’s singing on YouTube.  Island Def Jam scout Scooter Braun was doing research on another artist when he accidentally clicked on one of Justin’s videos.  He tracked the young Canadian down and got him an audition with Usher and later with L.A. Reid.  He later was signed to Island.  Bieber has continued to embrace the service that enabled his discovery.  His video for ‘Baby’ is the most viewed music video on YouTube of all time and many of his early videos - including the one seen by Scooter Braun - have enormous amounts of views, which further serve to promote his career.

The way Bieber was discovered is the way many users discover videos on YouTube - by accident.  On YouTube, users go searching for one thing but may end up seeing another, related video - even if the relation is only that other users also accidentally clicked on the same thing.  Of course, not all videos on YouTube are clicked on by accident.  For some, it’s curiosity.

"In the case of Susan Boyle, curiosity drove popularity."

In the case of Susan Boyle, curiosity drove popularity.  A video of spinster Boyle performing on Britain’s Got Talent in the UK slowly gathered views and others clicked because of the growing views.  YouTube allowed Boyle to establish a fan base in the United States, an entire ocean away from where Britain’s Got Talent aired.  She went on to sell four million albums in the US, an astonishing number in the Garageband Era.  Boyle’s fan base is much different from the tween fan base that Bieber has gathered, which shows that YouTube connects with younger and older audiences alike.  A&R in the digital age should look towards YouTube to find these artists and connect them with audiences regardless of what demographic is desired.

YouTube: An Insider's Guide to Climbing the Charts 

The power of YouTube also reinforces the best way that artists and A&R scouts can connect to each other - live performances.  Not just okay live performances either, but highly tuneful and well rehearsed performances that show that artists are ready for the big time.  Search for Tyler Ward, Julia Nunes, Emily Elbert or James Dupre.  YouTube allows A&R departments to see videos of these performances from their offices and to see the potential in an artist.  A demo CD, a MySpace URL or a tweet offers little in comparison.  YouTube is essentially the new demo tape.  A&R departments should realize the power of YouTube for artist discovery and promotion, instead of just using it as a place to host music videos.  It is the Garageband Era’s central artist discovery medium and, along with live performances, the best way for labels to discover and assess an artist’s viability.

Why You MUST Create Your Brand If You Want To Build A Successful Digital Career

It still makes me want to cry at night to see so many people trying to establish their online career, while missing out on the essential:

You are a brand, whether you like or not.

The question you should ask yourself:

Am I creating a bland brand that’s forgettable, or am I creating an unforgettable killer epic personal brand that shines brighter than a thousand suns ?

This is a bit of the top, but if you treat your online presence like a brand, you have many advantages :

• You have a crystal-clear vision

Most people are confused. They really are. When they start their building their online presence, they have no clue what their core message is. What do they stand for ? What’s they unique story ? If they don’t know, then the readers and clients don’t know, and that means hasta la vista digital career.

Every good brand has a mission or a story that’s worth talking about.
They know what they stand for, which makes it easy to create rabid fans and blazing hot business opportunities.

• You own a great digital presence

Well-created brands have a stronger presence. It’s not my opinion, it’s fact. Those peeps and companies get talked about…everywhere. Fans are spreading their message via tweets, Facebook-shares and articles.
You know how you call that ?
Free mass marketing.
All You Need to Know About the Music Business: Seventh Edition

• You stand out from the crowd

There’s a word that every average entrepreneur fears: competition.
If you are like everyone else, you have to compete against everyone else.
And if you happen to be in a popular niche, you can imagine the nightmare you have to go through. You against the rest of the world. Well, good luck with that.

But if you are an incredible brand, you have way better chances.
You are easy recognizable. People remember you. There may be thousand others in your niche, but that doesn’t matter.They fade away by the shiny rays that emit from your unique brand.

• You can charge…Way more

I can see the dollar signs shining in your eyes already, but it’s true: cool brands can charge more. Way more.
How many internet marketers are out there that teach you how to sell more stuff online ? Thousands. How many launch coaches are out there ? Mmm, I can give you one: Dave Navarro  .
This guy is kicking digital ass on every level.
Why ? Because he built himself a killer brand, and found ways to make himself stand out in an over-crowded niche.
He has a short sharable story. His design is unique. He’s networking with influencers. He’s producing killer content flavored with a take-no-prisoner style. He’s helping people get what they want.
In short – he’s a Gorilla sized digital brand, which allows him to charge 250$ for a consulting hour. Nice one.

• You enjoy stellar options in dark times

Your money is super-tight, but you need either a kick-ass ebook or consulting ? Whom will you bless with your green gold  –  the cookie-cutter what’s-his/her-name-again or the maverick of his niche ?
The answer is clear like the smile of the Buddha. You go for the best branded person – the one people know and trust. Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook: 201 Self-Promotion Ideas for Songwriters, Musicians and Bands on a Budget (Revised & Updated)

• You have access to magical opportunities

My brand is getting more popular – I get featured on lists  , make interviews and enjoy creative project offers in my inbox. That’s white magic, right there !
Now, I’m not saying that to brag (maybe a little), but to show you the epicness that happens when you spread your digital influence.
I’m still at the beginning of my journey, but I get so many opportunities every week my brain barely keeps up with it. The same can happen to YOU !

A cool brand commands more influence, and that results in people wanting to work with you. The possibilities are endless – you can get more clients, build joint ventures and/or receive job opportunities etc.
Space’s the limits here.

Conclusion…Super Tabbin Duper !
Seriously, I could give you a trillion more reasons why it’s essential to build your brand, but those are the major ones. Crafting your online brand is ass-kicking on every dimension.

If you haven’t start branding yourself digitally, you need to do 2 things right now:

1) Slap yourself in the face
2) Start one thing today that will spread your influence, like reading this blog ;)

What do you do for your personal brand online ? How do you spread your influence every single day ?
 What They'll Never Tell You About the Music Business: The Myths, the Secrets, the Lies (& a Few Truths)


Mr. Dangerfield is an I.A.P.D.A Certified Debt Specialist whom has worked in the finance industry for over a decade. He manages www.beingbrokesuckstoday.com , is the author of "A Dangerfield Manifesto" & co-founder of SMG Holdings, the parent company of Squad Music Group, Dangerfield Artistic Entertainment,SMG Publishing and Taboo Dangerfield Publishing Follow me on twitter

Do Children Really Cause Financial Burdens?

I was recently browsing a comment thread on Lifehacker when one particular comment stood out to me:

Having kids is one of the most expensive poverty-inducing things you can do right now. – kalibar

I understand completely where kalibar is coming from with this comment. Many estimates with regards to the cost of raising a child put that figure at $200,000-$250,000 per child over their lifetime – and that’s a serious chunk of change.

When I read these estimates, however, and I look at our own spending, something doesn’t quite add up. To put it simply, we’re not spending that much, even during these expensive years of the child’s life.

Let’s break down what we’re spending right now on our children.

The biggest expense by far for your children will be child care while we you are working. Combined, we spent about $11,000 on child care for  two children in a  year. After that, costs went down quickly – I estimate that all other expenses combined (food, health care, toys, clothing, and so on) would be roughly $7,000 for both children combined. Add onto that $1,200 per child put away for their college education (and I’ll ignore the tax benefits of this, as we don’t have to pay state taxes on contributions) and you have a total of $20,400 spent on both children  in a  year – or $10,200 per child.America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money: Your Guide to Living Better, Spending Less, and Cashing in on Your Dreams

So, if those costs continued as they are over the next eighteen years, we would spend $183,600 per child during their childhood – not too far from those estimates.

But that $183,600 total is extremely naive.

Let’s look at several elements that will save us money during our children’s lives.

First, $6,000 of that $10,200 is tax deductible. It’s the child care tax credit, and it knocks roughly $1,800 (assuming a 30% overall tax rate) off of our total tax bill – or $900 per child. So, boom, we’re quickly down to $9,300 per child.



Second, we now have two more deductions on our tax returns. At $3,750 a pop,  two children shave $7,500 off of your taxable income. Assuming that same 30% tax rate, we quickly shave $2,250 off of our tax bill, so we’re down to $7,050 per child.


Third, the mere presence of the children changes your entertainment structure. When my son came to live with me, instead of going out to the club with my friends, I became much more content to toss the football around in the park with my son. Instead of going out to the movies three times a week on dates (as was once the case), I stayed home, watched movies in the living room, and play with my son while doing it. Instead of eating out all the time, I would cook a meal at home, and serve her some of that delicious home-cooked food. In recent years me and my son would cook together.

In short, both my entertainment and food budgets went way down upon the birth of my child. I knew this change would happen – it was part of our decision-making process when it came to deciding whether to have my son live with me. I knew that many of the trivial aspects of our life would change. I chose to give up most of my social opportunities and entertainment opportunities in exchange for being able to raise a child in an enriching environment.

So how much did this number crunching actually save me? This is something that’s very difficult for me to estimate, as I didn’t actually do any sort of budgeting or number-crunching during the year prior to my son being born. However, based on what I can estimate from thee year before he came to live with me, I cut my entertainment and food spending (from 2004 to 2009) by $6,500 a year. Now if we use the examples of two children of earlier that’s a drop of $3,250 per child, bringing our per-child expenses down to $3,800 per child.Tax Planning Strategies: Tax Savings Opportunities for Individuals and Families

So, let’s use that for the first five years of the child’s life – $3,800 per kid. After that, you lose almost all of the child care costs – but you also lose your $900 tax deduction – a total reduction in cost of $4,200. What’s that? During the sixth year, our total child cost is actually a gain of $400!!

Obviously, as the child grows, you will begin to accrue more non-child-care expenses for them: education costs, growing entertainment costs, and so on. I’ll actually increase our expense per child at $500 per year after age six.

So, for the first five years, we spend $3,800 a year. At year six, we actually gain $400. Each year after that, you spend $500 more per child than the year before, culminating with an overall after-tax and after-savings cost of $5,600 during their eighteenth year.

What does that total up to? $52,800.

Now, you might quibble with my “back of the envelope” calculations described above and inflate some of the costs. You might even be able to double my estimated expenses by skewing the numbers around.
That doesn’t change the underlying point, however. Children aren’t the enormous expense that they’re made out to be. I’m not claiming that they’re not expensive – not at all. Instead, I’m saying that the quoted expenses bandied about – $200,000 to $250,000 over the child’s lifetime – looks only at expenses. It does not look at some of the savings that will come your way naturally during the child-rearing process, nor does it take into account the tax benefits of children.

What’s the take-home lesson here? Don’t be scared into not having children – or delaying having children for years – by the huge costs bandied about. Those costs only look at the “expense” part of the equation and don’t include the many ways that you actually save money once a child enters your life. For example, a single child, merely by existing, will save you thousands and thousands of dollars on your tax bill over their life.
Start Your Family: Inspiration for Having Babies

So, do children cause financial burdens? Yes, they do – you’re going to be spending money on them. However, that expense is not as large as one might think at first glance, and when you consider the advantages of having children when you’re younger rather than when you’re older (if nothing else, you have much more energy to share with them), you shouldn’t choose to delay children without looking at the larger picture.


Mr. Dangerfield is an I.A.P.D.A Certified Debt Specialist whom has worked in the finance industry for over a decade. He manages www.beingbrokesuckstoday.com , is the author of "A Dangerfield Manifesto" & co-founder of SMG Holdings, the parent company of Squad Music Group, Dangerfield Artistic Entertainment,SMG Publishing and Taboo Dangerfield Publishing Follow me on twitter

Finding New Challenges (and Saving)

I've always been on the lookout for new challenges...

Reading For a long time (about two years), I got in a rut of reading very generic biographies and credit law books. I would go to the bookstore, pick out two or three, and blow through them in a week, enjoying the rush but completely forgetting about them within three days after finishing.

This routine was fairly expensive. The books I was reading were in mass market paperback, so I could pick them up for $7 each, but the cost of three of them a week was $20. That’s $1,040 a year.

I decided to focus on reading some fiction that would make me think about the world and stick with me longer, so I adopted a list of Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction as a reading list. The problem was that when I first went to the bookstore to find early entrants on the list, they were unavailable. I eventually turned to my local library (and to PaperBackSwap) to read the books – and the cost of reading went down with this new challenge.

Gaming For several years, I was a heavy player of Sid Meirs' Civilization IV, a strategy game which has numerous awards.My cousin also played, but not as competitively. It can be addictively fun to play, but in order to keep playing and acquire add on civilization to upgrade the gameplay, a player has to purchase new software and upgrades. This can really add up if you’re not careful, to the tune of hundreds of dollars a year.
At some point, I began to realize that the person I most enjoyed playing with was my cousin and that we really enjoyed playing with a mix of older and games. This led me to discover a new way of playing which didn’t require me to buy new software at all. Instead, we would just continue to play over and over again with software I already own, removing the expensive collectible nature without removing the aspects that make the game fun. That’s a big chunk of savings right there.


What’s the point of these two stories? In each case, I had a hobby that required a significant amount of upkeep cost to keep the hobby going – new books, new software, and  starts. In each case, by seeking out new challenges within that hobby, I took a serious whack at those ongoing upkeep costs, and yet I’m still deeply enjoying those hobbies.

If you have a hobby that has a significant upkeep cost, ask yourself if there isn’t a better way of doing things. Is there a new challenge or a new angle you can take on that hobby? Do you really need new equipment all the time, or is there a way to reuse what you have?

Research is your friend. Visit websites where others practice the hobby you enjoy. Ask them for ideas on how to save money on the upkeep costs. Look for specific ways of enjoying your hobby that minimize those upkeep costs – particularly those that provide you with a new challenge.
After I finish writing this post, I’m going to retreat to the basement and practice my piano playing on an old keyboard using sheet music given to me by an ex-piano teacher – and I’ll enjoy it greatly.
Johnny Fresh Fallen 4 U

Mr. Dangerfield is an I.A.P.D.A Certified Debt Specialist whom has worked in the finance industry for over a decade. He manages www.beingbrokesuckstoday.com , is the author of "A Dangerfield Manifesto" & co-founder of SMG Holdings, the parent company of Squad Music Group, Dangerfield Artistic Entertainment,SMG Publishing and Taboo Dangerfield Publishing Follow me on twitter

The Big Problem with Money Courses

Many financial “gurus” are in the seminar, coaching, and classwork business. They come up with course materials and attempt to sell them at a very high price to individuals who are scared for their financial future.
Some of these coaching programs are reputable ones. Many of them are not. Almost every week, I receive an email or a note from someone telling me about how these courses have made their life worse. 

Here’s one such story, from Ann (with specific references edited out, because I’m not interested in a specific libel war):

I take responsibility for the mistake I made in signing up for the coaching program, after expressing interest in [his] programs on his website. I was vulnerable after the death of my mother and wanted some guidance in dealing with a small inheritance.
The more I engaged with the various people at [that organization], the more I felt I’d been completely scammed. Overpriced, simplistic e-courses, coaching that is nothing but more sales pitches, shady business practices … you name it.
In the end, at least it woke me up and I took back some power by insisting that they give me my money back. I did eventually get most of it back, though still feel ripped off. These guys employ the worst business practices I’ve ever seen in my life. Refusing to respond to phone calls. No refunds after 3 days after enrolling, when how could you possibly know the program would be like at that point? Any reputable business is happy to keep their customers happy. Talking to these guys was surreal.
Through this experience, I lost every ounce of respect I had for [that person]. It truly was simply a scam. [...]
Like I said, I know it was my responsibility that I made the mistake of getting into the stupid program. It’s just horrible to see how these people prey on vulnerable types. They literally refused to provide me with a breakdown of the costs for the program components. What they were pro-rating me broke down to something truly outrageous like several hundred dollars an hour for coaching. A total scam.
For anyone who fell for the sales pitch, go after your money! I stood up to them and it did work. It also helped that I disputed the charges to them on my credit card, based on the fact that I didn’t receive the product I was sold. This did work.

This happens with an uncomfortably large number of personal finance courses out there. I have heard many, many horror stories that match Ann’s or worse, including people who have dumped (literally) tens of thousands of dollars into coaching and classwork only to find themselves worse off than they were before.

What’s the reason for this? Quite simply, such programs are sold as having all of the answers you need – but they don’t provide answers that you don’t already have. The material that makes up almost all of these seminar and coursework programs is information that you can gather on your own on the internet or from your local library. They’re just packaged together well.

The biggest thing that such courses provide that you can’t always find elsewhere is cheerleading.

They take ideas that are already out there – like spending less than you earn, avoiding debt, and so on – and couple them with a strong “you can do it” attitude. Many of them also include some one-on-one coaching.
For some people, that’s really helpful. For many people, though, that same coaching benefit is available on blogs like Being Broke Sucks for free My  mailbag, for example, is the equivalent of someone standing up at a seminar, telling their problem, and having the people in the room talk about it.

My simple advice is this: never, ever invest in a course or a coaching system where it’s not absolutely clear in writing what you will gain from that course or coaching system. Make sure that you’re actually gaining something far beyond what you already have access to for free (or minimal cost) via sites like The Simple Dollar or the books at your local library.

If you want additional help or are interested in camaraderie, try to find a money buddy in your life or see if there are any personal finance groups at your local library or your local community center.

The route to personal finance success is not found by dropping hundreds or thousands of dollars on classes and coaches. It’s found from a desire for change inside of you and a willingness to step up to the plate and make changes in your own life. Spending thousands won’t give you that, and the exact things you need to do to actually make financial success happen can be found for free or very low cost elsewhere. That money spent on coursework is money that could be better used putting your financial life together.

Yes, there are good courses out there that help people, just as there are some sharks in the water. Even with the good courses, though, there’s a lot of expense for the coaching and coursework and, at the same time, a lot of opportunity to do it yourself.Strategies to help you Get Out of Debt and Rebuild your Credit, Show Me How Videos

Telling you this is literally costing me thousands of dollars. I’ve been asked to be an “affiliate” for many such courses, where I get paid a chunk of the money earned in order to convince people to take such courses, and I’ve even sat in on a few and read the materials from several of them. I won’t do it for one simple reason – I don’t talk about things on here that I myself wouldn’t use. And, to put it simply, I never have and will not use money courses until I’ve exhausted every resource available online or at my local library.

Mr. Dangerfield is an I.A.P.D.A Certified Debt Specialist whom has worked in the finance industry for over a decade. He manages www.beingbrokesuckstoday.com , is the author of "A Dangerfield Manifesto" & co-founder of SMG Holdings, the parent company of Squad Music Group, Dangerfield Artistic Entertainment,SMG Publishing and Taboo Dangerfield Publishing Follow me on twitter

Will Your CD Be a priority At a Record Label (Assuming They Sign You?)

Are You Obsessed? 
 
Since so many of you are still obsessed with the idea that signing a recording contract with a Major Label is the be-all and end-all, I am going to let you in on some facts about what can make a record a priority at a Label or NOT.All You Need to Know About the Music Business: Seventh Edition


Ready, set, go....


Major labels often find that they over-extend themselves by signing too many acts within a short period of time, and scheduling too many releases to come out at the same time.

So, when the label honchos discuss which scheduled records have the best chance of success in the marketplace, they may simply push a release back six months to a year.


 
There's No Guarantee
Unfortunately, depending on an act's actual contract, there may be no guarantees that a label has to ever release a record they recorded by one of their acts.

Another situation is this. If a label signs an act because they play a genre of music that is currently hot on the charts, but the negotiations for signing the deal or the recording process took too much time, they may have missed their opportunity to cash in on a current popular music trend. Realizing that, they may decide not to make the record a priority release but to sit on it and wait to see if another time of year would be more opportune for releasing the record.


To complicate matters even more, a label executive may sign an act only to stop a competing record label executive from signing them. When the record is released, any interest in promoting it takes second place to the executive's personal satisfaction of having one-upped a competitor—and the act is left out in the cold. The Real Deal: How to Get Signed to a Record Label from A to Z


But the ego issue can also work positively for a recording artist. An artist may have a manager who also manages another act that is currently hot. The label executive may sign the lesser known artist with hopes of getting the manager to sign the other band to their label some day.


So, when the record of the lesser-known artist comes out, the label executive may pull out all the stops, to show the manager what a great job the label can do. If the label shows it can do a good job with a newer artist on that manager's roster, perhaps the manager will send one of his established stars over to the label when the existing recording contract with the established artist runs out.


And Then There Were Four (Check That, Three?)
Here's another reason why a record might become a priority at a label. We're constantly hearing about labels reducing their staff with every new merger or corporate buyout. Many major labels are merging with other large labels and increasing the workload for the remaining staff.

A decade ago there were six major labels, and today we're down to four. Recently it looks like EMI is in big financial trouble (again) and that may mean that sometime in 2010 we will be down to only 3 Major Labels.

Another issue is this: it can be important for a label executive to demonstrate to the shareholders of their corporation and the staff at the label that the downsizing issue isn't a concern. A particular act's new release is given a stronger push to impress all concerned parties. There's a flip side, however. When downsizing occurs, an artist's record may be shifted to a different priority level.


Key personnel who were excited about and instrumental in "breaking" a new label act may be fired or asked to take early retirement. When it comes time to release the new record, a different person may be assigned to work the act; someone who may not care much about or even like the music of the artist they supposedly should be working hard for. Will that record remain a priority? There are no guarantees that the new employee will be excited about the act's music. They may have their own pet projects to put ahead of any previous arrangements.


 
"Bidding Wars?"
 
"Bidding wars" also affect priority status. Bidding wars occur when a new band is the hot topic of the industry grapevine. One label makes an offer to sign the artist or band, another label hears about it and ups the bid, a third label offers even more money. The winner of this bidding war will probably be forced to make that act's initial release a priority. The label will need a sizable return in sales-dollars from the new band's recording to recoup their large investment.  

Interestingly, as of this writing, no band or act signed from any bidding war has ever gone on to major stardom.



 
Music Trends
 
Music trends come and go. In the early and mid '90s grunge came and went. What followed in the late '90s were young boy vocal-groups, and blond ingenue solo-artists. Today R&B, hip-hop, and rap acts have become more mainstream than ever, as have some high-end solo acts. The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution (Berklee Press)

When a hot new music style comes on the scene, any act that's signed to take advantage of a new popular music trend will usually become a priority at the record label that signed them.

By the way, new releases by superstar acts are usually automatic priority records because of their star status, and the simple fact that they potentially sell a lot of product consistently. But this issue has changed considerably in the last decade, where we see FAR FEWER major hit records than anytime within my memory.

So, take heed.

Many people think signing a recording contract with a record label means automatic stardom. That's not the case.

You'd do well to research a label's track record and reputation for making their releases priorities before signing a recording contract with any label.

These issues I have gone through have come up often enough to contribute to a change in the attitude many musicians have toward working with record labels.


This is why you hear me harping over and over that in the last three decades more and more musicians have taken charge of their own business careers. The list of artists and bands releasing their own records and marketing them themselves grows longer every day.

 




Mr. Dangerfield is an I.A.P.D.A Certified Debt Specialist whom has worked in the finance industry for over a decade. He manages www.beingbrokesuckstoday.com and is the author of "A Dangerfield Manifesto" and co-founder of SMG Holdings, the parent company of Squad Music Group, Dangerfield Artistic Entertainment SMG Publishing and Taboo Dangerfield Publishing Follow me on twitter