Month 1-Executive Leadership

I'll admit I was nervous at the start of this program. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if I had what it took to succeed in the program, especially since it's an online program. I don't have anyone actually teaching me the material so I have to learn it on my own. How much I get out of the program depends on how much effort I put into it.

In this class, I learned the basic principles of what it takes to be a leader. As a part of our Leadership Portfolio, we were asked to do an evaluation of our leadership skills. Prior to this class, I never really understood leadership because I had never been in the role. In doing the assessment, I found that there were a lot of areas that needed improvement. Some of those areas were my problem-solving skills, vision, and attitude. Over the course of the program, I feel that I have improved in these areas whether it was through work or outside school activities. I have applied my newfound outlook to work, school, and other aspects of my life.

Month 2- Project and Team Management

This class was a lot of work but it taught me a lot. There was a big project that we had to work on. It was also a team project. There was a celebrity golf charity event going on. We had different areas of the event that we could focus on. Since everyone in our group had an interest in television, we figured the closest thing to that would be developing marketing for the event with television/radio spots. We had to put an actual plan together on how we would market the event which included how much everything would cost, what the advertisements would include, and who was doing what. It almost felt as though I was actually writing a business plan. I've worked with groups in previous classes, but this experience was different. It felt more like a business arrangement than a class assignment for me. I felt like everything had to be perfect because it was something that we were really going to be doing. We had a few disagreements but we were about to work through them to create a wonderful project.

Month 3- Business Storytelling and Brand Development

This was a really interesting class. One of our first assignments was to record a video where we talked about the most significant thing that happened to us. I chose to talk about how learning how to ride a bike changed my life. It taught me to keep trying if I don't succeed at something. We also had many projects that helped us develop the brand for our company. We had to do a Brand Profile which I think was our Leadership Portfolio for this class. We had to analyze the name of our company. I had been struggling with many different names but once I sat down and thought about what our company was really about it wasn't hard to come up with the perfect name. We had to develop a culture for our company. This class really helped when putting my business plan together. It helped me to narrow down what our company was about so that I could focus on that for the rest of the program.

Month 4- Entertainment Business Finance

This class was all about developing financial decision-making skills to aid in the financial decisions that businesses face. We not only learned about business finances but also about personal finances. Our Leadership Portfolio for this class was to interview someone on either commercial banking, investment, or personal finances. I chose to interview someone at Bank of America on commercial banking. I've had a bank account for 6 years but never really knew anything about it. There are many different kind of accounts that cater to specific needs. In making an account for your business or picking the kind of loan you want, it's important to read everything that the particular account encompasses. This avoids any misunderstandings in the future.

Month 5- Negotiation and Deal Making

I was taught in this class how to be a strong negotiator and deal-maker. We were even given an activity that allowed us to polish our skills. We played the roles of either an actor, producer, artist, or manager. Each party had to negotiate in order to get what they wanted. I learned how to compromise with this exercise. You're not always going to get exactly what you want, but you should be satisfied with getting whatever you can. For my Leadership Portfolio, I interviewed a family friend who happens to be a negotiator. It wasn't something that she always wanted to do. While the government was furloughed, she saw an ad about a negotiation seminar and decided to give it a try and she ended up loving it. She's still doing it 15 plus years later. The things I learned in this class will not only help me with my career but also in my personal life. I may not always get my way 100% of the time but I have to be satisfied with what I do get. I have to remember that the person on the other side also has something that they are trying to get out of the negotiation.

Month 6- Product and Artist Management

This was probably my favorite class in the program. Although it is not my career goal to be an artist manager, I feel like I gained information and skills that would help me if I did decide to do something like that. We had to do a project where we picked a celebrity and created a product that they would endorse. The first celebrity that popped in my head was Trey Songz. I love his music and he's a good looking guy. He also has a lot of sex appeal and makes women want to strip down to their undergarments so I felt that having a lingerie line would be appropriate for him. I made it sound really convincing and even got an A on the project.

Our Leadership Portfolio asked us to interview someone that made their living as an artist manager. After doing some research, I chose NRG Theory which is located in Baltimore, Maryland. I never knew how much went into managing an artist. You are responsible for everything they do. You have to arrange appearances for them and help promote their career. That's a lot and I don't know how some people are able to manage more than one artist. I guess after you've been doing it awhile it's a piece of cake.

Month 7- Advanced Entertainment Law

In Advanced Entertainment Law, we learned how to assess the many liabilities that our companies may face and also how to protect our intellectual property. Some intellectual property may include different trademarks that our companies acquire. For our Leadership Portfolio, we had to option of either talking with an entertainment attorney about their experiences or viewing different podcasts that relate to business liabilities that our business could face. I chose the second option. I'm doing an entertainment company for teenagers and one of our products is a magazine so there is a lot that can go wrong with that. Some of those liabilities include plagiarism, trademark infringement, and libel/slander. This class taught me that you can never be too careful when it comes to protecting your business. Your company name, logo, and slogan (if applicable) should be copyrighted. But before you try to copyright it, make sure that it doesn't conflict with something else that is copyrighted because you could have a lawsuit on your hands.

Month 8- Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution

This class taught us how to research and locate appropriate agents to shop our content to whether it's songs or films. We drafted a query letter to a publishing agency as if we were trying to gain their support. We also had to make a press kit that we would send to potential distributors or publishers. For our Leadership Portfolio, we had to discuss our products and how we would self-publish them. Self-publishing can be good for someone that is tight on money or prefers to have more control over their product. Self-publishing companies also offer different services that help you market your product as well.

During this time, I also received a promotion at work. I became a cashier supervisor. I know it doesn't sound very exciting, but I took on more responsibilities in this new position. I was responsible for training new cashiers and pretty much keeping the register area clean.

Month 9- Digital Marketing

This class brought something new to my attention: the ability to market your company through the world wide web. Usually when you think marketing, you think signs and billboards. There are other ways to market a company too. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are great ways to do that. Our Leadership Portfolio for this month was a wiki-style web page contribution to our class Google site. We had to pick the top 3 companies in the particular industry that we wanted to work in. We had to describe the weaknesses and strengths of each company. It was pretty much a comparison of each company. The purpose of this assignment (from my point of view) was getting to know the industries that we want to work in. It was also about getting to know the audience of particular companies. Knowing who shows an interest in companies helps you better market them. It wouldn't make sense for Viacom to use Twitter to market if it's clear that the people who have an interest in the company have no interest in Twitter.

Month 10- Mobile Marketing and Commerce

With the way technology is advancing, mobile marketing is becoming more of a norm. People are always carrying mobile devices around with them so why not use mobile devices to get the word out about your company/business. The Leadership Portfolio for this class asked us to survey different people about their cell phone usage. Some of the questions were "Do you still use a home phone?", "What do you primarily use your mobile device for?", "How do you feel about mobile advertising?", and "What games do you play on your cell phone?". I was surprised at the answers I got. I always thought that people around my age preferred text messaging over actually phone conversations. I found that was not the case with one of my survey participants. She said that she primarily uses her phone to make actual phone calls instead of sending texts. I also thought that older people (40 and up) didn't really use their cell phones for anything besides making a phone call. I interviewed my 40-something year old aunt and she uses her cell phone to text, get on Facebook, and check her email. By doing this survey, I realized that age was not as important to mobile marketing as I had thought. You can't really tailor your mobile marketing towards a certain age group because you'll be missing out on other age groups that prefer that kind of mobile marketing as well.

During this class, I attended a Media Job Fair that was sponsored by Women in Film and Video here in D.C. There were many local TV stations and production companies there. I had a chance to talk with some of the representatives. No one had a position that would fit my lack of experience. I was a little discouraged at first, but I just know that somewhere down the line I will get the chance to get my feet wet in the entertainment industry.

Month 11- Business Plan Development

My time with Full Sail University is winding down. This month, I'll be putting together my business plan. As I was going through the program, I always wondered how that worked. I thought we would have to put our whole business plan together as an assignment that was due at the end of the month. Thank God I was wrong. I really enjoyed the fact that things were broken down into sections. This makes putting the final plan together much easier.

For the Leadership Portfolio for this class, we have to write about what experts thought about the importance of business plans. The main thing I learned from this is the importance of researching. You could have the world's greatest idea for a business, but if you don't have the supporting data then investors might not support you. Another thing I found interesting was the fact that one of the experts mentioned the term "ego business". This is pretty much someone who creates a business just to satisfy their ego, not because there is a need or a chance that people will have interest in it.

During this time, I had to privilege of attending a seminar entitled "Starting Your Own Production Company- A Primer". It was held at Future Media Concepts in Washington, DC. Since starting this program, it's something that I've considered. Who says I have to work for someone else? Why can't I be my own boss? I'll take the things that I learned from the panelists and apply it to myself if I ever decide to start my own production company.

I Can't Believe I'm About To Have A Master's Degree!

This is it!

The time has finally come for me to put together everything I've learned over the last year into a well-written document, better known as my business plan. This year wasn't easy, but it was well worth it. I learned a lot about the industry I plan to work in and I also learned a lot about myself. I didn't think I would be able to balance work and school, but I did. I couldn't have done it without the support of my family and friends.

During this last month, I had to opportunity to volunteer for the Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore. It was a really unique experience for me. I had always heard about the festival, but never took the time to attend one. I'm really glad I signed up to volunteer. I felt like I was a part of history or something.

I want to thank all of my teachers for giving me some really valuable information. This program has opened my eyes to the possibility of more career options for me. I don't have to just aspire to be a television producer. I can work in marketing as well. I have in-class training in things that I probably wouldn't have gotten otherwise. The sky is the limit now. I just hope that I am able to put my new skills to use.

Thank you Full Sail