Digital Dish

Let me just say this: TV business is very difficult!

It’s not like Internet business, where a Word Press pro blog can be turned into a red-hot digital property or shooting a Web show can take nothing more than you holding a camera.

No, TV business is this crazy, nebulous, sort of dark water that you wade through slowly while avoiding sharks and other sea creatures.

I am not sure how others come up in the market or learn the ropes, but my journey on this has been challenging, to say the least.

Not long ago at dinner, an exec at a major online distribution platform said that Digital Dish seemed “dark” for a while there.

I want to hide when I learned it was that obvious! But, as someone once said to me (and as has been since repeated many times since), creating a television show is a lot like pushing a rock up a hill, and the rock gets bigger and bigger the higher you get.

I spent the first five months in the industry relying on the traditional way of doing business. About three months ago, I made a switch. Since then, I have personally met with every network I’ve wanted to but three. Some have invited us back to give them a first look at anything new we’re working on, and my company 9 has just taken on its first show to be packaged.

I feel a lot better.

It hasn’t stemmed solely from my efforts of course! Anybody in TV will be the first to say it takes a village. But what I have found was the right combination for myself, a creator. It includes co-creators and production partners with the same kind of work style and energy that I have, alliances in the industry that let me ask questions and, most of all, an understanding of the formula that works best for what I do in the market.

That’s not to say that some of this stuff wasn’t in place all along. It just took me time to find the right fit for doing things. Now that I’m here, it feels like a normal, everyday type of business.

It’s still a challenge! But things seem to flow and work much better.

The concepts I’ve co-created are garnering real interest. I know that the chance of selling one of these first few ideas is slim, but I don’t mind. Part of the work you do as an entrepreneur is building your offerings in the market. I feel at long last content for the first time in a year.

Have I finally found a happy place and where I belong in the business? I hope so.

It’s still hard work, without question. We have gotten every meeting in the industry ourselves and it has meant quite a bit of work. Though we know a few agents and have asked for advice here and there, we haven’t reached out or engaged with any firms for representation yet.

Sometimes people ask me how we were able to get in the door of so many places without this. The answer is kind of funny but true: We simply asked.

Fingers crossed that things continue to move along. You’re a tough cookie, Hollywood, but I think I’m once again smitten!