Smaller film companies need to raise capital

You really can't point at a smaller company and question why they are not bigger and why they are not rolling in $$.  Yes, it takes money to make money, and yes it is possible to get investors or a loan, but you have to realize that there are several other components that bring a business up.  Money makes things easier, but we have all seen companies with shit tons of capital fail because they don't make wise decisions.  A business needs time, experience, and appropriate funding to grow.  Another thing to remember is that even though the owners of small businesses would like to channel all there time towards their business, its not always possible.  Every member in my company is a full time college student, working a full time internship this summer, and studying for the gmat so we can get into grad school.  If I remember correctly, the kid who owns EC Headwear is in college too, I bet he is super busy.  If we could actually put time into Sick Stickz, it would probably be seeing quite a bit more growth than it has, but we simply don't have enough hours in the day to get all the work done.  I'm sure other companies have this same problem.  We all want to see our company blow up and make us rich, but its hard to find time to do it.  This example obviously doesn't apply to every small company, but the main point I am trying to push is that small companies don't try and be small, they want to be BIG but there are limitations holding them back.

Paul, they only take advantage of you because you bend over for them.

exactly, you can't just raise capital overnight. it takes some time.

Yes! this is exactly what I've been saying. Smaller companies only get walked over because they let themselves get walked over. If smaller companies handled themselves more like businesses, they'd do a lot better. And no, im not saying it's all about the money, but we can all agree that money helps any film company, and any film company always wants to improve and get better. Like he just said, contracts are key. You have to make sure you're getting what you need before they get what they need, not the other way around. If they're not willing to give you what you need, then just walk away.

As much as you might feel privileged to have a week named after you, you have to make sure you're getting taken care of before they get their benefits.

I'm not sure how everybody is doing it, but I think smaller companies need to approach sponsorships in a professional manner if they want to get something out of it. You can't just approach a company and ask for them to give you a travel budget just so you can make your movie and show some of their athletes and product. That really isn't much in return for them to be investing a couple grand on you. Web content is getting to be a massive market nowadays, and there's money to be made in it. Smaller companies need to approach possible sponsorships with a written plan, in hand, during a meeting in person if possible. This plan needs to show what the sponsor will be getting in return for their investment in your company. Like someone previously said, doing updates showcasing their athletes and other web content is a start.

People have been saying that it's not easy to get a sponsorship. I think one person said something like it's not easy to get sponsors to 'hand out money', or something to that effect. It's too late at night for me to go back and check right now though. But that's just the problem, the sponsor should never just be having to hand out money. It needs to be a mutual deal. Of course it would be hard to convince a sponsor to just give you money, in return for basically very little. Their athletes and products in a movie doesn't really help to brand their image. Specific web updates and content does.

The image of the sponsor, not of the film company. Obviously the movie is more important to the film company than web updates for their sponsors would be. Maybe that's the misunderstanding?

If not then you're telling me that when you see, for example, a recent level1 movie you think to yourself how sick all the jiberish gear was and how you want to get some; more so than when you watch the jiberish updates. Like, what form of media puts jiberish more in your head? Obviously the updates.

I don't get how what i said was such a face palm for you.

some of us actually have business degrees and have 9-5's!

hey fuck head:

I work in at a Global Wealth Management firm, with over 5 trillion dollars of assets. Bank of America, the Merrill Lynch division. ever heard of it? thought so.

Provide a LEGITIMATE and EXTREMELY DETAILED business plan to a loan officer with significant assets to put up as collateral and you have a loan. Nobody said that there wasn't risk involved, and putting up collateral in a loan is a large bet, no doubt. But if you are driven to make it happen, and are smart and get a fixed rate, along with some outside help (like a diversified film portfolio that isn't just skiing to raise funds and support, both financial and otherwise.) you can make it. It would take a full time effort (sickstickz, ps i love your poles), but it is definitely doable.

I want to clarify that this would only work for firms looking to expand their budget and film capacities. Some people like staying small, which is great in my opinion. That is niching your market in some instances. getting bigger or getting more sponsors doesn't necessarily mean you are selling out. Level one balnaces this extremely well, Berman's got a good head on his shoulders for sure.

oh a really good credit score helps too kiddies, that is very important to getting the loan officer to say yes

hahaha. "case in point"

What I've learned so far from the ski industry is that cash is scarce. Alot of kids grow up seeing "pro's" with sponsors and get a mindset that making it means that you get paid. This isn't the case most of the time. Film Companies, Ski Shops, Athletes, Photog's... Name your favorites and almost all of them are barely scraping by, with the little money they get coming from outside of freeskiing.

This is why companies like Autumn Garage and Jibij are going under. Why 4bi9 isn't shooting in Japan. Why LJ isn't getting paid... We are small and cheap. Here's the predicament: Low budgets need money, companies with enough cash to give don't need low budgets help anymore (so they think), and companies that would support don't really have the cash.

In reality it's all business, resorts like PC and Timberline don't give free handouts to skiers. They are there to make money. That's why I got a free pass and AJ didn't. It's bassackwards. Resorts don't base their sales strategies around hyping their resort to park rats. But they do care about pass sales. Although greedy, it makes sense. Want a free pass? Go sell 10. I hate it, but it's how it works. There's the proof that these companies care about the bottom line.

This is why it costs money to get film rights for premieres. Although PBP is getting "exposure" by having their movie screened in front of hundreds of kids, they don't ever "see" the results. They're not about to get taken for a ride; they want their money up front. It works full circle.

Back to the point: How are you supposed to make money doing what you love?

Take a look at what people before you have done and follow their lead.

Take a look at our film companies, they start out small and work until they get the brand they need to get the money they need from the right sponsors. It's lucrative and you won't get rich off it, but it's just another way to get by in the industry. I think what level 1 is doing is one of the coolest things you could do. They started small and have worked their way to being one of the biggest production houses in freeskiing (if not the biggest) and IMO have stayed core. But Berman really knows what he's doing. He's filmed for 10 years, graduated from Dartmouth, and studied film and photo. There's your proof that even if your the best, it's never easy to make it. Take a look at their sponsors and you'll get the idea.

The idea of a loan isn't a bad one, but I would steer it more towards a sponsorship type loan. Get the reputation, build a portfolio, show your variety, colelct proof of your sales, and create opportunities for companies to make money by giving you money. This is the key. They are out there to keep doing what they're doing, and they don't stay profitable by tossing money at every skiing company they see.

When you can prove to a sponsor that you will make them more money than they will pay you, you will start getting the skrilla you need.

Example:

 4bi9 will provide a big ol logo in so far so hood, will have a bonus segment in the movie, stickers for all their riders / recognition at competitions, webisode on NS with their name all over it, and an offer for future promo. along with proof of sales from last year/pre sales this year,  proof of brand recognition online, and web traffic on the site. in exchange, the corporation will provide 5k for travel budget.

People who don't understand will call it selling out, but it's how to get money into our industry and keep it going. We need to start marketing what we have, before we lose it.

couldn't agree more!

Classic.

Thank you to whoever bumped this thread, it's still probably the funniest one all summer.

do u honestly pense que a bunch of teens can simply walk into a bank and out avec a wad of money? maybe a year ago in america, but je highly doubt it is posible in todays money problems

combine ze languages

I think the problem is that resorts etc don't realise the effect that 4bi9 etc shredding at their mountain has. I know my choices of where to ski each winter is based upon how legit the park set-up looks in edits.

THIS

end thread, somebody hire this guy. + karma well done