back to zero

I was studying our status report today paying close attention to the shoot dates of the jobs bidding. Only one job December was left pending. All the other December projects were either in production, we lost to an inferior director or they just plain died. Everything else on the slate were scheduled to shoot in 2010. The lone remaining 2009 job triggered the start of my annual year end depression.

Every January we start from zero. It's like looking up from the base of a mountain. I know these peaks. I've climbed them many times before. They're wrought with obstacles and peril, challenges and thrills. Many are expected and some are not. Whatever setbacks or triumphs I experience I keep moving forward marching toward the end goal. Some climbs are better than others but I always get to the top. Once at the apex I get to look back on how far we've traveled. It's a beautiful view. A real sense of accomplishment but it lasts only for a fleeting moment. And then I realize, the slate has been wiped clean. We divvy up the rewards from the year long trek and its over. No time to waste we need to prepare for another climb. It's groundhog day and it's daunting. 

Do I have the energy to do it all over again? Is this the year it all slides downhill? Eventually I get over it. A couple jobs book in for January. It relieves the anxiety of thinking we just produced our last spot. I discover a renewed spirit and off we go into another year. 

This is the production company model in a nutshell. Eat what you kill. Some years are bigger feasts than others but if you manage your business well they'll be food left on the table, even this year.

I spent the better part of 2009 writing about issues within the industry. New modes of production. Different models for agency. Opportunities arising out of uncertainty. Yet, here I find myself suffering the same fate of December's past. 

I think one of the problems with production companies is our value is placed primary in our talent. Our business and our own expertise as entrepreneurs don't seem to have any redeeming value. We can't be sold. We don't own our IP. We have no assets. It is how we perceive ourselves. It is how we've been labeled by the industry. We are a lifestyle business. As long as the company owners and directors remain vibrant, we'll thrive. When they begin to lose interest or enthusiasm or relevance the end is near. 

This year I'm going to ask myself how can we build something that has longer lasting value? A company that can outlive our own efforts. Where each year is a building block not simply a perpetual new beginning. With the changing landscape this is more plausible than ever before. As the beginning of a new year approaches I always ask myself the same questions, I'm going to add these to that list.