Somethings I learned while working for an aviation company that provided helicopter transportation to billionaires:
1) Rich people are extraordinarily cheap when it comes to the smallest of sums while not even blinking when they are overcharged by tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
2. If they offer you equity or deferred payment, turn it down. Payment up front (or a percentage of at least 50%) before services are rendered.
3. Get everything in writing on a legally binding, tightly written contract beforehand
4. Never take them at their word. Generational Wealth didn't get that way by being honest.
I know in retrospect it's easier to recognize when one has walked into a spectacle that's throwing up more red flags than a May Day parade, but holy cow, this is a valuable lesson in "Optimism Bias," which is the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of positive events and underestimate the likelihood of negative events.
On the plus side, while this may be a fault, it is also the mark of a person who has a generally honest attitude, empathy, and faith in the goodness of others. So at least you can take that to the bank, pardon the pun.
I don't think being a woman made much difference in this situation as the big company that robbed us robbed many many people, and the show about which you are going to get an even bigger earful treated every single person very badly.
Daniel Best at his Substack did a series on ownership of Buck Rogers. tl;dr: The then-owners lost their ownership in the character due to complete disregard of the business requirements needed to maintain ownership. The reality is even dumber than that last sentence.
The tragedy of Jim Shooter’s career, or a big one, is that he had approximately no business sense. His bosses at Marvel were mostly dumb mediocrities whom he necessarily trusted. If he had some business sense, maybe some trouble would have been avoided. But it got worse at his next three things, maybe Valiant worst of all.
A creative without some awareness of business stuff is, to oversimplify, a fool. ‘Nuff said.
I had a tiff with someone over on my fan page who claimed that if I’d only had an agent, none of these things would have happened.
I have THREE agents.
My big mistake was the equity deal. I’ve never taken an equity deal before, and I’d be very careful ever doing so again. Were I to ask for equity, I’d also ask for a lot more money.
I read Daniel Best’s column, I love it.
The mistake for many is assuming creators are bad at business.
Almost everyone is bad at business.
Expertise in one area doesn’t translate to expertise in other areas. And the ability to focus on creative work is a plus - for creative work. And a minus for everything else.
I didn’t mean creatives should be their own businesspeople but should know now to sense when things aren’t right like, enough to know when something just isn’t right. A variant Spidey Sense as it were.
Well, have I learned? Well, the only thing you learn is that people lie and that if a company goes bankrupt you get nothing. No contract can protect you, really. I've known this for decades. Whenever I go into a new agreement I just kind of hold my nose and hope.
Trust but verify, nice thought, but almost impossible. Frankly, it is impossible, and you sign a contract with a company, not with people. People come and go. The honorable person who was there when you signed will be gone in five years. NOTHING is 100% trustworthy, because almost no one has 100% control over the company and decisions after you sign an agreement. You can't verify what hasn't happened yet, and if you're dealing across international lines you not only can't verify, you have almost no hope of winning in a lawsuit if it comes to that. Freelancers do not have the power to enforce their contracts. That's just how it is. Your editor may be a fine fellow, but what about that hedge fund that owns the company? Slogans are easy, reality is hard.
I have nothing but sympathy. I went through something roughly similar 30 years ago with a homegrown rich douchebag: in his case, he hid behind Daddy’s trust fund for seven years while everyone he burned lost everything, then went back to his bullshit as soon as he could, only now as a “business expert.” He’s currently trying to convince the City of Dallas that we need a brand new convention center, conveniently on land he paid far too much for, and I get flashbacks every time I hear from people doing business with him who say, quite literally, “oh, he won’t burn me THIS time!”
Somethings I learned while working for an aviation company that provided helicopter transportation to billionaires:
1) Rich people are extraordinarily cheap when it comes to the smallest of sums while not even blinking when they are overcharged by tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
2. If they offer you equity or deferred payment, turn it down. Payment up front (or a percentage of at least 50%) before services are rendered.
3. Get everything in writing on a legally binding, tightly written contract beforehand
4. Never take them at their word. Generational Wealth didn't get that way by being honest.
WINS. Full agreement.
I know in retrospect it's easier to recognize when one has walked into a spectacle that's throwing up more red flags than a May Day parade, but holy cow, this is a valuable lesson in "Optimism Bias," which is the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of positive events and underestimate the likelihood of negative events.
On the plus side, while this may be a fault, it is also the mark of a person who has a generally honest attitude, empathy, and faith in the goodness of others. So at least you can take that to the bank, pardon the pun.
I really appreciate that! Optimism bias is a big thing with me. It has resulted in some of my best work, and some of my biggest disappointments.
I think in a way, all of us artists are guilty of that. It's part of the territory of being a perpetual dreamer/creative.
TRUTH.
Also horribly shite-y.
Do you think you get an (even) worse treatment for being female?
All I can say is that if this sort of thing gets dangled in front of you again, find someone objective and trustworthy to help think about it first…..
(Not me! My financial acumen is so bad that I just tried to subscribe to this only to find out I was already subscribed!!!)
Take care
Malcolm
I don't think being a woman made much difference in this situation as the big company that robbed us robbed many many people, and the show about which you are going to get an even bigger earful treated every single person very badly.
What a horrific story! I’m appalled this happened to you. It makes whatever problems I have had with employers look minuscule by comparison.
Oy. This happened years ago, and it always amuses me that some people out there in Uninformed Commentary Land think I'm just rolling in dough.
Rich are just... I really think it's an imbalance of the mind. We're not designed to be riched. We're not designed to live a life of luxury.
That need for a creative businessperson…:
Daniel Best at his Substack did a series on ownership of Buck Rogers. tl;dr: The then-owners lost their ownership in the character due to complete disregard of the business requirements needed to maintain ownership. The reality is even dumber than that last sentence.
The tragedy of Jim Shooter’s career, or a big one, is that he had approximately no business sense. His bosses at Marvel were mostly dumb mediocrities whom he necessarily trusted. If he had some business sense, maybe some trouble would have been avoided. But it got worse at his next three things, maybe Valiant worst of all.
A creative without some awareness of business stuff is, to oversimplify, a fool. ‘Nuff said.
I had a tiff with someone over on my fan page who claimed that if I’d only had an agent, none of these things would have happened.
I have THREE agents.
My big mistake was the equity deal. I’ve never taken an equity deal before, and I’d be very careful ever doing so again. Were I to ask for equity, I’d also ask for a lot more money.
I read Daniel Best’s column, I love it.
The mistake for many is assuming creators are bad at business.
Almost everyone is bad at business.
Expertise in one area doesn’t translate to expertise in other areas. And the ability to focus on creative work is a plus - for creative work. And a minus for everything else.
I didn’t mean creatives should be their own businesspeople but should know now to sense when things aren’t right like, enough to know when something just isn’t right. A variant Spidey Sense as it were.
Seems you finally learned but the hard way.
Well, have I learned? Well, the only thing you learn is that people lie and that if a company goes bankrupt you get nothing. No contract can protect you, really. I've known this for decades. Whenever I go into a new agreement I just kind of hold my nose and hope.
The bottom line is to avoid being too trusting — trust but verified, unless you’re dealing with someone 100% trustworthy.
Remember the Dulles. They screwed themselves.
Trust but verify, nice thought, but almost impossible. Frankly, it is impossible, and you sign a contract with a company, not with people. People come and go. The honorable person who was there when you signed will be gone in five years. NOTHING is 100% trustworthy, because almost no one has 100% control over the company and decisions after you sign an agreement. You can't verify what hasn't happened yet, and if you're dealing across international lines you not only can't verify, you have almost no hope of winning in a lawsuit if it comes to that. Freelancers do not have the power to enforce their contracts. That's just how it is. Your editor may be a fine fellow, but what about that hedge fund that owns the company? Slogans are easy, reality is hard.
So it’s sign a contract and cross your fingers?
There has to be at least a little protection possible, agents who have a sense of who’s untrustworthy, who have a better Plan B than crossed fingers?
Not saying anything like that’s easy but it should be possible.
The horror...!
I have nothing but sympathy. I went through something roughly similar 30 years ago with a homegrown rich douchebag: in his case, he hid behind Daddy’s trust fund for seven years while everyone he burned lost everything, then went back to his bullshit as soon as he could, only now as a “business expert.” He’s currently trying to convince the City of Dallas that we need a brand new convention center, conveniently on land he paid far too much for, and I get flashbacks every time I hear from people doing business with him who say, quite literally, “oh, he won’t burn me THIS time!”
It happens to us all!!!
I’m sorry this happened to you Colleen. If it helps my copies of ADS vol 4 and MM shipped two days ago.
Colleen... Uh... I believe you, of course, but I cannot believe this shite.
Oh, it gets better.
Oh dear. I heard that in Rip Torn's voice, and that's never good.