Entrepreneurial Goldmine

As I prepare for the holiday season, I again find myself committed to my annual planning routine.  Each October I start the evaluation process of assessing how I have executed on my goals and objectives for the year and predicting where I’ll land by the end of the year.  By Thanksgiving, I have usually also assessed how the external environment around me has changed and what my goals and objectives should be for the coming year.  This is a great process for me and if you’re not a planner – something like it can definitely help drive results.  But here’s the rub….with each passing year, I find myself with too many opportunities.  While some might say that’s a great problem to have, it’s extremely painful to let a really great business opportunity go by the wayside.

So now that I am tryingto use this blog as my contribution to the entrepreneurial community, this Christmas I am going to offer 10 compelling business ideas that could make you some ‘Mad Money’! (a la Cramer for the CNBC fans).  Hopefully you’re not looking for the 12 step program to make a million and retire tomorrow….that’s in my back yard on my money tree!  I’ll tell you the general opportunity, provide perspective about why it’s a good concept, and suggest how to approach  it and where to locate more resources.    The entrepreneur in you must carve out the exact business – that’s the fun part, this merely puts you on an opportunistic path.  Unfortunately, you can’t have them all at once…; but I do want you to follow me, you never know when something might resonate. 

In no particular order (although I am saving the best for last), Opportunity#10: The Entertainment Industry.  DID YOU KNOW LOUISIANA IS THE #3 FILM-MAKING DESTINATION IN THE COUNTRY?  BELIEVE IT!

To take advantage of Louisiana’s status here are three components that present a great opportunity when combined and may offer something of interest to the true entrepreneurs:

Component 1  

New Infrastructure & Tax Credits.  According to a LA state agency I follow,  “A recently announced $3 million federal grant will be paired with state funding to expand the region’s sole full service film production facility.   The new federal grant will be combined with a $1.5 million grant from the State of Louisiana to further develop the Nims Center Studios for Entertainment Arts  in Jefferson Parish.   The money will be used to build a 10,000-square-foot sound stage and an additional office building at the facility.  The expansion of the Nims Center will allow the region to capitalize on Louisiana’s successful film tax incentives program that has put the state on the cutting edge of film production. The Nims Center has become a hub of film production and economic activity in the region, providing studio space for major films, television commercials, and music videos.”

“Louisiana is now the number three film-making destination in the country, behind only Hollywood and New York,” says GNO, Inc. President and CEO Michael Hecht, “and the Nims Center is one of the main reasons why. While the rest of the country is retrenching, Greater New Orleans continues to expand its production capacity, positioning our region to be a major film force in the future.  The design and construction phase of the Nims Center expansion should provide an additional immediate boost to the region’s economy. The Division of Economic Research at the University of New Orleans  reports that the infrastructure project will generate 400 new jobs and $132 million in private investment.

Component 2  

Innovation with a new approach.  So we are all on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc…but how do you combine these social tools with the ability to make money?   Go get the December/January issue of Fast Company  magazine.   You know that Punk’d guy – Ashton Kuther, the one married to the cougar; well, he may be on to something.  He’s using his film and media production business to add social media  components to traditional projects for brands making commercials and film companies making movies.  His company is called Katalyst Media and you can get more info on what their doing at the website (but don’t forget to get the magazine – they put a different spin on it).

Component 3  

The beginning of a new frontier.  What are the DIRECT & INDIRECT service businesses that will be created with this expansion?  Whether you are in business now and want to expand or you simply have the desire to own your own business, this could be an opportunity.  If you are currntly in the film business or desire to be in the business, there might be opportunities within the expansion.  That franchise idea you have….looks like there might be a lot more people in the area or at the very least there may be real estate available for a new location for something different in the new building.  Reach out to the University of New Orleans’ Division of Economic Research for more information (BTW…proud alum here!!!).

Hollywood and New York have made the entertainment industry a significant part of their city’s economic engine and it took a lot of time to get there.  Although New Orleans didn’t start the film business yesterday, we are still babies compared to Hollywood and New York.  Find your niche,  there are still a lot of opportunities to take advantage of in the metro New Orleans area.  I haven’t done the research, but if I did a thorough assessment of the top 25 businesses that service any film, commercial or video project, we’d find several opportunities in New Orleans.  Click here to get a start on your research.

The bottom line is that when you combine new infrastructure with innovation on a new frontier the sky is the limit.  Enjoy!   If the entertainment industry isn’t your thing…stay tuned, opportunity #9 is coming soon!

-Heath