0:05

Welcome to the show.

0:06

I am Rashaan McDonald, the host of Money

0:08

Making Conversations Masterclass, where

0:11

we encourage people to stop reading other people's

0:13

success stories and start planning their

0:15

own. Listen up as I interview

0:18

entrepreneurs from around the country, talk

0:20

to celebrities and ask them how

0:22

they are running their companies, and speak with

0:24

nod profits who are making a difference in

0:26

their local communities. Now, sit back

0:28

and listen as we unlock the secrets to

0:30

their success.

0:31

On Money Making Conversations Masterclass.

0:36

All right, this is Rashaan McDonald. We're

0:38

here another show. Just

0:40

so happy. You know, in the midyear,

0:42

when you sit down, you start trying to figure out what

0:45

I'm gonna do on the second half is called planning, called

0:47

preparation, And that's why I do this show

0:49

to bring people on that can set the

0:51

stage or trigger information

0:54

that you need to hear, or engage

0:57

you into a position that I didn't know that I

0:59

need to get I act together. I need to start preparing

1:01

for twenty twenty five. Can you believe that,

1:04

Yes, you should start preparing for twenty twenty five

1:06

if you're projecting a growth

1:08

in your business, if you're projecting an

1:10

opportunity to generate revenue in your business.

1:13

You have to be thinking about twenty twenty five.

1:15

Yes, I'm Rashan McDonald. I host this

1:18

weekly Money Making Conversation Masterclass

1:20

show. The interviews and information

1:22

that this show provides really it's

1:24

for everyone. It's time to stop reading other

1:26

people's success stories and start living your own.

1:29

If you want to be a guest on my show, listen up.

1:31

Please visit Moneymakingconversation

1:34

dot com. That's Moneymaking Conversation

1:36

dot com and click the b A guest button.

1:39

That's right. It'll ask you for information and

1:42

guess what, I am the only person that reads that information.

1:45

I take it upon myself to book everybody

1:47

on this show because I want to get a sense of the

1:49

value you can bring as far as content to

1:52

this show. That is really I'm

1:54

so excited. So many people are just walking up to me.

1:56

So many people are telling me that they

1:58

are being interviewed on the show, and people are going

2:00

to look at their products, go to their

2:03

places of business and being recognized

2:06

by being interviewed on Money Making Conversation Masterclass.

2:09

Get well, let's get this show rolling.

2:11

My guest has an eagle eye when

2:13

it comes to reviewing bad contracts.

2:15

Don't sign a contract that can ruin your dream.

2:18

And she is a trademark registering and expert.

2:21

She has successfully integrated the demanding

2:23

roles of wife, mother, TV

2:25

and film producer, writer, actress,

2:27

playwright, and Arthur Please welcome

2:29

to the Money Making Conversation Masterclass America's

2:32

favorite entertainment attorney, Jayleen

2:35

Mack.

2:35

How you doing, Jayleen?

2:37

Hey, hey, hey, wow

2:41

for having me back.

2:43

Look at you.

2:44

I'm just happy you just came back from a

2:46

con film festival.

2:49

I was at CAD, I

2:51

was at the ABFF, I

2:54

was at Essence.

2:57

So you being on my show is that a step

2:59

down?

3:00

Because you just said can you said the Black

3:02

Film Festival at Miami. You said

3:05

the Essence, the world's largest congoveration,

3:08

a gathering of black women and black

3:10

people, or nearly a half million people

3:12

go down to that event annually. That

3:14

when they retired and said bye

3:16

bye the Frankie, Beverly and Mays

3:19

at their final show. So now you own

3:21

money Making Conversation Massacres. Thank you very

3:24

much for your time. Thank you very much for your time.

3:26

Well, I really want to say thank you for having

3:28

little old me on your big

3:30

old platform.

3:31

There you go.

3:32

Well, you know it's time to get down the business

3:34

of you of just personally.

3:36

They always tell you I have a.

3:37

Relationship with individuals who

3:39

I bring on the show. From a standpoint of

3:41

my relationship with entertainment attorney

3:43

Jayleen Mack, she has personally handled

3:46

all of my trademarks that

3:49

I've done throughout my managing

3:51

of Stve Harvey and other clients and business.

3:53

Associates I've had.

3:55

That relationship has been over at least twenty years,

3:57

wouldn't you say, Jayleen.

3:59

Yes, when

4:02

did you open up

4:04

hip hop? No?

4:05

No, no, I'm talking talking about I'm talking about legally

4:07

hip hop.

4:08

Was thirty two years. That's thirty two years.

4:10

That's thirty two years.

4:11

I'm talking about when you finally got out of college,

4:14

you know, put that plaque up. I'm being a I'm

4:16

a lawyer officially, all

4:18

that good stuff. Then we started coming to me with

4:20

Sean, give me a shot, give me a shot,

4:22

I can do this, I can do this. And I gave

4:24

you your shot, and we've been I've

4:26

been turning you for registrations for

4:28

my trademarks. And how important is

4:30

it just to do it right when it comes to trademark

4:33

and protecting your brand.

4:35

Yeah, but just to correct you, I started

4:37

doing legal work for you back then

4:40

when you had hip hop. I'm

4:42

just trying to take you back. That's how old you are, not

4:44

me.

4:45

Oh okay, thank you, thank you very much. That's

4:47

absolutely because because like I said, the

4:49

look everybody a little history on me. In nineteen

4:52

ninety two, I had a comedy club called very

4:54

popular comic club in Houston, Texas called the Hip

4:56

Hop Comedy Stop. Everybody played

4:58

that club and even the Beyonce

5:00

and Destiny's Child performed at that

5:02

club. In fact, I brought them on stage one

5:04

of the very first performances with that club.

5:07

But it was a who's who of.

5:09

Comedy entertainment that came through there

5:11

as well as celebrities you know from you

5:13

know, the Willie D's Scarface.

5:16

Everybody who's who who in the Houston market

5:18

as well as a tour through town

5:21

dropped into that comedy club. And that's why

5:23

I met Jayleen and her friends.

5:25

They really were very instrumental

5:27

in making my club a success and keeping

5:29

the doors open, as they say, keep the lights on.

5:32

And that relationship that's about a relationship. You know,

5:34

you developed something you don't know what is

5:36

going to mean five years or

5:38

ten years from now. And now we're on this show

5:40

today talking about a career that

5:43

is basically international when it comes from your for

5:45

your legal service, Could you tell some of the people that you

5:48

represent now or contractually

5:50

or can you say that on my show?

5:53

Well, I represent a lot of in

5:57

the general scheme of things, actors,

6:00

producers, writers, directors,

6:03

authors, playwrights,

6:06

uh, film producers, television

6:08

producers as

6:11

far as some clients that I've represented

6:13

that don't mind me saying, obviously,

6:16

I've done legal work for you

6:20

Greg Carter, who's a filmmaker. I've

6:22

done work for Kim Barell,

6:26

Steve Harvey. Uh,

6:29

just really tons of people, even athletes.

6:33

Now, when you when I called to Day

6:35

about setting up what this show is going to be about,

6:38

and you said, Rashan, I really want to talk about

6:40

the lure.

6:41

Of the bad deal.

6:43

How people are will scam you, even

6:46

from an entrepreneurial standpoint, even from a film

6:48

production standpoint, into how

6:51

when you say the lure of the bad deal,

6:53

explain them all these exactly what that

6:55

is and how they can be trapped by.

6:58

So, if you are a writer

7:02

and you have a script and

7:04

you've been shopping for either

7:07

a producer or

7:09

a financier, or

7:13

you're a producer who has a script

7:16

and you've been shopping with a financier

7:18

for some money.

7:19

To get your movie made.

7:22

Sometimes you'll come across people who

7:25

are not in the industry who

7:28

want to be in the industry, or

7:30

they claim to be in the industry, but

7:33

their credentials are not quite up to par, and.

7:37

So they may represent.

7:38

That they have access

7:41

to money or endless

7:43

amounts of money, and

7:45

they entice that to have a

7:47

conversation, right, And

7:50

sometimes it's about really

7:52

the association of a

7:55

project that might

7:57

put them on the map as opposed to the other

8:00

around. And I

8:02

say that because I've seen

8:04

money people or alleged

8:07

money people offer

8:09

funding and it'll be you

8:12

know, it could be hundreds of thousands

8:15

or millions of dollars.

8:17

But the more you dig, the

8:20

more you realize they can't show proof

8:22

of funds, or

8:24

the more you dig you find out

8:28

this person isn't legitimate because

8:32

this business is big, but it's small at the

8:34

same time. So if

8:36

you ask enough question, or

8:39

if you dig and you see that the

8:41

person you're dealing with doesn't have a digital

8:43

footprint. Right, you

8:45

can't go to IMDb, you can't go

8:47

to LinkedIn to find anything.

8:50

Nothing out there.

8:51

Right, you might look up

8:53

the name and the face doesn't match, or

8:57

their credentials herely are

8:59

similar to some executive

9:02

right at Netflix or whatever. I've

9:04

seen all of that happen. But

9:07

my point of identifying, just in a

9:09

general sense of people

9:12

with a bad lure.

9:14

That ve vet

9:18

due diligence is everything. I've

9:22

seen it all.

9:22

You know when you do that, And I've been fortune

9:25

unfortunate and fortunate to see the

9:27

good and the bad of that. And it all comes

9:29

down to people excitement. They they

9:32

always always tell people, don't get

9:34

in this business with the lottery

9:36

mentality, meaning that moment that that somebody's

9:39

offered you is going to be the one, the

9:41

one that makes you a star, the one that

9:43

gives you a hit movie, the one that's gonna

9:45

make you rich. Is when you have that

9:47

lottery mentality, is when

9:49

you fall victim to these type of scams

9:52

on a regular basis. Because somebody

9:54

can pull up in a in

9:56

a in a rolls ross that could be rented.

9:59

They can they can walk you to a building

10:02

until you they're gonna shoot the movie here. May

10:04

not even have a relationship with that building. But

10:07

because you and the rose Wars, they've

10:09

they've taken you to a nice restaurant and

10:12

now all of a sudden, now you now they're

10:14

gonna tell you they need a deposit. They're

10:16

gonna need a deposit from

10:19

you. Now, Okay, they sold,

10:21

they're supposed to supply the funding that, but

10:23

they're asking you for a deposit, so

10:26

they're gonna put it in.

10:27

They say xcro Escrow.

10:29

That Scrow's a dangerous turn because if you don't

10:31

have control of that signature on

10:33

the escraw account, then gets what they're

10:35

gonna control the money. And so it's

10:38

really important that in this business. And I'm

10:40

bringing an expert like attorney

10:42

Jayleen mack On here to let you know that

10:45

I can say that, but she can verify

10:47

that correct early.

10:49

Absolutely. I'm gonna tell you what I've seen as the latest

10:52

trend. Uh.

10:54

Some company represents

10:56

themselves as a production company with

10:59

relatedationships to all the networks,

11:02

and they'll say that their

11:05

contact at ABC

11:07

Company wants

11:09

to buy a

11:11

particular script from

11:14

some producer. There's

11:16

already a dollar amount. The

11:19

script hasn't been received by

11:22

that executive nor read.

11:24

But there's already an offer on the table, and

11:28

the middle company, the production

11:31

company, is telling

11:34

this producer with the script

11:37

that you need to sign this contract

11:41

attached us

11:43

and.

11:47

We'll be able to close this deal for your

11:52

right.

11:52

And they never put and never are

11:56

all three parties in one room, if

11:58

that makes any sense to you.

12:00

Absolutely, you keep talking

12:02

to the same person and they keep talking to the other person

12:04

that you never see.

12:06

That you never see.

12:07

And the way the contract reads,

12:10

you have to assign copyright

12:13

to that script to that production company,

12:18

which.

12:18

Means they now have rights to your project.

12:20

Here that clearly now what you don't

12:23

ever want to do is give away rights

12:25

to your project, and so when you try

12:27

to get the rights back, you don't have rights

12:29

anymore. So your dream project,

12:31

your dream idea, you know

12:34

your I've been working on this thing for

12:36

fifteen, ten years. Five years idea

12:38

came to me a miracle of God, moment told

12:40

me to write this book. It's

12:42

gone because you've signed away your rights. And

12:44

I'm gonna tell you something. You can't get it back. You

12:47

cannot get it back. Those

12:49

deals that they have you sign an iron

12:52

clad and that's why she's telling

12:54

you. When I say she, I'm talking to attorney Jayleen

12:56

Mack is telling you that do

12:59

your research. Don't get so excited that

13:01

this is the moment of moments. Don't ignore

13:03

other people telling you, hey, are

13:06

you moving too fast? What do you know about this person?

13:09

Listen to people who have common

13:11

sense that will lead

13:14

you from making a bad mistake, and that which

13:16

leads what you say into bad contracts. And you

13:18

see a lot, unfortunately, you see a lot of bad contracts

13:21

in your life when it comes to entertainers.

13:23

Why is that, Well,

13:28

some people just don't put the money aside,

13:31

you know, put a budget aside to hire a lawyer.

13:35

And it's because, well, you know,

13:37

I've googled some information on

13:39

Google, or I saw a

13:41

template on the internet,

13:44

and I feel like I know it nothing.

13:45

I don't need a lawyer to take a look at this

13:48

deal. That's

13:50

one approach, right.

13:52

I've seen also cases where

13:54

they hire the wrong lawyer to

13:57

redew the deal.

14:02

And can you telling me somebody

14:05

who is a corporate lawyer over here

14:07

trying to do an entertainment contract, or

14:09

somebody who's a patent lawyer trying

14:11

to do a contract for a movie a contract

14:14

for a television or talent contract,

14:16

and so all your cousins

14:19

who got this good rate is gonna

14:21

do go, do you a solid and

14:23

do this. But what got me was you saying

14:25

rashan. Their people go online,

14:28

they will download the contract as

14:31

a template. They google to contract

14:33

for actors, a contract for

14:36

writers, a contract for TV or

14:38

fan producers, and they say that's their

14:40

contract.

14:42

Right right.

14:44

The thing with templates, it

14:46

might be a good starting point, but

14:49

it's not necessarily where you're in, right, So

14:53

you have to know how to navigate the language.

14:56

You have to know what's missing, You

14:58

have to know what's there, whether

15:00

or not that's applicable to your situation.

15:04

And the best best thing to do if

15:07

you are not a season producer

15:11

with the experience that maybe over time

15:13

you've seen enough good

15:16

contracts because you've had representation,

15:18

right, and maybe you're using the same

15:21

template and so and

15:23

and and pretty much everything's the

15:25

same except maybe

15:27

the compensation and the and

15:30

the actors. You might

15:32

be able to make some changes and get away with it,

15:35

but rarely is any contract.

15:38

A repeat deal right

15:41

to the t.

15:43

So, in my opinion, even if you feel like,

15:45

well, I can draft the initial

15:47

contract, and I feel like it

15:49

looks pretty good.

15:51

I would still.

15:52

Hire my lawyer to lay last eyes

15:54

on it, right, that's

15:57

the best thing to do.

15:58

I'm talking to America's favorite in entertainment

16:00

attorney, Jayle Mack. When we get back after

16:02

this break, I'm going to ask her

16:05

top ten tips on how to develop

16:07

your business. Top ten tips

16:10

on how to develop your business. Don't

16:12

go into where you listen to money Making Conversations

16:14

Masterclass and I am speaking with America's

16:16

favorite entertainment attorney, Jaylee

16:19

Mack.

16:19

Be right back.

16:20

Please don't go anywhere. We'll

16:22

be right back with more money Making Conversations

16:25

Masterclass. Welcome

16:33

back to the Money Making Conversations Masterclass

16:35

hosted by Rashaan MacDonald. Money

16:37

Making Conversations Masterclass

16:40

continues online at Moneymakingconversations

16:42

dot com and follow money Making Conversations

16:45

Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and

16:47

Instagram.

16:49

She's an actor, wife, mother,

16:52

television and film producer, playwriting

16:54

after I had

16:57

were fortunate of knowing her over thirty two years

16:59

watching to grow as as as

17:01

a student at Texas

17:04

University get a law degree,

17:06

and I also trusted her for advice

17:08

as far as my trademarks. But we

17:11

want to offer some of the same advice to you

17:13

as a listener, tips

17:15

on how to develop your business. I have I

17:17

have ten ideas that you ten ten

17:20

things you sent over to me. So I'm gonna start

17:22

with number one with you attorney

17:24

Mac, and then you give me a comments.

17:26

Is that fine?

17:27

Sure?

17:28

Okay? Cool?

17:29

Starting with number one, you said, identify

17:31

your project, please explain,

17:35

so.

17:35

I can tell you we're specifically talking

17:38

about film and television as

17:40

far as the entertainment industry, but really

17:44

this applies to music and other

17:47

areas of entertainment. But it also

17:49

applies for any.

17:50

Entrepreneur we're talking about.

17:52

So even if you're, you know,

17:54

selling candles, a lot of this will be beneficial

17:57

to you.

17:59

So it comes to projects.

18:01

Obviously, in the film world, you

18:03

want to identify are you

18:06

shooting a movie, a feature

18:08

film, or a short. Will

18:10

this be a scripted project or unscripted.

18:14

In the television world, for instance, is

18:17

it a documentary?

18:18

You just want to identify.

18:20

What is it that I'm trying to do, because

18:23

that's going to go into how you develop

18:25

that concept. If you're

18:27

a hire writer, if you're going to write it

18:29

yourself, this is going to

18:31

lead to how much money I need. So

18:34

the first thing is to identify what it is you're trying

18:36

to do.

18:37

And that's really really important as if

18:39

you're an entrepreneur because of the fact

18:41

that I have a company and I

18:43

have a lot of people with a lot of products.

18:45

I have a lot of people different.

18:47

Different small business bis visions,

18:50

but they don't know what the point of view of the

18:52

vision of the point of view of the business,

18:54

and so identify your project. Number

18:57

two is make sure you have a plan.

19:01

Yes, like across

19:03

the board in any business, it

19:06

is best to have a business plan.

19:09

Even if you are financing

19:12

your endeavor personally, you

19:15

still want to have a roadmap and

19:18

that's what the business plan will do for you, and

19:21

particularly people in film

19:24

and television that are independent

19:26

producers.

19:28

You also want to have a finance plan.

19:31

So not just a business plan to give you the roadmap

19:35

of how to get your project done,

19:37

but a finance plan will help you identify

19:41

where the money comes from, when

19:44

it comes in, how it's

19:46

going to be applied, how

19:48

are you going to get your project done

19:51

from the development and concept

19:54

through sale and distribution of it.

19:57

And again that helps with any entrepreneur.

20:00

I have to agree with that on so many

20:02

levels. I get so mad at people.

20:05

I see the word mad people coming. I got

20:07

this idea. First of all, ideas not registered.

20:10

It's just an idea. It's not flushed out, you

20:12

know, as the character developments and

20:14

the projects not flushed out. I don't

20:16

know how many characters you got.

20:18

Who's the lead?

20:19

Have you developed a relationship with a star,

20:21

who's to start the project? It's just a great

20:23

idea to get mad. It's a

20:26

great idea. Okay, I'm

20:28

not saying it's not great idea. I'm just telling you help

20:30

me out because right now it's an idea.

20:32

I can't build on your dream

20:35

if I don't understand it. What's your plan? And

20:37

that's also people do that with business. They

20:39

want to I got some biscuits. They're the best

20:41

biscuits in the world. Okay, how you gonna

20:44

how you're gonna manufacture these biscuits? If if

20:46

a thousand people walk through that door today, how

20:48

are you gonna manage what you're gonna do? How many

20:50

employees are you're gonna have?

20:52

You know?

20:52

I know that for a fact out of the comedy club. Comedy

20:55

club started with just my relatives manning

20:57

the doors. They used to do it for free,

21:00

right then all of a sudden, I started making a little

21:02

money. Then they wanted checks. I didn't budget

21:05

to pay my relatives.

21:07

I didn't budget for that. I didn't have a plan and play

21:09

it. I just wanted to tell jokes, invite

21:12

people in for ten dollars,

21:14

which eventually I realized that the state wanted

21:16

they tax money, so I would It wasn't getting

21:18

ten dollars. I didn't have a plan. So

21:21

when she talks about both ways,

21:24

she can talk about the entertainment industry, but

21:26

it all comes back to business business

21:28

now. Number three is former team

21:30

girl. I got something to say after you

21:32

talk about this form aighteen. That's

21:35

number three. Number one was identify your

21:37

project. Number two make sure you have a plan. Number

21:39

three form a team.

21:43

So so important. I just made

21:45

this comment at

21:49

the essence best talking to the audience. If

21:52

you're a producer, you don't

21:55

have to be the smartest

21:58

producer.

21:58

You don't have to know everything.

22:02

Every experience is going to be

22:04

something you learn from.

22:06

But if you.

22:09

Are putting together a team, make

22:11

sure you build a team that

22:14

makes you the best

22:16

producer you can be. Right, so you

22:18

surround yourself with talent. You

22:21

surround yourself with people who.

22:23

Know more than you.

22:24

Right, you also surround yourself

22:26

with people who are not yes people, because

22:30

you need to know the pitfalls, you need to know

22:32

the pros and cons, and

22:34

you need people around you.

22:36

They help you.

22:36

Make the best business decisions you

22:39

can make, keeping in mind the

22:41

best interest for your projects. And

22:43

not only that, not just your projects, but

22:46

you have investors to pay back. So

22:49

it's super important that you surround yourself

22:52

with other good producers, with

22:54

a good lawyer, a good accountant,

22:58

a good pr team find

23:02

the best scenario when it comes to a financier

23:05

that makes sense for your project. If you're going to

23:07

get money from other places, and

23:10

I can go on, but the key is

23:12

put together a good team.

23:16

You better believe it.

23:16

I didn't have an accountant, I didn't have an

23:19

HR person. I told my

23:21

wife we pulled money out of retirement

23:23

at the time, savings

23:26

didn't have a budget attacked. Let me not jump

23:28

the gun because I'm about to say budget and that's

23:30

number four. Prepare a

23:32

budget. So I don't want to slide into

23:35

that too much without you comment on it.

23:37

Because if you're going to form a team you

23:39

gotta prepare a budget. Talk to

23:41

you about that.

23:42

Attorneyment absolutely, So

23:46

if you know what it is you're

23:48

trying to do, right, let's say you're trying to make a

23:50

movie or douce a product

23:52

or project, you

23:55

obviously have to have somebody who's

23:57

good.

23:57

At putting budgets together, who can

23:59

identify the needs

24:02

and services and how much

24:04

things.

24:04

Cost and the best route.

24:08

To take to get these things done,

24:11

to put a budget together. So

24:15

it's not a matter of saying, well, I want to shoot

24:17

a movie and I

24:20

think a thousand dollars is enough, right,

24:23

you know, obviously you want somebody experience

24:25

in what things cost, and that

24:29

is a line producer in the film

24:31

business that will do

24:33

that for you, because it's

24:35

important to know if your movie

24:37

has special effects, is

24:39

it has special video effects?

24:42

Are there cars being blown up? Or

24:45

is there a car chase? Are there fight

24:47

seems to be choreographed? Everything

24:50

has a cost. Hotels,

24:53

locations, feeding

24:56

people, you got crew,

24:58

actors, et ceter All those

25:00

things have to be identified in

25:03

a budget and if you've never done

25:05

it before, don't take a stab

25:07

at it. Hire

25:10

the right.

25:10

People to do the job.

25:12

Absolutely, you know, it's really funny

25:14

people when you start talking about budget and people

25:16

the right teammate. You know, if

25:18

you open a

25:20

Mexican restaurant and you hire somebody

25:23

the cook, he knows I do soul food. You

25:26

know you got to have the right people doing the right thing. You're

25:28

opening the bakery and that person all

25:30

they know how to do is cook pies.

25:32

You know, That's it. They can't do nothing else

25:35

at your baker. But they told you they know how

25:37

to bake. It's that resume going to the right

25:39

place. I know we're going to run short on time, but

25:41

I want to get to a couple of things I think they need

25:43

to have.

25:44

No.

25:45

We talked about number one, identify your project.

25:47

Number two is make sure you have a plan. Number

25:50

three is former team. Number four

25:52

we just talked about the prepare budget. Number

25:54

five is form a business entity.

25:57

What are you doing there? Number six

25:59

is get a EI in number

26:01

for your business. Number seven,

26:04

open a business account,

26:06

not your personal account, your business

26:08

account. Number eight. Protect your

26:10

assets. Number nine the

26:13

floors yours contracts.

26:16

Yes, yes, yes, we know.

26:18

Everything should be reduced to writing.

26:22

It should represent what

26:24

you negotiated. Obviously,

26:27

you want to protect

26:30

your intellectual

26:32

property, your interest

26:34

in ownership. Every

26:37

aspect of the four walls of the agreement

26:40

should be considered. And

26:42

once again I would not rely

26:44

on myself.

26:45

To prepare a contract.

26:47

I would go to the experts, such as

26:49

a lawyer that is experienced

26:52

in your area. And I will say this, even

26:56

if you have an entertainment related

26:58

matter, not all.

27:01

Entertainment attorneys are equal.

27:04

And if you're a film producer, not

27:07

all entertainment attorneys no film

27:09

and television production, which

27:12

is a whole other language. So again,

27:14

make sure you get a lawyer who's very experienced

27:18

in what it is you're trying to accomplish.

27:22

Now, the last one, you

27:24

got your business open, you got your movie

27:28

marketing. You know, people think

27:30

they can just open their door, tell

27:32

everybody they got great food, and people just gonna line

27:34

up and show up. People think they got

27:36

a great movie project. They're gonna

27:38

let everybody know it in the theater and

27:42

we ready to go.

27:43

Okay.

27:44

So I really think it's really, really, really

27:46

important that people understand

27:48

what's going on here when you're starting to put

27:50

together these assets. When you go down this

27:53

top ten list, marketing is

27:55

the key, and it can create so much

27:57

drama. If you don't understand what's going on

28:00

because you didn't know what your brand was, you

28:02

know what your point. You didn't identify your project.

28:04

You have a plan, you have a team

28:06

around. You didn't prepare a budget, budget did

28:08

include marketing. You never have a business

28:11

entity, you never got a business number. You

28:13

still operating out of your personal checking

28:15

account. You didn't protect your assets.

28:17

I want to say, I want to allow you to comment

28:19

on that, and I say allowed, But I think you should

28:22

talk. We should tell people how do you protect

28:24

your assets?

28:26

Sure?

28:27

So, obviously you have intellectual

28:29

property, so you

28:31

may have a copyright that you need to protect,

28:35

a trademark.

28:37

In some instances, someone might have a patent. Doesn't

28:39

necessarily apply here.

28:42

As far as your scripts are concerned, you

28:45

can register them with the United

28:47

States Copyright Office, or

28:49

you can deposit them with the Writers Guild

28:51

of America East or

28:53

West. You want to do

28:56

everything you can to obviously protect

28:59

your in is other things

29:01

to consider or non disclosure

29:04

agreements? Right, what

29:06

do you

29:06

mean.

29:09

Non disclosure agreement NDA? What does that

29:11

mean?

29:12

Yes?

29:12

And NDA A non disclosed dispose

29:14

your agreement and that

29:17

deals with confidentialityy

29:20

uh, between you and another

29:22

party as to business.

29:26

You know, discussions that you

29:28

have between the.

29:29

Two of you.

29:30

You may want to protect some of the

29:32

content that comes out of that. That

29:35

could be your client list, that

29:37

could be some trade secrets. Uh,

29:40

anything that you wouldn't want the general.

29:42

Public to know. You know ideas,

29:45

right, you would want to NDA.

29:48

Now, I'll tell you a NDA is

29:50

a deterrent, but

29:53

it is not iron class. And

29:55

the reason why I say that a lot

29:57

of people will exchange in DA.

30:00

You know, sign my the NDA, I'll sign yours.

30:03

It could be mutual, that's great, but

30:06

it doesn't really speak to pillow talk, right.

30:10

And the only reason you would know somebody breached

30:13

in n DA is if you

30:15

hear about it or you hear it from a third party.

30:18

So it doesn't do away with what I call pillow

30:21

talk, you know the whispers, right,

30:25

And that that's always concerning

30:27

for me. And so I always like clients

30:29

to know that.

30:30

NDA is a deturning factor.

30:33

But it's but it's not fool proof.

30:36

Wow, this has been great information

30:39

our world of wrong and appreciate you for coming

30:41

on my show. Uh, got any upcoming events

30:43

that you want to tell everybody about? Anybody about those?

30:45

You just wrapped up essence, just finished

30:47

the ABA. Any upcoming project

30:49

you want to fill us in before we close out the interview

30:52

of speaking to Attorney Jayleen Mack.

30:55

Well, I do want to people want people to

30:57

know. If they want to get

30:59

more information on our top

31:02

ten tips that I just discussed, it

31:04

can go to my book The Business of Stage, Screen

31:07

and the in Between and

31:09

it's a practical guide

31:12

for performers, playwrights, filmmakers

31:15

and any entrepreneur.

31:18

Cool.

31:18

Well, I think, well,

31:20

friend, thank you for coming on the show. Thank

31:22

you for giving more wisdom to say.

31:26

I do not lie when I say America's

31:28

favorite entertainment attorney Jaylen

31:31

Mack based out of Houston, Texas, but she's worldwide.

31:33

She's worldwide from Dubai to New

31:35

York, to Houston to Mexico.

31:38

She's there doing her job and changing

31:40

the game. More important to keeping people out

31:42

of bad contracts and maybe becing people

31:44

aware of that there are scams out there.

31:46

Just because it sounds like a good deal does not mean

31:49

there are It is ill is a good deal. I

31:51

talked to you soon, Attorney Mac.

31:53

Thank you.

31:54

This has been another edition of Money Making

31:56

Conversation Masterclass. Posted by me

31:59

Rashaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests

32:01

on the show today and thank you O

32:03

listening to audience now. If you want to listen to

32:05

any episode I want to be a guest on the show,

32:08

visit Moneymakingconversations dot

32:10

com. Our social media handle is money

32:12

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