A business idea might come from your day to day life. That's what happened with Kristina Hughes and Brian Vermeire of ActorTrack and Holdon Log who told me how their business started and grew. Originally a logbook for actors there are now several products for models and performers of different genres.
Business Start-Up from a Gift
"In 2000, I was an actor who wrote my audition information on scraps of paper," Brian said. "I would write wherever I had to write: the back of my hand, scraps of paper. But I'd lose the information. I'd have to call my agent or manager and they'd get upset.
"But there was Kristina who would always pull out a college-ruled notebook. She had everything down in one spot. So for Christmas of 2000, I created an audition log for her. She loved it."
Kristina said during New Year's they were visiting a friend and he said, off-the-cuff, "you could develop software for that."
"We were using our books and our friends were asking how they could get copies. In March 2001 we filed as an LLC in California. We really jumped into it, not even having a Web
site and we weren't in any book stores."Business Success: Knowledge, Belief and Determination
"We knew this was a void to be filled," Kristina told me. "We knocked on the door of [the actor's bookstore] Samuel French and they kept shooing us away. But we eventually got a meeting with the manager and we climbed the stairs to an unassuming office where she gave us 10 minutes. She agreed to let us start with 10 - 20 orders of the Holdon Logbook."
Now, the Holdon Log enjoys prominent shelf space at the Samuel French store.
Brian was involved with the Sandy Meisner Center and they used the early editions to sell and fund their theater project.
Business Growth: Secondary Markets
Kristina and Brian went outside of LA as well.
"I'm from Boston," said Kristina. "And there are a lot of performers in these secondary markets who need tools and resources. Not everyone can or is able to come to LA or go to New York. We also contacted the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.
"We launched the Holdon Log web site in September 2001 and our first online order was from an actress on September 11, 2001 around 11am. I couldn't believe it. Here all these people were glued to the news, but here was a person who cared about their career and that gave me hope."
Business Marketing: Promoting and Word-of-Mouth Never Stops
Kristina and Brian sold products through emails and passing out flyers. In 2005, they started doing free seminars and publishing their newsletter called "ActorNation."
"Marketing never stops," said Brian. "I believe if you put the coolers on any business then you're dead in the water. We've done trade shows for performers across the U.S., including Birmingham, Alabama."
"We think we're really known - and we are," said Kristina. "But several thousand people move to LA - I've heard every month - to be performers and so many have said 'how come I've never heard of you?'"
While Brian and Kristina declined to state their company's gross income, they did say the ranking for their Web site on Alexa ranks high with other well-used sites such as Actor's Access and Now Casting. "People respect us," said Kristina, "and that translates to sales."
One sure sign of success, though, is people using the product. Brian was at an audition recently and there were 13 people in the waiting room. 9 of them were using the Holdon Logbook.
"That was very satisfying," said Brian. "The days of ignorance for performers is over. People need to know about their careers, the directions they're heading and we're happy to be leading that charge."
TIPS (and QUESTIONS) FOR YOU
What do you offer in your business that people truly need?
Who is your preferred client?
How will your product or service help them?
Are you willing to market consistently and for the long term?
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