Burn Your Business Plan

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I never worry about whether I can do something — I just tell myself it needs to be done and then I strike out to do it. It might take a team, it might end up being just me and a partner, or it might just be me flying solo. But what it isn't is me wringing my hands and worrying about if I can actually do it or not. I don't worry about the possibility of a challenge. Am I scared? Sometimes. Am I unsure? Frequently. But am I worried? No.

I am a composer. I am a producer. I am a drummer. An author. A speaker. I don't just do all those things, I AM all those things. I realize who I am, and I target my goals accordingly. I stretch myself to tackle things that aren't in my usual comfort zone, but even that is more about the challenge than the prize. When I step out daily, I'm stepping into my own skin, not that of someone else. It is familiar to me, and it is not without its limitations or its obstacles, but I even know those so well that I don't think about them anymore. I concentrate on who I am today and what I can offer by just being me.

Knowing That You Know

I am a composer. I am a producer. I am a drummer. An author. A speaker. I don't just do all those things, I AM all those things.

Someone told me long ago, when I first embarked on composing full-time, "You need a business plan. Every business needs one." I bought into that. I worked on it for weeks. I spent each waking moment thinking about that business plan — about how perfectly flawless it needed to be if I was to ever present it to someone. About the wording in it, careful to not be too heady but also not too simplified so as to sound like an uneducated dufus. I was ruthless at weeding out typos, positioning each graphic, running all the potential cost/profit analysis numbers for a potential investor. I was anal.

But I quickly realized that a business plan wasn't going to do me a lick of good if I didn't know who I was and what I really could do for people. If I could not define who "Deane Ogden" was and how "Deane Ogden" would be for people who might potentially want to hire me, the prettiest presentation in the world wouldn't mean shit. I found out that my business plan is me. It's who Deane Ogden is when he's standing in front of you, not who Deane Ogden is on paper.

Your True Business Plan

Your business plan is not some wordy document that explains what you are going to do. Your business plan is YOU. It is who you are, where you've been, what you do.

I am Deane Ogden: a guy who brings a set of skills that have been developed over a long period; skills that have been forged and informed by many hours logged in what amounts to much more than the music and film businesses. I have extensive background and experience in many facets of the private sector as well as in public service, in industries and arenas that one might consider a far cry from anything entertainment-related. That's me. That's what you get. A crazy, wild-eyed Creative who is extremely opinionated about most things, absolutely loves to create new music, and has worked his ass off to be the very best collaborator anyone could ever imagine or hope for.

Step into what you ARE, and be that. Stop worrying about what you can or cannot do, and start worrying about who you are. Who you are as a person, versus who you are on paper... that's the sellable differentiator.

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