SHE LOVES ME #5 (birth of a salesman)

Goodness - it's been quite awhile, and much life has passed since the last entry.  I don't even know where to begin to pick up the thread.  Well - first of all, the attempt at crowdfunding via Indiegogo did not succeed.  Although it was an interesting experiment, we fell way short of our budgetary needs - I mean way short - by the hundreds of thousands.  I'm certain I followed the guidelines, I just didn't get the response I was hoping for.  Some people - friends, family, business associates - did contribute, and my first inclination was to simply return the money, (even though it was not required,) but as the days passed after the campaign ended, I realized I wasn't quite ready to give up on the whole thing.  I had spent many hours, days, weeks breaking down the script and assembling the production package.  I still believed I had a viable project - a great, colorful story that would make a great indie film - if I could only get the money.  It's always been about the money.  Some people, I suppose, are naturally gifted at acquiring vast sums of money from perfect strangers in order to realize their cinematic dreams, but I am not.  I am not a natural born salesman like my father was - God Rest His Soul.  But I am a damn hard worker, and I know I have the skills to pull this off, so I became determined to find a way to get the money.  I had to go back to the traditional film funding concept of approaching investors, so I turned to the information flow - the cyberspacial conduit to the solution to my challenge.  Many paths and approaches are offered in cyberspace, but they all seem to converge at a singular point - the key to success in attracting investors is to present them with a solid business plan.  During my Indiegogo campaign, I had drawn the attention and support of many friends and associates (and some, as aforementioned, contributed) and one dear old friend mentioned a relation to a man out in Portland, Oregon (coincidentally, the hometown of SHE LOVES ME novel author, Jean Erhardt) who creates business plans for a living.  His name is Jeffrey, and he was gracious enough to give me some advice free of charge.  I kept Jeffrey's contact info in my mental rolodex, and after the paradigm shift in my game plan occurred, and I came to the aforementioned conclusion about the business plan, I went back to him.  As I mentioned, Jeffrey creates business plans for a living, and his services are not inexpensive, and justifiably so.  A solid business plan can make or break the project.  I couldn't think of a more practical use for the money I received from the Indiegogo campaign.  Jeffrey and his assistant have been working on my business plan for several weeks now, and I believe it's close to completion.  After it's received, once again it will be up to me to go out and pound the pavement, and although I'm not a natural born salesman, I will at least have a very effective marketing tool that will help build my confidence as I venture out past my comfort zone.