Independents Day - (or How I learned to stop hating the reality TV monster machines)

So, this week I want to pat myself on the back. For one whole year I’ve been paid by my own company, and only my company.

We’ve only been going as an Indie company for just over a year – and it’s time to reflect on all the good things that means.  

First off – I’m my own boss. So I get to call myself into my office and ask myself to take dictation, take my own messages – and learn my own annoying tastes in complicated coffee.  

Second – The money I make is the money I earn – if I don’t sell tv shows I get to enjoy the fruits of my labors.

Third – I decide how much work to do – Yes! If I don’t stay late again, work through the night and work another weekend to finish those proposals the network have demanded to have by the next approvals board to decide about taking your show to series, it’s entirely my choice.  

Yes! Choice and self determination is the way forward.  

There are many reasons for being your own boss, and those listed above are only some of them. The others include; not foaming at the mouth when you read that the big, non-union network reality show you slogged your guts out on last season to make the “tiny budget” work, just got sold for $70M to a cable station, (no, I won’t get any of it – not even a thank you card or a picture of my old boss sitting in his brand new rocket car). Not looking at your weekly rate and imagining if the production company will ever make it go UP, rather than making you work 6 day weeks “oh, and whatever other time you need to do the show”. And finally, maybe, one day having some breathing room so that you can really sit back and THINK about how to make a show better.  

These are the reasons I started my company. I have two awesomely talented partners, and they were two other great reasons, but, not giving someone else the benefits of my hard work is pretty much my A1 reason.  

Now, I’m not going to tell you it’s been easy – far from it… I haven’t bitten my nails so much about the rent check being due for a long, long time. And, if you’ve been reading about my rollercoaster ride here in my blog, you’ll already know my attitude towards getting excited about ‘great news’.  

I guess the only, single thing I miss about working for ‘the man’ has been someone patting my head gently, saying the tv producer equivalent of ‘that’ll do pig’. So, hence my self patting frenzy today.

Because, even though it might be hard, frustrating and strangely amusing in these months – in the not too distant future I may very well get to drive my own Rocket Car.