Locating potential investors:
Show me the money!
So who makes a good investor? Anyone! Your parents or relatives, a coworker,
an acquaintance you met at a party or seminar, your doctor, lawyer, or dentist,
your boyfriend or girlfriend — or their boyfriend or girlfriend, and anyone you
do business with, such as the shop owner down the street.
People are always looking for different ways to invest their money. Some play it
safe and put it into interest-bearing accounts or long-term CDs. Others like the
excitement and risk of playing the stock market, buying property, or the fun
of investing in a film. Anyone who has a little (or a lot) of money to invest may
be willing to take a chance and back your film; you just have to ask. (I discuss
ways to successfully approach potential investors later in this chapter.)
Investors are out there — you just have to find them. And remember, timing
is everything. Someone may not be prepared to invest in your film today, but
they may be tomorrow. Don’t give up — keep asking.
Whether you’re at a cocktail party, a screening, or even at the photocopier, let everyone you come into contact with know that you’re
looking for investors for your film. You never know who knows whom.
Maybe Johnny’s dad wants to get involved in financing a small film —
you never know until you ask. Word of mouth is the best way to find
financing for your film.
Get a mailing list of investors from a mailing list company. Try
Hugo Dunhill Mailing Lists, Inc. (www.hdml.com — look in the index
under “Investors”; also try other high-income lists such as “Doctors”).
Addresses can be sent to you in the form of mailing labels or email
addresses. You pay $75 for every 1,000 names and addresses.
Approaching a potential investor
After you know whom to approach for financing, you need to know how to
approach them. Meeting an investor is like going out on a first date — you have
to impress on the first date, or you don’t get a second one. Your first meeting
with a potential investor will probably be over the phone. You need to sell
him on getting involved with you and your film so that you can move to the
next step and have a face-to-face meeting. The potential investor may request
a copy of your prospectus or business plan before wanting to meet in person.
This is why your presentation package is so important: If it intrigues the investor, you’ll get that in-person meeting and have a chance to close the deal.
Keep in mind the following when approaching investors:
Be enthusiastic about your project, but don’t be phony.
Be honest and don’t guarantee that they’ll get rich from investing in
your film. If you prove that you can be trusted, they may invest in you —
and fund your future projects.
Don’t ever guarantee investors that they’ll recoup their investment and
make a profit. Nothing in life is guaranteed, especially getting rich off
making a movie. You don’t want to mislead them. If you guarantee they’ll
make money and they don’t, they could legally come after you stating
you made false promises to them.
Be prepared. Before calling, be ready to answer any questions the
investor may ask. This can include what your film’s about (be ready to
pitch your story), budget amount, shooting schedule, post-production
to release schedule, and how long it will take for them to see a return (if
any) on their investment. Before your face-to-face meeting, review all the
material in your package so that the investor will know that you know
what you’re talking about.
Be respectful. Assure the investor that you will treat his or her money
as if it were your own.
Follow up with a thank-you note to the investor for taking the time to
meet with you and for considering your proposal.
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