New Projects!

I woke up in the morning to my cat head butting my nose, I guess it's a lot better than her breathing in my face!  Two seconds later my daughter is knocking on my door, "waaattttt !!!"  I wail, (can a person not even sleep in ?)  "Wake up muuummmmm"   my daughter calls out.   "What is the b!@@dy time for gods sake!"  I yell at her , "it's 6.45" she yells back cheerily, oh groannnn.. the school run, oh the joys of parenthood. 

Well now that the drama of the dengue fever is over , I can go back to focusing on my work. I have finally finished the presentation deck for a new show, which I usually send out to my producer and best friend who is in Australia,

My bestie and Producer Peggy, on another mad night out.

because a.) I value her opinion and b.) she has no hesitation in giving me her undiluted opinion , even if I don't like it.  I try not to argue back too much but she knows me too well !! Then I also have another bestie in a part of Europe who critiques my writing and editing skills ( my grammar and editing is a bit orf at times!)  and a couple who help me with my 'cough cough "sums", my layout and graphics.  So you see having your tribe supporting you is really important , I couldn't do it without them.

You are wondering where I get my creative concepts from ?, I guess it has to do with what is happening in my life at the moment , after all that's how I got the concept for the 'Art of Living Show', it was basically about friends and family looking for housing, this new show is also quite personal , and it came to me about a year and a half ago when I was visiting my mum in England. 

I've begun to start  looking for sponsors , and said as much on one of my social networking platforms.  I'm really pleased to know that people are reading this blog and reaching out to offer their help to me. It's absolutely wonderful to know that people are willing to pool their resources together and muck in,  we all benefit in the end right?.

Shooting the Art f Living Show on location in Port Dickson

For the first season of my first show,  I was incredibly lucky and managed to land a fantastic sponsor for the entire show, but it's never that easy especially if you're not working in the "system".  I am not affiliated to any cable or FTA networks or assigned productions, so being the little rebel that I am, I source my own sponsorship.   Having had to do this for a few years , I can say that there are also bodies out there to help you (err not those kind of bodies gals.. sorry eeppp!) 

Of course the first that comes to mind is FINAS.  I have been there, I have pitched my show for  my second season,  they usually have a panel of  8- 12 professionals from the film & media world who will review your work, so make sure you have alot of hard copies and CD's of your show ready! Don't worry,  if you are presenting to them, they will give you a list of what is required.

However the main centre to hand out information would be KPKK ,  I found the folk there to be very friendly and informative, they will also be the ones to send out circulars on Industry Grants  from the following agencies

• MDEC  that is our Multimedia Corporation and they offer great grants , especially tech driven content, their VP Michael Warren is a really decent chap if you can get ahold of him!
• CRADLE their mission is to help with start ups and and seeding content driven projects, make sure you're books are up to date!
• MTDC which is the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation, they have the most substantial grants to offer.  You can also look into SKMM because when they tender grants they are fairly substantial too.

Just be prepared to have all your documents in order, and what I mean is,  deep breath, 

your company documents (yes you have to have a company already set up) , your annual reports or audited reports, P&L reports, and company profile and a write up on your project. Yes it's a lot, but if you take it a step at a time, you'll get all the docs  and be able to send it off to them.  My suggestion, be patient, be persistent and try to make friends with them, no one ever lost out by being friendly and nice.

The  creative investment arm of our government is called MYCREATIVE .  The CEO is a chap called Johan Ishak, he's really switched on and is a tremendous help, as are the other team members.  I have nothing but good things to say about this body, however, they go through everything with a FINE tooth comb to be able to grant you any sort of loan, so make sure you are really prepared. 

I managed to rope Johan in for an interview on the radio station.

There are many grants and loans available from the government and non government sectors, the main objective  if you want one,  is to grit your teeth, and get on with it.  If this is what you want to do, then roll your sleeves up and just go for it! 

I've always said being a producer is very much like being an actress, you're bogged down with one show for several months then you have months free till the next one! Which is why I started doing  World Ventures , writing and some PR work In between otherwise I'd go potty!! But you see I love what I do, I love that my film directors can interpret what's in my head and breathe life into it, can't wait to get stuck in, elbow deep, knee high in celluloid!      ( hello I didn't say cellulite k stop giving me beauty spa recommendations!!)

Now to get back to my most favourite part.... not!, getting the budget cut down even further! Have a lovely week folks, catch you on the flip side. 

Moving Forward 2016 part 2

Another week, another experience! It's only the second week into the new year and it seems quieter than usual.  Everyone seems to be hitting the grindstone and also looking for greener pastures elsewhere.  The job market seems to opening up so make sure you have your resumes polished up and find yourself a good recruitment agency to help you out with your job search.  I had a look at mine, and giggled, it was a bit like this.. :

blow off the cobwebs and smarten up your CV

Word of mouth from friends and acquaintances are also a gold mine for prospective jobs, but make sure you go through the job spec carefully because sometimes the job description is completely different to what was relayed to you.

It's always important to stay positive, like my gal pal and I say when things come crashing around you, look for the positives in that experience.  Make sure in between the searching and fretting that you exercise, it helps keep those endorphins flowing, when I was feeling a bit low it was exactly what my good friend Riz did, she got me out of the house for a lovely long walk in one of our botanic parks.  It puts reality back into perspective and of course helps burns calories! its a win win situation I tell ya.

So then I walked all the way to Sydney and back  (heh heh) 

Help yourself by feeding your brain, I've been helping myself to a good dose of TedxTalks.  Here are a couple that I enjoyed  : Getting stuck in the negatives (and how to get unstuck!)  and of course there is the very forthright How to stop screwing yourself over  I especially like the part about the internal chatter! Seriously it really never stops!

Last week I was blogging about how to make immediate cash by utilising your cooking skills, or anything you do well from teaching another language to scuba diving lessons while waiting for the job you want or figuring out what you really want to do.    It's funny when people ask me what I do, I never know how to answer them, once I even said "as little as possible"... and the retort was "yes , well we all try to, but apart from that.."  My other girlfriend leans over and whispers "say you're in between jobs".. Uh.. well that seems to imply I'm not working! I do have several jobs actually, four, if you count being a mum!

After coming back from Hong Kong, it seems the universe opened and started showering me with "marketing jobs" ! And you will probably come across them too.  One of them was for real estate bonds,  since it was a good friend who had offered this opportunity,  I heard them out (I'm nice that way :-p ) .  I realised with this type of  investment,  the parties that I would have to approach would be corporate ladder climbers and those with a substantial disposable income.  So I got ahold of someone I thought who filled the criteria and who was savvy with investments.  I  sat  with her through the presentation and had her break it down in layman terms to me and at the same time She felt it was wort her time and effort.   It's quite simple really, it's a bond that will be held for 2 years, it's in pounds, the profits are paid biannually and the interest rate is pretty good.  Here's a link to their website Lifesgood Property Investment .  Just remember, it's all about your comfort zone, if you think you can do it, go for it.

A few days later , in the midst of screaming at the TV monitor during the Rugby World Cup at our regular watering hole, my friend says to me as I'm hyperventilating ,   "how about earning in USD?"  The All Black's score a try and I'm whooping loudly, I look at her and say "hell yeah". "OK" she says, "I came with you to the property investment, come with me to this network marketing launch, lets check it out".    "Fair enough" I say with my eyes glued to Sonny Bill's glutes.. sigh those Kiwis.. uh where was I?

All Blacks all the way!

Life Force

So essentially you have MLM's, Pyramid Schemes, and Network Marketing.  I've tried a few, in between my productions, one of them was Life Force ,  it's health products from power drinks, nutrition and beauty.  I first joined it was via  the New Zealand division, and then they finally brought the products to Singapore.  That was in 2009, and it cost me $440 and I only signed one person on.

 Then  in 2012, I was introduced to another called Exfuze .  This one was yummy, it was a health drink and supposed to do all sorts of beneficial things for you, so much so that my son thought it was a soft drink, and drank most of the bottle in one sitting!! Heh Heh.. and with them as well I only signed on one person. It cost me RM530.

Exfuse

I've been approached by herbalife etc but ( I can feel you all squirming in your seats) I knew I did not have have the type of personality  or interest to pursue it. Both were MLM businesses. So when I went to this networking launch, I was already in defence mode. However, once there , it was made abundantly clear it was not a MLM scheme, it was all about network marketing, it was about travelling and having fun while doing it as well as making money along the way.  Finally a product that I could understand, as I travel a lot.   When I spoke to people about this exciting product, they were so receptive towards it, because everyone travels!   I thought to myself, 'hmmnn this is also a good way to empower loads of women', friends I know who've had to downshift due to the economy, and in such a supportive environment.   Don't get me wrong,every networking program you come across has negative stories about it, and I did my research, I grilled the Regional Director and he answered all my questions and allayed my fears.  It also leaves me with loads of time to work on my production, writing and presentations.  This was a perfect match for me.

My Team!

Not only do we network together we have lunches too!

What I'm saying is, my girlfriends and I try out these different programs, some are a good fit some are not, there are  many more out there.  My aim is to impart as much information as possible about these different ventures should you decide to go for it.  If you have some experience of them, and would like me to publish it on my blog, do drop me a line and tell me about them.  My e mail is daphnenasir@yahoo.co.uk  I'd love to hear from you, we're creating a hub for women by women, I find it so exciting!

I'll cover more possibilities next week, till then remember - a dream is only a dream until you make it a reality.