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Campus Review
October 8, 2014
Page 18
SBDC Offers Business
Expertise to Entertainment Industry
In the last two years, the Clayton State
University Small Business Development
Center (SBDC) has assisted an increased
number of film, television, and music
industry clients. In an effort to better
serve these clients, along with local small
businesses who want to become vendors
to the entertainment industry, SBDC has
launched a series of non-degree courses
that focus on the behind-the-scenes busi-
ness aspects of entertainment. These
classes will empower the creative class
for success beyond their artistic talent and
skill.
The interdisciplinary curriculum focuses
on three key areas: getting suppliers
“camera-ready” or “film-friendly;”
empowering content creators and above-
the-line crew with the tools and resources
needed to scale their operations from proj-
ects to pipelines; and helping independent
performing artists, below-the-line crew,
and freelancers turn their crafts into com-
panies.
Transferring capabilities and target mar-
ket expansion into the film and television
industry can be very feasible for vendors
from fields such as construction, dry-
cleaning, transportation, and property
leasing. Likewise, craftspeople that are
prevalent on almost every production set
(e.g., carpenters, electricians, caterers,
hairstylists, makeup artists, and tailors)
can also learn to duplicate their competen-
cies, build businesses around their crafts,
create jobs, and serve other markets.
Judiffier Pearson, Clayton State SBDC’s
film and entertainment consultant, devel-
oped the curriculum and had it vetted by
an advisory team comprised of leaders
from film, television, music, digital
media, and economic development.
“Creating these courses and building
industry collaborations has been a labor of
love,” she says. “Not only can creativity
and business proficiency coexist, it is nec-
essary.”
The Clayton State SBDC already has a
steady stream of entertainment-related
clients putting their advice into practice.
The new roster of courses is designed to
complement the SBDC’s confidential,
one-on-one consulting services, which are
no cost to Georgia’s established small
business owners and budding entrepre-
neurs, thanks to the SBA, the University
of Georgia, and Clayton State University
on a local level.
The SBDC can assist all for-profit enter-
tainment-related companies with annual
revenues up to $38.5 million.
“This is important to know because often,
small business owners who could benefit
greatly from SBDC training and consult-
ing don’t take advantage of the services
because they don’t realize that their com-
panies meet the SBA criteria of what con-
stitutes a small business by industry,”
Pearson asserts.
The film and entertainment course lineup
integrates the disciplines of management,
marketing, finances, and operations with
industry-specific practices and case stud-
ies to keep the content relevant and valu-
able. In “fusion” courses like Beauty &
Business Behind-the-Scenes Bootcamp,
registered attendees will develop market-
ing strategies and living business plans
while engaging in hands-on technical
development facilitated by highly
acclaimed instructors who have mastered
their crafts.
Clayton State SBDC’s 2014/2015
Film/TV/Music business courses will
debut in October in collaboration with the
University of Georgia SBDC’s Office of
Minority Business Development. For
more
information,
go
to
www.MorrowSBDC.org.
Mélanie Poudevigne Hosts ACSM Workshop in Cyprus
Dr. Mélanie Poudevigne, FACSM,
director of the Clayton State University
Health & Fitness Management pro-
gram, returned from the island nation
of Cyprus recently, after hosting a first-
time ACSM (American College of
Sports Medicine) Middle East work-
shop for fitness specialists. The work-
shop prepared interested individuals to
become personal trainers.
“The ACSM workshop in Cyprus was
an extraordinary success and experi-
ence with participants from Lebanon,
Iraq, Jordan, Cyprus and Saudi
Arabia,” she says. “It was a first for this
area of the world.”
The workshop, which was held at the
Frixos suites in Larnaca, Cyprus, was
made possible by SPI fitness in Lebanon
and the ACSM CCRB international com-
mittee. Poudevigne is a member of the
international committee for certifications
at ACSM.
“We are a group of four who assist coun-
tries who do not have any certifications in
fitness and sports medicine get access to
that knowledge around the world,” she
explains. “I was asked if I could help
with the Middle East since they know I
have lived in that region and I have a
dual citizenship which can help with the
language and some political barriers.”
Poudevigne adds that the workshop was
originally schedule to be hosted in
Lebanon, but that she decided to move
it to Cyprus due to the various conflicts
in the area around Lebanon.