Why Being Fired Sucks!

Not like this is the only time I have ever been fired. Lord knows I have a pretty thick skin. But truth be told it still bothers me. A lot. Maybe I am getting old. Maybe I am growing weary of how many "new" clients are left out there?

I feel like I am at one of those self-help meetings. "My name is Evan Morgenstein. And I got fired". From the group... "Hi Evan". And away we go into a diatribe about why I got fired by a client and who did what and how it could have been avoided. But here is the truth, if you get fired no matter what you say, it hurts! Right? If it doesn't then you checked out before and I guess were just too weak to let them go first. Maybe it was for financial reasons? Maybe you don't like confrontation? I'm not your shrink, just your Linkedin buddy!

What I have realized is in this world of text, e mails and zoom calls, there is no personal touch. I am going to give you an astounding fact about my business, The Digital Renegades, www.thedigitalrenegades.com is one of the most significant representation agencies I have ever owned. We represent some of the biggest influencers on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and others. And since February, 2020 I have signed 94% of my clients. And I haven't met ONE of them in person! Think about that. Covid-19 has made the representation business one of transaction and not interaction. How messed up is that??

So me getting fired isn't surprising. It happens to every agent in the business, big or small. But what does it mean? How can I ensure I don't feel this way again? The last thing I want is to utilize my personal capital to make myself feel better because a client a. should never have signed or b. I should have done a better job or c. both/either/whatever.....

Yes, in talent representation clients are signed to eventually fire you. I would image Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr and/or Gal Gadot have ventured in the realm of more than one agent, manager and/or lawyer. It's just the reality.

But as I lied in bed last night thinking about this professional tragedy, I realized that maybe I have bitten off more than I can chew in a sense. Everyone in sports, social media influencer, acting, etc., wants an agent. I've never met anyone that didn't think that there were hundreds of brands just waiting for them if they just hired the person with the right "connections". While some of that is true, the fact is most talent really don't have that many people salivating to sign them. If there was, they would have found the talent before they signed with an agent. Trust me... Brand managers are like Ninja warriors when it comes to finding celebrities!

So what is the solution? I think like any small business you need to value your time as the most precious commodity. Like the Hope diamond. Something so valuable, to give it up is rare and only done with the chance of your time becoming more valuable not less. Yeah, that's the ticket!!! Value my time, not my laundry list of potential clients. Hmmm. Makes sense doesn't it.

As entrepreneurs we need to share, communicate and help each other. No large company, educational institution or house of worship is going to do for us what we can do for each other. I encourage all entrepreneurs to step out of their comfort zone, come to Linkedin and share a message that will enlighten, elevate and potentially save your brothers and sisters in the world of entrepreneurism the pain of experiencing things we can guide them out of!

Linkedin is a community of like-minded doers and winners. Maybe me getting fired helped someone avoid the same. I'll take this one for the team. Who is next up and what do you have for us?