If you’re interested in what I did to rank among the winners of the Entrepreneurs Master Class Big Ass Goal Competition in March 2015, here’s what my submission looked like:
Name: Graham Stoney
Please state your original goal:
Get on TV doing comedy by 13th February 2015
Have there been any changes to your goal since the original submission? If so, what changes in direction have you taken and why?
The basic strategy is to intuitively create funny stuff, see what works, put a comedy routine together that I can deliver on TV… and start stalking The Chaser team from ABC TV.
It’s proven rather challenging; but hey, it’s a stretch goal so that’s normal, right?
What are the key action that you have taken toward your goal?
- Wrote it in my goal book. Worried about Meditated on it every day.
- Completed a Stand-Up Comedy course with City East Community College
- Wrote 20 minutes of comedy material for my upcoming Stand-Up Comedy course graduation show on March 23rd 2015. The show got postponed several times beyond my goal date; apparently, that’s show biz for ya.
- Auditioned for Short & Sweet Theatre Sydney, 2015. Landed the role of Tom in LockOut: The Musical (a comedy). Rehearsed for ages. Went on stage. Got rave reviews: “a wonderful song and dance musical performance extraordinaire”
- Set up/updated my social media presence including my comedy blog, Facebook page, Google+ business page, Twitter feed, Instagram Account, LinkedIn profile, StarNow profile and YouTube Channel; all linked and automated wherever possible. At least Google will take me seriously now.
- Configured my comedy blog to auto-upgrade & resolved some technical issues to minimise future need for IT support.
- Engaged an SEO consultant to check my onpage SEO strategy.
- Made these funny videos to promote LockOut: The Musical. Got feedback on what worked in them.
- Made a video about my cleaner; which turns out to be full of lies, but is nonetheless funny.
- Attended an Improv Theatre Sydney workshop at Giant Dwarf Theatre, which is run by The Chaser team. Totally failed to meet any of them.
- Asked fellow Comedian Susie Youssef, who appeared on The Chaser’s Media Circus in November 2014, how she got on the show. She said “The Chaser guys called me”. When I asked “How do I get them to call me?”, she replied “Spend 10 years getting to know them”. Bit of a problem given my February 13th deadline.
- Landed the role of Sidebar in Audience Therapy, another comedy play in Short & Sweet Theatre Sydney 2015 Festival. I play a Dr Phil-like TV therapist, who is basically an excellent showman but an incompetent therapist. Lots of audience participation and interaciton.
- Attended the Comedy On The Edge workshop at The Chippendale Hotel . Got up and delivered 3 minutes of material, and got feedback on it. Several comedians said I was funny, and that it’s really hard to make comedians laugh.
- Went to lots of comedy shows to suss out the vibe and see what works, and what doesn’t.
- Asked my Comedian mate Ray Badran about his agent, Century Entertainment. Networking, networking, networking. He recommended them.
- Outsourced my YouTube video SEO by finding a great local contractor on elance.com. Trained and built a working relationship for her to automate future YouTube video SEO and blog posting.
- Set up a no-contact boundary with my mother, so I can feel good about myself for the first time in my life.
- Began studying Tai Chi to manage my stress levels.
- Moved to Bondi, a more creative area than boring old Lane Cove. Got a new lease on an apartment, and on life.
- Practised doing comedy with everyone I talked to, including my property manager, people on the bus and at the beach.
- Went to the beach, meditated and played drums every day to create a sustainable work-life balance.
- Went to bed early whenever I could.
- Spent way too long writing this submission.
What have you learned about business and/ or yourself during this challenge?
Getting on TV requires actually knowing people who cast stuff for TV, and having an agent.
To do Stand-up on TV, I need to have a solid routine which I already know works in front of a live audience. I need to get in front of live audiences in order to do develop that.
I’m only really funny when I feel safe and am not stressed out.
It’s a journey, not a destination. Keeping this in mind absolves all failures challenging learning experiences in which goals appear to still be located in the future.
What has been the outcome of this?
I’m a lot closer to living my dream than I was 3 months ago.
Have you achieve your goal?
I’ve ChromeCasted my YouTube channel to my TV. Does that count?
Remember to come to [intlink id=”1625″ type=”post”]my upcoming gig[/intlink] at Balmain Workers Club on 23rd March 2015!
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