Is it really almost November? This year has been flying by, and will be over before we know it. I guess that is what happens when you are having fun? This year has been a very busy year with running the business. I feel that I’m learning new things everyday, and there is always challenges to overcome. To me the challenges are part of the appeal of running my own company. There is no roadmap that will work for every company, and it requires you to constantly readjusting your strategy. Below is a quick update on some of the things I have been working on lately.
Bink:
It is really great to see everything coming together. All the models for the first episode are now built, and both Bink and the Hand are in-progress on the rigs. I have started to see very early surfacing work on Bink which is awesome to see. I would share the renders, but I think it is a little early for that. We should be able to start animation in November if everything stays on schedule.
The other big thing I have been working on is trying to line up the voice talent. I’m looking for a female voice for a scientist that makes announcements over a PA system, things like “Ready to initiate testing”. As well as the voice for Bink, and this has been much more challenging. I think I have a few options for the female scientist, but nothing for the voice for Bink. I’m looking for a unique voice that is similar to the way minions, or Stitch talks. A unique language that you can’t really understand most of the time, but occasionally there are words you do understand. I recorded my son “talking” to use as an example, since when he talks it is very cute and you can occasionally make out an actual word. If you are anyone you know might be interested please let me know. Here is the link to the VO project.
LA Society of Creative Professionals:
This last Tuesday we had our 4th monthly society mixer, and it was another great turnout. So far our attendance for our events have ranged from 10-50 people. I have been meeting a lot of really great and talented people, and hopefully others are enjoying the events and getting something out of it themselves. I feel that no matter what you do networking is a key to being successful. Plus I just love meeting new people, and learning about their unique lives. I always show up to the mixers early to get things setup, and there is always this fear that no one will show up. So far that has not happened yet, and hopefully it never does.
Corporation:
This week I have been learning a great deal about authorized and issued shares. I have been having a highly debated conversation with my CPA and my attorney on how many shares we should issue, and how many we should save. According to the articles of incorporation for Eric Miller Animation Studios we are authorized to have 100,000 shares. I learned that it is a good idea to not issue all of them, and save some for later. For example my attorney suggested only issuing 100 shares to me. Since there are only 100 shares issued I’m still 100% owner, but it gives me extra to bring on partners, or offer to employees. The debate has been how many shares to issue, 100, 25,000, or some other number. It seems my CPA and attorney had different opinions, so we had to work out each of their reasonings for me to make a decision.
Part of that discussion is also how much I should spend on those initial shares. My attorney explained to me “The greater the capitalization, the stronger EMAS is against an attack that it should be disregarded as an alter ego. Alter ego is a judicial doctrine that says that people should not be able to hide behind a corporate form if the corporation is inadequately capitalized and fails to comply with corporate formalities. If the corporation is found to be your alter ego, then you will be personally liable for its debts. If “the corporate veil is pierced” then a creditor could get a judgment against you individually. This defeats much of the purpose of incorporating.”
So as you see I have some pretty important decisions I’m trying to make. As I mentioned I’m learning so much each day about a variety of different things I would have never learned about if I did not start my own company.
We are having another baby:
My wife and I made the announcement yesterday on Facebook that we are expecting another baby in May of 2016. We are both very excited for the new family member, but it is also very scary. It is very challenging to have one child so having another it will be more of a challenge. Having a house payment, two kids and in the second year of starting my own company is enough to stress anyone out a little. I’m positive we will find a way to make it all work as we did with our first one.
Well, there is a quick run down of some of the things I have going on in my life. Thank you for reading about my journey in starting my business, and as always leave me comments below. I love reading about what is on your minds, and your responses to my posts.
If you have not already, I hope you will join me on my journey by subscribing to my blog. If you have any thoughts or advice I would love to hear what you have to say, so please feel free to leave me any comments below. Otherwise, be sure to stay connected with me on Twitter (@MillerAnimation). Only Time Will Tell.