Investible funds, sponsorships, and grants? Yes, we are.
We now have 30% sustainable institutional flows in sponsorships and grants and then 70% emotional funding which rests on my networks.
Now the plan is to grow the institutional funding to 50% and begin to put structures that will enable us to attract investor funds in facilities, equipment etc.
This is why we now have lawyers, accounts and consultants. We spend about 20% of our funds on these experts.
We now have an advisory board for the UK business and I’m whittling down my powers.
My MD sits at every meeting and only comes to me for advice.
Now another thing that deters investors and serious producers is the lack of understanding of the concept of delayed gratification.
Thespians want to collect all they can from this one production, thereby bloating the budget with fees that cannot be justified, over-invoicing, taking percentages from little actors’ fees, and conniving with vendors to overprice services.
All these adds to the cost and dont forget the gate fees cannot cover cost and the Production declares a loss and with that no investor or sponsor will touch.
These bloated costs, hits ability to market the play as the thespians would have sucked up the funds and there will be no funds to pay for advertising whixh is usually the first to suffer.
If thespians calm down and work with producers without literary ‘stealing’ then the business will grow and everybody will enjoy.
Last year, i lost N50m in the UK. I cried like a child but thanked God that it was sponsorship and not investors fund.
If it was investor funds i would be on jail now simple.
Now when we looked at the books, expenditure lines where bloated by over 500%.
A rehearsal space that was gotten at £400 i was charged £4,000. Instrumental Rental that was £1,000, i paid £10,000.
All of these are verifiable and tracked. I cried but was advised ro let go.
Came out with a profit of £10. Now if i had borrowed the money, what would i b doing now and which investor will hear this and come in.
So let’s grow the space and u will see cast fees go up, more jobs, more productions etc.
Kashimawo is coming at 50% less than Awo.
Awo took over £100,000 and Kashinawo is coming at £62,000 even with a bigger cast.
At these figures, I will be able to do four plays a year in UK which is the plan and move more ppl from here to experience an international stage.
This year, we are moving 12 people with no airline sponsorship. We bought full tickets cash and dts cos we have saved so much money on the production itself.
So the culture of the average thespian who sees eveey production as an opportunity to steal shd change cos they are biting their own fingers.
Duke of Shomolu
