By: Jay Trachman
The Small Business Administration publishes a pamphlet called “Checklist For Going Into Business,” in which they list some of the personality traits helpful to people who want to start a business of their own. After each one, they’ve given the opposite, or alternative, suggesting those who probably shouldn’t go into business for themselves. Let’s list them and see how they apply to us, as performers. Imagine that you are the entrepreneur; your listener is the customer, and management is your stockholders…
1. I like to take charge of things and see them through. (There’s always some eager beaver around wanting to show how smart he is. I say let him.) When we’re on the air, we’re in charge. The listener perceives that, whether it’s true or not. Our being in charge may partly be an illusion, but it’s one that’s comforting to the listener. If something goes wrong in his world, he likes to know that you’ll be there to tell him about it, and help him to get through it. People like jocks who speak with authority. Granted that many of us are hemmed in by formatic rules which can severely limit our choices, but if you do any personality raps at all, you’re making decisions about what to talk about and how to say it. Do you like doing that? Do you enjoy taking responsibility? Or would you rather have your show pre-packaged, or scripted for you by someone else?
2. I do things on my own. Nobody has to tell me to get going. (I don’t put myself out unless I have to.) Prime example: show prep. Very few stations demand it. All too many require that if you do it at all, it be done on your own time. And yet there is no single factor more vital to making your show successful and appealing. Another example: getting a critique. The PD only calls you in when there’s something seriously wrong. All you want is regular, on-going suggestions and analysis. Not all PD’s are like this — but I make a good second income coaching success-oriented DJ’s whose PD’s either don’t have the time, the knowledge or the interest.
3. I like people. I can get along with just about anybody. (Most people irritate me.) It’s hard to see how one could choose to be a successful entertainer, without fundamentally liking people. Listeners pick up on this intuitively. Do you know what the most obvious clue is? Whether you behave as though you genuinely like yourself. I’m not talking egotism or narcissism here — a person who really likes himself tends to be hearty and generous with his or her feelings.
4. I can get people to join in when I start something. (I let someone else get things moving, then I go along if I feel like it.) Jocking is not a “solitary act”; the best of us use our listeners and the people around us (newsmen, etc.) to make our shows more appealing. Not every phone-in bit we try on the air “works.” Then again, sometimes we make a marginal decision to try something unusual, and the phones light up. I’ve never been able to predict exactly what will work and what won’t. But here’s one “trick” to maximize your odds: if the people who do join in — whether phoners or colleagues — get stroked for doing it and feel good about the experience when it’s over, they’ll probably be back, and so will others who hear it happening.
5. I can keep going as long as I need to. I don’t mind working hard for something I want. (I can work hard for awhile, but when I’ve had enough, that’s it.) No one has to tell a jock about the extra hours spent in research, show prep, appearances — often with no extra pay. But being on the radio is what we want most in life — or else we don’t make it in this business.
6. I can make up my mind in a hurry if I have to. (I don’t like being the one who has to decide things.) The network feed isn’t there. Or, the commercial is missing, and it’s Saturday morning. You forgot to pre-read the copy, and it’s starting to make no sense at all. Some of us may be born with an ability to keep things moving no matter what happens; but making the right decisions “on the fly” is a large part of what we call “seasoning.”
7. My health and energy never run down. (I run out of energy sooner than do most of my friends.) One of the greatest jocks I ever knew suffered from a heart condition, a serious knee injury that eventually resulted in amputation, and assorted other major ailments. I never heard him when he didn’t sound bright and cheerful and glad for my company — even when he was broadcasting from his hospital bed.
What does all this prove? Is there a great similarity between the kind of person who makes a good businessman, and the one who makes a great performer? Perhaps more than we thought, but I’d be the first to admit that we’re very different in some fundamental ways.
On the other hand, I think it’s useful to recognize that we are entrepreneurs of a sort. We have one product to sell, and our livelihood depends on how well we can market it, promote it, and produce it. It’s ourselves.
– See more at: http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=389491#sthash.UDKQOjFO.dpuf
Jay Trachman is publisher of “One to One,” a weekly information and humor service for broadcasters. Jay can be reached at: phone (559) 448 0700, fax (559) 448 0761, e-mail at 121@att.net, or www.121online.net. Reprinted with permission.
