Dont Let Christmas Leave You Broke.

Bob Shami author of Every Day Savings puts together a manual that can help you with your financial troubles. By better managing your money you will be able to save for the things you really enjoy doing. This is not a book that is meant to be read in chronological order. Flip to the chapters that most resonate with your challenges. In no time you will build better spending habits.

A great gift to add to a stocking stuffer or give to your son or daughter away at college.

Find Everyday Savings Here

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

It happens to all of us once in a while. We feel our creativity crashed a wall and ideas can no longer formulate. Sometimes you just need to step back and give yourself a moment to get back up and running again. Whether or not an entrepreneur creativity is something necessary across all industries. Entrepreneur.com shared some great tips to get you back on your creative streak.

These few suggestions will get anyone out of a rut. Explore, get inspired and come back to the drawing board with a fress

1. Check in with your mission statement. Mission statements are often written and then forgotten. Keeping yours on hand for regular review keeps your mind focused on the “why” you’re in business. When you’re clear about the why (i.e., why your customers need what you provide), then it’s easier to come up with the “what” (i.e., what you provide, generated through creativity). If you don’t have a mission, now’s a good time to write one.

2. Find inspiration from your clients. I recently heard a couple of successful entrepreneurs talk about where they find inspiration. They each said that when they are feeling stuck or frustrated and feel that they can’t come up with a single ounce more of creativity, they call their favorite clients and spend a few minutes chatting. Doing so reignites their creativity.

3. Read. Personally, I don’t read anything that doesn’t serve my ability to better serve my clients, simply because I don’t dedicate the time to pleasure reading. And often I find inspiration in my daily practice of reading interesting pieces on the web. However, sometimes that’s not enough and I have to read outside of my comfort zone to ignite my creative spark.

4. Schedule a meeting with employees to bounce ideas around. Your employees know your business from a different perspective than you do. Having regular idea-generation powwows keeps the flow of inspiration and creativity going. This also gives your staff a sense of ownership and lets them know that their voice and ideas matter and are vital to the enterprise’s success.

5. Take a day or even a few hours off and go somewhere that inspires you. Stepping away from your office for a few hours or ideally a whole day sends you back to the office with a fresh perspective. Spending that time in a place that inspires or calms you is optimal for this purpose. For me, that place is the beach.

6. Schedule a meeting with a colleague to talk shop. When I really feel stuck, I call upon my friends who are also coaches. And every time I do, I walk away with so many new ideas that I often have to jot them down in my phone so I don’t forget them all.

7. Take a vacation. It could be that your creativity is locked up because it’s been way too long since your last vacation. It might not be a good time to take time away from the office, but even an overnight stay at a resort nearby could be just enough to refresh you and your creativity.

8. Disconnect. The idea of an entrepreneur disconnecting from her work even for an hour per day or for a full weekend is enough to send her into therapy. But, one thing I’ve learned is that when I take some time to disconnect from my work, that's when the floodgates of my creativity reopen. There is something very powerful about creating space between our work and ourselves. It almost feels like magic.

9. Solicit advice from unlikely places. Sometimes someone who is not at all connected to our organization or even to our industry is the best place to find inspiration. Personally, I do this a lot and I find that my best ideas on how to drum up new business come from the most unlikely places and people.

10. Meditate, pray or exercise. You don't have to be a religious type or even spiritual to get the benefit of these soulful practices. (Calling all atheists!) Exercise can have a similar effect. When we try too hard to generate creativity, we can actually block it more. Being in silence for a few minutes a day in whatever capacity feels comfortable can unblock our creative juices because stillness slows down our thoughts and clears the mind. For me, running without music—to the beat of my own breath—has a similar effect on me as my mediation practice.

Shami Media Libray- FIVE POUNDS

After discovering a duffel-bag full of marijuana, Alex, a 20 something year old college student, decides to take advantage of what has fallen into his hands. Alex soon sees how thrilling and easy selling drugs can be but is not aware of the harm he is causing to himself and others, especially to the rightful owner. Unknown to Alex, Ben, the young drug dealer who stashed the bag, is now in a world of trouble as he has to come up with 15 grand to cover for the five pounds he lost. Soon, these two radically different worlds collide and no one is left unscathed.

Watch Five Pounds [TRAILER] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onBzZ1i5IsY

What Is Your Body Language Saying

Communication of any kind is very important. To be a better communicator you have to practice. Being verbal or nonverbal in your communication depends on the message you are trying to send. Either way for it to be effective your audience needs to be receiving of it or else your words will fall upon deaf ears. Here are 5 elements shared on Entrepreneur.com

Nonverbal communication includes a number of elements, so I manipulated only five elements: 

1. Eye contact. The effective nonverbal instructor tried to make eye contact with each student throughout the presentation; the poor nonverbal instructor looked at the PowerPoint and minimally glanced at the students.

2. Voice fluctuation. The effective nonverbal instructor varied his vocal pattern throughout the presentation; the poor nonverbal instructor kept a moderately monotonous vocal range.

3. Position in the room. The effective nonverbal instructor used a PowerPoint clicker and walked around the front of the room; the poor nonverbal instructor stood behind a podium and used the desktop computer mouse to navigate the PowerPoint.

4. Facial expressions. The effective nonverbal instructor used a variety of enthusiastic facial expressions; the poor nonverbal instructor kept a moderately flat expression.

5. Hand gestures. The effective nonverbal instructor continually showed the palms of his hands during gestures; the poor nonverbal instructor kept his hands on the surface of the podium.
Following the presentation, each class took the same test, which questioned them about the information they were just given. The effective nonverbal communication courses scored almost 30 percent higher on the test than students in the poor nonverbal communication courses. 

[TRAILER] Man In The Street

Meet Kuda, the world's newest reality television superstar. He's left alone in a house for 6 months and expected to defend the house against intruders sent in to steal specific items - recreating the true suburban living experience. The problem comes when Kuda is forced to kill one of his attackers and much to the dismay of the authorities, this new-found murderer is heralded by the viewing public as a true icon of his generation - a chilling, moral catch-22.

Man In The Street [TRAILER] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKI8xmZT5yE

Get The Best Out of LinkedIn

No. 1: Create a personal and a company page.

Muller says it’s important to have LinkedIn accounts for both your company and yourself as an executive. LinkedIn has special “Company Pages,” which allow LinkedIn users to “follow” your company, and you can create a profile that clearly details your company’s expertise.

On your personal page, Muller says you can still share company news, but you should also use it as a springboard for leveraging personal relationships with LinkedIn members who know you personally.

No. 2: Ask for recommendations.

“Recommendations are awesome for instilling confidence,” says Muller. He says business owners shouldn’t be shy about asking loyal customers for recommendations about services or products. However, you want to make sure your requests don’t backfire by leading you to lose customers.

“Use common sense,” says Muller, who suggests you ask yourself whether a request or a follow-up might be viewed as annoying.

No. 3: Give a behind-the-scenes look at your company.

Many companies maintain blogs, which produce articles tailor-made for sharing on LinkedIn. In the event that blogging isn’t a major priority for your business, don’t despair.

“Post about company events or fundraising drives,” says Muller. “It adds more color to your page.” While these posts may not be filled with useful tips, they will still help establish a more personal relationship with clients and potential employees.

No. 4: Post frequently.

Muller says business owners should try to post updates as often as possible. “Google likes things that are updated frequently,” says Muller, so posting more often may help your company’s page rank higher when searched.

No. 5: Reach out for introductions.

Use LinkedIn as a resource for identifying leads by combing through the contacts of current customers and employees. Once you’ve found potential clients, Muller says you should politely ask your customer for introductions, or directly contact the person.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230177#ixzz2mcYJSzUG

Shami Media Movie Library- The Contenders

On a winter night, Ken and Nora host a birthday party in their beach house.  But why does the guest of honor suddenly die? The remaining friends spend the night discussing sex, death and the secret of happiness, waiting for an answer. 

THE CONTENDERS Watch [TRAILER]  http://www.imdb.com/video/withoutabox/vi3564045593

Are You Ready For Representation

As an actor or actress there comes a time when you feel you need to be represented by an agent. Deciding when that time is is up to you. But how to find the perfect match should not be trial and error. Finding an agent that is the best for you takes time and should not be rushed. The same efforts you would put into any relationship should  be considered here as well. An agent will only represent you if he or she truly believes you have what it takes. They would most likely be familiar with your work and be aware of your talents and skills. Those are things that make the manager/actress(or) relationship a better one and more likely to last.

Ask your teachers and mentors in the business for ideas. You could try some meet and greets, and perhaps find a representative that will work with you. This is sometimes a good way to find a representative because most junior agents who attend these events are required to bring in new talent. Since these junior agents will have a hard time enticing more established actors, the meet and greets provide them with opportunities to discover new talent like you.

Good luck searching for your match.


Visit shamimedia.com for information about our current films and features.

Shami Media Movie Library- This Wretched Life

Everyone Has Their Monsters 

Frankie J. Mosca started making experimental movies at the age of 10. Today he is an independent film Producer/Director with a solid background of Film, Television & Theater. Frankie is the Founder and President of Escape Route Productions, LLC. His first feature movie, the dark-comedy "This Wretched Life," was released in 2010. Shami Media Productions has joined forced with Director Mosca to distribute his film. Read below to read movie synopsis and watch the trailer.

Awakening from a near fatal overdose, Chris embraces a second chance at life. Required to enroll into a 12-Step Program, and mandated to state psychiatrist appointments, he is forced to revisit his chaotic past; a history that revolves around his friend Andy and her autistic brother Frankie. Follow Chris as his past and present converge revealing a deranged cocktail of addiction, mental 

disorder and hope. Will Chris surrender to the monsters that lurk deep inside us all?

This Wretched Life Movie [TRAILER] Watch Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-f2SovB_8Y

A Few Rules To A Start-Up

Starting your own business can sometimes feel overwhelming but after reading Mark Cuban's article on Entrepreneur.com. I took away some valid advice. I did not agree with all of them but below are the few that stood out to me. No matter what be passionate about your business, because if you are not how do you expect others to be. Everything will not always go as planned but if you cut the goals into small tasks you will be able to accomplish more.

1. Make the job fun for the employees.
On Marks list this was the last thing he mentioned and for me this goes first on my list. I think it is important to feel  inspired and be free at work. Of course there are limits, but for the most part it will be in the best interest of your boss to create an atmosphere that allows his employees to feel rewarded for their efforts. It helps shows appreciation.

2.Know your core competencies and focus on being great at them. 
Pay up for people in your core competencies. Get the best. Outside the core competencies, hire people that fit your culture but aren't as expensive to pay.

3. No offices
Start up for the most part are employed by some of the most innovative people. Try not to box them. A company culture that fosters team work will inspire ideas and help everyone to be on the same page for the most part.