The Next Big Thing: The Black List

Movies are one America’s greatest loves. We love to get lost in the story being told on the larger-than-life silver screen. There are tons of moving parts that go into the creation of our favorite cinematic adventures. But none of them can start to move unless there is a script.

It’s no secret that the entertainment industry is hard to break into. Ask any screenwriter and they’ll tell you how long it took them to get to where they are. The traditional ways of breaking into the industry are nepotism, cold asking or wining a screenwriting competition. If the odds are stacked against you, it can be easy to get discouraged. But thanks to technology and the wonders of the Internet, a new fourth channel of entry has come along.

Founded in 2005, The Black List has been serving as a Hollywood internal distribution circle with its annual list of Hollywood’s most-adored unproduced scripts. In total, scripts that were discovered from the blacklist have made over $16 billion worldwide, and have won 25 Academy Awards. Most notably, best picture winners Slumdog Millionaire and The King’s Speech came from The Black List. 

Since its beginning, The Black List has had the philosophy of connecting filmmakers and screenwriters. Though previously limited to those within Hollywood, The Black List aims to expand its circle to a worldwide scale.

For a small fee, screenwriters from around the world are able to upload their scripts and have them read by professionals within the industry with the possibility of getting them made into a feature film. It’s like Reddit, but for screenwriters.  The Black List platform is better for everyone in the long run because it opens up the possibly of a wide range of different and new stories to be told.

But The Black List is not the first to explore this new platform. Amazon Studios ventured into the same realm of open source script discovery when it first launched. The Black List differs in the sense that instead of functioning as a studio (like Amazon), it serves more as a middleman to get it to the right people to help make great movies. 

The success of The Black List’s revamped model is still yet to be seen, but it does have the potential to open up a host of stories yet to be told.

Do you have a company or idea in mind that really Thinks Big? Please contact me via email at Bobby.Miller@thinkbigparners.com.  You could be featured in our blog as The Next Big Thing!  

Microsoft Azure Cloud vs. Amazon Web Services

While hosting Microsoft's Azure Cloud and Windows 8 App Kickstarts, we were asked a lot of questions.  But the most prevalent question of all seemed to be "What's the difference between Microsoft Azure Cloud and Amazon Web Services?"

We're glad you asked.  Because as a matter of fact, there are a lot of things that differentiate Microsoft's Azure and Amazon's cloud platform.  Which one is right for you?  Read below to find out:

Who Leads in the Cloud Space?
Amazon has been known as the cloud leader for quite some time now mainly because of its competitive price points.  But that hasn't stopped Azure from claiming some of the top accounts including Boeing, General Mills, Lockheed Martin, Travelocity and Xerox. At the same time, Amazon Web Services have been around longer and plans to expand its global datacenters and cloud portfolio.  When it comes to credibility, Amazon may be the most trusted, but Azure isn't far behind.

IaaS vs PaaS
Amazon is best known for its Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) when Azure provides a Platform as a Service (PaaS).  What's the difference?  In IaaS models, the vendor only provides the underlying infrastructure (to include network, storage, compute resources and virtualization technology).  PaaS models, on the other hand, provide both an underlying infrastructure as well as the application development platform to include automation to deploy, test and iterate applications (through operating systems, databases, middleware, up-to-date tools and services).   

Which Makes Building Easier?
Azure seems to be more user-friendly than AWS.  According to Craig Knighton of LiquidSpace, "it is easier for the average engineer to accomplish high availability on Azure because the tools push you down that path and make it pretty darn easy to build stateless applications."  .NET engineers will also benefit more by utilizing Azure cloud while Java and Python developers may excel using AWS.

Which Performs Faster?
It's a close one, but AWS might take the cake.  Experts believe that AWS and Azure are probably equal when it comes to pure performance, but AWS may out-perform Azure when it comes to specialized applications.

Which Saves Me the Most Time? 
Hands down Azure.  As a strong PaaS, Microsoft's Azure Cloud platform automatically configures, optimizes and updates the cloud environment for the developer, saving loads of time.

Which One is More Cutting Edge? 
AWS may be considered more "cutting edge" than Azure.  The platform gives developers the capability to deploy new technologies event before becoming part of the platform.  But in the case of a simple business application, either AWS or Azure will do the trick.

Which Has a Better Failover Strategy?
It's a tie.  There is no way to provide a 100% uptime of availability zone or data-center whether that be on Azure or AWS.  Keep in mind that disasters usually happen because of poor application not because of the fragility in the cloud.  AWS is still recovering for the 4-day outage it endured in April of 2011.

Which Is Better for Big Data?
Amazon does big data really well.  Whether it's extra-large memory instances, high-CPU instances or cluster compute instances, Amazon really can't be beat.

Which Has More at Stake?
Azure--but that may be a good thing.  Knighton notes that if Microsoft fails with its cloud platform, the company will die a long, slow death.  Amazon, on the other hand, can rely on book selling if AWS fails.  Therefore, with Microsoft facing more pressure with the platform, there's no doubt that its Azure cloud service will succeed.  Either way, one thing is for sure, neither Microsoft or Amazon are going away anytime soon.

Which One's Cheaper?
Both Azure and AWS allow you to utilize a free usage tier to test out the platforms.  From there, it's up to the user to determine how much they want to spend on their cloud platform service.  Therefore, price depends on what services you need to use.  I will say that in order to determine how much money you will spend, Azure has a super easy pricing calculator (vs. Amazon's pricing charts).

Let's face it.  You can't go wrong with either Azure Cloud or AWS.  Both provide great cloud platform options--it all depends on what you need it for most, what type of developer you are and what you're trying to accomplish.  We'll let you make the decision on your own.

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

Blogging for Bucks: How Your Startup's Blog Can Bring in Cash

WRITTEN BY ALLISON WAY, SENIOR COPYWRITER & CHIEF EDITOR

Blogging brings in a lot of benefit.  Not only do blogs direct potential customers to a startup’s site, but they can also help sell a product, inform readers about a service, or act as a megaphone for thoughts and opinions. 

But did you know that blogging can bring in the bucks too?

It’s true.  If done effectively, blogging can generate extra cash for your startup.  And when you’re first starting out, any money is better than no money at all!

Many startups may already have an established blog (but if you don’t, be sure to read this article before you get started: The Blog Brawl: 10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Enter the Blogosphere).  Blogs can be easily set up through sites like Blogger, Wordpress or even Joomla. 

Once your blog has been created, generating interesting and consistent content is key.  When you write about topics that people are interested in reading, more users will visit your blog.  And when more users visit your blog, you have more potential customers in your market.  With patience, a blog can bring in thousands and thousands of viewers a month (or even a week!)—and that’s a lot of potential new customers. 

Once your blog has built a strong readership and is well-received by the public, it may be time to look into generating blog bucks.  But how?

1.  Blog Ads

Blogs can make money through the display of advertisements.  Many bloggers use Google AdSense, a service that pays based on how many readers have clicked on a blog’s advertisements (and it’s free!).  Other bloggers use CPM-driven tools that pay by the total number of impressions the advertisements receive.  For this, a startup can use ContextWeb, AdClickMedia, Adbrite or Adify. 

If you’re interested in taking your blog advertisements a step further, look into BlogAds.  BlogAds hook bloggers up with would-be advertisers and levies a commission in return for ad placements. 

The biggest concern that most startups have about advertising on a blog is that the advertisements will not match up with the blog’s theme or topic.  But tools such as AdSense account—the service pinpoints certain words in the blog so that the content matches the advertisements. 

2.  Direct Ad Sales

Selling space directly to advertisers can be a challenge, but it is possible!  With a highly-accredited blog, many advertisers may want to “buy” space on your blog, much like a newspaper or magazine.  Find services and products that tie into your niche market in order to place direct ad sales on your blog.

3.  Affiliate Programs

Blogs can serve as a conduit between readers and online sites that offer goods and services.  One of the best affiliate programs out there today comes from Amazon.com (Amazon Associates on Blogger).

When a blog mentions or reviews a book, it can link to the Amazon.com page so that readers can buy the book with a few clicks of the mouse.  When people find the book on your blog and then purchase them from Amazon.com, you get paid!

Other companies with great blogging affiliate programs include FlexOffers, LinkConnector, Commission Junction, Shareasale, E-Junkie, LinkShare, ING Direct, Ebates, Perkstreet Financial, Mint.com and Sharebuilder.

4.  Inbound Marketing

Many blogs exist just so that users can shout their opinions and thoughts to the world.  But what about using your blog to generate business?  That’s what inbound marketing is all about.

A startup can expand blog thoughts and opinions by talking about how a particular service or product can create solution or solve a problem.  By providing a call-to-action at the bottom of the blog, readers may feel a sense of urgency to look at your website or call your new startup.  Use effective search engine optimization, link building and keywording to bring more people to your blog—you never know; this could produce more customers! 

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

Buy Joe Calhoon's "The 1 Hour Plan for Growth" on November 16th to Learn How Kansas City Small Business Can Revitalize the Economy

Joe Calhoon, a noted business strategist, author, and keynote speaker, is a firm believer that in order to restart and revitalize the economy, it is necessary for small businesses to grow, flourish, and succeed.  This is why Calhoon has written his third book, The 1 Hour Plan for Growth – How a Single Sheet of Paper Can Take Your Business to the Next Level; to emphasize the importance of a simplified planning process and to provide a proven system for any business—whether in Kansas City or San Francisco—to create a compelling one-page business plan in one hour.

What is The 1 Hour Plan for Growth about?

The 1 Hour Plan for Growth is a book dedicated to the business growth planning process.  With the book’s three-step approach to growing small businesses, Calhoon proves that entrepreneurs can improve their own companies while striving towards the American Dream.

The 1 Hour Plan for Growth covers the six essential elements of the dynamic business growth plan including vision, mission, values, objectives, strategies and priorities.  In addition, Calhoon incorporates his own experiences such as working with dozens of successful small business owners, innovators, and entrepreneurs to develop effective business plans that will help to jumpstart their businesses and today’s deteriorating economy.

How can The 1 Hour Plan for Growth help revitalize the economy?

The 1 Hour Plan for Growth capitalizes on the notion that small business—not the government—will save American jobs through the individual bootstrapping techniques of hard work and ingenuity.  In other words, it is the Big Thinking of entrepreneurs and small businesses owners that can save today’s deteriorating economy.  When entrepreneurs focus on their business’s plan for growth, not only are they helping to save their companies, but they are also helping to restore the economy.

How can The 1 Hour Plan for Growth help Kansas City entrepreneurs?

With the book’s three-step approach to growing small businesses, Calhoon proves that entrepreneurs can reinvent, revitalize and restart the economy by improving their own companies and striving for the American Dream.  Since Joe Calhoon is a Kansas City business leader himself, he is able to explain the ins-and-outs of Kansas City entrepreneurship in The 1 Hour Plan for Growth as he covers the process to engage employees, develop leadership capacity, improve performance, and accelerate growth.

Who is Joe Calhoon?

Joe Calhoon is a Kansas City entrepreneur—just like many of you!  And because Calhoon has “been there, done that”, he knows the ins-and-outs of Kansas City entrepreneurship. Because of his wide success, Joe Calhoon has become a noted business strategist, author, and keynote speaker.  In the past 25 years, he has worked with more than 500 organizations such as 3M, Best Buy, Northwestern Mutual Life, and Ritz-Carlton Hotels to develop leaders, improve organizational performance, and achieve business growth.

How and when should I buy the book?

Kansas City entrepreneurs—and entrepreneurs around the globe—are encouraged to purchase The 1 Hour Plan for Growth on November 16, 2010 from Amazon.com.  When small business owners, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and innovators purchase the book on this date, they will help to boost the book’s bestselling status on.  Joe Calhoon and his team need anywhere from 3,000-5,000 books sold by November 16^th in order to snag the top position.  Help Joe Calhoon reach his own American Dream and increase your business’s chances of development and growth as well as the revitalization of the economy—buy The 1 Hour Plan for Growth!

Think Big Partners would personally like to thank Joe Calhoon and his team for providing such an informational and inspiring book.  It is people such as Calhoon who can help teach the world to develop small business, better the economy, and of course, Think Big! 

To learn more about Joe Calhoon and The 1 Hour Plan for Growth, please visit www.The1HourPlanForGrowth.com (official site to launch soon).


Written by Allison Way.  Allison Way is a writer and videographer for Think Big Partners and bizperc, two of Kansas City's newest entrepreneurial resources.  To read more of Allison's work, check out the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner.  

10 Books to Inspire Entrepreneurs (In Honor of Book Lover's Day!)

Now that Kansas City has truly begun to experience fall weather—with temperatures below 60 degrees, the need to rake leaves from the yard, and the necessity of turning on heated seats in the car—it is also time to start enjoying downtime indoors.  Kansas City entrepreneurs, this does not mean frantically checking your emails, clicking through the TV for the latest news, or spending hours on Facebook.

Why not spend this fall catching up on the latest business books?  In honor of Book Lover’s Day, which falls on the first Saturday of every November, I have narrowed down some of the bestselling business books that will not only help to inspire entrepreneurs, but also give expert advice from the mouths of seasoned entrepreneurs who truly have “been there, done that.” 

My List of 10 Books to Inspire Entrepreneurs:

1.  Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

2.  The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis

3.  The 1 Hour Plan for Growth by Joe Calhoon

4.  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey

5.  The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

6.  What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

7.  Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath

8.  Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinmeier Hansson

9.  Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

10. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

What are your favorite business books and how have they inspired you and your small business?  Please comment to fill in other entrepreneurs about your favorite business books.  And remember to keep Thinking Big! 

Written by Allison Way.  Allison Way is a writer and videographer for Think Big Partners and bizperc, two of Kansas City's newest entrepreneurial resources.  To read more of Allison's work, visit the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner.