Sometimes it is Great to Lose Money

I had a print booking about 14 months ago for an ad that was to be placed on a poster for 3 months. Just last month, an actor I know saw the ad, took a picture with her cell phone, and sent it to me.

I looked at my voucher, which clearly stated when the session took place, and how long it should run. I had proof that the agent and I should receive additional money since the ad clearly ran longer than 3 months.

I called the agent, sent a copy of the ad along with the voucher. He called the creative director from the ad agency about the additional time the ad ran. I was expecting quite a bit of money, but wound up getting nothing, and it was OK with me.

The agent told me that he has a great relationship with everyone at the ad agency. They hire a lot of models from him. The agent was also told that the company mistakenly continued to run the ad without the ad agencies knowledge. Once the ad agency found out, they immediately took all of the posters down.

I could have asked the agent to fight for the additional money. But, without him asking me, he made it clear that he would really appreciate me letting it go, and not ask him to battle with one of his great clients. I agreed.

Later that day, the agent thanked me, and said that he spoke with the creative director and asked him to definitely keep me in mind for future ads. He also called the photographer from a go-see I just attended, and asked him to seriously consider me for the job.

There are no guarantees if I will make the money back that I lost, but I also know that we are part of a business. It is important to run the business in a smart way. I am always thinking long term, and not just how much I can make today. I really believe that by doing my agent a favor, and being nice about it, my agent will work even harder at trying to get me more work in the future.

So, sometimes it is good to lose money.

About the Author: Aaron Marcus

Aaron Marcus has been a full-time actor and commercial model for over 33 years. His new book, How to Become a Successful Actor and Model is an Amazon Best Seller. Aaron has given his seminar: "Book the Job" over 700 times spanning 3 continents. He also offers online workshops. Aaron saves 5 days each month to give private on-line coaching sessions.