ENDING THE MONTH ON A HIGH!

I've just heard that John Rennie (Finance & Property Expert) was 'found' on www.findatvexpert.com and has been signed up to co-host BBC1's new property show - The Unsellables - with Sofie Allsopp. They're filming now (20x30 mins programmes) for transmission in March 09. What a fantastic way to end the month!

It Pays to Persevere

Every Wednesday I send out my 'New Experts' update to over 1500 TV researchers, producers, heads of development, etc. Many of them are already registered to search www.findaTVexpert.com, but others aren't.
What never ceases to amazes me is how each week, someone who's been receiving the update for the past 6 months suddenly decides to register, which is obviously great for all the experts on the site - because the more members of the media who register to search findatvexpert.com the higher the chances of the experts being found and booked to comment on a subject or be part of a show. And it's also great for business. So it just goes to show, it pays to persevere!

Funeral Directors, Embalmers, Will Writers, etc

I think death is a subject that hasn’t been explored properly on TV and am convinced that with the right experts there’s a way of creating a show that is sensitive and informative – but highly watch-able. For example: Louis Theroux at a planning your funeral evening; Channel 4’s ‘The Family’ making a will (you can just see it, can't you?); celebrities/pop stars/politicians talking about what song they’d play at their funeral (I'd watch!), etc.

The key, of course, is to find the experts with the x-pert factor – embalmers, funeral directors, celebrants, financial advisors, will makers, etc – who can bring the subject to life.

So if you know any, please send them my way!

What I love about running www.findatvexpert.com

Getting to know inspiring people: experts, networking contacts, other entrepreneurs, etc. Yesterday I met up with Joanna Ward, co-founder of www.studentgems.com, which gives businesses and individuals an easy way of finding talented students to get jobs done - and students a way of using their skills to earn money. Such a great idea. And I'm just about to have a chat with some of the latest experts who have registered on findaTVexpert.com: an ex-firefighter and safety consultant, a financial life coach, a memorabilia expert and a personal trainer!

To Twitter or Not to Twitter

Just when I thought I was getting my head around online networking - www.ecademy.com, Facebook, www.theathenanetwork.com, the Beermat Entrepreneur (www.beermat.biz), this blog, ecademy blogs, a findaTVexpert.com Facebook group, etc - along comes Twitter. Apparently it allows friends to 'stay connected in real-time'. The mind boggles!

Thought for the Day

'All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.' Buddha

So think great things this week!

Networking

Went to an Athena Network lunch yesterday (http://www.theathenanetwork.com/) and have just read Penny Power's story about how she lost £800,000 overnight during the e-commerce crash 8 years ago - and survived (Penny's the founder of http://www.ecademy.com/). The link between the two? The power of networking. I've only been 'actively' networking since I set up http://www.findatvexpert.com (before that I was too busy making TV programmes) but I can see how it works. And on so many fronts: ideas, new business, support, friendship, etc. So try it!