When I first heard of Talent Finders, I immediately thought of imdb but after discussing it further with their founder, Kerrin Black, I realized it was actually much more. I also realized it could be useful for people in the Entertainment business as well as individuals in various fields who want to be recognized for their talents and find work. Here is their official company profile:
Talentfinders.com is the meeting place for the entertainment community and its worldwide audience. Our vision is to make Talent Finders the most valuable world-wide talent community.
Talentfinders was created in 2007 by Kerrin Black who worked in the film industry. She saw a need to provide a more efficient way of sourcing actors for film productions. What came out of this need is www.talentfinders.com, where all talents that are looking to connect and promote themselves on an international platform can register. Talent seekers can fulfil their requirements by a quick, easy search through one database.
All Talent needs to be established as a brand and marketed to the audience who needs those talents. www.talentfinders.com provides a simple solution to the branding challenge: It is simple to use, gives comprehensive information about the talent, is easy to update so that all the information is current and accurate and is an affordable marketing medium to a wide international audience.
For the seeker, the site allows the search through multiple genres of talent, is area specific, accurate, efficient and cost effective. No more seeking through multiple genre-specific websites when it can all be done quickly on one site.
The talent spectrum has been broadened over the years from actors and models to include many other talent genres such as musicians, public speakers, dancers and the like. The site was redesigned and re-launched in October 2014 and its positioning in the international market is excellent due to the domain name. Our USP is to market talent to the international markets.
Q: How did you arrive at the idea for “Talent Finders”?
Kerrin Black: Having worked at a production company behind the scenes I had seen the issues production companies had when it came to castings for commercials. I was watching the Oprah Show when it was still under Harpo Productions, that particular show was on entrepreneurs and I saw what amazing businesses had started with very little. Having worked in the production side of film I realized that there was a need in the market to create an online database whereby talent looking to promote themselves could go on create their profiles, specialty video and voice clips, etc. The idea was to create an online platform for the Talent - Actors, Model’s, Musicians, Sports people, Dancers, Entertainers and so much more. The idea was to also connect those looking for talent to one central database and give talent exposure to an international audience. I also felt passionate about not only well-known talent but also up and coming talent, exposing them to a world-wide audience. One of Talent Finders benefits is that agents can also place their talent on Talent Finders. We do not bypass the agents or representatives of the individuals, in fact, we encourage the agencies to list their Talent as an added benefit for their talent.
Q: How does “Talent Finders” differ from other platforms like imdb?
KB: The difference with Talent Finders is it is not genre specific, we cover all talent genres. For the User or Talent Seeker to go online and search by category or brief is simple, no matter where in the world the talent is, talent can be found on Talent Finders. It is about connecting the talent seeker to the talent and creating an interactive experience to ensure that the right talent reaches the right people. We are also offering online coaching videos from various specialists in the industry to assist in how to approach important aspects of their business.
Q: What are some of the mistakes you think people make when they are trying to brand themselves as talent?
KB: I think the most fundamental mistake that talent makes is that they don’t treat themselves as a business. If you want to be taken seriously in the entertainment world you have to focus on branding and marketing. The mistake that people make is that they do not invest in themselves – it’s not about being fake, it’s about being true to who you are but to invest in marketing is to invest in looking after your personal brand through exposure on platforms like Talent Finders. Create your logo’s, empower yourself, research the latest trends – the fundamental mistakes always go back to not treating what you do as a business. Looking at the top entertainers in the world, they not only have great management but they are proactive, they are involved in charity and other businesses, they are aligning themselves with the right people as part of their personal brand. Other mistakes are:
- No direction – the talent must be passionate about their career choice. Half-hearted gets you nowhere!
- No logo
- No image
- Lack of business knowledge
- Not prepared with professional marketing material
- No marketing video
- No Brand identity
- Lack of personal and professional growth and training
- No Coaching
- Lack of long term vision. Branding is an ongoing, expanding, evolving, trend setting. And making sure your brand has sustainability and longevity
- Social Media – The management of social media platforms and understanding the does and don’t this is all part branding and has an impact on everything you do. I have seen this so many times, where things need to be consistent and there is a very fine line between controversial and brand damage and brand reputation.
Q: What do you want people to think of when they hear the name “Talent Finders”?
KB: I want people to think of Talent Finders as the place to go to find Talent globally. To be able to find every type of Talent you can think of, wherever you are. “The Power House of online Talent”.
Q: Where do you see “Talent Finders” in let’s say, 5 or 10 years?
KB: I see Talent Finders as a Global online empire with millions of talented people connected through one online platform, and my big vision to provide work to both well known talent and undiscovered talent all through a digital stage. The amazon.com of talent!
