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I stumbled across a video (below) by British comedienne, London Hughes, whilst scrolling on Instagram the other day and I loved it. Not only was it transparent in a way that’s quite unusual but it gave creatives an insight into industry. One thing that I think was missing from her answer is the person that most people miss from their arsenal: the manager and/or agent.

Building a career can be done independently but building a career with a team can help you go further. It’s important to note the difference between the two. The role of an agent is to search for roles for their talent and a manager is there with you to help your strategy, build the brand that is you, negotiate contracts for you and – as I tell my clients – be in the trenches with you. See the things you don’t see, be a sounding board and offer a perspective on how to grow.

So London’s story really struck me when she talked about the difference between experience she had in the UK and once she had hit US shores and it made me wonder if she’d had anyone on her team when based in the UK. She talks about being paid about £1000 for being in a UK writers room compared to six figures for a show that wasn’t ultimately picked up but she was still compensated for her work.

I got into management because I knew that my experience in business, marketing and communications laid the foundations towards helping people build their business. In my experience, artists want to focus on being just that: artists. They don’t want to do the quote unquote boring stuff, they want to focus on being creative. And that’s always worked for me because I adore the boring stuff, the structure, the uncomfortable conversations which I weirdly love having for other people than myself because to me it’s advocacy.

Reading between the lines I think she was in an early stage of her career or unrepresented which I think is an important part of the story. One of my favourite stories as a manager is taking on a client who was negotiating terms with a production company. I asked her to to mention that she was represented and to introduce me via email. In that first call I barely had a chance to open my mouth and the producer offered me loads more than she’d ever spoken to my client about. Including a fee.

Recently, two creatives were engaged by a large scale retailer to display as part of their Black History Month celebrations. Despite not representing them but feeling frustrated by the advantage that was taken, I reached out to a senior leader in the company and they were ultimately paid despite not being represented by me. And that essentially shows why I do this work. Sometimes talent needs someone to speak for them and buffer them from some of the more abrasive conversations.

The lesson in these stories isn’t just how having the right representation can make a difference not just on how you’re perceived externally but to your own self perception but whether you’re represented or not you should never be afraid to state your worth. There may be times where you may need to be brave enough to walk away but I find that there are too many artists in the world being short changed by the sometimes misguided promise of opportunity and visibility. If it’s costing you your time, a risk to your reputation or not giving any sort of return even if it’s not monetary (and, no, profile doesn’t always count unless you have a clear idea of how you’re going to leverage it) sometimes you just have to be selective and set a boundary.

Because of my passion for making sure that creatives especially those from the Black communities I’m opening a new division of TGRG called The Black Creatives Licencing Agency (BCLA). Unlike TGRG which focuses on the day-to-day management of an artist’s career, BCLA’s handles the negotiating of contracts, presenting work to potential clients and, something that is really important to me, the building of legacy. Too many artists don’t have a living will when it comes to their work meaning that those who have to manage your estate if you are incapacitated or if you pass. I believe all artists should protect their legacy as it’s an important part of their business.

You can find out more about progress and official launch at our website, wearebcla.com