Erica
Orlando,#2Consumer Comment
Wed, November 12, 2003
I have been working in the indusry for years,and have been on both sides of the argument so to speak. When I was young and just starting out I too was in a similar situation(john casablancas). I saw all the commercial's and wanted to try it out. So I got my mom and grandma to take me in for a "consultation". At the time I was about eleven and the lady behind the desk tried to pump me up by showing a picture on the wall & telling us Cindy Crawford got her break with them and so on. I don't doubt that Cindy got a break. But they wanted thousands of dollars to teach me how to walk a runway and wear makeup. I was so dissappointed when my mom said NO WAY! I cried all the way home. She told me if the company(J.C.) thought I was such an asset to them why didn't they take me on and withhold my first couple thousand $$ from my paychecks. At eleven I didn't understand what the hell that meant. I just wanted my mom to pay whatever they asked so i could be a "model" Well, that phase quickly passed, and years later in college I found myself with the opportunity to work for a model and talent agency. I quickly remembered my experiences as a child. And before I took the job, I ran it by old skeptical mom just to make sure. I accepted the job. I worked on tons of promotions and modeling assignments. Over the course of my time with the agency, I was eventually promoted to management and then worked "the other side". (Being a talent scout). I ran the south Florida office for a while and I later worked for other agencies as a talent scout/client liasion...and even squeezed some modeling assignments into my busy schedule. I worked for an agency, Soleil. Not to be confused with the soleil refered to in this report. The agency I worked for was owned by the absolute nicest lady. She has excellent work ethics, pays her employe's, on time, and would never give "false hope" of any sort. I haven't done work for her in a while but would give her excellent refrences. I want to give some advice to Vanessa. First and foremost...never, never, never, sign anything without talking to a lawyer. Especially a legal CONTRACT! Next, a modeling agency is there to provide you with options. EX: sending you on adutions, or castings calls. In thier defense how can they guarantee that you will be the one who is chosen. All they can do is provide you with leads/ auditions. Like you said "if you have potential, a true agency will agree to represent you free of upfront charges". And thier are true agencies out there. Ones that are upfront and honest. I still work in the industry occasionaly and would be willing to point you in the right directon. Best of Luck,