I'd like to tell you that it "all began with a dream..."

...but in all reality... it began with facial hair.

I really don't like shaving, and as a general rule, that's not such a big deal, however, I don't like having a full beard even more. The problem with the middle ground, a nice helping of scruffy face, is that people in corporate America don't like you looking like an Indiana Jones impersonator. That paradox, and several other dislikes I have with corporations and businesses, coalesced several years ago, about six months after I had been laid off from EMI/Capitol Records along with about 3,500 other people.

After almost a solid decade of working two jobs, I had really come to love the early retirement I was enjoying since being released from EMI/Capitol. However, the need for work surfaced, and I took a temp job in technical support at an insurance company. Half way through my first day, I started freaking out... the employees with countless computer problems, the corporate structure, the lies and manipulations, the redundancy of it all and the minutes of your life just ticking away... I didn't want to do it all over again. I realized I had officially had enough of bosses who don't know what they're doing, ridiculous company policies and the arduous redundant atmosphere a la "Office Space." I couldn't take it. Not again. I knew it was time to challenge my fears and make the change, so...

I walked up to the manager I had just met a few hours beforehand, and said, verbatim, "You're probably not going to understand this, but I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry. I really am. But I have to go." He acknolwedged me and said, "No, I actually do," and took my key card and pass from me, and I walked out of the building, got in my car, started driving down the 101 towards Sherman Oaks, and called my girlfriend at the time and then my mother. I told them that I had no idea what I was doing, but that I had just walked out of my job and I was going to start my own company. I told them I wasn't ever going to have to shave if I didn't want to, I was going to wear whatever I wanted, set my own hours, and God as my witness... we were not going to have redundant and boring meetings after meetings after meetings.

They probably thought I was crazy. My mother was worried about how I would pay the bills and survive without a "steady job," but she's also known that I've been a little crazy and daring since I was born, so on some level, it wasn't a huge surprise. In my opinion, it's moments like that, and the courage to follow through with them, that separate people who dream about doing things, and people who actually do them.

Anyway, in addition to shaving, I don't like ties. I think ties are one of the stupidest fashion ideas in the history of the world and they should be removed from human society forever. As I said earlier, I also dislike meetings. 90% of all the meetings that are held in companies around the world are not only a waste of everyones time, but no matter what people tell you, they actually decrease productivity. Finally, I really dislike being uncomfortable. I like to wear sweat pants or shorts and a t-shirt most of the time. Why this is not accepted as business attire I will never understand. It is a proven fact that when people are comfortable, they not only work better, but they work harder and produce better results.

So there it was. I was going to start my own company, shave about once a week, wear comfy clothes and have as few meetings as humanly possible. How I was going to make money and what I was actually going to do for a living, were just the minor details I had to figure out at some point, and when I do figure that out, I'll probably let someone know...

In the meantime, I knew there were a few basic foundation ideas I wanted to start from. I wanted to build a company where people could get a great product for a reasonable price, and I knew I didn't want ANY kind of automated phone service. People serving people. That's a motto and customer service model I invented for Amgen Pharmaceuticals many years ago (actually won an award for that whole marketing campaign), and something I truly believe in. When I call somewhere, I want to speak to a human being, not a machine. As I'm fond of saying, we have enough machines that allow us to create the spectacular magic we do... we don't need them interfacing with our clients. Lastly, and most importantly, I wanted to enjoy what I did and have as much fun as possible.

And thus was created Group 8 Productions.

Now all we needed, (and by we, I mean me) were people to actually work for me and of course, customers. That's where my second great idea came from. I knew full well from my many years in corporate management that one of the keys to success in business is having a great team. So I called up all of my friends who each had skill sets in different areas of production; audio, video, graphic design, accounting, marketing, etc., and I literally said to them on the phone, "Why are we all working separately for someone else who is making way too much money off of our talents when we could be working together as a team, setting our own hours, and doing what we enjoy every day instead of driving to some job we can't stand?"

They agreed and we put the company in motion, everyone working from their homes in their spare time, and me trying to drum up some business. I'd love to tell you that there is some secret as to how the clients began pouring in, but there isn't. I honestly tell you that it was very "Field of Dreams." I built it... and they came. That's the magic of the Universe for you. I love it.

I think I sent out an e-mail telling everyone what I was doing and suddenly, out of the beautiful blue, this person called and needed a website, that person called and wanted headshots, this person called and wanted a Bar Mitzvah videotaped, etc., etc., and they told their friends, and their friends told their friends and business grew and I had good months and hard months. I learned a lot about running a company and I also made some really stupid mistakes. I struggled through the frustration of undercharging everyone just to get business and doing way too much work for free. I was even foolish enough to allow someone to rip me off for over $200,000, a mistake that almost cost me the entire business, not to mention my sanity. The good news is, that over the years and through it all... I rarely shaved.

And that has made it all worthwhile.

People have asked me a lot of questions about how we do this and that, and I am often amazed at how many things corporations keep secret. However, I can tell you why. It's very simple. The vast majority of executives in the world honestly don't work very hard and they don't want you to know that. I worked with them for over fifteen years and from personal experience, I can tell you that they want to keep it a well-hidden secret that the person in the mailroom is working a lot harder than they are, because if anyone actually found out, the system would collapse. A real-life example: in my executive position with Capitol Records, the Vice President of Human Resources came to my office and told me they wanted me to, and I quote, "slow down, because other executives were concerned that I was getting so much done in so little time." Bottom line, I work hard. They don't. And I was making them look bad.

At Group 8, we don't have any major secrets. We have a great group of people, most of us long-time friends, who work together really well. We all know our strengths and weaknesses, and in order to avoid massive overhead, I agree to let most of them work from their homes and teleconference in for important matters. A group of incredibly gifted individuals all working from their own home offices, linked via the internet, e-mail and video chat (for those occasional meetings). Of course we have a central location and our own in-house studios, but Group 8 is a beautiful realization of the dedication of artists and team players in the pursuit of a common goal, and in my opinion, a wonderful model of new business for the twenty-first century and beyond.

Comfy clothes, almost no meetings, a great sense of humor, a great product for a reasonable price and a staff of artists who actually get it. Hence the company slogan: It's simple... we understand.

So what does Group 8 refer to and how did I come up with the name?

Like I said... we don't have any major secrets... but we do have a few little ones. :-)

Many thanks for reading, and have a great life! Follow your dreams!
DFS

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Group 8 Productions is the dream-child of multi-talented Director, Producer, Musician, Writer, Photographer, Engineer, Designer and Executive, Daniel F. Scherl. The goal... to provide a place where both entertainment industry professionals as well as every day people can go to pursue their creative dreams and see them brought to life with integrity.

Group 8 Productions has succeeded in becoming a unique and amazing company whose sole purpose is to open the doors of creative expression to the world like never before... Owned and operated by artists, the company slogan says it all...

It's simple... we understand.