2
The Company
Who, What, When, Where, and Why
To open a business is easy; to keep it open is difficult.
—CHINESE PROVERB
Starting Is Easy
To start a business, all you have to do is choose a name and have a phone; ergo, you are in business. To be successful, though, a business involves much more. A company, according to the American College Dictionary, is “a number of people united for a joint action … a band, party, or troop of people.” The lone screenwriter is an island of self-absorption; the filmmaker is king—long live the king! When she becomes the producer of even one film, though, she is running a business.
Running a business embodies a totally different set of skills. It is a special kind of collaboration in which dictatorship does not ...
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