Discuss one obstacle you encountered and how you overcame it.
The biggest hurdle was finding a producer. We went through two producers in May and June. I realized this wasn’t doable in their minds. I had the idea to be intimately involved with every aspect.
It was a clash of cultures, the business culture clashing with the creative culture. The way business people do business vs. the way creative people do business is so different. I didn’t expect a traditional business approach to be so disagreeable to creative people. I had 15 ‘I quit’ e-mails.
The team we ended up with worked extremely well. We had 35 people at one time in the studio, and they had no rehearsals. It says a lot for both sides. We adapted.
What are your hopes and goals for the show?
My goal is to have a daily show that can make a huge difference in the next generation’s skill level. With entrepreneur training [like this], they’ll be more likely to open their own business, work more productively for someone else and feel better overall about themselves just knowing they can do it.
I’d like to see ["The Buzz"] be an evergreen program — that shows being produced today could be shown 10 years from now. We’ll try to get a national kid-friendly sponsor, but the market will decide if the show succeeds.
We believe from early reactions that the show is positioned to succeed. Barcelona wants to start business centers that go beyond the camps. The TV show is the door opener. Once it’s established, we can do more.
I also hope we can help the regional image. One foundation said this couldn’t be done in Pittsburgh. I look at ‘no’ as a delayed ‘yes’. It’s been about 10 years since we’ve done TV, and people have forgotten the power of TV.
Some say, ‘Why use TV to teach kids business?’ I say, ‘Why wouldn’t you?’ How to reach: Dr. Cindy Iannarelli, www.drcindy.com
Amanda Lynch is a Pittsburgh-based free-lance writer.
