Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Derek Tramont. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Derek, thanks for joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

The simple answer is yes. But the two are worlds apart in my view. The life of a business owner is more of a mindset and state of being than anything else. It requires all of your attention, all of the time. Regardless if you’re playing tennis (like I love to do), taking a walk or taking your loved one out to lunch. I promise you and all business owners know this, that you will be thinking about something you didn’t do or something you need to do, as soon as humanly possible. Whether it’s catching up on payroll before the bi-monthly cycle hits, sending out that invoice or touching up or proofing a new project before you send it out. It creates a constant in your life that you will love when you have a good month or you just made a positive change to a system you know needed to be revamped or your simply just content with the state of your business model and the good work your team has been providing to your clients. But on the flip side, if business happens to be down for a month or a quarter, you feel the brunt of that, and you most certainly feel all of the responsibility to your partners and employees. So if you’re asking if I miss working a “regular job,” I really don’t think that life is in the cards for me anymore. And this was definitely instilled on me at a young age by my Dad… I grew to learn how to love the daily obsession of being a business owner, cope with the peaks and valleys and take the wins when you’re lucky enough to get them.

Derek, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Let me introduce myself by saying, I’m just a guy from Long Island, NY who had a goal to move to LA and work in the movie business. I was lucky enough to get my start in the production world as a Production Coordinator and quickly found a niche that would change my life in a big way, very quickly. One day I met a location manager on set for a Seth Rogan promo. And if you don’t know what that is, a location manager is the person on a movie set that sources and scouts all the locations you see on screen and handles all of the permitting and permissions associated with the work taking place. As well as, handling vendors such as security, police, fire personnel, parking, layout (floor protection for damages) and many others. Eventually, I reached my goal of becoming a department head as a location manager and have managed projects such as: Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” Music Video, “Thelma,” Anna Kendrick’s “Woman of the Hour,” “Last Week Tonight w/ John Oliver,” “Fall (2022)” and even one of my favorite shows of all time – “Succession” Season 4’s LA unit.

Besides being able to play a role of an incredible industry and being blessed to have been part of so many cool projects, I also grew into my own as a business owner and now have a few of the companies that support the overall production and the location manager position (the vendors I mentioned earlier).

One of my companies, alongside my partner Mitchell Gutman is called MPG and it is a production consulting / location management and permitting firm. As our website states, “Your home for location management, permitting and everything else you need to make your shoot run, without having to walk.” This is an effort to help you make that feature length film or short film, commercial, branded content, high end social media campaign, photoshoot or simply get help with permitting in any state, we can help. We’ll work with you through all the steps to help achieve your vision, no matter the size.
A true one stop shop. You can find us at MPGinc.net

And my other company may be a little more obscure to someone outside the industry… but I’ll paint you a quick picture. Let’s say you’re a big TV show like Bosch or The Lincoln Lawyer and you want to film a few scenes in someones actual home in Los Angeles. You have to imagine between all the camera equipment, heavy lights and literally 150 people, you’re bound to damage the floors and walls and create a whole bunch of unwanted wear and tear in their priceless home. My company, alongside my partner Andrew Surina, helps in the effort to protect your space. In the industry, this is known simply as “layout.” And my layout company is called Miracle Mats. Named after the miracle mets of 1986, for literally no reason other than it sounded catchy and I’m from New York. But I digress… this company is relatively knew and we are just coming to a close on our second successful year and I couldn’t be happier with the work we’ve been doing. Right we’re looking forward to next year, where expansion is on the imminent horizon. You can find us at MiracleMats.biz

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Oh, this one’s easy. I was musician for the 15 years or so of my adult life. Some great times, some not-so great times. But in the end it taught me two things that I hope to impart to anyone who will listen. Your friends don’t make the best business partners and THERE IS NO MONEY IN MUSIC. During those years, as we struggled to make ends meet, I was testing the waters with starting my own small companies buying and selling retails products through my own Amazon and eBay marketplace stores. It started as a hobby really, buying and selling anything I can to make money on. Small electronic devices like iPhones and iPads, chargers and cases, musical instruments to even used cars (locally). But it taught me how to put together an LLC and how to think like a business person. Understand taxation and write-offs a bit better, how to increase my profit margins by saving on shipping, what products sell better than others etc.. Truly just doing your own thorough research and putting in the work. Simple as that. So when it came time to pivot out of the music world and say goodbye to my old life, the moment that door shut, it was quite literally the same week that I got an opportunity to work on my first movie in the locations department and rest is as we say, history. You can find us on Spotify, as BRAEVES

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

1000%. There was one book in particular that was recommended to me by a close friend and mentor, Jerry Yeh of the successful artist development firm, Safari Riot. It’s called The E-Myth by Michael Gerber. It instilled a simple yet poignant concept for me to stew on, every business has three very distinct personalities: the entrepreneur, the manager and the technician. Which one are you? And if you are the entrepreneur, embrace it, let your vision be heard and let your partners handle the work that they’re built to handle. Not everyone thinks the same, not everyone works the same and one thing is for certain, we all value different things. What we want out of the business, what we want out of life, how we see the business and what the business means to us. So in the end, don’t burn your company to the ground if your partner isn’t a carbon copy of you. That’s a good thing! Let them be them and give yourself the to space grow and harness your own power. Lead by example and make a little bit of progress each day, it works.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://MPGinc.net
• Instagram: @_selfiecity
• Other: My IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9138478/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1miraclemats.biz

Image Credits

Photographer: Greg J.M. Kasunich
Pictured with Ryan Colt Levy / Alexa Levy
On Set for Do Revenge (Netflix Film)
Pictured with John Rosario
Pictured with Ty Evans