We were lucky to catch up with Frank Cupery recently and have shared our conversation below.

Frank, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Growth is exciting, but from what we’ve seen across thousands of conversations with entrepreneurs it’s also dangerous if costs aren’t watched closely – sometimes costs can grow out of control outpacing revenue growth and putting the viability of the entire business at risk. How have you managed to keep costs under control?

I had found myself in a web of unhappiness, although, on the outside looking in, it may have looked like I had it all. I was in my early 30s and had been completely out of work/life balance early in my entrepreneurial endeavors. I had found some success and plenty of failure in the construction industry. I had what most people would consider a good life, but yet was unhappy and I knew something needed to change. I didn’t feel things were going my way so I started looking for change and answers. This brought me to think about what created passion and excitement for me and I knew it was music and bringing people together to celebrate. So I dove in thinking – “hey if I can find some success in the construction industry, why not something that I really love instead. I went all in and produced my first music fest in 2016 called Sonic Fusion. It was a big learning experience where nearly 25000 disappeared rather quickly. This was a hard lesson. I almost didn’t continue on. Fast forward to current day and we still are spending but something changed. I looked at where I had spent the money the first time and decided to directly invest in infrastructure and equipment. This year we have spent the most ever but in the right areas that we feel will help our company scale and grow. Our advice to anyone starting out is take your time, and know you are in it for the long haul. Make the investments that will reduce your future overhead.

Frank, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Frank or you can call me Frankie. I had been in the construction industry for 8 years but was looking for a change. I was in my early 30s and decided life was too short to not pursue my dreams. I had a strong passion to bring people together and loved music.

I began with confidence as I had experienced some success in other industries as an entrepreneur. I quickly began learning by diving in, trying things, and seeing what sticks. Sometimes this was challenging, but as time went on, we began to develop and polish our business model. Starting as an events business, we would create music events for people to enjoy.

As equipment inventory started to increase, we started to see other opportunities begin to form. I had met a couple of guys that had similar interests and were operating another similar small business and began to work collaboratively on some projects. It got to the point where we decided to join forces and a few years back and that’s when Form Entertainment was born.

We began as an events business and now have grown into an event planning, lighting/sound, and creative company. We launched our website to showcase our products and services at Form Entertainment.com. We work with our clients to create unique and memorable experiences. We do weddings, corporate events, we have a band called The Mackinacks, and that’s just the beginning! I’m in the process of building a multimedia recording studio that will expand our ability to provide exceptional sound, lighting, and video capabilities. We feel our best is yet to come and this next year will really be a breakout year of growth!

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

Throwing my first music festival, I was excited to start and looked for help anywhere I could find it. This became a problem really quickly as I place trust in someone who turned out to be a con. I had partnered with another person who promised to back half of the festival financially. I didn’t see the red flags because I was trying to do too much. When the event came, the budget totaled near $30000 and I had invested/ had cash on hand to cover my half. I was stupid and didn’t have the other person sign any contracts. This bite me hard as the other person had only contributed approx $1000 of their $15000 share. Ticket sales didn’t cover the gap. I went home with nearly nothing left. I cried, felt lost, and almost decided to quit. Slowly but surely I worked to dig myself out. This was one of the most challenging times of my life. I did my best to work to fix any issues that came from the misfortune and it took a heavy toll on my mental well-being. Some event attendees had reached out after some months with stories of them having a fantastic time and meeting some awesome people at my event after the dust and drama cleared. Hearing that we had impacted at least a few souls positively was enough to keep me going. I have learned to appreciate the ability to fail because it can be the major catalyst for growth. Now the goal is to approach failure with the point of view that there is room for growth and the next opportunity is always right in front of that learning. This is the way.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

Our company has three partners. Scotty Omodt, Mark Lidstone, and me. We met because we were doing similar projects and one day I decided to reach out to collaborate. Scott and I had our own independent companies and we found we had a lot in common. Mark and Scott were also in a band together. We started working on most projects together and eventually, Scott had decided to dissolve his business around the time I started practicing with their band. At that time I had asked Scott why he was throwing in the towel and if I can remember correctly, I believe he still had a passion for doing music/events but was feeling great pressure and challenge. I asked him to partner with me and that was when Form Entertainment was born. As we grew and developed it only made sense to include our third band mate Mark. We all had been out in the world getting our hands involved in whatever experience we could find within the industry. One of the most valuable lessons we have learned is that it would be impossible to do what we do alone!

Contact Info:

• Website: Formentertainment.com
• Instagram: @formentertainment
• Facebook: @formentertainment
• Youtube: @thefrankfactorshow

Image Credits
Form Entertainment