We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeff Curley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeff below.

Jeff, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back at the decisions you made early in your career, particularly whether to join a firm or start your own, do you feel you made the right choice for that stage of your career?

I started a Talent Agency to represent actors and print models back in the mid 1980’s in North Hollywood, California. While the volume of potential work there was fantastic, the competition was also very fierce. It was not until I relocated with my family to the Austin, Texas, area that my work as a Talent Agent flourished in a less demanding market. I set out to bring the skills of Hollywood to Texas talent, providing real-world fair and honest representation that was not designed simply to make money from the talent themselves, but rather from the work that we acquired for them through (the agency I established. Originally specializing in child talent (later expanding into all ages), and offering things not otherwise available in the Texas market (representing animal acting talent!), the agency [AUSTIN MODELS & TALENT AGENCY] filled a niche that didn’t exist in the then-growing Texas entertainment market.

The first years of the agency were slow, as the local Texas market for the entertainment industry was only just growing. Today, it’s relatively busy and while the agency is small, by design, our actors book a lot of great opportunities in TV, Film, Print, and Commercials.

In 2010, my so lost his battle to depression and took his own life at the age of 18. He was one of my agency’s actor/models. As the agency had always gone out of our way to provide assistance to many non-profits to help them in fund raising, I decided to focus directly upon the creation of my own 501c3 non-profit. That foundation became PICK WITH AUSTIN, which uses music to help young people overcome depression and to provide them coping tools. Pick With Austin provides over 150 free guitars (and other musical instruments) to kids and teens in the Central Texas area. Last year, we began expanding outside of our own area and partnered with James Gibbs in the Detroit, Michigan, area to create PICK WITH AUSTIN DETROIT.

My passion goes into the non-profit and we absolutely make an impact in our community. I have seen first hand how what we do does save lives. My eventual goal is to focus my energy into the non-profit full time and find someone else to CEO the talent agency.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I always wanted to be involved in the back end of the entertainment industry, since my childhood growing up in Southern California. I helped to run the closed-circuit television program in my high school and after graduation, relocated to the Los Angeles area to figure out where I would fit my interests in. As a child, rather than writing fan mail letters to favorite movie actors… I wrote letters to favorite producers and directors. One producer, who produced one of my then-favorite films (“The Paper Chase”) wrote back and invited me up (as a high school student) to Universal Studios where he worked and I was able to learn a lot from him. I even got to meet with one of the stars of his film, Lindsey Wagner. It was then that I realized that both producing and talent management were where my goals needed to be.

Representing actors, putting together events, attempting to put together film projects and finance, and immersing myself (and my wife, Carolyn) in anything I could to move forward became my daily routine. But, Hollywood was addictive and difficult, so I took a break from all this and moved to Texas to get involved for a number of years in the senior management (Quality Control) for several major manufacturing companies. Still, that need to be around the industry and talent kept me busy in my off hours and I practiced photography with models and actors (headshots, portfolios) and developed the very popular GROUP SHOOTS that would bring together dozens of photographers and talent every weekend for creative photo shoots together. It was only a matter of time for that to develop into managing the talented actors and models I was meeting in Texas, and to eventually go the next step into forming a talent agency again.

The Texas agency opened in 2004. Then, the non-profit became 501c3 certified by the IRS in 2010. I have since juggled both and they have become somewhat intertwined… in that for the past two years, profits made by the agency have gone directly into the charity to subsidize some of the larger ventures and outreach programs that Pick With Austin does (example: service and emotional support animals).

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I absolutely know that the reason both my agency and my non-profit have success is threefold: (1) Honesty, (2) Transparency, (3) Drive and Passion.

Honesty.
Profit does not come first, the people that I represent and/or interact does. I encourage everyone through both the agency and the non-profit to do their best to set goals, work hard, pursue their dreams, and never give up trying.

Transparency.
I have an open door. I go out of my way to answer messages, emails, and phones as immediately as possible… even in the middle of the night, or weekends. People who work with me know that I am there for them at all times and I will share with them absolutely everything that I know and not keep portions of what’s going on secret or unsaid.

Drive and Passion.
Anyone can achieve anything. What makes that happen is the desire to succeed and a love for it that goes well beyond the financial reward. I always say, “Don’t do it because it makes money, do it because you love it.” If you do it well, and you have a passion for something, money will come of it’s own accord.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My wife is also and has always been my business partner. We met when we were high school age, That was over 40 years ago (showing my age here!) and we continue to triumph at what we do because the partnership is emersed in everything we do. Even in times when my more technical knowledge is the driving force for moving forward, my partner provides support necessary to conquer challenge and helps in driving new thought process and alternative paradigms.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.pickwithaustin.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheJeffCurley/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PickWithAustin
• Other: The agency is: http://www.austinmodelsandtalent.com

Image Credits
I own all copyright to my images.