I'm just wondering if anyone has worked with Kids Hollywood or Phyllis Henson? I met with her regarding my two-year-old son. She is not an agency. She is a consultant to the parents of kids looking to get into modeling, commercials, etc.

Thank you,
Jason

Scam. Keep walking...no, RUN!

Research from someone I trust:

http://www.easybackgroundcheck.com/kids/phyllishenson.html

WHAT SHE DOES
Apparently she charges you to meet with her, then you have the option to go into an 18 month management contract. According to the press she has on one website, she claims that "alot" of her clients are making $30,000-$50,000 a year, that her services including "finding the right photographers and printing resumes", and that her job is "getting clients out on as many interviews as possible" (be careful Phyllis--that's procuring work and you might find yourself agenting without a license!).

She also runs a website and a talent search contest where your only "talent" is your photo, and you "win" a contract with her.

She says she doesn't sell workshops, but she is selling a $145 "consultation" on the same site. Looks like a workshop to me.

I would like to ask her how much she charges in management fees (15%?), what agents she works with (names), and WHY if she is so successful as a manager, does she feel the need to have so many other businesses (write a book, own multiple websites, judge pageants, do a contest).

LOOKS TO ME LIKE...
She is a manager who charges upfront fees. Nothing more. And that still gets the scum stamp from me.

The good news (well, sort of)? She IS listed on the Advanced Fee Talent Service listing for the State:
http://www.kidshollywood.com/sag.html
So at least she is LEGALLY doing what she is doing.


I would suggest saving your money, signing up on http://forums.delphiforums.com/proactors/start and read, read, read!

I'll refute at least a portion of the scam claim. I did pay $165 to meet with her so she could evaluate my son and "educate" me on the business. I don't feel like I was taken because I did learn a lot that I did not know. And the consultation was nothing like any workshop I have ever attended.

Before going in to meet with her she told me about her retainer fee. Basically, for $1,000, she will contact all the agents she knows and get my son's photo in front of them and schedule the auditions. She does not claim to be an agent, but more of a middleman between the talent and the agents. I will say that I thought her fee of 15% of any work found through her was high. She mentioned that the agents would receive 10%. So I'm not sure why she would get more.

The only reason I thought of using her was because I have a list of 161 agencies from the SAG website that handle children. (Most say they rep "All Ages"). I have no idea how much work will go into contacting every agency to find out which ones will work with my son. I do work full-time, so time is limited.

I have been sending out emails to those agencies that actually have websites. So far I have received back two responses that say they work with Phyllis regularly and have a great working relationship with her.

quote:

Originally posted by jkgreen:
Before going in to meet with her she told me about her retainer fee. Basically, for $1,000, she will contact all the agents she knows and get my son's photo in front of them and schedule the auditions. She does not claim to be an agent, but more of a middleman between the talent and the agents. I will say that I thought her fee of 15% of any work found through her was high. She mentioned that the agents would receive 10%. So I'm not sure why she would get more.

We have a manager. She had us meet with agents and through those meetings we signed for theatrical. Cost to us....zero, zilch, nada...ok we did pay for a headshot session and printing. That ran us TOTAL about $500 for the session and the prints. Our manager takes 15% of everything the kids book (this is a pretty typical management fee), but she doesn't make a penny unless they do. That is how a legit manager works when they do their job. Our manager does so many other things...advises us on wardrobe, contracts, coaching, headshots... and she even attends important industry events with our DD. No upfront fees. $1000!!!!!! That is insane to pay that amount of money to get a manager to do the job they are supposed to do for free!!!!

Jkgreen, you may have meant to refute the scammy nature of Phyllis' business, but your post actually confirmed it. Run away from her. No legitimate manager charges an upfront fee (though, as kipmil stated, 15% is standard commission on bookings for managers).

So what I am summizing is that Ms. Henson is doing the job of a manager, but because she calls herself a consultant, she justifies the upfront fee, at least in her own mind.

So the next logical question is, how does one go about finding a legit manager?

And thank you for the feedback.

http://www.backstage.com/bso/rossreports/article_displa...ontent_id=1001843115

Follow the above link to an article in Ross Reports listing personal managers including many LA managers. You'll have to look and see which ones rep kids. Then I suggest you get a subscription to IMDBpro. With a pro membership you can look up managers and see who they represent. Not every client will be posted on IMDB, but should be able to get an idea of who they repl The Ross Reports list is a little old, but it might be a good place to start.. BTW, Phillis is nowhere to be found on IMDB...hmm

Jkgreen...
In addition to the good advice given to you above by several knowlegable posters, you might want to read the articles here for a step-by-step instruction on HOW to approach agents and managers for kids (email isn't going to cut it):
http://www.bizparentz.org/thebizness/agentsmanagers101.html

I generally advise parents to seek BOTH an agent and a manager at the same time so that you can see what bites you get, compare them, and put a "team" together. This tactic works better in LA than it does in NY though (just an FYI for NY readers). In CA, you MUST have an agent to get work legally, so that is the goal. If you have to find a manager first, so be it. But your eyes should be on the agency.

Anything Phyllis can offer you, you can get for free. There are no shortcuts in this biz, in terms of time. I understand the need to be efficient and that is smart, but the reason people like Phyllis continue to stay in business is because too many people think they can PAY someone to do the work for them. They imagine there is a shortcut, like time OR money is necesary. Kinda like paying for a college degree online--you both have the paper, but that doesn't make it useful. You gotta do the time.

In reality, once you get a working career, the time involved INCREASES for the parent. So if you can't find the time to research and approach agents/managers yourself, your family probably isn't likely to be sucessful in the business, and you are at a HUGE risk of predators and oother scammers. It could be that your family is simply not structured to be able to spend that amount of time on this interest.

Phyllis-types don't want to tell you that, because they want to sell their "shortcut" services to you.

I would be wary of her advice. I personally have never seen success come from her services, and the video she had on youtube is truly frightening...looked like she didn't have a shirt on, and the acting was horrible. I can't find it now, guess it was removed. It was a doozy.

BTW, she has at least three websites now, selling slightly different things:
http://www.http://www.kidshollywood.com/
www.mykidshollywood.com/index.cfm
http://www.kidssuperstar.com/

There are multiple postings on sites like www.easybackgroundcheck.com
and www.ripoffreport.com
Example:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/206/RipOff0206152.htm

Anyway...my advice would be to make lemonade out of that lemon, and move on.

Good luck!

Jkgreen...
In addition to the good advice given to you above by several knowlegable posters, you might want to read the articles here for a step-by-step instruction on HOW to approach agents and managers for kids (email isn't going to cut it):
http://www.bizparentz.org/thebizness/agentsmanagers101.html

I generally advise parents to seek BOTH an agent and a manager at the same time so that you can see what bites you get, compare them, and put a "team" together. This tactic works better in LA than it does in NY though (just an FYI for NY readers). In CA, you MUST have an agent to get work legally, so that is the goal. If you have to find a manager first, so be it. But your eyes should be on the agency.

Anything Phyllis can offer you, you can get for free. There are no shortcuts in this biz, in terms of time. I understand the need to be efficient and that is smart, but the reason people like Phyllis continue to stay in business is because too many people think they can PAY someone to do the work for them. They imagine there is a shortcut, like time OR money is necesary. Kinda like paying for a college degree online--you both have the paper, but that doesn't make it useful. You gotta do the time.

In reality, once you get a working career, the time involved INCREASES for the parent. So if you can't find the time to research and approach agents/managers yourself, your family probably isn't likely to be sucessful in the business, and you are at a HUGE risk of predators and oother scammers. It could be that your family is simply not structured to be able to spend that amount of time on this interest.

Phyllis-types don't want to tell you that, because they want to sell their "shortcut" services to you.

I would be wary of her advice. I personally have never seen success come from her services, and the video she had on youtube is truly frightening...looked like she didn't have a shirt on, and the acting was horrible. I can't find it now, guess it was removed. It was a doozy.

BTW, she has at least three websites now, selling slightly different things:
http://www.http://www.kidshollywood.com/
www.mykidshollywood.com/index.cfm
http://www.kidssuperstar.com/

There are multiple postings on sites like www.easybackgroundcheck.com
and www.ripoffreport.com
Example:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/206/RipOff0206152.htm

Anyway...my advice would be to make lemonade out of that lemon, and move on.

Good luck!