After running one of the most notable sports agencies in the world, I’ve been blessed to have negotiated with some of the biggest names in sports and business. Negotiating free agency and business contracts with sports idols like Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, the Hunt family and the Rooneys, I’ve come to understand the intricacies and art of the deal. It takes relationship capital and situational knowledge to utilize leverage in a negotiation. These principles help shape how we do business at Sports 1 Marketing and will help prepare you for your next negotiation as well.
One of the best mentors I’ve had in my career is Leigh Steinberg. That’s right, the real Jerry Maguire himself. He taught me three important rules for negotiating, which I carry with me today:
1. Never negotiate to the last penny.
In order to complete a deal, shifting the paradigm of value is crucial, as well as being of service and not losing sight of what’s important. Fighting over pennies means you limit your energy and have not put the ball in their court (pun intended).
2. Always be fair.
One of the core ideas of Sports 1 Marketing is there is always enough to make everybody happy. Our goal is to empower people so that they can then empower others to be happy within a deal that has a fair amount of value on both sides. Avoid back-end selling, over-selling, over-promising and under-delivering. You will thank yourself later down the road when your business relationships continue growing because you managed expectations properly.
Overselling and back-end selling are the biggest faults that sellers tend to fall back on when trying to negotiate or make a sale. Exaggerating and misrepresenting the value you can provide leads to false expectations. An example of back-end selling would be if I sold you a new car and told you after our agreement that I need to charge you extra for rust protection, knowing that for 99 percent of the population, rust won’t develop for six years. This is something that many salespeople can get away with, but it almost always comes back to bite them in the end. However, you need to scale it back by staying connected to goodness. Overselling and back-end selling are unfair and unnecessary. If you abide by good principles and integrity, not only will you succeed in making more negotiations, but your business will continue to grow exponentially.
3. Don’t do business with dicks.
This is important to remember because negotiating can be frustrating enough. If you’re doing business with the wrong people, it’ll be even more frustrating. Avoid the hassle entirely and don’t do business with that kind of person — don’t be afraid to walk away.
And here’s one of my own tips I’ve learned over the years:
Know your value.
When it comes to negotiating, accurately knowing the value you bring is crucial. Not only is it important not to do business with the wrong type of people, but to make sure that you don’t become a bad negotiator yourself. Understanding the importance of honesty and goodness can mean the difference between a successful negotiation or a failed one.
Utilizing these strategies will help you meet whatever goals you have set for the upcoming year. Protecting yourself from an undesirable outcome will allow things to happen the right way at the perfect time.
Last year, 310 out of 100,000 people on average created new businesses each month in the U.S., according to the 2017 Kauffman Index of Startup Activity. Most entrepreneurs start businesses out of opportunity rather than necessity.
We asked investor, philanthropist, and member of The Oracles, Tai Lopez, for his take on how to capitalize on an opportunity and launch a business. If you’re unfamiliar with Lopez, he advises many multimillion-dollar businesses and is a social media marketing expert. In the last year, his Facebook following has grown from 600,000 to over six million.
“Thanks to modern technology, it’s possible to go from idea to paying customers within a short amount of time,” Lopez explains. “But most never get started because it’s overwhelming.”
Here’s how to get started:
1. Pick an idea that works for you.
“Most people think they know what they’re good at,” wrote Peter Drucker in Managing Oneself. “They are usually wrong.”
“That’s the most important principle I ever learned,” says Lopez. “A lot of entrepreneurs can’t figure out why their business is failing. But you can only build on strength. ‘Doing what you love’ usually only works for hobbies. Don’t build a business around your weakness.
“I love basketball, but I’m not good enough to play professionally. If I tried to pursue it as a career, I’d fail financially. So, I play basketball as a hobby but build businesses around things that come naturally to me: public speaking, making videos, and social media marketing.”
Lopez says take the time to become more self-aware. “If you’re talkative and like asking questions, maybe start a podcast or host events. If you’re organized, becoming a virtual assistant can be lucrative.”
2. Spot trends.
Another reason why startups fail, according to Lopez, is because the founder ignores trends.
“View problems as opportunities to help people out. You’ll earn money as a reward for your solution and get paid in proportion to the problems you solve.”
3. Launch quickly.
Lopez shares what his first mentor, Joel Salatin, told him at 19 years old: “Tai, sometimes good enough is perfect.”
This philosophy means building prototypes that are just good enough versions to test in the market. “The biggest mistake new entrepreneurs make is creating something that no one wants to buy.
“By using prototyping, you focus on creating something that people will pay for, quickly and cheaply. ‘Speed of launch’ combats procrastination. We procrastinate because of perfectionism about the initial launch. Then we lose interest, and the project never gets off the ground.”
Never forget: Good enough is perfect.
4. Pivot around what customers want.
Lopez explains how entrepreneurs can learn a lot from Apple and Kodak. The iPhone has continually evolved from user requests and continues to dominate the smartphone market.
Conversely, although Kodak was the top photography brand for over a century and once “sure bet” stock, they ignored early warnings and didn’t pivot fast enough for the digital world. By 2012, the company went bankrupt.
“When it comes to growing your business, don’t fall in love with your idea. The idea gets you started but be willing to change. Improve your idea through experiments and tests. Otherwise, you’ll fail.”
5. Optimize your pricing.
“Most businesses get their pricing structure wrong,” says Lopez.
“In the book ‘Smart Pricing,’ two Wharton professors analyzed all the things you can do for positive repercussions for your business. Optimizing price is first. Most businesses’ prices are way too low or high.
“If you study economics, it’s the study of allocating scarce resources. Unless you’re a Saudi sheikh, most people only have a limited amount of money.
“So, focus on testing different prices to ensure demand for your offer. If people won’t pay a penny, shut the business down or do a massive pivot.
“But if the product sells well—or you can charge a premium price over similar products in the market—you’re ready to scale.”
6. Scale.
To scale, Lopez says you need two things: viral free marketing and paid advertising. But your product has to be good for it to work.
“The billionaire Charlie Munger said, ‘You can’t polish a turd.’ Some people try to advertise a turd idea. It doesn’t work.”
But you can polish a good idea. “If your idea is good, employ some controversy, humor, and drama in your marketing for free virality.” Lopez recently uploaded a highly provocative Instagram post to market his clothing line.
“Once you have a hit product that’s going viral, invest in paid boosting. Most people try to boost too early, which is an expensive mistake. You’re trying to boost something that people don’t resonate with.”
7. Use a trainer.
Lopez recognizes that all world-class performers use trainers, coaches, and mentors. He applies the same principle to his own life. His basketball coach, Pooh Richardson, was an NBA pro basketball player for 10 years. His personal trainer is 2016 Mr. Olympia, Danny Hester. And his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coach is Rigan Machado, widely regarded as one of the top competitors in the sport’s history.
“Regardless of the business you start, a mentor answers the stuff you can’t find online. They’ll cut your learning curve by years. Their personal experience calms and guides you through.
“There are three options when getting trained: in person (the best), online or books (easiest), or none (avoid).”
If you want to learn how to start your business in one to eight weeks, Lopez is offering a free training video on his website for Entrepreneur readers.
Whether we’re limiting the times we hit the snooze button, increasing our attendance at the gym or improving our work performance, setting goals is essential in order to generate change. Yet, goals don’t always work: According to Statistic Brain Research Institute, a mere 9.2 percent of participants the institute surveyed said they’d successfully achieved their New Year’s resolutions so far in 2017.
That leaves the vast majority of us disappointed, frustrated, scratching our heads and questioning what went wrong. And this isn’t just a personal problem: Goal-setting and communication are also fundamental in building up company teams to meet specific outcomes.
So, the question becomes: If so many people struggle to attain personal goals, how can a leader inspire an entire team to achieve the company’s professional performance objectives?
The proof is in the metrics: According to a study by Workboard, 69 percent of high-performing companies surveyed rated companywide communication of business goals as their leading tool for stacking a team of top performers.
Stacking rocks to reach the top
At the start of a new year, that first look at annual goals can be intimidating for some employees — especially if the bar has been set high. At Acceleration Partners, we call our goals “rocks” because we set our yearly and quarterly goals with the intention of breaking off smaller chunks to assign to individual team members. We review our progress every 90 days, to see how we’re stacking toward our goals and where we need to adjust.
Leading a team from the mountain’s base to the summit isn’t easy, and it’s just as challenging to reach that figurative peak together. However, if you find out exactly what it is that motivates your team, you can become the perfect guide to lead them.
Consider the following three strategies when you’re setting your company goals. They’ll help you cultivate a more aspirational mindset within any of your team members who haven’t yet found their north star.
1. Anchor your team’s focus on a common outcome.
To promote real collaboration and teamwork, first show employees the destination. One of the most effective ways to achieve a desired outcome is to establish common goals that every team member can work toward.
A strong, diverse team is comprised of individuals who have unique areas of expertise that are amplified when they work together with others and leverage one another’s skills. Creating a safe space for your team members to express themselves, share ideas and learn from one other will help to clarify their direction and create alignment and commitment.
These outcomes are important for a sound, collaborative company culture where employees feel safe contributing new ideas and trying out new approaches: Google, for instance, conducted a study that found employees who felt psychologically safe in their environments were less likely to leave, more likely to leverage a diverse skill set and more likely to be successful.
The more collaborative the work environment you create, the more likely your team members will be to stay focused and work together. For example, clients once gave our client-services team a complex affiliate-recruitment challenge with a tight deadline. The team faced many obstacles: high expectations, competing project deadlines for starters and more.
However, going into the project with a strategic goal and a collaborative team mentality allowed our team members to persevere — and meet the challenge.
2. Ascend to the summit (of your goals) by holding one other accountable.
As you climb higher to reach your collective goals together, keep in mind each team member’s particular responsibility. I’m a big believer in providing strong, clear guidance on employee roles, and in establishing processes for efficiency and effectivess. Adding thoughtful guidance on employee roles, along with clear processes, is paramount for creating a successful, happy team.
When I became a manager, I learned that delegating allowed me to focus on strategy, process and growing my team’s skill sets. At the same time, this effort at delegating held my team members accountable for their work and gave them ownership of it; and those things made them feel more satisfied in their roles.
To promote innovation and decision-making, you, as leader, must provide input, resources, tools, training and technology — and delegate to instill a sense of ownership. For example, Spotify, a video-, music- and podcast-streaming company, has found success with its 2,000-person workforce by organizing its teams into self-organized “squads” of eight people apiece.
Several of these teams have also been linked together as a “tribe,” managed by another layer of management. This model of organization aligns each staff member’s role with the company’s goals, without the need for micromanagement. Spotify’s squads are thus accountable but also have the authority to not only innovate, but also create a product.
3. Pound the drum from the top of the mountain.
Continually communicating the visions and goals of the company from the leadership level down is critical. Effective communication is the basis for a high-performing team to stay well-informed, up-to-date and on track.
According to a Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Report, fewer than half of all companies in the Harvard survey said they measured employee progress toward a goal. Don’t follow their example! Instead, set up regular meetings to discuss not only your current goals, but also how those goals measure up to your company’s longer-term, big-picture goals.
Our team has quarterly leadership team meetings at which we discuss our company goals for the quarter. We also have weekly company calls and department-specific team meetings. These give our teams full disclosure on the priorities we’ve established as being most important. In this way, teams gain exposure to the company’s top areas of focus and see how their individual departments’ initiatives tie into the company’s overall goals.
The meetings allow us to hold one other accountable, prioritize workloads, communicate to other team members about what’s in the pipeline and share insights on how best to do our part to achieve the company’s goals.
In sum, diversification of goals, like team members, is great as long as there’s a base line for improvement and alignment, moving forward. Helping employees at the base to keep moving upward means teaching them how to pull one another up. So, start stacking those rocks to reach that summit.
It’s easy to scroll through your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram feed and look at a dozen posts in under a minute. We’ve trained our minds to flit between topics, ideas and sources quickly to keep up with the constant stream of news and social media we now have at our fingertips. That’s a powerful tool.
But, if you’re using that same mindset to try and solve complex problems in your business, there’s a good chance you’re just going to end up making things worse.
Don’t try to find a quick fix or skim over the problem at hand. Instead, try to remove as many distractions as possible — especially your social media feed — so you can dive deep into a problem and really examine it with a strategy, not just your emotions.
Click play to learn more about solving problems in your business and how a social media mindset can get you in trouble.
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Finding a balance between profit and social impact has long been an issue for entrepreneurs. It’s also spawned a debate: On one side (profit), the argument leans toward the golden rule of business: Increase shareholder value. An investment that cannot be demonstrated as making a measurable impact on company value should not be made in the first place.
On the other side (social impact), the argument says that the community the business serves is also a shareholder and so deserves consideration as well. By complying with this view, companies oblige themselves to protect the shareholders of the “community.” They do this by developing and implementing a strategy of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
En route, there is clearly a balance to be struck. But regardless of which side you lean toward, there are entrepreneurs leading the way in social impact, people like Joshua Schukman, founder of Social Change Nation, an organization focused on bringing together entrepreneurs from around the world who are making an impact while still making a profit.
Before founding Social Change Nation, Schukman spent a decade working with companies to develop cause-driven brands such as AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity and World Relief. Through his work with numerous social entrepreneurs,, Schukman developed a “blueprint” for other companies to balance profit with social impact. Here are several companies pursuing that aim, as outlined in their website quotes:
David Smith, Cotaxi
“Make your followers part of something larger than themselves.”
A company pursuing an important social cause has an advantage. By empowering its supporters through the company’s social mission, it can create a strong and loyal following who share similar values.
Cotopaxi produces and sells innovative outdoor products and experiences. Smith has said he created it in order to “fund sustainable poverty alleviation and move people to go good.” The company strives for this goal by, among other actions, providing targeted grants to nonprofits, having employees volunteer at local farms and helping to install irrigation pumps in Myanmar.
By regularly engaging with its customers and communicating its social cause, Cotaxi strengthens its bond with its fans.
Vincent Ko, Panda
“Creating movements that spark conversations.”
To create a social movement, you need to get people talking about — and willing to accept — the need for change. Ko founded Panda, a fashion brand that prides itself on being “fashion with a purpose,” because fashion and the fashion industry rely heavily on branding and conversations with consumers.
By leveraging a strong fashion brand, Panda can better communicate its emphasis on the importance of producing products from “sustainable materials that are kind to the environment and [promote giving] back to the community.”
Bridget Hilton, LSTN
“Wear your heart on your sleeve.”
Social entrepreneurs should not be shy about — and indeed need to be — promoting their cause as a means of building their personal brand and following.
Hilton founded LSTN with the goal of “changing lives through the power of music.” Proceeds from the sale of all LSTN music products go to providing hearing aids to people with hearing problems in underdeveloped parts of the world. Hilton is not bashful about leveraging her cause to promote her brand, which through her advocacy and public persona has helped raise the visibility of her company and her cause.
Tyler Merrick, Project 7
“Make your product or service the star of the show and your cause the supporting actor.”
A social cause is a great objective, but without a real company producing a quality product behind it, the cause will never be realized.
Merrick founded Project 7 with the mission of producing and selling a line of specialty gum and mint chewables “dedicated to bringing great flavor back into your day while at the same time giving back to seven areas of need.” Merrick understands that the snack food industry is crowded and highly competitive, which is why his mission focuses first on great flavor and second on giving back. If his products don’t resonate with his customers, he has no business — and therefore no cause.
Zac Holzapfel, Mission Belt Company
“Don’t be afraid to sell yourself. Remember, where there’s no margin, there can be no mission.”
Entrepreneurs on a social mission sometimes fail to recognize the most important part of business — it needs to make a profit. A strong business model and profit strategy is just as important as the social mission.
Holzapfel’s company, Mission Belt Company, which produces “no-holes” belts, is aiming to disrupt the fashion accessory industry with its unique and innovative design. The company’s number one focus is making a profit — reducing costs and increasing sales (a goal which included an appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank).
Holzapfel understands that in order to fulfill the company’s social mission — providing microloans to entrepreneurs in the developing world — it needs to make money first.
Hayley Besheer, Madi Apparel
“Nurture your impact partnerships. They will be the key to your success.”
Like any business, success in social entrepreneurship depends greatly on the partnerships it creates while pursuing its mission.
Besheer’s company, Madi (“Make a Difference Intimate”) Apparel is a lingerie brand that aims to “make a difference in all areas of the underwear industry” by producing garments from sustainable bamboo. The company has fostered relationships with U.S. and international domestic violence shelters and donates one pair of underwear for every pair sold, to support victims of domestic violence.
Kyle Parsons, Indosole
“Build a community of customers.”
Great companies attract customers who become advocates and promoters for the brand. At a company with tighter margins, leveraging this support becomes even more important for social entrepreneurs.
Parsons’ company, Indosole, which produces and sells a line of sandals and shoes made entirely of repurposed old tires, has achieved a great deal of visibility thanks in large part to its community of customers, who support and advocate the company’s quest to save one million tires from landfills.
Brittain Kovac, Hostel KC
“Use your raw materials.”
For startup entrepreneurs, “bootstrapping” is a regular part of the daily lexicon. For social entrepreneurs, bootstrapping is a way of life.
Kovac did not originally start Hostel KC because she wanted to offer accommodations. Instead, she had a desire to start a business and make an impact in under-developed areas of the Caribbean where she had experience. At the start, after a great deal of consideration, she realized she had access to a 900-square-foot warehouse, which she quickly fixed up and made into a five-bed hostel.
Today, the modest hostel is on a mission: “For every 300 beds booked, Hostel KC will build a home for a family in need in the Caribbean.”
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If Elvis was still alive he would be 82-years-old
When a downward-spiralling Elvis Presley died 40 years ago on 16 August 1977, a cynical music industry insider was overheard to remark that it was a “smart career move”.
Apocryphal tale or not, death has given a lucrative boost to the selling power of not just Elvis, but also Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and a host of other music legends.
It has also enabled a number of entrepreneurial fans of the artists in question to make a good living from selling memorabilia and other things connected to their idols.
Aged just 42 when he died of a heart attack, the singer’s notorious love of unhealthy food could not have helped. His favourite sandwich was said to consist of two slices of fried bread, with crispy bacon and fried bananas, smothered in jam and peanut butter.
Image copyright Helen Soteriou
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The “Elvis Presley All Time Favourite Sandwich” on sale in Randers
“Graceland” sold 11,000 such sandwiches to visitors last year – but it was not Graceland, Memphis, Elvis’ former home, rather “Graceland Randers” in Denmark.
The tourist attraction in northern Denmark is owned by Danish-born super-fan Henrik Knudsen, 53, who built a copy of the original Graceland mansion to keep the rock ‘n’ roller’s legend alive in Scandinavia.
“I was 13 when he died, and I couldn’t say it was a shock, as I wasn’t that deep into him at the time, but what I recognised was this was something big,” says Henrik, an honorary citizen of Memphis, who has visited Graceland in the US some 106 times.
“This could have been royalty. This could have been a president.”
After establishing a successful Elvis fan club, his Danish replica of Graceland opened in 2011.
Image copyright Helen Soteriou
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Henrik can vividly remember when Elvis died 40 years ago
It cost £2.8m to build the house, with museum in the basement, a function room, merchandise store, and a diner, but within six years Henrik had made enough money to pay back his investors.
Yet with success came a lawsuit from Elvis Presley Enterprises, the corporate body created by the Elvis Presley Trust to manage worldwide licensing of Elvis-related products and ventures, for infringement of the Graceland trademark.
In December 2015 Graceland Randers was renamed Memphis Mansions, and Henrik declines to discuss the legal aspects.
Memphis Mansions, Randers, Denmark
Image copyright Getty Images
Elvis Presley signature sandwich – 69 Danish krone ($10.90; £8.42)
Entry price – DKK 99 adults, DKK 69 children 12 to 17, under-12s free
150,000 visitors last year
Sells officially-licensed Elvis products – such as CDs, DVDs, LPs, merchandise, autographs
Another Elvis fanatic who makes a living from his hero is London-based Sid Shaw, the owner of website Elvisly Yours, which sells Elvis-related memorabilia and products to fans in more than 50 countries.
‘I first heard Elvis on Radio Luxembourg. And that was the only place you could hear pop music [at the time],” says Sid, now 71.
“Elvis came on and was totally different to anything else, so I became a fan then.”
Image copyright Getty Images
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Sid Shaw dressed as his hero in 2005
Sid started making busts of Elvis in 1977, the year of his death, and in 1978 set up a fan club.
“In those days, the Elvis Presley estate didn’t have a trademark, so I applied for the trademark ‘Elvis’, and I was told you can’t get it because it is generic,” he recalls. “So I applied for the next best thing which is ‘Elvisly Yours’… and I got it.”
Image copyright Elvisly Yours
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Some of the Elvis-related items for sale on Elvisly Yours
The phrase Elvisly Yours is the way Elvis fans around the world sign their letters.
Sid says to protect himself legally he has acquired a further 38 trade marks in the UK and Europe.
Graceland, Memphis, US
Image copyright Getty Images
Entry price – $57.50 (£44.50) adults, $51.75 over 62s and youths 13 to 17, $27 children 7 to 12, under 6s free
500,000 visitors a year
4,000 visitors a day in July
Contributes $150m a year to Memphis economy
Whilst Elvis fans are mainly of the same generation that grew up with him, others – such as reggae legend Bob Marley – have more cross-generational appeal. In Marley’s case he has also become synonymous with Jamaica, helping boost tourism there.
“Bob Marley is more than a native son, he is an icon,” says Jamaica’s director of tourism Paul Pennicook.
Image copyright Hulton Archive/Getty
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Bob Marley’s name is synonymous with that of Jamaica
The Marley legacy is overseen by The Bob Marley Group (Jamaica), which is owned by his family, and includes the Bob Marley Museum.
Located in Kingston, the Jamaican capital, the museum was formerly Marley’s home, and was purchased in 1975. It was transformed into a museum after his 1981 death, and attracts more than 36,000 visitors a year.
Entry costs are $25 per adult, $12 per child aged four to 12 years, and $5 per student with valid Jamaican school ID.
Image copyright Helen Soteriou
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The Bob Marley Museum is based in the reggae icon’s home
Meanwhile products on sale related to the reggae icon include Marley Coffee, Stir It Up music turntables, and One Love ice-cream.
Once a star dies, original memorabilia associated with them tends to climb in price.
Katherine Schofield, head of the entertainment department at UK action house Bonhams, says: “We tend to see a knee-jerk reaction in the market following the death of a collectible artists.
“It takes a bit longer for the market to settle, and we can then see more accurately if prices look likely to stay higher.”
Image copyright Getty Images
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David Bowie items are in demand at auction
Since David Bowie’s death in January 2016 she says there have been high prices for items related to the trend-setting musician, and “high quality lots coming on to the market”.
Truffle Shuffle, a firm which produces images on t-shirts, has also noted that death can boost sales.
“When Bowie died, just like with his music, sales of merchandise tripled, with fans looking to get something to remind them of a cultural icon,” says Claire Wood, head buyer at TruffleShuffle.com.
Meanwhile, Australian street artist Jimmy C (aka James Cochrane), sold limited edition prints of a Bowie wall mural in Brixton, London, he had created in 2013.
The 44-year-old sold about 120 prints for £180 each with 20% going to Cancer Research UK.
“The print is connected to my artwork as much as it is to Bowie, or to be more specific, the artwork was a personal interpretation of Bowie,” he says.
Image copyright Getty Images
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Jimmy C’s Bowie mural became a focus of mourning after the musician’s death
“I believe it is legitimate for me to sell decent quality prints of my own artwork.”
But be warned, estates are always on the look-out for anything that crosses from homage into copyright infringement.
“Our action against piracy is an ongoing one,” says the Bob Marley Foundation. “We continue to encourage the public to do the right thing and report any illegal use of the image of the reggae icon.”
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The Brazilian version of UK reality TV programme Come Dine With Me is presented by a puppet parrot
If you happen to switch on the TV in Brazil then you might come across a four-hour live talk show presented by a popular celebrity and her puppet parrot. The programme includes pre-recorded video clips, which the parrot and presenter then discuss.
So far, so foreign television.
But what you may well not realise is that these clips are actually the Brazilian version of British reality TV programme Come Dine With Me.
In the UK, the popular programme shows a group of four amateur chefs competing against each other to host a dinner party for each other.
The format “felt particularly British,” says Mike Beale, head of global development at ITV Studios, the company behind the programme.
Yet when the south American country bought the local rights from ITV Studios the programme changed pretty dramatically.
Brazil is just one example of how hit game shows, reality shows and dramas produced in one country are being bought and adapted for scores of countries around the world in a global trade worth billions of pounds a year.
Image copyright Mongol TV
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The reality cooking show Come Dine With Me has been adapted in more than 40 markets, including, most recently, Mongolia
Since Come Dine With Me began in 2005, local variations of the show have been produced in more than 40 countries.
When the format was sold to France, the producers eliminated the tongue-in-cheek social commentary and turned it into a straightforward cooking competition.
“It was about how does food taste, not who has the nicest home or who gave the best entertainment,” says Mr Beale.
The programme’s global expansion is a great example of the television formats industry which has grown rapidly since the late 1990s.
In Europe alone the market was estimated to be worth $2.9bn (£2.2bn; 2.5bn euros) in 2013, but the industry has become increasingly competitive as a growing number of countries produce their own formats, challenging top exporters such as the UK.
Major industry
Major networks are also struggling to create global hits like they once did, while most of the really big formats on TV, such as Masterchef and Big Brother, are decades old.
Image copyright ITV/REX/Shutterstock
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Your Face Sounds Familiar, screened on ITV, is based on a Spanish talent show
BBC Worldwide is behind the formats Strictly Come Dancing – produced internationally as Dancing With the Stars – and Bake Off, which have been adapted in 54 and 25 international countries, respectively.
Sumi Connock, creative director of formats at BBC Worldwide, says the most successful global formats tend to be based around “universal themes” that viewers anywhere can relate to, such as cooking, dating or dancing.
“They also have really identifiable elements so you can distinguish them from other shows and they have to answer an audience need,” she says.
“At the moment there is a real trend for warmth, and the feel-good factor so shows like Bake Off and Pitch Battle are doing well – although there was a time when shows with a meaner edge seemed to do well.”
Outsourcing the risk
Foreign formats are attractive to networks because they are programme ideas that have already been shown to work, says Ed Waller, an analyst at media research firm C21.
In essence, networks are “outsourcing risk” to countries such as the UK or US, which may have better funded broadcasters with stronger track records of developing successful shows, he says.
Image copyright BBC Worldwide
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Strictly Come Dancing has been produced in 54 markets including Brazil
However, Mr Waller says that while in the 1990s and 2000s there were relatively few suppliers of ideas for international formats, that has now “completely changed”.
“You have many more networks developing for the international market and creating their own intellectual property,” he says.
“As a result many more formats now change hands – although they tend not to reach as many countries or stay on our screens for as long.”
Image copyright SAT.1/Ralf Jürgens
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The German version of The Great Bake Off has been very popular
New countries have entered the fray too. The UK has long been the world’s top exporter of ideas, followed by the US and the Netherlands, but countries such as Scandinavia, South Korea, Israel and Argentina have all become serious players too.
Recent examples include the South Korean dramas The Good Doctor and Somewhere Between, which were sold to major US network ABC last year.
And Spanish talent show Tu Cara me Suena has been adapted in 40 countries, including the UK, where it airs as Your Face Sounds Familiar.
Cultural tweaks
Mr Beale says production companies generally try to keep formats recognisably the same as they move from country to country, so they keep their “special sauce”.
However, formats are commonly changed to reflect budget sizes or local customs, says professor Jean Chalaby, an expert in formats at City University.
Image copyright SAT.1/Ralf Jürgens
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A contestant on the German version of Bake Off made a cake out of meat
For instance, talent shows in countries like Spain and Italy are often stretched out to last three or four hours while they might last only an hour in the UK or US.
The judges on such programmes also tend to be less cruel in smaller countries, such as New Zealand, than in bigger ones like the UK or US.
“The humiliating first rounds are taken off in smaller countries as there is more of a sense of a community,” he says.
Image copyright ITV America
Image caption
Gordon Ramsay will open a Hell’s Kitchen restaurant in Las Vegas this year
Global Trade
More from the BBC’s series taking an international perspective on trade:
Of course, formats don’t always work when adapted for new markets, with comedy and drama being particularly hard to pull off.
Some ideas simply don’t translate, as seen with the controversial teen drama Skins. It lasted seven series in the UK but just one when it was adapted for MTV in the US.
Building a brand
Mr Beale says that what all production companies want is to create “evergreen” formats that can be brought back time and time again.
Such programmes become global brands, offering recurring royalties and spin-off opportunities such as events and merchandise.
Gordon Ramsay’s new Hell’s Kitchen Restaurant, due to open in Las Vegas this year, is one such example.
Creating such hits has become harder in the current climate.
“If a network doesn’t like a cooking programme they just go for another one. It’s a buyers’ market,” says Mr Beale.
Another problem producers face is copycatting as it is very hard to protect a format’s intellectual property.
The best protection for this, says Mr Beale, is having a market-leading idea to begin with so anything that comes behind you “won’t look as good”.
“You’ve got to be pragmatic”.
“We’re in a global society and you have to accept that people will copy you. You just need to become the best very quickly,” he adds.
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The future management of the Irish border is one of three main priorities in UK-EU Brexit talks
The government has said it does not want any border posts between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in its new position paper on Brexit.
The paper is part of its negotiations with the European Union and the broad ideas in the document appear familiar.
It says the government does not want to see any physical infrastructure at the Irish border, such as customs posts.
But Brexit critics have complained that the UK’s proposals lack credible detail on how that aim could be achieved.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK which will share a land border with an EU member state when Britain leaves the EU in March 2019.
The future management of that border is a highly sensitive issue and is one of three main priorities in UK-EU Brexit negotiations.
As revealed on Tuesday, Brexit Secretary David Davis wants a time-limited period to implement any new customs arrangements, including considerations relating to the “unique circumstances” of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The government has repeated its desire to maintain the Common Travel Area and the rights of UK and Irish citizens, and to uphold the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
The paper also dismisses the idea of a customs border in the Irish Sea, saying it would be economically and constitutionally unviable.
It recognises that all this needs to be negotiated with the EU, in the hope that the border between the EU and the UK will be as “seamless” as possible.
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The government ruled out suggestions of concentrating border checks at Irish Sea crossings
An Irish government spokesperson welcomed the position paper as “timely and helpful” as it offers more clarity on the UK’s strategy.
However, they warned: “Protecting the peace process is crucial and it must not become a bargaining chip in the negotiations.”
Campaigners who oppose Brexit have claimed that the re-introduction of a so-called “hard border” would severely damage the Northern Ireland peace process and have a negative economic impact.
UK-Irish trade in numbers
£13.6bn worth of goods exported to the Republic of Ireland from Great Britain in 2016
£9.1bn worth of goods exported Great Britain from the Republic of Ireland in 2016
£10.7bn worth of goods from Northern Ireland were sold in Great Britain in 2015
£2.7bn worth of goods from Northern Ireland were exported to the Republic of Ireland in 2015
More than 80% of cross-border trade on the island of Ireland is by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Both the UK and Irish governments have repeatedly stated their opposition to a hard border, but the situation is complicated as the UK intends to leave the EU’s customs union.
The position paper sets out two “broad approaches” to future customs arrangements that the UK hopes will help to prevent physical customs posts along the Irish border.
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Media captionOne road crosses the border four times in 10 minutes, but can you spot where the crossings are?
The suggestions are a “new customs partnership” or a “highly streamlined customs arrangement”.
The partnership model would “align” customs approaches between the UK and the EU, resulting in “no customs border at all between the UK and Ireland,” the paper claims.
The paper suggests the second, “highly-streamlined” arrangement could include:
a continued waiver on submitting entry/exit declarations;
continued membership of the Common Transit Convention to help Northern Ireland and Irish companies transit goods
a new “trusted trader” arrangement for larger businesses
a “cross-border trade exemption” which would mean no new customs processes at all for smaller traders
What is the customs union?
Countries in the customs union do not impose tariffs – taxes on imports – on each other’s goods.
Every country inside the union levies the same tariffs on imports from abroad.
So, for example, a 10% tariff is imposed on some cars imported from outside the customs union, while 7.5% is imposed on roasted coffee.
Other goods – such as soap or slate – have no tariffs.
The UK has said it is leaving the EU’s customs union because as a member it is unable to strike trade deals with other countries.
A UK Government source said they had some “very clear principles” in designing an “unprecedented model” for the Irish border post-Brexit.
“Top of our list is to agree upfront no physical border infrastructure – that would mean a return to the border posts of the past and is completely unacceptable to the UK.”
‘Vagueness’
The source added that protecting UK-Irish trade was “vital” and claimed the paper “sets out some creative options on customs and shows the priority we place on making progress on this”.
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Earlier this year, residents from border communities held a protest at Stormont
But Labour MP Conor McGinn, who grew up in Northern Ireland, accused the government of “vagueness and posturing”.
“These proposals on a light touch border are lighter still on detail,” he said.
“They don’t outline how a frictionless or seamless border can be achieved when the UK leaves the EU and won’t reassure anybody about the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland.”
Colm Eastwood, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), said the government seemed to be “effectively playing for more time”.
“The British government is still not ready, or at least unwilling, to publish serious or credible proposals on Brexit,” he said.
The Irish government’s spokesperson said leaders in Dublin would analyse the ideas in detail and discuss them with the European Commission and the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier.
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Students starting in September will face £5,800 in interest charges before they graduate, says the IFS
The government is not shifting on plans to increase interest charges on student loans in England – which will rise to up to 6.1% from the autumn term.
There had been speculation about a rethink over interest charges because of fears of excessive levels of debt.
But on Tuesday the Department for Education and the Student Loans Company confirmed the proposed increase.
The Department for Education said “borrowers will only ever pay back what they can afford”.
Labour’s shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said young people faced a government which saw “education as something to be sold and their aspirations as something to be taxed”.
The announcement rules out suggestions that the government was considering limiting interest rate increases for student loans on tuition fees and maintenance costs from September 2017 to August 2018.
But there has so far been no announcement on whether the government will push ahead with another increase in tuition fees for 2018, which would put fees over £9,500 per year.
University places
Hundreds of thousands of young people will hear about their A-level results and university places this week – and those taking up courses this autumn will be charged 6.1% on loans as soon as they arrive.
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Jo Johnson says record numbers of poorer students are now getting university places
The increase from 4.6% to 6.1% in interest charges will also apply to other former students who have studied since fees were increased to £9,000 in 2012.
The interest rate is based on the inflation rate, using the retail prices index in March, plus an additional 3%.
During the general election, Labour campaigned for scrapping tuition fees – and in the wake of the election there was renewed debate about whether tuition fees and interest charges were unacceptably high.
Former Labour education minister Lord Adonis has called the level of interest charges “indefensible”, and the head of the Russell Group of universities has called for a reassessment of interest rates.
The amount of debt owed by students this year went past the £100bn level, having more than doubled in six years.
Labour’s Angela Rayner accused the government of “sneaking these changes through without allowing MPs to vote on them”.
“Graduate debt is already skyrocketing, and too many students fear a lifetime of debt,” she said.
Universities Minister Jo Johnson has argued that the fee system represents a fair distribution of costs between students and taxpayers and that this provides financial sustainability for universities.
He says that this has allowed a record number of students from poorer backgrounds to enter university.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “As has always been the case, borrowers will only ever pay back what they can afford so no-one will see monthly repayments rise and only the highest earners will pay the top rate of interest.”
The department says that the loans give “protections other lenders don’t offer”, such as not requiring repayments if income falls below a threshold of £21,000 and that any unpaid debts are paid off after 30 years.
