front-line - Ozone Magazine

ince the Florida Classic moved
to Orlando twelve years ago,
Front-Line Promotions has
been coordinating the events
and concerts surrounding the
weekend. Co-owned by Pat Nix
and Willie Fisher, Front-Line is
one of the largest promotion
companies in the South, thanks
to their savvy business smarts
and years of experience.
What were you doing prior to starting
Front-Line
Pat Nix: I was a car salesman for Toyota.
Willie Fisher: I played professional basketball in Turkey.
Why did you leave those professions for the promotions
business
PN: We saw a need to fill a void in Central Florida for
urban entertainment. I had personally already been
doing parties and promotions in college as a member
of Kappa Alpha Psi. I was in charge of fund raising so it
was my job to come up with events and parties to raise
money for our non-profit.
WF: It wasn’t anything I had wanted to do. It was just
something that fell into my lap. I ended up getting a
venue, the Roxy Nightclub. I was introduced to Pat and
we joined forces. It was just luck for me.
Pat, you’re a FAMU alumni. What was your major in
college
PN: My major was in Business/Economics and my
minor was in Marketing. It fits what I’m doing in a way,
but not totally. Most of the people that came out of
Business/Economics at FAMU are working for Fortune
500 companies but I decided to go a different route. I
wanted to be my own boss and not answer to nobody.
Your company has been in business for over a decade.
What do you think it takes to run a successful promotions
company
Pat: First of all, it has to be a business. A lot of people
just put money together and think they can just do
things, but we had an angle. There’s not that many
full-fledged black business promotions companies in the
country. You have to treat it as a business from A to Z.
You can only go as far as your money will take you. The
reason why Front-Line Promotions has been successful
is because we have actually made a business out of
being promoters. We have a physical office, a staff, etc.
We deal with major corporations every day to solidify
sponsorships for events, or they hire us to plan events
for them. You have to conduct yourself accordingly. No
one wants to deal with companies who are not professional,
especially promoters. At the same time, we still
keep it hot in the streets by throwin’ the hottest parties,
treating people with respect. We support the people
that support us. That’s the Boardroom to the Block.
Wille Fisher: And you also need to reinvest. Sometimes
people don’t understand the business. They have a
successful event and think that’s how it’s going to go all
the time. You can’t be like that. You have to reinvest the
money. You also have to reinvent the wheel as much as
possible. You got to stay fresh.
Were those some things you had to learn the hard way
PN: Definitely. We lost thousands of dollars while
learning the business in the beginning but those were
lessons we needed to be successful. You have a lot
of fly-by-night promotions companies. You might have
Such-n-Such Entertainment one week and a month
later the business is gone because they’ve done an
unsuccessful event.
WF: You have to be very selective and pick your battles
when choosing what you want to do. Be smart about
the things you get into. Everything that comes to you is
not for you.
Front-Line started with the two of you. How many
employees do you have now
PN: With the inception of our nightclub Club Whispers
we purchased about three years ago, we have a total of
about 30 employees.
What goes into setting up all the events for the Florida
Classic
WF: We start from A and go all the way to Z. We handle
the marketing, get the flyers and commercials prepared,
get acts, take care of travel; it’s a widespread
list.
How long does it take to get everything organized
WF: Well, the Florida Classic is pretty much our pet
project; it’s one of our babies. We have been one of
the official marketing companies for the Florida Classic
since day one. I’d say we prepare for it all year long,
and really go into high gear about six months out. We
come up with our ideas and what we plan to do to make
it happen and make the ideas come to fruition around
four months out.
What are some of the other events your company has
scheduled for the upcoming year
PN: One is the Florida A&M Homecoming Concert. We
have Lil Wayne, Plies, Boosie and Webbie, Musiq Soul
Child and T-Pain coming to the Leon County Convention
Center. We’ll bring about 12,000 people in the Convention
Center in Tallahassee for FAMU’s Homecoming.
Our company was contracted to produce, promote and
market that show and also help choose and book the
talent. It’s really a collaboration between Front-Line
Promotions and Florida A&M University. Another event is
the Memorial Day cruise to the Caribbean. We’re going
to go on a cruise ship with talent like Doug E. Fresh and
different acts and different hosts like Kid Capri and Big
Tigger. It leaves out of South Florida and travels to the
Caribbean Islands. It’s a 4 day/4 night cruise.
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