Meet Christopher McDonald of Connections First in West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher McDonald.

Christopher, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
With almost two decades of experience, I bring to the table an extensive network of connections and opportunities for both individuals and brands. But it’s not just my network, but the actual relationships I build. Going beyond merely booking talent, I’ve worked with everyone from celebrities to high profile billionaires to celebrities to athletes to identify, strategize, and build bridges that develop not just into relationships but new ventures.

With a strong familiarity with traditional media, and having booked an array of top talent from the world of entertainment, sports, business, science, and tech, I launched Connections First in order to bring opportunities never before seen by many small businesses and create out-of-the-box avenues for established corporations.

My love for networking stems from my upbringing — As an “army brat,” I grew up a citizen of the world. My father served 35 years active duty in the U.S. Army with his career taking me and my family to Japan, Korea, Germany and various posts around the United States. I hold a bachelor of science in broadcast journalism from Boston’s prestigious Emerson College, which led to the beginning of my professional career at CNN.

Christopher has had the pleasure and honor to work with the following brands:

“Tavis Smiley” (PBS), “The Arsenio Hall Show” (CBS/Tribune), “It’s Not You, It’s Men w/ Tyrese & Rev Run” (OWN) and “Impact Theory w/ Tom Bilyeu” (YouTube/Itunes), Prince, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Angelina Jolie, Jay Z, Kanye West, Dave Matthews, Joni Mitchell, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Michael Strahan, Dierks Bentley, Martina McBride, and Tony Robbins.

Has it been a smooth road?
It was actually smooth in the beginning. There were a lot of great opportunities that either fell in my lap or worked out timing wise. For example, when I first moved to LA, I practically walked into CNN and asked for a job. It just so happened a production assistant quit that day for the one hour global news program “The World Today w/ Jim Moret.” They asked if I could start that day and I did. Granted it was the late 90’s before post-9/11 heightened security at big businesses like CNN. So I’m certainly aware that tactic wouldn’t happen today.

Ironically, the more established and experienced I became in my career, the more obstacles and challenges were thrown my way. Most of my career occurred on high profile television sets. The entertainment industry is riddled with personalities, hot-heads and egos. It sounds cliché, but the entertainment industry is CUT THROAT!!! You are constantly surrounded with executive sharks who will fire you after one little mistake, and there’s also a ‘crabs in a bucket’ mentality among your peers. So backstabbers are everywhere. This sounds a bit macabre, but it’s the nature of ‘the industry.’

Another challenge was learning to deal with “no.” As a booker, my principle job is to acquire individuals whether it’s for a TV show, a summit, an event, etc. I get told “no” on a daily basis. For every 100 no’s, I get one yes. It weighs down on the psyche, but you eventually toughen up and get used to it.

In 2014, I lost my job when “The Arsenio Hall Show,” which I worked for, got cancelled. For the first time since the age of 14, I was unemployed. I’d never been unemployed in my adult life and I was without a job for 9 months. It just so happened that it was the first year of my son’s life, and my wife had to support the family by herself. I never realized how much your job defined me until I went through unemployment. It really doesn’t define a person, but I let it define me. So I went into a bit of a depression. And I felt worthless. Even when I finally went back to work, my confidence was shaky! It took me a good year to get it back.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Connections First story. Tell us more about the business.
Forgive me, but I alluded to Connections First (my company) in the first question about myself. Connections first essentially bridges the gap between brands and notable individuals. I offer up booking services for events, productions, etc.

But I’m not just your average booking boutique. Many entertainment bookers, like myself, or concert promoters go on to form their own companies like Connections First. But what separates me from the others is the diversity of my network. Most bookers have a niche network web — they either specialize in TV, film, music, business, sports, and so on. After spending a good portion of my career as a music booker, I realized how much it pigeon-holed me when I was unemployed. I couldn’t land a job outside of booking music. I had the skills and trade to adapt, but no one gave me the opportunity. From that moment on, I made it a point to diversify who I booked. I dabbled in the film/tv space, then the entrepreneur arena, then moved on to athletes, thought leaders and authors. By year two, I realized I had expanded my network enough to start an unrivaled company.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
One of the reasons I started my own company was to branch off from the entertainment industry. I wanted an apocalypse job… a job that would still be essential if the bombs dropped and wiped out electricity, thus rendering the entertainment industry as we know it useless. But for now, we do have electricity and the information age is going in a new direction fast.

What I love about what I do is, I can take my business anywhere. 90% of my job is done on the phone and computer. The other 10% I commit to meeting potential and sealed clients face-to-face. Thus, I can take my business anywhere in the world. I’m currently working on securing an extremely high-profiled speaker for a conference in Tanzania. It’s amazing to think my kind of work was limited to just Los Angeles and LA just a few years ago, and now I’m doing a consultation in Sub-Saharan Africa.

There will always be a need for networking and being a people-connector. I most definitely see my company growing beyond just one person. I have no doubt in my mind. I’ve already spread myself too thin with the idea that I will bring in enough revenue to staff up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.connections-first.com/
• Phone: 323-472-5643
• Email: [email protected]
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/FinesseMcDonald

Image Credit:
Photo w/ Lenny Kravitz (by James “Van” Evers)
Photo w/ Dule Hill (by James “Van” Evers)
Photo w/ Gladys Knight (by Jay Julio)

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