Video cash box - K.D. Salder - Company Profile

Black Enterprise, June, 1992 by Rhonda Reynolds

Two years ago, Karen Douglass Sadler made a bold New Year's resolution. The clock had barely struck 12 when Sadler decided to quit her position as a television commercial director's rep and start her own business. Keep in mind Sadler had little seed money ($3,000 in personal savings) and only rap star Queen Latifah's "Ladies First" song for inspiration.

Today the "thirtysomething" Sadler is CEO of K.D. Sadler, a New York City firm that represents music video directors. "New talent needs someone to open doors, someone who can speak the industry language," says Sadler, who employs four assistants.

Sadler says that she was able to get her business off the ground by using contacts from her days of selling, producing and directing commercials at Shooting Star Productions in New York. "I had a viable product to offer, so I just got on the phone and started calling friends," she remembers. Those calls have paid off: Sadler's 2-year-old firm grossed more than $2 million in revenues last year, and she expects to gross $4 million this year. Sadler receives 3% to 5% of each project's gross budget.

Some of the directors Sadler represents include Kevin Bray, who directed two videos for the movie Juice, and Millicent Shelton, who directed the "Let's Talk About Sex" video for the rap group Salt N Pepa. Sadler also represents directors who have made videos for Public Enemy, Earth, Wind & Fire and The Sounds of Blackness.

Sadler notes that working on commercials for such companies as AT&T Co. and Reebok International Ltd., prepared her for the intense industry demands. "This industry is recession-proof," he says. "There will always be a video to produce."