Financially Savvy and Money Conservative
The Duplass brothers, Mark and Jay, started their filmmaking career with a movie that cost them $3 to make. While addressing a media outlet in an interview, Mark, the younger of the two brothers mentioned that they began learning how to make low-budget films because they never really learned to make high-budget movies.
Even though the Duplass brothers have worked on film projects with big names such as HBO, Netflix, Paramount and Amazon Prime over the years, Mark stated that they still prefer making the low budget films.
Both brothers claim to be financially savvy, a smart money habit they inherited from their father. According to Mark, their father was very money conservative and savvy, and even though there was no time when he expressly gave them money lessons, they learned from him.
Mark Duplass highlighted a couple of money tips that have worked for him over the years.
1. Invest in stocks
Mark noted that the idea of waiting till one had expendable income before investing in the bourse is nothing but a myth. He recalled that he began investing in the early 2000s in companies like Apple and Netflix by buying as little as one share.
He stated that during the period, he did not have a lot of expenses, and he would eat inexpensive meals just so he could have something to put into the stock market.
Mark stated that he, his brother and their father invested in Netflix in 2005. According to him, prior to their decision to invest, they had been renting from Netflix and observed a business model shift to content production and distribution which seemed like a great idea to them. Thus, they decided to put $5,000 each in Netflix in 2005 and Mark said it was one of their early buys that really paid off.
The brothers in their book “Like Brothers” expressly stated that they are not investment pros but they managed to make a good deal of money because they bought the stocks so cheap and the prices of those stocks later increased. They observed in their book that picking which stocks to buy isn’t an easy task, but they suggested the adoption of their own selection approach which is to buy the shares of the companies they love, use and also believe in.
2. Avoid expenses that are bad investments
It is indisputable that the Duplass brothers have recorded successes in Hollywood. For instance, Netflix announced earlier this year that it had gotten the worldwide rights to four of the Duplass Brothers’ yet-to-be released movies. The brothers were also the co-directors of “Togetherness,” a HBO series.
However, even with their successes, Mark noted that he has remained extremely conscious to avoid spending on expenses he does not consider as good investments. He claims to still fly coach and also drives a Toyota because he only likes to spend on things that appreciate in value. For instance, he says he lives in a massive expensive house because he knows that the house will increase in value .
3. Cut out the Big city related costs
At the moment, the Duplass Brothers Productions has as its base Los Angeles while Donut, their advertising company has its headquarters in Los Angeles and New York Ciry. However, Mark revealed that their film editing business started in Austin because things were cheaper there.
According to Mark, cities with exorbitant rents would drain savings within a short period of time. The brothers stated in their book that there were even times when they stayed with roommates in rooms that had terrible living conditions. However, the Duplass brothers claim the experience has proved valuable to their creative process and development.
4. Creative Artists do not have to starve
Mark explicitly admitted that their financial savvy attitude was born out of the fact that they did not think they could earn a lot as filmmakers, and so they decided that they had to carefully handle things within their budget without going hungry.
In conclusion, Mark stated that making smart financial decisions can provide creatives with the freedom to go after their passion. He further emphasized the importance of thinking about business and money even as an artist. He stated that he used to think seeing the art as a business made him a sellout, but as he got older, he realized that having smart money techniques would support his dreams and not take him farther from them.
