The Venture Edge

Lights! Camera! Action!  "Oops, I didn't know you were actually going to film EVERYTHING."  That's what small business owners are learning as they let TV cameras into their businesses and their lives 24/7.  Most like Duff Goldman who owns Charm City Cakes LLC in Baltimore, which is now featured on the Food Network's "Ace of Cakes, would say that if they had read the fine print in their contracts, they would have probably said no.  "But we learned to deal with it all," claims Goldman in an interview with WSJ journalist Emily Maltby.  His business found that because of the intrusion of the film crew, they were making fewer of the unique cakes for which they're known, which meant less revenue. To make up the loss, Goldman had to develop licensing deals, write books, and do speaking gigs.  He did receive money for doing the show, but it wasn't enough to make you do the show for the money.