Scott Dikkers’ Comedy Business School is a course designed to give comedy writers and comedians everything they need in order to succeed in the business of comedy. After taking the course, Mr. Dikkers’ goal is for alumni to be able to have a career in comedy.
Is Scott qualified to teach this course?
At first I honestly wasn’t sure, Scott Dikkers isn’t a famous stand-up comedian.
When I looked him up, he had a five-minute bit where he got to open for a real audience titled: “MUST SEE Stand-up Performance by BEGINNER”.
It’s well-written, but you can tell Scott Dikkers’ main thing isn’t stand-up. I was even more unsure.
Then, I found out who he was – the creator of The Onion. He’s not only the guy behind a comedy brand that’s synonymous with satirical news, he’s one of the pioneers of putting comedy on the internet and even has extensive experience as a producer.
Yeah, he’s not a stand-up comic, but Scott Dikkers is a bonafide expert in everything adjacent to stand-up comedy. He’s not only been a prolific comedy writer for decades and worked with almost every format – he’s produced a lot of stuff, including television. This means he has a lot of experience hiring comedy talent, making him one of the most credible sources on the comedy business around.
Are you qualified to review this product?
Well, on paper, I was the ideal student for this course:
- I was an open mic’er (of 1.5 years)
- In Los Angeles
- With a degree in marketing management
I also know what it looks like when someone knows how to teach soft skills because I spent much of my adolescence and young adulthood in a dark corner of the self-help world called the “Pickup Artist” scene. I even ended up working in the marketing department of a company called Love Systems where I got to see and participate in live training that students paid thousands of dollars for.
What’s in the course?
Firstly, this isn’t a course in how to be funny. That’s something you might have to work on for years.
However, Scott includes a couple very excellent books on the subject as a bonus. He also has a How To Write Funny podcast and Facebook group which are great resources and free – so you should sign up for them regardless.
The Comedy Business School course felt like a cross between a practical workshop and a college intro class in which Scott Dikkers lays out the careers available to people who want to be funny professionally. If you were looking for a mentor to explain how to get into the business of comedy, this is definitely the course for you.
He also goes a step further by explaining how soft skills and networking come into play.
Scott Dikkers tells the truth!
When Scott Dikkers gives advice about networking or what kind of person succeeds in comedy, it’s solid advice and you should follow it. If you’ve been around, he talks about a lot of things that you might have seen hold back peers.
However, that might also be the tough part about the course. A lot of people are going to hear something from Scott Dikkers that they don’t want to hear.
Whether Scott is telling you what you really have to do to succeed or dropping some truth bomb – he doesn’t pull punches in terms of being honest about the comedy business.
And it’s going to be the truth. But that’s realistically what you’re paying for.
Does the course do everything it claims?
Pretty much – if you’re willing to put in the effort. I rate it a 4.9 out of 5.
Why isn’t it a perfect 5? Well, mostly cause I was raised Catholic and taught to believe nothing is perfect.
What I can confidently say is that Scott Dikkers’ Comedy Business School definitely meets the scope of a business course. The course even has a ton of bonus content thrown in for people who also wanted to learn how to be funny.
Should I enroll in Comedy Business School?
In short, probably.
You have a lot to gain if you’re looking for one of these:
- A survey of career opportunities in comedy, like a college 101 class with practical guidance.
- Essential information regarding how the comedy business works, from etiquette to submission formatting.
- A very real, brutally honest breakdown of what it takes to succeed in comedy.
- Extra help with goal setting, motivation, perspective, and even a list of business contacts.
You know how they say, “You don’t know what you don’t know.”?
Coming from being an open mic’er and just doing stand-up, I’d say this course opened up a whole world I wasn’t aware of. I’d likely never get a chance to learn this stuff from an experienced stand-up comedian, let alone all at once.
If you aspire to make a career out of being a humorist or comedian, there really isn’t any other class that compares in terms of priming and preparing someone to actually become a real comedy professional. I’d say it’s definitely worth it if you compare it to the cost of a community college class.
Where can I get the course?
https://go.howtowritefunny.com/testing-for-launchtyjzdn62?affiliate_id=2155658&aff_sub=blog
(Disclosure: Scott let me be an affiliate for his Comedy Business School, so this is an affiliate link.)