ever made a film? probably should start there.
Possibly, although going out and making a (no/nano budget) film is arguably of less benefit to an aspiring professional producer than just about any other film role. At the hobbyist/amateur level, many of the most important aspects of the professional producer's role either: Don't exist at all or are minor considerations which are executed completely differently.
I already have business knowledge (not specifically in filmmaking but I guess it can be useful).
No, it's not really useful at all. Obviously it depends on what business knowledge/experience you already have, most likely it's better than none at all but even then it probably just represents a slightly better starting point, rather than anything directly useful.
Certainly I would love to go to a film school but realized it's easier to go to Harvard than going to one in CA. Saw one in Florida but tuition is around 80k. I was looking for something around half that.
Most film courses are primarily aimed at those interested in the physical filmmaking roles; screen writers, actors, cinematographers, editors, directors, etc. As a producer, you have to know how these roles function and interact but you don't need to know how to physically do them yourself. Most film courses will therefore include a lot of exercises/work which will only indirectly benefit you and miss out completely or barely touch upon areas which are vital to the role of producer. Good/Useful producer specific courses are therefore likely to be either relatively long or post graduate courses and even after that, you're extremely unlikely to walk straight into a professional producer position without considerable experience in less responsible roles.
Where should I look for a job? L.A is the place to be? I don't mind working for free for up to 12 months if it could land me a job (taking into account I don't have experience).... Where should I look for, craigslist?
1. LA is the most famous centre of the western filmmaking world and probably does represent the place with the greatest number of opportunities but this fact also means that everyone wanting to get into western filmmaking is attracted there. So while there maybe more opportunities, there's also far greater competition for them. Without an established reputation/track record, LA might not be the best place to try and start out. There's no correct answer to this question though (without the benefit of hindsight!).
2. Being a successful/professional producer means attracting at least hundreds of thousands if not millions in funding and then spending it wisely to produce a viable product. Learning how to produce a viable product takes a considerable amount of time, as does learning how to spend/allocate a budget wisely and then getting investors to trust that you're skilled/knowledgeable enough to represent a good bet, takes far longer again. Barring a miracle, 12 months is completely unrealistic! A decade or so is probably a more realistic goal, although hopefully much of that wouldn't be unpaid, it would be unpaid to start with and then hopefully paid lesser roles as you work your way up.
3. AFAIK, Craigslist is mainly for hobbyists, amateurs and students looking to complete a film. As they are generally looking to make films rather than products and as they have little or no budget to allocate (and little or no prospect of attracting any), they therefore represent little or no opportunity to learn or experience many of the aspects crucial to the role of the professional producer. By far the best potential opportunity for learning these aspects is to intern (PA/runner, etc.) on a commercial/professional budgeted production but again, being the potentially best professional learning opportunities means greater competition. Craigslist (or a similar site) may therefore be your most realistic option and at your stage, just learning some general filmmaking basics would at least be a step in the right direction.
G