Grow Your Video Business 111: How To Structure Your Business So You Can Take Unexpected Time Off w/ Mason Gray
What if something tragic occurred and you needed time away from your business? Yeah, I went there. But let’s imagine that you needed to take an undefined break from your work to handle an unexpected turn of events. Is your business set up in a way to handle that? Because of the way Mason Gray structured his business he was able to handle just such an unexpected turn.
Mason Gray is the co-owner of Gray’s Studio in Texas. This studio has been around for more than a century so it’s had to adapt a lot to stay in business. Mason has helped bring his studio from being based purely in photography into the world of video and marketing.
This episode is all about how the digital landscape has changed and how as filmmakers we have a built-in advantage to work smarter rather than harder. Mason talks about how transitioning to digital ads has significantly upped his profits while reducing his active workload. We also discuss finding clients who sell everyday needs-based products and services.
We go on to talk about how Mason was able to keep his business going all while taking time off to be with his family after the premature birth of his daughter. Even though these circumstances were unexpected, Mason’s business never suffered because he had the systems in place to allow it to run smoothly without him.
What would happen to your business if you suddenly needed to take off a few days, weeks, or even months? Leave a comment on the episode page!
In this episode:
- The support that comes from being part of a family business
- The biggest lessons Mason learned from the Selling Like a Sherpa Course
- Realizing that you’re a business person first and a photographer/videographer second
- Finding potential customers selling common everyday products
- Having a business structured so that you can take unexpected time-off and still earn an income
Quotes:
“Really work on the business side of things. It’s not about executing your craft. It’s not about how do I get better lighting, how do I get better equipment. It’s about relationships and making connections and just hustling for that business.” [8:42]
“Everything that you can think of that you use every day - that’s a customer. All it takes is, are you going to learn it and are you going to take action?” [23:42]
“My passion is my family first. And that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing. It’s because I love my family and this is going to allow me to have time with my family. And then the video comes also.” [29:52]
“I want to become a solution for my clients versus just adding something pretty to their portfolio or website. Results have to be easily seen to be a solution.” [32:47]
Links:
Find Mason Gray at Gray’s Studio
Follow Gray’s Studio on Instagram | Facebook
Check out Mason’s class on digital ads
Additional Links:
Check out the full show notes page
Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas
Tune into our weekly Facebook Lives
Follow Studio Sherpas on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
If you haven't already, we'd love it if you would take 1 minute to leave us a review on iTunes!