Grow Your Video Business with Ryan Koral

Do you love making videos but can't because you spend all your time running your business? As a small business owner, it is too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of your company and lose sight of the bigger picture. Today, we're discussing how to get back on track. Key Takeaways Delegation is key to creating a sustainable business. As soon as you start your company, create processes to allow you to delegate work so that your day-to-day operations could continue even without you there. Clients are going to work with people they connect with. This means that you need to regularly put out content that showcases who you are. About Samson Jagoras Samson is the President of Growth Vue Properties and helps successful people passively invest in large commercial apartment complexes across the United States. He is also a commercial real estate broker and the VP of strategic investments for RE/MaX commercial alliance. Over his 12-plus year career in business, executive leadership, and entrepreneurship, he has served as a professional futures and commodities broker, actively invested in real estate, and acted as the Chief Strategy Officer for Madwire (an INC 500 marketing and technology company located in Fort Collins, Colorado) where he aided in taking Madwire's revenue from $7 million to over $100 million and 35 employees to 600 employees in 10 years. You Don't Need To Do It All No matter what your small business is, you likely spend too much time not doing the parts that bring you joy. Samson urges you to refocus by delegating the work that you don't need to or want to do. By splitting up the tasks in your business by outsourcing you ensure that your energy is best put to use. It's never too early to do this. From the very start, begin creating processes that let you hand off certain work to somebody else. Reputation Is Everything So much of a small business's success relies on its reputation. This is something that you can control, but you have to be intentional about it. Ask satisfied customers to write reviews. Also, put out content that promotes you as a person. Video is a great medium for this. Samson wants video business owners to get in front of the camera and put out consistent content promoting what they do. It doesn't need to be perfect. It just has to communicate who you are. By getting into the minds of potential clients, they will naturally think of you when they want your services. What tasks have you or could you delegate right now? How do you communicate to customers who you are as a business owner? Leave a comment on the episode page! In This Episode: Why entrepreneurs often lose track of their goals [6:15] Why you should be delegating early and often [9:00] What to consider when hiring someone to handle your sales [16:25] The importance of personal branding and controlling your reputation [23:38] What happens when you think horizontally about your income [37:30] Quotes "I think that it's really easy to get into business and end up creating a glorified job for yourself. If you wanted to just work a job 40 hours a week, go work for somebody else." [9:39] "You know how I get 200 hours of work done a week? I leverage other people's time. It's not just my time." [21:36] "You need to control the narrative and you need to be making sure that when people look you up that they can quickly understand who you are, what you do, and why the heck that matters. You ultimately can control your reputation because that's all you really have in this digital age." [25:07] "At the end of the day, your money is just a tool. So you don't really become wealthy until you start thinking about how to put your money to work for you." [38:17] Links: Join the Studio Sherpas Facebook group Get on the waitlist for the 5 Day Grow Your Video Business Challenge Core Find Samson Jagoras online Follow Samson on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tik Tok | Linkedin Growth Vue Properties The E-Myth by Michael Gerber Loom Text Samson at +1 970-423-2233 to get instant access to his free webinar on multi-family investing along with his investor guide. Additional Links: Check out the full show notes page Do you have something to share on this podcast? Fill out this form here. Be sure to take the Studio Sherpas survey for a chance to win some incredible prizes (if we do say so ourselves!) Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas Tune in to 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! Related Episodes: Ep 219 Why Small Offerings Are The Key To Landing Big Projects with Jacob Snowden

It doesn't matter how much money your business is bringing in if it isn't allowing you to live the life you want. Working endlessly is not the point. To become a truly successful video business owner, you need to work on your business, not just inside of it. Today's guest shares how he learned to work more efficiently so that he could establish the right balance between work and life. Key Takeaways When you try to do everything in your business, you can't find your proper focus. Step back and really think about where your energy and talents can best be used. Efficiency is your route to a successful business. Growing your knowledge, your processes, and your experience will allow you to get more done without overworking yourself. About Mark Pasternack Mark believes in humanizing brands by telling purposeful stories of passionate people. For him, storytelling has always been about the people. Over the past decade, he's worked with hundreds of brands from fortune 500s to small businesses telling stories with the result of increased awareness, engagement, and communication. His work currently consists of consulting with brands as well as empowering other filmmakers through his latest venture, The Video Community. Not all growth is good growth Growing your business is the goal. But it's not worth it if it's costing you your sanity. Mark describes how his initial successes as a business owner came at too high a cost. He looks back on his mistakes that may have been good for his bottom line but really took a toll on his family and himself. What helped Mark escape this trap was really getting focused on what he wanted out of his business. Once you have that figured out, you can start hiring other people to take care of everything else. This frees you up to actually run your business how you want to. Knowing what you want your business to be To really identify what you want your business to be, you need to know who you want to serve and how you want to serve them. You can't serve everybody. By closing the wrong deals with the wrong clients you're just creating more work and frustration. More to the point, you have to know what it is that you want out of your business. Really reflect on why you do the work that you do. This may take time to figure out. But once you know why you do what you do, you can make that part your personal priority and implement the necessary systems to make sure that everything else is taken care of. In what ways are you more than a freelancer? What part of your business truly feeds your soul as a creative? Leave a comment on the episode page! In This Episode: How Mark found a rhythm to manage his work-life balance [6:00] The importance of having focus when growing your business [11:03] Identifying what you actually want out of your business [22:02] Working on the parts of your business that give you energy rather than draining it [33:00] Why you are more than just a freelancer [35:45] Quotes "It's taken me a long time to realize that I can't do everything at once. I can't try to achieve everything at once and I can't actually defy gravity and natural law even though I want to all the time. So I had to take a step back and realize that my family is a business." [8:48] "My energy wasn't focused on anything. It was all just focused on growing everything which leads to a lot of lack of clarity." [13:23] "There's not one right way, but it is about figuring out what is the way for you that is going to make you the most happy with what you're doing." [20:53] Links: Get Access to the free Client Budget Workshop Join the Studio Sherpas Facebook group Core Find Mark Pasternack online Follow Mark on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube The Video Community Additional Links: Check out the full show notes page Do you have something to share on this podcast? Fill out this form here. Be sure to take the Studio Sherpas survey for a chance to win some incredible prizes (if we do say so ourselves!) Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas Tune in to 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!

When you trade your time for money, it's hard to stay in control of your schedule. That's why creating passive income is so desirable. Longtime listeners to this show know that I've been able to do this through course creation videos with shared revenue partners. Selling digital products like this is a fantastic way to make more money without having to work more hours. The good news is that there are more opportunities for you to do this now than ever before. Key Takeaways Opportunities to make videos for course creators and other digital products are only going to continue to grow. This is an incredible way to create passive revenue streams that will allow you to retake control of your time. About PJ Taei PJ Taei is the founder of Uscreen, a leading video monetization platform helping over 10,000 businesses and creators stream and monetize videos online. Opportunities for Your Digital Products The online education market just exploded this past year. PJ and I are sure that it's here to stay. Because it's still relatively new, there are tons of ways to get involved. PJ describes how Uscreen which is "like Kajabi on steroids but with a Netflix feel" can serve both production companies and content creators monetize their creations. Owning Your Time with On-Demand Video Ultimately, profit-sharing with course creation videos lets you retake control of your time. These types of on-demand videos have only grown in popularity lately and will likely continue to do so. It's actually not that hard once you learn the basics. Throughout this episode, PJ explains how to set yourself up for continued success with this model. What type of digital product could you make to create recurring passive income? Leave a message on the episode page! In This Episode: How platforms like Uscreen allow people to monetize their videos [7:00] How content creators can make six figures a month with the help of video hosting platforms [11:53] The limitations of relying on ad revenue [12:40] The benefits of offering on-demand and live content [15:00] Quotes "It's an all-in-one platform. We host all the videos, we give you all the paywall, and then it has a lot of marketing tools built-in." [8:49] "We make our customers, all of them together, about eight million dollars per month. That's like tripled in the last twelve months. That's always going up." [12:04] "It's really hard to make money with ads unless you're really a YouTuber and start to gain a lot of subscribers. Also, you don't own your audience. With something like Uscreen or Kajabi, you own your audience. You know who they are. You have their emails. You can upsell to them, add additional products." [13:12] "It's scalable. You create it one time. It sells. It's evergreen. That's the beauty of video on demand." [15:18] Links: The Course Creator Agency Workshop Join the Studio Sherpas Facebook group Core Find PJ Taei online Follow PJ on Twitter | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Kajabi Additional Links: Check out the full show notes page Do you have something to share on this podcast? Fill out this form here. Be sure to take the Studio Sherpas survey for a chance to win some incredible prizes (if we do say so ourselves!) Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas Tune in to 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! Related Episodes Episode 178: How to Make Recurring Revenue With Course Creator Partnerships

There are countless ways to create a successful video business. Often it comes to thinking outside the box. Today's guest created a phenomenal business model by taking a unique approach to subscription services. In this episode, he'll tell you how he did it and what to look for in your business to set it apart. Key Takeaways To create authentic and interesting testimonial videos, ditch the script and ask unexpected questions. This will lead to authentic answers and compelling videos. Don't charge your clients extra fees for extra services. Build those into your budget from the start. Keeping your rates simple leads to more satisfied clients. About Trevor Rappleye Trevor Rappleye started his first business at age 13 and started filming weddings at age 15. Today, he is the CEO of CorporateFilming & FranchiseFilming where he creates monthly videos on their VIP Subscription model for their clients. He has worked with clients such as CVS, Home Depot, Neighborly, and more. A Different Kind of Subscription Service Trevor goes about making corporate videos a little differently. Instead of doing one-offs, he creates monthly videos. Trevor describes how this leads to more repeat business and satisfied clients. This subscription model actually creates less work overall because it lets Trevor and his team use more of the footage that they take. Mostly, Trevor focuses on testimonial videos. To make these interesting and authentic, Trevor and his team never use a script or give the customer the questions in advance. This creates a genuine response that translates perfectly to video. Ditch Those Extra Fees Trevor also never charges fees for extras. In an effort to make his costs as simple, predictable, and transparent as possible, everything is included in the package price. He recommends simply raising your overall price to cover extra costs. That way the customer will know from the start what they're going to pay. This will even lead to more satisfaction when they see how much they actually get for the flat fee that they pay. What makes your video business different? Have you been thinking about adding a subscription model to your business? What could it be? Leave a comment on the episode page! In This Episode: How Trevor's subscription model creates less work and more satisfied clients [4:40] Making testimonial videos that come across as authentic and genuine [9:34] Creating a range of pricing models [12:10] Why charging fees for extras is not the best practice [16:30] How much flexibility to build into contracts to create repeat clients [23:10] Making quality videos quickly [27:40] Quotes "I've found that clients and businesses want the most is social proof that their business actually works. What is better to do that than having a customer talk about that." [9:03] "If you have a product but no one knows it exists, you actually have nothing." [16:05] "No one cares that the shipping of the hard drive is going to cost you $8. Just include it in the dang amount. Raise your price today by one hundred bucks and never charge anyone another extra fee." [17:58] "People come back based on how you make them feel, not on what you created, not on what your final price point was." [21:21] Links: Get access to the Client Budget Workshop Core Join the Grow Your Video Business Facebook Group Find Trevor Rappleye online Follow Trevor on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Linkedin 5% off any of Trevor's packages using coupon code: Podcast2021 If You're in a Dogfight, Become a Cat! by Leonard Sherman Additional Links: Check out the full show notes page Do you have something to share on this podcast? Fill out this form here. Be sure to take the Studio Sherpas survey for a chance to win some incredible prizes (if we do say so ourselves!) Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas Tune in to 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!

Marketing yourself should be fun. Then why does it so often feel hard? I know you didn't start your business to become a professional marketer, but the best way for you to make the biggest impact in the world is to believe in yourself and believe that what you have to offer the world is good. Today's guest tells us how to do that to make it so much easier to market what you do. Key Takeaways You can't do it all if you want your business to run smoothly. Identify your strengths - your zones of genius - and focus on doing those. Everything else can likely be done by others so that you can get out of your own way. The point of social media marketing is to make people feel like they're missing out. To do this, don't make the messaging about you. Rather, make it about how others are receiving a huge benefit through your work. About Kim Walsh Phillips "Kim Walsh Phillips is a must-read by those in business" - Forbes Magazine. She is the best-selling author of multiple books including The Ultimate Guide to Instagram for Business and No BS Guide To Direct Response Social Media Marketing. She's spoken around the world and coached some of the biggest brands and thought leaders, having worked alongside Tony Robbins, Grant Cardone, Kevin O'Leary, Dr. Nido Quebin, Dan Kennedy, Bill Glazer, and Gary Vaynerchuk. Kim resides just outside of Atlanta, GA with her very tall husband and glitter-obsessed girls and is fueled by faith, love, laughter, and lots and lots (and lots) of coffee. Growing a Successful Business by Doing Less Kim has structured her company so that she only has to do the work that brings her joy. Often, when we try to do everything, we create bottlenecks and get in our own way. Kim describes what to look for when building a team to streamline your processes and ensure that everyone is working within their zones of genius. This can be a tough move to make. Usually, when you're starting your business, you do all the things and get all the earnings. Hiring somebody means parting with some of that money. However, if you think about it as making the business more efficient so that you can make even more money, you'll be ready to accept even more opportunities for growth and profit. The Formula for Successful Social Media Marketing Kim certainly knows how to make the best of social media in marketing. For those of us who don't know where to start, Kim has a pretty elegant formula for success. It starts with creating super valuable content to attract clients. Kim explains how to make sure what you make resonates by speaking to their needs. The next step is getting them to join your list with regular content and offers. Finally, Kim shares her secret for getting them to book an appointment with you. Most of all, you need to show potential clients that they're missing out by not working with you. To do this, Kim loves making an interview series to showcase how you have helped others. This lets you feature client success stories, but also to interview people you'd like as clients. How can you market your business in a way that stays true to your brand? How can you show potential clients that they're missing out by not working with you? Leave a comment on the episode page! In This Episode: How Kim structures her company so that she only has to do the parts she loves and you can too [6:20] Why you need to build a team to grow your company [11:45] Where to start when using social media to market B2B [16:42] Subtly creating an offer that potential clients can't refuse [25:38] Quotes "There are people waiting for you right now. So if you can get past the fear, past the uncertainty that's blocking you from reaching them, you can break apart that wall and make it into a door. Then there's that opportunity that exists for both you and the people you're created to serve." [8:48] "If you are doing a bunch of stuff that you hate, there is a better way. You don't need to do it like that anymore." [11:32] "It is not meant for you to work harder or to do more, but instead to look, and perhaps there is a cleaner, gentler way to accomplish your big dream so that you can live every day in joy." [34:08] Links: Get the Client Budget Workshop Join the Grow Your Video Business Facebook Group Core Storyblocks Find Kim Walsh Phillips online Follow Kim on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook The FB Profit System Free Tutorial and Cheat Sheet The Ultimate Guide to Instagram for Business No BS Guide To Direct Response Social Media Marketing Ecamm Additional Links: Check out the full show notes page Do you have something to share on this podcast? Fill out this form here. Be sure to take the Studio Sherpas survey for a chance to win some incredible prizes (if we do say so ourselves!) Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas Tune in to 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!

Stories are powerful things. Even your own story can uplift, inspire, and make a change. As a filmmaker, you know the value of stories. What you have the power to do is take what others might see as mundane, and make it compelling and extraordinary. I'm so excited to have a guest who uses his own amazing story to show others how to dig deep into their own potential so that they too can become inspirations. Key Takeaways Life is full of opportunities to improve and reinvent yourself. To do this, you need to seriously consider your strengths, weaknesses, and how you want to grow as a person and as a professional. If done right, this should be a lifelong process. No matter what, we all face challenges. Sharing those struggles and your journey while it's still happening is one of the greatest gifts you can give to others. Doing so communicates the universal nature of struggle and can inspire perseverance in others who need it the most. About Kevin Brown Kevin L. Brown is native to the City of Detroit, Michigan. He attributes the majority of his success to his rough and violent childhood, which he details in his literary work entitled Chasing Crows: A True Detroit Success Story, which chronicles his life growing up on Detroit's eastside, one of the city's roughest areas. Kevin joined the Impact Network in 2012, where he is a television producer. He is currently working diligently on creating a documentary about his life journey, as well as a movie entitled "Chasing Crows". Kevin believes that his purpose in life is to be sharing his story of passion, perseverance, and hope with the world so that others may understand what they are able to unlock within themselves. Stories as Vehicles for Positive Change Through the massive reach of the Impact Network, Kevin creates videos aimed at inspiring others. He recognizes that all people are dreamers, but sometimes we need a little inspiration to recognize and act on those dreams. Videos are a way to connect with people on a meaningful level and show them the potential that they have to accomplish great things. Kevin's own life experience has led him to see this value in storytelling. He gets real and vulnerable in this conversation about his numerous past traumas and triumphs. This is a story that is far from over. It is a positive one of hope and resilience that we all can identify with, whether we lived it or not. Finding Your Purpose and Using It Throughout it all, Kevin learned countless valuable lessons. He tells us that the only person we should ever compete with is ourselves. We need to understand our strengths and our weaknesses because that allows us to build strong teams and constantly improve. At the heart of Kevin's message is that there is purpose in everyone. No matter anybody's background or current situation, there is still something for us all to accomplish. Kevin describes how to dig deep to discover that purpose so that you can identify it and act on it. How do your past experiences inspire the stories you tell? What challenges have you overcome (big or small) to become the storyteller you are today? Leave a comment on the episode page! In This Episode: Connecting with amazing people over social media [5:50] The power of video to inspire people [9:15] How Kevin's difficult childhood continues to be an inspiration [11:55] Why self-discovery and personal improvement are key elements of success [25:25] Why purpose is something everyone has [32:48] Quotes "I just love the ability to create content - the high of coming up with a concept in your mind, working through it, working through the process, and seeing it actually come to fruition as a picture on the screen and working with like-minded people and creating something that people can benefit from." [11:02] "Regardless of what you go through, regardless of what people think about you, you have to believe in yourself. You cannot compete with nobody but the person you were yesterday." [25:44] "I hope everyone here understands that they have a purpose in life, that regardless of where you come from, how much money you have, your economic disposition, social status…there is purpose in you." [33:55] Links: Join the Grow Your Video Business Facebook group Get Access To The Client Budget Workshop Core Storyblocks Follow Kevin on Instagram | Linkedin Chasing Crows: A True Detroit Success Story Impact Network Clubhouse Additional Links: Check out the full show notes page Do you have something to share on this podcast? Fill out this form here. Be sure to take the Studio Sherpas survey for a chance to win some incredible prizes (if we do say so ourselves!) Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas Tune in to 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!

You already know how to make amazing videos. If only that were enough to sustain your business, you'd be all set. Sadly, outstanding video seldom is enough. To truly get the business you need, you need to market what you do. Today's guest is here to help us navigate the murky waters of social media marketing so that you can grow your business to the next level. Key Takeaways Don't get caught up in how many followers you have. What's more important is promoting the quality of your impact and the value you provide. This will not only help you get discovered but will allow you to charge what you're worth. You need to market to a specific need. By trying to market to everybody, you're marketing to nobody. By specializing in something specific, you'll be better positioned to market to and find your ideal clients. The more specific you can get, the more powerful and tangible your messaging will be. About Neal Schaffer Neal Schaffer is an authority on helping innovative businesses digitally transform their sales and marketing. Founder of the digital marketing consultancy PDCA Social, Neal also teaches at Rutgers Business School and the Irish Management Institute. Fluent in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, Neal is a popular keynote speaker and has spoken on four continents in more than a dozen countries. He is also the author of 4 sales and marketing books, including Maximize Your Social and the recently published The Age of Influence, a ground-breaking book redefining digital influence. The Many Ways Social Media Can Be Used In Marketing We all have to market our businesses. There are countless ways to do this and it will look different for everyone. Neal discusses how to use social media to build your exposure and influence in a way that's authentic to who you are and your brand. You need to be specific in your approach. Carefully choose the platform, format, and content that makes the most sense to what you do and who you want to reach. Neal explains how honing in on this will help you differentiate what you do and reach the right clients. This may mean further developing your niche, or even changing it altogether. Being Unique To Leverage Your Connections The thing to remember is that, no matter what, you have a unique experience. That experience is what sets you apart and gives you something worth sharing. Whatever it is, it can be applied to something related to video. Neal reminds us that we are all experts in something. Marketing is merely a way to communicate that you're an expert to the people who need that expertise. It's also not that important how many followers you have. What matters more is how connected you are to others. It's the quality of those relationships that makes the difference. Neal tells us how to use your sphere of influence to get the word out so that more business will start flowing your way. What could be holding you back from a pivot you need to make? What do you need to do to move forward? How can you use your skills in video to reach out within your sphere of influence? Leave a comment on the episode page! In This Episode: Developing a love of social media as a way to build and promote businesses [5:45] The dangers of comparing your business to others [9:55] Where to start when developing your social media marketing strategy [13:30] Overcoming the fear of niching down [17:12] The power of having processes in your sales strategy [28:40] How to build and leverage your sphere of influence [37:08] Quotes "With social media, it's so misunderstood and done wrong by so many, and I think if we can teach people at the top level how to do it right, it's so impactful for people, businesses, and society." [5:34] "The numbers don't matter. What really matters is the impact that you have in your community and the market where you're looking for work." [12:50] "There are influencers out there, in your community and online, who you can begin a relationship with, collaborate with. I think that can become a really powerful way of getting some word of mouth going for you." [39:44] Links: Join the Grow Your Video Business Facebook group The Client Budget Workshop Core Storyblocks Find Neal Schaffer online Follow Neal on Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook Free Preview of The Age of Influence Additional Links: Check out the full show notes page Do you have something to share on this podcast? Fill out this form here. Be sure to take the Studio Sherpas survey for a chance to win some incredible prizes (if we do say so ourselves!) Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas Tune in to 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!

If only you had that one piece of gear you could take your business to the next level, right? Well, more often than not, you'll just end up spending money on something that won't truly help move your business. Today's guest and I talk about the most important factors when considering a new expense so that you can actually focus on what's best for your business. Key Takeaways When trying to find your niche, think about different areas of expertise that you have that overlap. This will set you apart more from your competition and allow you to play to your strengths. There are likely parts of your business that are unnecessary. Cut those out not only to save money but to give you enough bandwidth to focus on the truly important parts of your business. About Wesley Dean The founder of InterMotion Media, Wesley Dean has a passion for helping nonprofits, churches, higher education, and development organizations succeed. He loves the work that they are doing to make the world a better place and wants to see them succeed. He has traveled around the world from the Andes mountains in Ecuador to the rice paddies of Cambodia, helping nonprofits communicate the impact of their work. Wesley is also passionate about helping educate people as well as inform, which is why InterMotion Media has produced a large number of online courses in partnership with the US Institute of People, the United Nations, and the World Bank. Focusing on what you and your business really need With a decade of experience as a business owner, Wesley has learned a lot of lessons. He shares how he learned the need to create a refined hiring-process, the importance of proper team management, and the true meaning of success. More than anything, Wesley understands the need to take care of yourself as a business owner. A great way to go about this is to seriously think about the unnecessary parts of your business. What's sucking up resources and time that you could do without? Once that's identified, you can get rid of it and focus on the more important things. How your business can do more with less One thing that Wesley understands is how constraints lead to solutions. Instead of buying gear you don't need or hiring an employee you can't afford, consider how you can accomplish the same thing with fewer resources. When you know what your business doesn't need, you can better focus on your actual vision. Niching down, identifying your ideal client, developing strategy, and so much more can happen once all the unnecessary noise, expenses, and distractions are jettisoned. What unnecessary expense can you cut from your business? How can you utilize overlapping skills to create a new niche? Leave a comment on the episode page! In This Episode: How a career in video allows you to create the work that excites you the most [5:10] Discovering the unnecessary parts of your business and getting rid of them [12:40] Utilizing the power of community and a mentor to help with big decisions [21:12] Challenges and solutions to niching down [26:30] Leveraging the advantage of warm leads during downturns in business [36:48] Quotes "Focus on yourself. Focus on making sure you're profitable and taking care of yourself as a business owner." [14:40] "Take care of yourself. Make sure you're paying yourself first versus assuming that buying the latest camera or having a bigger studio is going to automatically lead to more work." [16:22] "You just have to be exponentially better at one particular thing in order for people to actually want to involve you on the strategy side of things." [33:10] Links: Get access to the free Client Budget Workshop Join the Onward Summit Waitlist Core Storyblocks Find Wesley Dean online Follow Wesley on Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin InterMotion Media Your Video Roadmap Profit First By Mike Michalowicz Additional Links: Check out the full show notes page Do you have something to share on this podcast? Fill out this form here. Be sure to take the Studio Sherpas survey for a chance to win some incredible prizes (if we do say so ourselves!) Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas Tune in to 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!

Who doesn't want to land a high-budget project for a big brand? That may be the goal of many of us, but seldom can you start there. Before you get booked to make something big, you often have to do something much smaller. Today's guest is an expert in video marketing who's going to tell you how to introduce yourself to big clients by offering smaller projects. Key Takeaways When talking to clients, focus on how to best use the videos you create rather than the video itself. Your videos are a means to an end for them and you can help them reach their goals. That's what they're truly interested in. Have something to offer a potential client on the cheap (or even free) to help you establish a relationship early on. This will not only possibly lead to more lucrative work later on, but it will also help you decide if you're a good fit for each other. If you ever do free work for somebody, be very clear from the start about your expectations of what you're doing for them and what they should expect from you. About Jacob Snowden Jacob Snowden has worked in video and marketing for the past eight years. Starting out with Kickstarters and music videos, Jacob now leads a team of nine video creators for one of America's fastest-growing companies; Marketing 360. Focusing on Strategy to Help Your Clients More important than making a great video, is putting it to use in the best way you can. Jacob describes the process for selling clients on the importance of the videos you create for them rather than the video itself. It takes remembering that they have a goal in mind and focusing on how you can help them achieve that goal with your creation. By focusing on strategy, you'll not only sound more professional, but you'll help your clients even more. Knowing what they want the videos to achieve will guide your creations towards a more narrow focus and make them more effective. Starting Small Before You Can Go Big We all want to create big-budget projects. But sometimes it pays to make something with a tiny budget or even for free when just starting your relationship with a brand. Jacob and I have both found that this is a helpful way to get your foot in the door and find out whether or not you're actually a good fit for each other. Templatized projects can also fill this role. They are cheap, fast, and easy to make while still serving your client's needs. Sometimes the most memorable video is just a few seconds long and quickly made. Although they don't make you much money upfront, Jacob knows that they often lead to much bigger projects down the road. What low barrier to entry project can you offer a prospective client? Can you offer templatized projects? How do you think they could help you serve your clients? Leave a comment on the episode page! In This Episode: Why implementing a video correctly is more important than creating it [8:10] How to introduce yourself to a big agency as a small company [17:00] Important considerations when it comes to doing work for free [20:05] Using inexpensive templatized projects to grow your business [32:35] Quotes "You can talk to a client about video until you're blue in the face, but if they don't understand how it's going to benefit their business and how it's going to be used, you already lost them." [9:14] "If you can get somebody to say yes once, you're more likely to get them to say yes again." [28:49] "Just keep creating videos and just keep learning. That's all you can do." [42:03] Links: Get access to the free Client Budget Workshop Join the Onward Summit Waitlist Core Storyblocks Find Jacob Snowden online Follow Jacob on YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram Additional Links: Check out the full show notes page Do you have something to share on this podcast? Fill out this form here. Be sure to take the Studio Sherpas survey for a chance to win some incredible prizes (if we do say so ourselves!) Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas Tune in to 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!

There was a time I tried promoting my studio with Facebook ads. It didn't end up working out. I suppose there was a lot I didn't know at the time that would have made the difference. But why would a video studio want to consider Facebook ads or ads of any kind? Today's guest will answer that question and tell you how to do it the right way. Key Takeaways The best lead magnets will position you as a guide who will serve your clients however you're able to while also letting them know that you may not be the best fit for everybody. Don't make ads too early on. First, identify your sales process and how you convert leads into paying customers. Then you can create ads that use the successful process that you've already established. About Michele Caruana Michele Caruana is a corporate marketing professional, turned local business owner, turned online entrepreneur. As someone who was stuck on the marketing-hamster-wheel for years in marketing her own business, her passion is now helping other local business owners simplify and streamline their strategies so they can get new sales, bookings, and clients while they spend their time doing what they love in their business. Simple is Best for Your Sales Process Michele explains how simplifying your sales process is crucial to its success. There's so much to distract you from the work you love to do. That's why having an established straight-forward process to take people on a journey from a prospective customer to a satisfied paying client will allow you to spend your energy on the parts of your business you enjoy the most. Creating content that your ideal client wants and needs puts you in the front of their mind when they're ready to spend money. Your ads will work best when they keep you first in your customer's thoughts when they think about who they need. But this takes research and preparation. Michele tells us just what to consider when beginning this important process. Making Ads the Right Way Once you find your process to convert calls into sales and put it in place, Facebook ads can be used to further amplify that process. Michele explains why getting into ads too early is a waste of time and money. Before you create and pay for ads, you need to know how you best land paying clients. Once that's known and established, your ads can streamline this process by steering people to the resources you know work. What's your experience with Facebook ads? How has your sales process changed over time? Tell me what works and what doesn't in the comments on the episode page! In This Episode: The importance of simplifying your marketing process [6:10] What to do before you ever reach out to clients [11:16] Why making referrals can sometimes be better than the work itself [18:10] Getting clients excited to work with you from the start [27:25] What to avoid when running ads for your business [34:24] Tips for engaging with potential clients through Facebook ads [39:00] Quotes "As someone who works in a niche business, it's just as important to attract your ideal customers as it is to repel people who you can't do your best work for." [16:02] "When someone first steps into your email list, that's when they're hottest. That's when they're most interested and most easily moved towards a sale or booking. Having even just a few emails to start with and then adding more as time goes on is so important when it comes to simplifying everything." [31:43] "What I recommend is finding that perfect way to collect someone's contact information - really honing in on that nurture-sequence - making sure your process is going to result in bookings. That's when you need to spend money - when you know that it's already working." [35:14] "Even if you feel like you are wasting money with Facebook ads, they really come down to testing, tweaking, and optimizing. It is a learning process." [42:51] Links: Get access to the free Client Budget Workshop Join the Onward Summit Waitlist Core Storyblocks Find Michele Caruana online Follow Michele on Instagram | Youtube Get Michele's Free Facebook & Instagram Ad Guide The Marketing Junkie Podcast Additional Links: Check out the full show notes page Do you have something to share on this podcast? Fill out this form here. Be sure to take the Studio Sherpas survey for a chance to win some incredible prizes (if we do say so ourselves!) Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas Tune in to 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!