How I made $4,000 in 3 months By Executing HARD

[ChaseFade]

In December 2017 I was stuck. I felt awful. I was sick to my stomach because I had NO IDEA what I was going to do with my life. I made music for 4 years and got burnt out. It was all I thought about and all I did when time permitted. I was doing whatever I could to make a dollar not realizing I was becoming depressed in the process. I was addicted to that PayPal notification. I thought I was building a fastlane business but really I was building my grave. I was doing what I loved but I was doing it so much that it made me hate it.

So I quit.

I had yet to make enough to quit my job and be free from the suffocating rat race we call a 9 to 5. I was defeated. Without this business I had no potential way out. I was trapped. On top of that I was getting crushed by my new condo payments and was looking at 30-years of slavery.

So one day I was scrolling through Facebook trying to figure out what my next move was and BAM. I saw my fellow musician friend was dropping some new music off of his new album. Then it hit me. I can do videos for musicians and businesses! I already have so much experience with how musicians think, and having shot videos for my own music I could figure it out, no problem! Plus I knew the market for musicians was INSANELY crowded! I thought to myself "If the market is crowded, don't be in the crowd, serve the crowd!" So I gave him a call and said I'll shoot his next music video for free so I can get experience and he can have a nice video to promote along with his album. He agrees.

But wait...i don't have a camera. What do i do? I don't know how this works.

At this point most people say, "Idk how to work a camera or edit videos or any of that shit..oh well. Guess I'll come up with a new idea." And they quit. No execution. No work. No effort. No money. I decided right then and there I would not be like most wantreprenuers and I would do whatever it takes to make it happen. No more trying but a full on commitment to make it happen!

I start researching, find a camera, pay for it on credit (bad idea, but I was committed). Learned how to edit, bought the software. watched YouTube videos, etc.

Boom. I shoot the video. everything goes well and they love it! It was an amazing moment! I was finally providing value to people and was actually good at it! Now it was time to become profitable...


I got valuable experience from shooting that first video, but I now had something to show other people to get more work!

They release the video about a month later and I get a message from another artist on Instagram who saw that first video and what's to know how much I charge! Cha- ching!

$500 just like that!

Before you know it I'm getting calls from other musicians and also start diving into real estate videos and parties and live concerts! I'm experiencing things I could have never seen and done in my last business! I was on top of the world! People are loving my quick turnaround time (insane execution to make this happen, late nights and early mornings) and high quality videos.

Later on I get a call from a friend that wants to shoot a documentary for him. Hmm...I don't know how to shoot a documentary, or how much to charge but I'll give it a shot. Again I did research, spent many hours editing, and made it look great. Blew him away with the quality! I made $1,000 from that and couldn't believe it! And better yet he ended up having the video played in front of a crowd of 200 people and they loved it!

I haven't had a day off in 2018 and I am loving it.

Now it's time to scale this business to get to the point where I can quit my job.

Here I am today at the beginning of April with $4,000 in revenue and 4 more videos booked on the schedule and my first wedding booked next month! Uh oh...time to figure out how to film weddings [emoji23]


(This was just a big rambling of words but if you got any value from it please leave a like and comment below if you want me to continue the progress thread and go into more detail moving forward! Thank you!)

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ChaseFade]

Great work man, rep transferred.

Care to share us some information about the courses you followed and the gear you use?

Thank you! And thanks for reading.

In terms of gear I don't believe it's a a huge factor. These days you can get a great looking shot from a smart phone. My Galaxy S8 actually shoots better slo-mo than my video camera! Haha

The biggest thing is in the editing. At a certain point, the amount of money you invest in a camera and camera equipment will start to diminish in terms of quality gained. The difference between a $200 camera and a $1200 camera is HUGE. But the difference between a $2500 camera and a $10,000 camera isnt that significant.

With that said, I knew I needed at least 1080p to match the quality of competitors but couldn't afford much of anything. At first I started on a canon t3i. I ended up trading my buddy for one in exchange for some music equipment and got a few lenses in the deal. It was a great starter camera but very outdated in terms of quality. Worth maybe $200.

Did some research and decided on the Panasonic Lumix G7. This thing is a beast! And it was very affordable. With a nicer lens I purchased and memory cards, the total came out to around $1000. It shoots 4k and does 1080p in slo motion and that was all I needed. I am still on the G7 now but have looked into buying it's big brother, the GH5. It has alot more features that will help increase the quality of my films. But until I pay off my new Macbook, I will be staying with the G7. (Should be paid off by this time next week!)

I also have a basic starter drone, the DJI Spark, that I have used for Real estate videos and music videos. It gets the job done for now but wouldn't recommend it. Moving up to the Dji Mavic Air very soon.

In terms of editing, this is where everything matters! You can take a terrible shot and fix it in the edits and make it look like a movie! I use Final Cut Pro X because it's a Macbook only software and find it to be very easy to use and simple.

I get videos back to clients sometimes within the same day of shooting! Boy do they love that! I've heard complaints time and time again about other videographers taking weeks to get back a short video. Their struggle is what differentiates me.

In terms of learning how to edit I just go to YouTube. Everything you need to know is on there. No courses either, just got to work and learned through trial and error. Same with selling to clients, learning about equipment, how to shoot, etc. All from YouTube videos.

Hope this helps!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[ChaseFade]

Another thing that I realized this morning...

I am at work right now pulling an over time shift...I work as a Janitor.

As I was cleaning a few toilets I noticed something...

I was actually enjoying it!

Not in a weird way where I love to clean or something like that...but because of my video business success so far and how bright the future looks, I dont mind it!

I used to dread going to work, and dread every second of this job because I had no way out. It was a dead end with no chance of ever becoming something more.

I know that by putting in extra time and earning extra money I can put it towards my business and essentially work my way out of this job. It's a great feeling!

I finally have a Why. A reason to do what I do.

Or a few reasons...

1. I want to quit my job and be free.
2. I dont want to ever worry about money.
3. I want to be able to travel on a moments notice
4. I want to pay off my house and have no outstanding bills.
5. I want to invest in real estate
6. I want to help people around me and live in abundance
7. I want to help people.


When you have purpose behind you, you become unstoppable. All it takes is patience and constant improvement. Produce more than you consume.

Keep producing!

No stopping until im free...

Until then im back to cleaning toilets.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[ChaseFade]

Here's some links to recent videos I have done. I really went out there and shot a whole lot of everything to figure out what I liked and didnt like. Music videos are fun but challenging to shoot some times, listing videos are easy. Live shows are a blast but can be draining. Weddings look like the perfect blend for my style. I like to keep things modern, clean, and simple and not have to do much directing/story boarding. Weddings tend to be completely planned out from start to finish and don't require much effects to be great! Right up my alley.


Recent highlight reel

View: https://youtu.be/vfoqyvibYV0


Live show

View: https://youtu.be/URMSbXpCWds


Realtor lifestyle ad

View: https://youtu.be/MWWeT8PFRlg


Listing walkthrough

View: https://youtu.be/XQTyAE3Bkkw


And my website for other projects!

Welcome

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ChaseFade]

Thank you! And thanks for reading.

In terms of gear I don't believe it's a a huge factor. These days you can get a great looking shot from a smart phone. My Galaxy S8 actually shoots better slo-mo than my video camera! Haha

The biggest thing is in the editing. At a certain point, the amount of money you invest in a camera and camera equipment will start to diminish in terms of quality gained. The difference between a $200 camera and a $1200 camera is HUGE. But the difference between a $2500 camera and a $10,000 camera isnt that significant.

With that said, I knew I needed at least 1080p to match the quality of competitors but couldn't afford much of anything. At first I started on a canon t3i. I ended up trading my buddy for one in exchange for some music equipment and got a few lenses in the deal. It was a great starter camera but very outdated in terms of quality. Worth maybe $200.

Did some research and decided on the Panasonic Lumix G7. This thing is a beast! And it was very affordable. With a nicer lens I purchased and memory cards, the total came out to around $1000. It shoots 4k and does 1080p in slo motion and that was all I needed. I am still on the G7 now but have looked into buying it's big brother, the GH5. It has alot more features that will help increase the quality of my films. But until I pay off my new Macbook, I will be staying with the G7. (Should be paid off by this time next week!)

I also have a basic starter drone, the DJI Spark, that I have used for Real estate videos and music videos. It gets the job done for now but wouldn't recommend it. Moving up to the Dji Mavic Air very soon.

In terms of editing, this is where everything matters! You can take a terrible shot and fix it in the edits and make it look like a movie! I use Final Cut Pro X because it's a Macbook only software and find it to be very easy to use and simple.

I get videos back to clients sometimes within the same day of shooting! Boy do they love that! I've heard complaints time and time again about other videographers taking weeks to get back a short video. Their struggle is what differentiates me.

In terms of learning how to edit I just go to YouTube. Everything you need to know is on there. No courses either, just got to work and learned through trial and error. Same with selling to clients, learning about equipment, how to shoot, etc. All from YouTube videos.

Hope this helps!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Forgot to mention why I bought a brand new macbook...

I really didnt need it.

I was using an old 2011 macbook pro that was about as thick as a brick and had a cracked screen. I used this thing for years after buying it for a few hundred bucks on craigslist. I was going to use that thing until it crapped out. And sure enough...it did. Right after I shot my first video! Of course! *sighs*

Most people would've taken that as a sign to quit. I decided to double down and take a big risk. (Plus I knew I eventually was going to need an upgrade in order to handle these big 4k files I was going to be editing with in the future)

I had no money after buying that new camera so I started researching ways to get a macbook pro and it turns out they do 0% interest financing for 18 months! Perfect.

"Wait...how much is it? $2300 for a computer? Jeeeeezus."

I did some quick math and it was looking at about $150 or so a month to pay it off without incurring interest. I though that was do-able since I made $500 in my first month. I figured I could get at least one video a month.

It was funny because I had just read the part in Unscripted about being unbalanced for a few years in order to become balanced in the future and how committed some business owners are by going all in and even going into major debts to finance their goals. Normally I would have never purchased a computer this expensive but it needed to happen in order to keep growing and progress

Btw, this Macbook is insanely fast. I guess it's because I was working on a much slower macbook for so long that would take ages to render anything. I never knew what I was missing. I went from 2 hour export times to 2 minutes. Definetely helped with my quick turn around time!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Real Deal Denver]

Congrats Chase. Reliving my days of being a cutting edge producer a long time ago. It is so addicting, so fun, and making money is a bonus.

Let me clue you in on a few things that could be hidden land mines.

I quit weddings. I did hundreds of them, and got rave reviews, and tons of referrals. The problem? They're live! What do you do when things don't go according to plan? Stop the wedding? You will face that dilemma. It probably won't even be your fault, but it will rise up to bite you. Bad.

Along with weddings - consumers. Consumers want what they see in the theaters, or at least on TV. No shake - perfect focus - perfect sound - perfect picture composure. All the time. Who wouldn't? The weddings I videotaped spanned 6 to 8 hours. That's a LOT of stuff going on. Miss one thing. Just one. They'll want to burn you at the stake. Do 50 things perfect - great - but the one thing is what they will focus on. They'll want a discount because that oh-so-precious moment is gone forever.

So my advice? Don't video something that can't be reconstructed. Use multiple cameras. I used to use two back in the day. Talk about expensive - over $5,000 each in the 70's. That might be around $12,000 each, or more, in today's dollars. That was JUST for the cameras. I had sound equipment and editing equipment that totaled even MORE than that.

I still do video today. It gets in your blood. But my cameras now are about $300 each, and I use five or six of them. I can edit unlimited video and audio tracks in my editing suite, and have all the bells and Hollywood effects. That's a far far cry from linear video using cameras that cost as much as a CAR, and manually editing. (That's opposed to rendering and having the machines do the work!)

Second piece of advice. I've already pretty much said it. Don't do consumer work. It is low pay, high expectations, and a LOT of work. Commercial is much easier, and pays ten times more. You also are not under severe deadlines, or worse yet: working a wedding reception on a Saturday night, after you've already been working since 11:00 am that day when everything started.

I made a lot of money in the video business, and it was fun. I only had three nightmares, out of hundreds of customers, to deal with. That's not bad. That is, if you're the type that thinks getting chewed up by a shark and surviving "only once" is something that's not "too bad." I can guarantee you it isn't worth it, no matter how much they pay you.

Today is different though. You CAN have multiple cameras, and of course the quality is superb. It would be hard to totally lose an event totally, although a malfunctioning camera *could* lose the most important shots you really need.

In commercial work, you just redo the shots, if that happened. Not the end of the world. No mob chasing you trying to kill you. Life is good.

I could tell you things for hours, but I'm trying to summarize an entire business in a very short response. One thing I would do differently. Delegate everything. You are the fill in guy, if needed. It is so easy to set yourself up for failure by running the show. You don't run the show - you direct the show.

Right now your prices are way too low. When you can get into high quality commercial stuff, you can afford a crew, and you don't have to do the work. Don't create a job for yourself.

That's enough for now. There are lots of resources to learn the technical things. And the marketing. There is nothing to stop you - except getting blown up by a hidden land mine! I've directed you away from those, though.

Good luck. Thanks for the very interesting posts.

 

[Xavier X]

@ChaseFade Good job, man!

This is my forte, so I like seeing other people grinding in it too. I don't do live shoots or event-type work though. I only do controlled production.

In my case, my degree is in Communication with a Concentration in Media Production.

Once you're confident in your production abilities, as a path to growth, I'd recommend quality over quantity.
This industry will burn you out fast if you consistently churn out a massive number of low paying gigs in record turnaround time. It is a great way to start, but not sustainable long term.

Go for bigger budget industries.
By that, I mean - skip the miserly realtor and go for the medical practitioner.
Except if you're dealing with a realtor in Beverly Hills or some place with insane ROI for the realtor.

Like one of my production contracts with a medical practitioner, I do very simple one-day shoots for them at... $4,000 a pop. About 8 hours of shooting, and I leave with a decent check.

Not a big production set-up. In fact, I one-man-show that production all the time. Simple 2-fixed-cam setup + lighting.
Sure, I have to edit the clips for another 2 weeks each time, but I can do that from anywhere in the world, on my own time.

The point being, try as early as you can to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Yeah, YouTube is a great place to learn stuff. I still learn new things all the time on there.
I have a few video editing tutorials with hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. It gives me satisfaction that people are learning something from it the way I learn from other videos.

From all indications, you have the drive to make it happen, so keep grinding.

 

[Real Deal Denver]

Allllll righty then. You're hard to argue with - but I will anyway.

I feel like I'm talking to my younger self through a time warp. Went down the same path. Here's what I should have done.

Commercial stuff is MUCH easier and MUCH less time consuming than consumer video. And your customers will not be NEARLY as picky. They pay you more, and it's not the end of the world if things don't turn out like Warner Brothers. I tell you, consumers now want full Hollywood. They're paying you good money, and you better do TEN times better than their brother's friend - who is no slouch - he's made his own music videos too.

For commercial - think practical. EVERY employee that comes on board has to go through orientation. They tell them they can't sexually harass the secretary. So, after they hire them, the next week the secretary files a complaint about sexual harassment. The poor guy gets hauled in and says nobody told ME I couldn't do that. They say yes we did. Maybe they did - maybe they didn't. Is there hard proof? He said, she said. So - replace the orientation process with a thorough, or a series of, very direct videos. With a quiz after each one - which is not to see how smart they are, but to PROVE that they watched the video. Now, no more misunderstanding - it's all there in the video. Problem solved. Not to mention the huge time savings the company will get every time they have to do orientation. Will that save payroll costs? Damn right it will. Big time. Ok - with me so far?

Now do the same exact training/orientation videos for specific job duties. How to run a computer program - how to run a certain machine - how to fill out forms. And when something changes - you have to create, or modify the video. It's an income stream. Never ends.

Companies have to comply with certain training regulations. Find out what those are. For restaurants, it's precise procedures on how to handle food properly. And store it. And monitor the age of food. It's a lot to keep track of. So - make this ONE video about this ONE topic, and you can sell it to every restaurant in town. And I'm not talking $20 to compete with Best Buy. I'm talking $175. I buy "continuing education" for my line of work - and that's about what I pay. I'm an appraiser. There are thousands of appraisers in the country - and we are all REQUIRED to take education update courses. This is an INDUSTRY.

Next idea. Legal depositions. This is needed to verify exactly what was said. Expressions help, so sound recording alone isn't ideal. Video is much better. How many attorneys could use this service? A lot.

Next idea. Company meetings. Do you know how much companies spend to have execs fly in from all over the country for important product launches - key business meeting - etc.? A flippin lot.

Next idea. Do you know how pissed brides can get when you miss a four second shot of them - say, seeing their best friend from college walk into the room - and you were looking away at that moment. You missed the shot of her LIFETIME! And now, you're gonna die. Been there. Live is live. You will never get 100% of everything 100% of the time 100% perfect. It's just a matter of time before Bertha rips your throat open. And she will. She paid big money for a professional - and you screwed up her entire life! You heartless bastard!

STAY away from weddings. I was lucky. In 6 years of doing them full time, I only had three wenches that wanted to kill me. I didn't screw up - but I missed ONE shot. They didn't kiss me for the 135 GREAT shots that I did get. No! They wanted to kill me for the ONE that I didn't get.

Done. I've just handed you a career on a silver platter. And a damn good one too.

You are ready and capable to fill in the blanks and run with this. You just needed direction, and there it is. The world is your clam. Or starfish. Hey - oyster! Now I remember! Go get em.

 

[ChaseFade]

I just booked another documentary! This time for $2,000! Wooo! Also making $900 this weekend with some music videos, making my total for this qaurter so far almost 3k! Which is almost what I made so far this year! Insane!


This is the same guy I did the first doc for. He was very impressed by my editing turnaround and flexible payment options. Along with providing professional photos and helping him set up his Instagram/Facebook and YouTube pages.

He said his friend did a documentary and it took the guy 3 months to get it back to him. We shot, filmed, and edited ours in less than a month.

After I shoot my first wedding next month I plan on running highly targeted Facebook ads with that video in order to book wedding gigs for this wedding season and next year as well. Have been researching how to run FB ads and how to film weddings in the mean time.

Also got a call from an EDM DJ that I met at a networking party I shot a few weeks ago! Again, he was impressed with the great quality and quick turnaround time. He also DJ's weddings and I will be shooting his next show this month.

I'm thinking of keeping this thread going as a progression thread! What do you think?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Congrats man! Love to see breakthroughs happen in the world of self-reliance and skill-selling!

 

[Andy Black]

In December 2017 I was stuck. I felt awful. I was sick to my stomach because I had NO IDEA what I was going to do with my life. I made music for 4 years and got burnt out. It was all I thought about and all I did when time permitted. I was doing whatever I could to make a dollar not realizing I was becoming depressed in the process. I was addicted to that PayPal notification. I thought I was building a fastlane business but really I was building my grave. I was doing what I loved but I was doing it so much that it made me hate it.

So I quit.

I had yet to make enough to quit my job and be free from the suffocating rat race we call a 9 to 5. I was defeated. Without this business I had no potential way out. I was trapped. On top of that I was getting crushed by my new condo payments and was looking at 30-years of slavery.

So one day I was scrolling through Facebook trying to figure out what my next move was and BAM. I saw my fellow musician friend was dropping some new music off of his new album. Then it hit me. I can do videos for musicians and businesses! I already have so much experience with how musicians think, and having shot videos for my own music I could figure it out, no problem! Plus I knew the market for musicians was INSANELY crowded! I thought to myself "If the market is crowded, don't be in the crowd, serve the crowd!" So I gave him a call and said I'll shoot his next music video for free so I can get experience and he can have a nice video to promote along with his album. He agrees.

But wait...i don't have a camera. What do i do? I don't know how this works.

At this point most people say, "Idk how to work a camera or edit videos or any of that sh*t..oh well. Guess I'll come up with a new idea." And they quit. No execution. No work. No effort. No money. I decided right then and there I would not be like most wantreprenuers and I would do whatever it takes to make it happen. No more trying but a full on commitment to make it happen!

I start researching, find a camera, pay for it on credit (bad idea, but I was committed). Learned how to edit, bought the software. watched YouTube videos, etc.

Boom. I shoot the video. everything goes well and they love it! It was an amazing moment! I was finally providing value to people and was actually good at it! Now it was time to become profitable...


I got valuable experience from shooting that first video, but I now had something to show other people to get more work!

They release the video about a month later and I get a message from another artist on Instagram who saw that first video and what's to know how much I charge! Cha- ching!

$500 just like that!

Before you know it I'm getting calls from other musicians and also start diving into real estate videos and parties and live concerts! I'm experiencing things I could have never seen and done in my last business! I was on top of the world! People are loving my quick turnaround time (insane execution to make this happen, late nights and early mornings) and high quality videos.

Later on I get a call from a friend that wants to shoot a documentary for him. Hmm...I don't know how to shoot a documentary, or how much to charge but I'll give it a shot. Again I did research, spent many hours editing, and made it look great. Blew him away with the quality! I made $1,000 from that and couldn't believe it! And better yet he ended up having the video played in front of a crowd of 200 people and they loved it!

I haven't had a day off in 2018 and I am loving it.

Now it's time to scale this business to get to the point where I can quit my job.

Here I am today at the beginning of April with $4,000 in revenue and 4 more videos booked on the schedule and my first wedding booked next month! Uh oh...time to figure out how to film weddings [emoji23]


(This was just a big rambling of words but if you got any value from it please leave a like and comment below if you want me to continue the progress thread and go into more detail moving forward! Thank you!)

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Awesome story. Thanks for sharing.

My take:

• You didn’t need to be an expert. (You figured it out.)
• You made a (free) sale first, then figured out how to deliver. (You focused on needs instead of building stuff.)
• You started with someone near you. (You didn’t build a website, buy cold traffic, or cold call to try and sell to people who didn’t know you.)
• “If it’s not a hit switch.” (A line from Derek Siver’s great book “Anything You Want.)
• You didn’t worry about scaling, you just started.

Rep+

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[PabloBlanco]

Great stuff. From ten years experience in the wedding industry (Im a photographer) I can tell you that shooting wedding video is a massively saturated market with most of the competition in the middle to low end. If I were starting out in the market, I’d be contacting high end wedding planners and photogenic venues with a high spend. Getting recommended by these guys is the best way to book clients with a bigger budget.
Don’t fall into the trap of shooting low cost weddings as (in my experience) low budget venues are harder to make look good. Think turd-polishing...

Also, as with any satisfied client they will refer you to their peers. If they are in the same financial arena than you’ll find it difficult to raise prices.

Definitely high quality, low quantity is the way to go with weddings. Some people will pay very good money for a wedding film these days. (You make wedding films, not videos... sounds way more expensive already...).

Good luck and message me if you want any more info.

 

[Longinus]

Great work man, rep transferred.

Care to share us some information about the courses you followed and the gear you use?

 

[ChaseFade]

I'm noticing a huge problem with basically all my clients I've been working with....their social media branding/marketing is AWFUL!

They have no idea what they are doing! It sucks to shoot a video and take time editing and sometimes multiple days for both and have it only get 100 views smh. It kills me. To the point where I am getting frustrated and thinking about not working with clients if they don't have a marketing budget to promote the videos I shoot.

They post YouTube links to Facebook, put 0 dollars behind it and wonder why they got 7 views...


I sense a huge need for a completely in house social media marketing company. We shoot the videos, run the ads, set up the website/branding etc and get them leads for their business! What business doesnt need leads?


When I first was getting started I partnered with my friend who is killing it with FB ads at a local restaurant. He brought this place from $500 a day in revenue to over $1800 a day in only 3 months! Completely changed this restaurant owners life. He was working in the back as a dishwasher and now was making 1000 a month to do their social media campaigns. So we partnered up. I shoot the videos, he runs the ads. I've never been great at marketing. I'm more skilled on the content creation side anyways. It was looking like a great partnership. We all were already counting the money we were potentially going to make. That is until we started shooting a few videos for my realtor and ran the ads. They didnt garner any results other than a big ego stroke and alot of realtors contacting me for potential videos for them. They loved the video but it didnt produce real world results. And my buddy didnt like the real estate industry so he left. We never made our first sale or signed any contracts and the partnership dissolved naturally.

Although he said if I can go out there and sell our service (shoot the video and run a campaign) to other restaurants in the area, we will split the fee 50/50. I just havent had the time to start making calls and am honestly nervous to do it. But it looks like a great opportunity to help business owners bring in more customers!

And I love the idea of having a monthly contract and in turn having consistent monthly revenue come in. I am in this freelance stage where I don't know how much I will make in the coming months. awful.

What do you think? Should I just focus on making great videos? Go out and sell my services to restaurants? Or do both?



Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ChaseFade]

Awesome story. Thanks for sharing.

My take:

• You didn’t need to be an expert. (You figured it out.)
• You made a (free) sale first, then figured out how to deliver. (You focused on needs instead of building stuff.)
• You started with someone near you. (You didn’t build a website, buy cold traffic, or cold call to try and sell to people who didn’t know you.)
• “If it’s not a hit switch.” (A line from Derek Siver’s great book “Anything You Want.)
• You didn’t worry about scaling, you just started.

Rep+

Woah! Andy Black! I've read pretty much every one of your posts haha thank you

Love the list! Sums it up perfectly. I didnt even want to create a website or business cards because I didnt want to action fake. Just wanted to get to the sale! It took about a month from first getting the camera to booking my first gig. I have heard from other videographers that it took them around 2 years before making a dime!

I only got business after being asked for my card 100 times by realtors and potential clients. Then a website to refer people so they can see my portfolio.

Offering free work for the first time is honestly the best tactic I have used. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to get there foot in the door. When you do the first one free, you get a low pressure chance to impress and build your portfolio and relationship with the customer. Then they know what to expect from you and then you can start charging. Most of my opportunities so far have come through doing free work initially. Restaraunts do it all the time with free samples. Costco must make a killing.

Then when you show the video to future clients they don't know if you did the work for free! All they see is the video you made!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

I think this thread contains a lot of value about creating something from nothing and should be NOTABLE at least!

@MJ DeMarco @Vigilante @Andy Black @AllenCrawley

DONE!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

As I was cleaning a few toilets I noticed something...

I was actually enjoying it!

Not in a weird way where I love to clean or something like that...but because of my video business success so far and how bright the future looks, I dont mind it!

Congrats.

I love when I hear my concepts ratify in real life.

This is happening because you've activated your dream. You have a plan for the future. A vision. A workable blueprint to get there. And when you have all those things, suddenly the crappy job ain't so bad. You actually want to do well at it.

As they say, how you do anything is how you do everything.

This is why I was never fired from any job. I've always had a future vision, and part of that future vision had a present moment of paying bills in a less-than-worthy job. I made sure to do it well.

There's nothing wrong with being the best toilet-cleaner because it means you can be the best at something much greater.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Real Deal Denver]

What made you move on from doing video production?

I made good money - but I spent tons of money upgrading my equipment. I totally upgraded everything I used to a different format FOUR flippin times! FOUR! Damn, that was sucking up all my profit!

And the worst part was I still couldn't do as good of work as I wanted to. The equipment was so limited back then. I did, at the end, get into Hi-8 which was a digital format, but it was still recorded on tape, so it took an hour to transfer an hour of video to a computer. Once it was in the computer, I could really work with it.

All the while I was spending thousands in this never ending spiral, the average Joe was getting some cheap camcorder, and putting pressure on my prices. Even though I was 100 times better, the brides still had a budget to work with. Was Jimmy's video good "enough" so they could spend money on a better band? I still had a ton of customers, but they were the very high end customers. Read: picky. The better I became, the more they expected. I was doing A/B rolls and graphic overlays, which cost a fortune to do just that - and they yawned. Is that the best you can do? Well - I'm not Warner Brothers, and I don't have a production crew. So I got tired of being a marathon runner and then they expected me to be that PLUS a cliff diver. So I saw the writing on the wall - I just didn't like my customers anymore. The business was way too much work.

FF to today. Now I have an unlocked i-7 CPU liquid cooled RAID-10 beast sitting next to me - and 3 digital camcorders that record to SD cards. And perhaps the best software money can buy - at least the best for me. I like Sony. The most popular choice for professionals is Apple. I didn't want to pay $3 or $4K MORE for my already expensive rig just to get an Apple - so I use Sony. It's kick butt.

I'm getting back into video, but not to just do video alone. It will be a support product for my other business ventures. Instead of paying 1 or 2K for a well done video, I'll just do it myself. I'm in a high powered business, so I need impressive no holds barred videos. Nobody that I can afford would do the quality work that I want. And I don't want to pay the price for what I want. So - I guess I do it.

The power I have now is astounding. Unlimited video and audio tracks to edit. Frame by frame control. Just fantastic!

I am also going to make a movie. I'm picky about everything. Including movies. Too many movies today are just slapped together. No pride in their work. It's a job. I can do a lot better. That might be my ticket to the big time - we'll see. This forum has reignited so many other ideas I have, that now I am overwhelmed with things to do. I love having that problem.

Ok - I'll stop. If I say any more, you might fall asleep and smash your forehead into your monitor or something...

I look forward to back and forth for a long time. I know you will do very well - and I'll certainly try to throw in some hints if I can.

 

[WaterWerks]

good job man, you should be proud no doubt indeed.
keep it up.
entertainment is something people will always need. you found a great way to fill that in. best wishes

 

[The EL Maven]

As someone with interest in this area, I find your story quite impressive. Excellent job!

The Lumix is a wonderful choice. Final Cut is what will allow you to turn around projects fast. There's nothing faster. Keep doing what you're doing.

I'm not looking to do a video service like you, but I'll be damned at how fast you've worked. That's what fire will do for you. Without the fire.... well, let's just say my Mavic Pro I got in November hasn't had its maiden flight yet.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ChaseFade]

Wow, have you filmed for dreamville? J.cole fan here.

Great work. Looking forward to seeing grow your business.

I did! I am a huge fan of J. Cole! I found a way to get into pretty much any smaller show by contacting the openers on Instagram and offering value to them. In this case it is a free 1 minute recap for their social media. I show them my previous work and they usually give me an all access pass. Then I stay around for the headliners! Just happened to be pretty much everyone on Dreamville haha. It was crazy! I was on stage with my favorite rappers and backstage talking with them about everything and anything. I was super nervous!

Crazy part is I nearly had the chance to shoot for J. Cole in Miami next month! I was talking to Lute backstage in Seattle and ended up getting his number and his tour managers number because he liked the recap video I shot for him! So once I saw the festival had Lute and J Cole on the same day I offered to come shoot his set again because they know me now and know what I can do. They said they might be able to make it happen but would need to figure out how to get a pass for me.


But as luck would have it...the wedding I booked is on the same weekend as the show. *cue sad music* Cant even imagine the chance to shoot my favorite artist live.


It worked out for the better i think because I would have had to fly to Miami and book a hotel on my own dime and all that. Without a guarantee that I could shoot it because it is a big festival and tickets cost around $500.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[ChaseFade]

Great work, man. When filming those videos, do you specifically have in mind what to film or do you just randomly film stuff and improvise on the spot?

Also, do you have people helping you out while filming concerts on different corners or do you still do it all yourself?

Just sent you more rep.

For music videos I have mostly done Run-And-Gun type of shoots. Just go to a city and drive around until something looks good and film a whole bunch of takes and then repeat. But lately I have been getting more into planning the entire video beforehand and creating a story/script and setting up lighting. It makes for a better video but takes up more time.


For concerts and events I am a mad man! It's all me. I run around the entire venue sweating my a$$ off in the process. Getting all different types of angles! Its exhillirating but also very draining haha. For headliners it's not as frantic because you have an hour or more to shoot. But when it's an opener they typically get 20 minutes or less so you have to work fast! It can be a good workout. If I'm there in the building and spending time I try to shoot everyone's set. I'm there already so why not right? Whatever I can do to provide value. I shoot clips of the DJ and send them a quick edit. I take pictures. I get backstage shots. Network with other acts.

Most videographers only film who they are being paid to film. Especially when they are on a 30 city tour, they don't want to film the openers. Huge mistake in my opinion and it opens the door for me! One day those openers will be the headliners and they will remember you. Get in on the ground floor.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Real Deal Denver]

I am a little worried about missing a certain moment or two but the style of my wedding videos arent completely dependent on capturing live audio as much as others. I'm excited to start getting wedding clients to see if I can handle the headaches that come along with it.

You brought up a good point. Let me elaborate on audio for a moment.

Usually, after the exchange of rings in a wedding, there is a song and/or lighting of a unity candle. Shortly after that takes place, the bride and groom are there with nothing to do really - and a few minutes to spare. So what do they do? They talk to each other. And usually giggle and smile for a moment. What do they say?

I used wireless mics that would pick up even a whisper. I got those intimate conversations. I got the "I love you" after the rings were put on. And I got the smile and teary eyes.

THAT is the meat and potatoes that they want and hope to see! And, one more thing - close up too! Get those tiny beads of sweat!

Weddings are so emotional. You can capture that. And everyone will love you forever for doing it!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Real Deal Denver]

The marketing is the important part, and you got it. You are going to go very far.

It is so refreshing to see someone excel naturally. So many struggle with the basic important stuff.

If you keep your prices low, you can maybe do 5-6 a week, which is way over 100K a year. That's a nice cushion to take care of all your bills, so you can pursue what you really want. What might that be?

Glad you asked.

I just bought a book about making a film. The kind of film that shows in theaters - not a fun hobby project.

"Rebel Without a Crew" by Robert Rodriguez. "Or how a 23-year-old Filmaker with $7,000 became a Hollywood Player." Director of El Mariachi.

This guy actually did it. For real. There's a word for people like that. Hero!

It's on Amazon. I bought a used hard copy edition (it came in like new condition, by the way). I have an ongoing love affair with books, and the ones I know I will be rereading and keeping close to me I buy in hardcover.

Stabilize with your plan now - have fun - and then go for the BIG stuff. Plant that seed in your brain and let it grow. Dream. Big!

 

[ChaseFade]

I would have loved to, but I keep my identity separate from my general online activities. My name isn't even Xavier . It's a privacy thing.

But yeah, "upcoming artists" are perhaps the worst possible client base. If it's an ignorant wannabe gangster rapper, that's even double worse, like you've seen with Mr. $200 McNoShow.

Although at this stage it's still okay to take on crappy paying projects for the experience. Provided you consider the opportunity cost of doing so.
When your skills are ready for prime time, then you can insist on higher rates. At your current skill level, you're definitely under-pricing, but again - experience.

Unfortunately, in this business, some clowns think you pay your bills with "pizza, beer and a lot of fun."

Yes exactly. I just did a quick video recap last night of a show for a DJ I am partnering with for weddings. Didnt ask for a dime because I know it will come back in spades later on.

He is introducing me to his clients and we are going to offer a bulk deal if you book me for the wedding video and him for DJing. Also 20 percent commission of we refer each other and only one gets booked.


The rapper wants to still shoot the video but I am totally against it. Not worth the cost and I am thinking about how that looks branding/reputation wise if I am working with that type of client. Dont want to be putting my name on it if it will make me look bad.

Also got a message from a fitness trainer last night and he is starting a pre-made fitness meal company and works with some NFL Players and Agents [emoji16] meeting with him soon. He saw the few free workout videos I made for my friends. Again, free work can be beneficial to getting paid work!

I am feeling the hangover right now big time lol free drinks and experience are the big positives from last night.

Back to editing!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[ChaseFade]

Nice wedding video. I mean sure you could do the vows and get mics, but if your clients are happy and the check clears, worry about that later. Weddings should be a means to an end though. The last shop I worked in, we did weddings as supplementary income. At our peak we did 40 in a year with two shooters occasionally working different events on the same day, but we scaled back when we had other sources of income.

The bulk of our work was from corporate and government work, tv shows, tv commercials and also conferences. Recording and live streaming conferences was very good to us. Of course there's a considerable amount of cost and it's not a one man operation. But that's how you scale a video business. You have several shooters and editors, you market yourself well and if you don't know how to sell you find someone who can.

Right now I'm the Creative Services Director for a local tv station. I make my budget on corporate videos and government work and I sh*t out local commercials to keep the air time and digital dollars rolling in.

Here's a tip for a freelancer like you. Ad Agencies. Get in front of them and keep showing them your work. They have multiple clients who may need a variety of services. Also business associations/chamber of commerce. Get in good with organizations like that and don't be afraid to charge them money.

Here's another tip. - Niche down. I've seen people do very well by drilling down and finding a niche market. Most of them will do what ever pays the bills, but eventually they find something that they are really good at. I know a music video guy who started off doing $300 videos where he did everything himself, who now commands 5K to direct. and requires a crew and a budget. I know a couple who are wedding videographers and they are booked all year round. I know a few old guys who have corporate and government clients by the dozen , the work isn't flashy but they live in nice homes. I have a friend who does boudoir videos and photoshoots. I know a guy who just does nature and outdoor videos and shoots a lot of things for the state tourism and the forestry commission. Fish around and see what brings you the best joy/profit ratio and be the best in your niche.

Here's another one - Beware of burnout. I spent the last year and a half as a department of one. We lost some people and corporate instituted a hiring freeze so I spent my days and nights trying to make sure we met budget. I got to the point where I didn't want to work on my short films or family projects any more. I was working 14 hour days nearly every day and working on Sunday evening. That's part of the reason why I'm here. I'm burned out and bit depressed. I did 13 hours yesterday just so I could meet deadlines. I want to do something else. I'm tired of the corporate life, the ever shrinking deadlines, fighting with sales and business owners who want their kids or dogs in the commercial. Trust me, burnout is real and a lot of people who complain about how crappy a video production career is, are probably really burned out. It can become a grind. A grind where people still expect you to be fresh and creative.

Final Tip - Know your worth. - Video production has become fully democratized now. Everyone has 4k in their pocket and think they are a videographer/photographer now.Clients will try to use this to talk down your prices. Do not fall for that bait. I just turned down a side client today because he wanted me to do about 1200 worth of work for $500 because that's what the last guy charged. I told him he can come to my job and pay my employer full price. Plus the last guy's work doesn't look as good as mine which is why he's coming to me in the first place, so no, hard pass. You pay for my talent and expertise. Always remember, f*ck YOU, PAY ME.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3RJhoqgK8
Good luck!

Great advice! Thank you. I actually just stumbled on that video about a month ago! Really great.

I am definitely niching down here soon. Have a few more weddings coming up and have been taking any work I get in any niche but my niche is definitely music videos, concert recaps and weddings. Real estate is also nice and easy but not alot of demand here in Seattle since homes sell in a day with or without a video. A significant amount of my total income has come from music videos! I have recently partnered with two other videographers and we are solely focused on making the best music videos in order to get bigger clients with bigger budgets. First 1k video budget is in a few weeks! Also shot a free recap for a very big artist (and one of my favorites btw) and his manager loved the video and wants me to come and film his concert when hes in Seattle on tour next week! Hes also on tour with my favorite artists ever so to say I'm excited is an understatement.


Just tallied up my video income from the first 6 months and the gross is $10,000! Most went back into the business for equipment but im very happy and am on pace to exceed 20k for the year. Not a bad start. Way more than I made making music for 4 years combined.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[PRO2018]

Great example of "just make it happen" attitude. Well done!

 

[Midas]

Congrats. Thanks for sharing. With my current venture the worries are endless but I just know I will find a way over or around each obsticle.

 

[ChaseFade]

Congrats. Thanks for sharing. With my current venture the worries are endless but I just know I will find a way over or around each obsticle.

Of course! Feels good to give back to this community that has inspired and helped me tremendously. Exactly. The obstacle is the way. Most people will quit after seeing the first obstacle.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[ChaseFade]

Also if you guys want to see the actual videos I shot for my clients please let me know! I didnt want to post any links to avoid looking spammy. I'd be happy to show examples.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk