-Talk to me a little bit about the necessity for that type of face-to-face marketing. -Really, I
felt like maybe it was a desire to be seen. I want to be seen. I want to be recognized as.
You know, like the typical MLM thing where you got to recruit the planet
and every conversation you have you're trying to make a sell. I don't wanna.
-So, you have to move or die kind of, I mean. -What do you mean? -I mean you
have to continue to innovate and come up with the next thing like you were talking
about LinkedIn how you want to dominate and take over and figure out the same thing you
did with Youtube. You feel compelled to keep. -I feel compelled because it's not just about
providing a service there's a lot of videographers out there that are just on call. They do
freelance videographers and you call them up and you say, "Hey, I'm going to be speaking
at the Grand America hotel. There's going to be a big crowd, I want footage of me on the stage",
or "Hey, I've got a course can you help me?", So, the client dictates what you film but that's
not what I create. I didn't just want to create a service and compete with other videographers.
I wanted to create a result. So, I use this strategy on Youtube to help my clients generate leads for
their business and as Youtube changes then we change and if LinkedIn or if Youtube disappears
and LinkedIn's the next hot thing. That's my goal, is to continue to innovate all those
things and there's always going to be new stuff. I mean, on Youtube itself we have Youtube
short and youtube shorts have really became official last March and it's like alright,
is that going to help our strategy or is it not? Should we spend a lot of time here? So, we're doing
testing and tweaking and results are kind of thin right now but... -You don't really market
do you? -Once I finish my book I plan to and I see value in marketing but I just
I haven't. -And it's because your hand hasn't been forced essentially or are you just
I'll only, I think it's through referrals. -I get referrals are so nice I get
referrals weekly. -So, you kind of yeah you sort of lay low you're a little under the radar.
I mean, I think when people ask you what do you do for a living? Do they understand it?
Imean, it's a fairly common. -I won't mention his name but a friend of mine who's
he's in the video production space Youtube space. We were just having a chat digitally and he's
we've been friends for years but he said to me when he found out that we were getting the
place in Florida and he kind of asked some folk questions and he said, "Oh, I didn't realize the
scale that you're operating at", you know something like that and it's I guess it's true. I mean.
-Yeah... Well, yeah, if you say I work in video production. You know, I mean what comes to mind?
-What does that mean? -What is that? -Yeah, well we've got the local dealer car dealerships. We do some.
-So, I try and say things not to brag but to let people know what I do. It's like yeah, I've got
clients that what I've done on Youtube now is it brings them in seven figures monthly on their
channel. I mean, I'll let them know like look some of my clients are bringing in a million dollars
a month just because of what I've done. But still people have a hard time understanding.
-You talked earlier a little bit about and speaking of marketing there's ways to kind of market
yourself of course, especially as a sole proprietor. Maybe where you don't have a team of 10 or 20 or
30 or even outsourcing. You have to keep hoofing it, don't you? Got to keep
out there you talked about networking and being out at conventions and shows or at
meetings and other places. I see some of your occasional social media posts where you're at
a show or you're at a Youtube influencers event. Talk to me a little bit about the necessity for
that type of face-to-face marketing. -It's kind of shifted a little bit. -Is it? -I used
to go to anything and everything because I felt like really felt like, maybe it was a
desire to be seen. I want to be seen. I want to be recognized as the Youtube authority or whatnot.
I still have that desire I guess but I've had to soften on that. In fact, recently there have been
two Youtube events one called vid summit which two-three years ago I was a speaker. They had me
come and speak. -I think I remember that. -Well, how much more successful am I today than I was two
three years ago? I'm way more successful and I've got what much bigger case studies I can share
much more knowledge I can share but they didn't invite me to speak this year and when I was at
that event I felt unseen. It was like an emotional experience for me very I reflect on it like very
childish. I wanted to be seen and recognized for my accomplishments. But then you know
a couple weeks later I spoke at another event video marketing world that was in Dallas and
I did get to take the stage and I was seen. -And I would say maybe where you're at now because
business is hopping, you don't feel as compelled to be out there be seen to raise your awareness
among clientele. But for those of you that are just starting in their world maybe they do need to be
to kind of follow that pattern. You know what I mean like, accept speaking. -I guess the
lesson that I've learned has had to look like, am I going from my own like gratification like so that
I could be popular or you know get the pat on the back or is this really going to be fruitful for
my business? There's another event a part of the national speakers association winter conference.
Instead of just going to that event I'm actually looking at being an exhibitor and I'll bring a
team member with me that can man the booth so that we can actually like have conversations
where it's you know like the typical MLM thing. Where you got to recruit the planet and every
conversation you have you're trying to make a sell. I don't want to, I don't want to do that.
I don't want to but if I'm an exhibitor I've got a booth and I can you know have a way to promote
my services. I think that's going to be a lot more fruitful than me just attending. Now, having
kind of been raised in the world of trade shows and conferences, I understand that whole dynamic
and really in many cases, it's your absence speaks more than your presence like depending on the
the industry and the players like if you want to be taken seriously you have to be at this show.
Even if you're just in a 10 by 10 with pipe and drape and your own little printed sign.
You know, what I mean? They have to know that you're you care enough to be there but by the same token
yeah to begin to open up a conversation with speakers. That's where you started as I recall.
You actually did. You would you charge people 300 bucks or whatever to film them doing their
speech. -I did, I did a lot of those. -Not the film listen to me like, when we say. -We say film. -Yeah...
but nowadays it's so antiquated. It's quaint that's... -What it is was your debt
ruined? Were you able to maintain even though you had a lot of debt? -Debt is not something that
you want to play with like or mess around with. -If it's not something that you've done before
like what if you can't pay that back you're in a worse off position.