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The year 2019 is coming to an end and we’re at a point in time where we start to evaluate ourselves. Have we done enough? I know some of you are starting to freak out because “I haven’t done any marketing.” For some, it’s a case of work having a ”few dry areas.”

I’ve seen and heard one too many colleagues and friends wanting to start a marketing plan in January. But why wait for January when you can do it now? 

Join me in today’s episode as we tackle the “lack mindset” and how you can actually overcome it. Enjoy!

What’s In This Episode:

• Choosing between abundance and scarcity.
• “You never really learn from success, you learn everything from failure.”
• The dangers of spending time with the wrong people. Who are these wrong people?
• Den gives tips on what to do during the “quiet times” of video businesses.
• Things to ponder on:
• Fear stops 95% of filmmakers from getting out of that feast and famine hole.
• The procrastination for fear of not doing anything well is what stops you from being more successful.
• What is the most dangerous place to be in the video business industry?
• What is the ONLY way to scale your video business?
• Abundant personality versus Scarce personality
• Recognize when scarcity is showing up and understand how scarcity affects your decisions.
• The scarce zone is a dangerous zone to be in.
• An emotional pendulum: How does this affect decision making in the business?
• Make decisions from a place of neutrality.
• Choose between complaining and finding solutions to the problems you’re complaining about.

• Den gives sage advice for those who are worried about the lack of work in January.
• Questions you need to ask yourself if you haven’t done marketing last year.
• What is the secret to success?
• “None of it is easy, but it’s certainly harder when you’re on your own.”

If you or anyone you know needs help in the areas we’ve just discussed above, the Video Business Accelerator is more than willing to help you. Take the first step towards growing into a more successful video business owner.

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Relying on one or two key clients could end up in the devastation of your business, especially if one of them leaves, or worse...both! Today, I’m going to do a solo episode about the dangers of relying on key clients.

I’ll be sharing a story about how this issue impacted my business at one point. How did we manage to mitigate the risks? As failure is at some point—inevitable, it is also important for one to be able to rise above it.

If you’re one of those people who rely on key clients, this episode is for you. Go ahead and enjoy it!

What’s In This Episode:

• The dangers of being in business with one or two main clients.
• Den shares a story about his experience related to relying on one or two main clients.
• Why it’s important to have a “fail-safe” in case of emergencies.
• Den talks about his realizations when he experienced “failure” due to major reliance on one main advertising/marketing platform.
• The importance of learning from mistakes.
• Don’t be afraid to niche down.
• “If you can describe your client’s problems, desires, needs, and aspirations better than they can, they will automatically assume you have the solution.”
• What do Den and his company offer?
• Where can you get more tips and insights for scaling your video business? Are they free?
• If you’re reliant on one or two main clients, now is the time to think strategically about what were to happen if one of those relationships ended. What are you going to do about it?
• Three important things you NEED to ponder on.
• How do you improve your storytelling ability? How do you grab the attention of your market?

Don’t allow yourself to be vulnerable by having just one or two key clients.

If you need support or help with any of the things that we’ve discussed today—please make sure you reach out!

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Video Business Accelerator

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Last week, we had Matt Smolen talk to us about the processes and the journey he went through from being a freelancer to hiring his team. We had a deep dive into the business side of growing Balloon Tree Productions.

Just as promised, we’re bringing him back today to talk about the creative side of his business. Now, Matt believes delivering excellent quality is what keeps Balloon Tree Productions running. But what does excellence mean for Matt? Let’s hear it from the man himself.

What’s In This Episode:

• Matt shares his passion for creating films and being a film director.
• Matt talks about his short film, “There’s A Mobster Under My Bed,” and how he got into MIFF(Melbourne International Film Festival).
• Matt relays his experience with MIFF.
• What makes Matt’s brand unique?
• Matt’s key to success as a production company
• Is there a thing such as “a freelancer’s curse”?
• How Matt’s overall experience with understanding costs helped him in working with bigger corporations
• About Balloon Tree Production’s finances
• What is the Nirvana of every business?
• Matt answers the question, “Why don’t other businesses treat their business as an investment vehicle?”
• Matt describes his studios in detail—availability, what they offer.
• Matt talks about his events.
• “You are equipped to make things true to you.” - Matt Smolen

Connect with Matt Smolen

Website

LinkedIn

About Matt Smolen

Matt Smolen is the Owner of Balloon Tree Productions. A company that specialises in video production, photography, and media development. Matt is a Director and Writer who believes that excellence doesn’t always equate to being overly serious. Matt likes to give his content a fine mix of wonder, humor, and fun.

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Video Business Accelerator

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Business owners understand how responsibilities pile up once you decide to scale your business. Responsibilities are a lot easier to bear when we have people to share them with.

In today’s episode, I will be talking to Matt Smolen, owner of Balloon Tree Productions. Just like many other businesses, he started from humble beginnings as a solo freelancer. Matt will be sharing with us how he started, and what it takes to grow from a freelancer to having a team of your own.

What’s In This Episode:

• Matt’s Backstory: How did Matt go from freelancing to being a business owner?
• Why Matt has always been conscious about giving an excellent experience to his clients
• Matt’s story of transition from freelancing to expanding and hiring people
• Why it is crucial to choose a team with the same beliefs and values as you
• Matt relays the journey he went through from being a freelancer to hiring people and loading up on responsibilities (i.e., paying salaries)
• How Matt’s team helped him leverage his time differently—from a business perspective
• How the Video Business Accelerator has impacted Matt and his business
• Matt’s next goal for his business

Connect with Matt Smolen

Website

LinkedIn

About Matt Smolen

Matt Smolen is the Owner of Balloon Tree Productions. A company that specialises in video production, photography, and media development. Matt is a director and writer who believes that excellence doesn’t always equate to being overly serious. Matt likes to give his content a fine mix of wonder, humor, and fun.

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Video Business Accelerator

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One of the many reasons people go into the video business industry is they love sharing stories. The question is, what platforms can you use to tell that story and showcase your prowess in videos?

Today’s episode will be about the core aspects you need to understand in building an audience on LinkedIn. I will be speaking to Emily Wallace, who may not be in the video industry, but is reaching thousands of people via her video posts on LinkedIn. She will be sharing with us the secrets of her journey on LinkedIn — how she scaled her buyers advocate business dramatically in less than a year.

Three points we are going to discuss include: 1) Three core aspects of building your audience on LinkedIn; 2) Using the power of Sales Navigator to find any position in any company you want to connect with, and; 3) The content of the connection messages.

What’s In This Episode:

• Emily’s journey on LinkedIn
• Emily’s approach to marketing
• Emily’s recommendation for video businesses who haven’t maximized their LinkedIn profiles
• Additional tips for building solid relationships on LinkedIn
• Sales Navigator — Is it the hidden gem of LinkedIn? How do you use it?
• Why it’s important to write a personalised message to connect with someone on LinkedIn
• Strategies for what happens after the invitation to connect has been accepted
• What’s a great way to get your connections engaged in a conversation?
• The power of using video content to connect with clients on LinkedIn
• The effort you exert and the challenges you have to undergo to win the deal
• Consistency is key
• Constant and consistent action yields results
• Recommendations for a different approach to content
• The powerful aspect of “being human” on LinkedIn
• Suggestion on creating scripts and how to approach people
• Hashtags on posts — How many is enough and how many is too many?
• Put up your contact details on LinkedIn — make yourself accessible

Connect with Emily Wallace

LinkedIn

Website

About Emily Wallace

Emily Wallace is a Buyer’s Advocate who has expanded the reach of her business through the use of LinkedIn. She has been able to scale her business dramatically in less than a year by maximizing the power of content in gaining connections on LinkedIn. It is her primary goal to educate buyers and empower them in their property purchases.

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Video Business Accelerator

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In last week’s episode we had Ryan Spanger the owner and founder of Dream Engine with us. Ryan is not only a member of our Video Business Accelerator group.

Ryan actually wrote a manifesto which highlights all the lessons he has learned in 20 years in the industry.

This manifesto serves as his reminder to always stay on track; especially after all of the highs and lows he has experienced in running his business.

Today, we will be picking up where we left off, and I know most of you are just as excited as I am so let’s not keep you waiting. Enjoy the show.

What’s In This Episode:

• Second Part of Ryan Spanger’s Manifesto: All About the Clients

# 10: Give the clients what they want.

• What do your clients want?
• Keep it simple and deliver what your clients want

# 11: No need to be an evangelist for video.

# 12: You’re running a restaurant.

• Delivering quality service to your clients

# 13: You can have whatever you want.

• Prepare to REALLY work for your goals
• Is it worth the cost to get to where you want to be?

# 14: Work the system.

• Success is bound to follow once you’ve got the right systems working in place
• Process - Measuring - Predictability - Consistency
• Be free by being in control.

# 15: Make the bed.

• Doing small things right allows larger things to follow
• Consistency and discipline

# 16: Just focus on doing one thing well.

# 17: Draw widely for inspiration.

• Notice the little things that surround you

# 18: Take it personally.

• Putting the right amount of your heart and soul into your work
• Learn to let go

# 19: Never waste a good fuck-up.

• Have a realization/transformation
• Draw some learning

# 20: Be the wolf.

• Be inspired by the character of the wolf

Connect with Ryan Spanger

Website

Dream Engine

LinkedIn

Twitter

About Ryan Spanger

Ryan Spanger is owner and founder of Dream Engine, a video production company based in Melbourne, Australia. Ryan’s goal at Dream Engine is to help fast-track medium-sized companies to communicate, sell, and train more effectively through videos. He is committed to his mission of working with businesses to apply the Dream Engine method, and make videos that get their clients the results they need.

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Video Business Accelerator

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After being in the video business industry for so long, it only takes a little loss of focus to lose track. But what does it take to make you stay in the game? How do you remind yourself that you have goals to achieve and dreams to chase?

Today, I’ll be speaking with one of my clients, Ryan Spanger, owner of Dream Engine. Ryan has been in the video production industry for 20 years, and his experience is immense. He will be sharing with us what he did to remind himself that he needs to stay on track, and how he keeps tabs on his thoughts, dreams, and goals.

If you’re going through a certain time in your business where everything just seems so dull, tune in and learn a lot of strategies for re-igniting your passion and focus.

What’s In This Episode:

• About the Manifesto: What is it? How did it come about?
• Ryan Spanger’s Manifesto: What do they mean?

# 1: If the story you’re telling yourself is no longer working, you can replace it with a new and better story.

• Examples from own experience that led to this mindset

# 2: Cut loose.

• What are the things holding you back from achieving more?
• Burn ships

# 3: It’s not about the gear.

• Invest in what really matters
• Make sure that the equipment you’re using has ROI for every project

# 4: The journey towards mastery.

• Slow and steady work leads to the development of mastery
• Strategy and consistency are key factors to being successful
• Be committed to working towards mastery
• Kaizen

# 5: The industry does not exist.

# 6: These days, every business is an online business.

• Be very clear about your target market, your products, and offers

# 7: Learning to love sales.

• Define sales in a way that works for you
• Find out what you can do for your prospects to alleviate their pains

# 8: Hang on to your soul.

• Never forget why you’re doing what you’re doing
• Feed your creativity
• Value the present

# 9: Have someone in your life who believes in you more than you do.

Connect with Ryan Spanger

Website

Dream Engine

LinkedIn

Twitter

About Ryan Spanger

Ryan Spanger is the Owner and Founder of Dream Engine, a video production company based in Melbourne, Australia. Ryan’s goal at Dream Engine is to help fast-track medium-sized companies to communicate, sell, and train more effectively through videos. He is committed to his mission of working with businesses to apply the Dream Engine method, and make videos that get their clients the results they need.

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Video Business Accelerator

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4 times per year I get into a room with my accelerator clients and we spend 2 days masterminding.  You might be wondering what that is.

Today’s episode will be all about debriefing the recent mastermind event we did in Melbourne.

Since a lot of people are asking us what goes on at these events, we thought it would be cool to share with your what actually happens.

So if you haven’t had the chance to attend one but are curious then today is your lucky day as Charley and I will help you understand how you can take these lessons and apply them to your own business.

“The destination is not the goal. We’re setting an intention to head in a direction.” - Den Lennie

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

• Den’s biggest takeaway from the event
• Charley’s observation of people’s transitions throughout the event
• The challenges one faces in a period of transformation from freelancer to business owner
• What makes the video business industry different
• Investing in marketing doesn’t necessarily mean spending on ads
• Why you should use LinkedIn for your video business
• LinkedIn strategies that actually work
• Key insights about quarterly planning
• The benefits of planning
• Who are these events for?
• What’s the purpose of these events?
• Pricing: Common challenges that arise
• The cultures Den builds at the Video Business Accelerator
• The dangers of being in a pessimistic environment
• Marketing: When is the right time to do it?
• Video is becoming a significant part of every industry
• Benefits of being part of the accelerator program

Connect with Charley Valher

Website

Valher Media

Youtube

LinkedIn

Twitter

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Video Business Accelerator

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In part one of our back-to-back episodes with Simeon Quarrie, he shared some insights about the efficiency brought about by starting work at 2am every day. We talked about his work ethic and his ability to scale up and down depending on the projects at hand. Simeon and I also discussed how he makes sure that he is always one step ahead in the video business industry.

Today, as we continue our discussion, Simeon will share with us how, oftentimes, being too creative can scare a client. Based on Simeon’s previous experiences, he will tell us how important it is to get the right balance between creativity and meeting the demands of clients.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

• Marketing Processes and Strategies: Getting more clients in the corporate market
• Why being strategic in networking is paramount to getting your target market
• Understanding your target market
• Presenting yourself: For industry vs. when looking for clients
• Reasons why clients are terrified of too much creativity
• Why too much creativity is hurting your business
• Why most clients go for predictable outcomes
• Looking at the customer’s needs and providing consistent work
• The risk of video businesses spending money on equipment and going broke
• The significance of focusing ON the actual business
• Instead of being IN the business, work ON the business
• How Simeon creates impact with storytelling
• Focusing on values — How it changes the perception of customers

Connect with Simeon Quarrie

Email

Instagram

YouTube

LinkedIn

VIVIDA

Connect with Den Lennie

Video Business Accelerator

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About Simeon Quarrie

Simeon Quarrie is the owner of VIVIDA. He is a filmmaker and storyteller who has successfully built a world-leading wedding video business and one of the few who has successfully transitioned into working with large businesses. Simeon is an international speaker, Canon Ambassador, Gteam member, and an advisor for Google and YouTube. He ensures he is focused on staying one step ahead and now creates interactive Virtual Reality films. Simeon’s clients include Sky, Barclays, Burberry, and EY.

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For filmmakers, it’s really essential to always be on top of your game. Staying focused is one of the key factors in making sure you are ahead in the industry. And this might sound a bit odd for you but our guest today has been practicing this habit of waking up at 2am every day. And it certainly helped a lot in terms of focus.

So, today’s episode will be really interesting as I speak with Simeon Quarrie, owner and CEO of VIVIDA. He will be giving us insights on how he adapted to this lifestyle and what it has done for his business. We will be discussing how he transitioned from weddings to corporate work.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

• Benefits of getting up and starting work at 2am
• How Simeon manages his health and energy despite getting up at 2am every day
• What motivates Simeon to be up and working at 2am?
• The cyclical nature of video businesses: Growing and shrinking your team
• Reasons for growing your team
• The importance of having a team
• Key factors to sustaining the pipeline of your video business
• Why it’s important to study the marketplace: To go niche or not?

Connect with Simeon Quarrie

Email

Instagram

Youtube

LinkedIn

VIVIDA

About Simeon Quarrie

Simeon Quarrie is the owner of VIVIDA. He is a filmmaker and storyteller who has successfully built a world-leading wedding video business and one of the few who has successfully transitioned into working with large businesses. Simeon is an international Speaker, Canon Ambassador, Gteam member, and an advisor for Google and Youtube. He sees to it that he is focused on staying one step ahead and now creates interactive Virtual Reality films. Simeon’s clients include Sky, Barclays, Burberry, EY etc.

Connect with Den Lennie

Video Business Accelerator

LinkedIn 

Facebook 

Youtube

Support the show

Connect with Den on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/den_lennie

www.thevideomentors.com