As we draw to a conclusion on this journey, I believe every guide must eventually say: over to you, reader! Let’s look at how you can make money in videography.
I want to finish this series of guides with some concluding thoughts and takeaways to encourage you to go out there and make some money.
I certainly encourage you to go through these guides multiple times.
Not every detail and nuance can be gleaned the first reading through, and most people who are taking action on this will want to follow the guide through bit by bit whilst they take action on each segment.
Speaking of action…
Follow Through And Take Action
I hope you’ve really taken advantage of this material. Have you been following through and taking action whilst reading along?
Did you notice we went through this entire course with hardly mentioning spending a tonne of your time designing business cards?
I hope I showed you that getting to know your target audience, effectively marketing yourself and taking action on ideas is more important than what font your business card uses!
Knowledge is incredibly important. Without knowledge, we aren’t able to take action. Here are some surprising (and worrying) facts and figures concerning knowledge in the modern world:
- One third of American high school graduates will never read another book for the rest of their lives.
- 42% of college graduates never read another book after college.
- 80% of American families did not buy or read a book last year.
In fact, it’s true that a huge percentage of the books purchased are never actually read. A huge percentage of the courses people buy are never gone through – they even remain in their shrink-wrap sitting on someone’s shelf!
How sad.
But you’re truly part of that small percentage that acknowledge the importance of knowledge and follow a course through to the end. Now it’s time to prove that you’re a difference maker by taking action on what you’ve read here.
One Step At A Time
Like I said at the start of these guides, having a successful video production business isn’t a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. You won’t wake up tomorrow outrageously wealthy (unless you win the lottery!) You’ll need to take consistent and solid action towards your goals and take things one step at a time.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the old saying goes. And that’s true of your video business, too.
Ignore the naysayers and the negative people you might meet who will try and talk you out of going into business for yourself. These are most likely people who have never challenged themselves and pushed out of their comfort zones.
Instead, focus on positivity and look for mentors and other people who are on a similar path to you. As we discussed in the previous section, finding a mentor, or someone who’s goals are aligned with yours, is one of the quickest ways to fast-track your success in any endeavor.
I wish I could walk with you in-person on this journey, but right now that’s not possible. I do, however, urge you to continue reading the posts on this site, as well as exploring other resources, and keep pushing and striving towards your goals.
It Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect
Here’s some great advice for any business activity you’re doing: it doesn’t have to be perfect. Move away from the idea that everything you do needs to be spot-on and perfect. Perfect is an illusion.
By disavowing ourselves of the idea that we need to be perfect, we can get the ball rolling quicker and release what the marketing world calls a ‘minimum viable product.’
In the business world, a minimum viable product is a release of a product that allows the marketers to get the maximum research information back from a product with the minimum amount of effort in its creation.
Now, of course, I’m not trying to preach for half-assing it and throwing caution to the wind with your projects. You should always put 110% into client work.
But as far as getting your business off the ground, sometimes perfectionism can be death. I’ve seen so many people ‘talk themselves out of business.’ That is, they constantly talk about going into business, of “just needing one more thing,” and they never get anything off the ground and moving.
The problem with perfectionism is you keep adding “one more thing” or you constantly change things before releasing them and getting yourself out there. We see this in the classic example of the painter who keeps adding brush-strokes to his masterpiece and eventually ruins it.
This idea is freeing. You don’t need the perfect marketing, or the perfect positioning, or the perfect sales routine. All of those things are, by their nature, impossible to get ‘perfect.’ Things change so often and there are way too many variables.
Free yourself to focus on your creativity. Test and test until you get the results you want. People who test eventually become winners.
Release your Minimum Viable Business and get the ball rolling. Don’t get caught in perfectionism, get started!
Confidence, Faith & Passion
If I could instil three qualities in any video business entrepreneur that I knew would set them up for maximum success it would be these three very related qualities – confidence, faith and passion.
- Confidence that you are a talented video production business owner who knows what he’s doing.
- Faith that you’re on the right path and making the right decisions to get you where you want to go.
and
- Passion, so that you will take risks, put yourself out there and do what needs to be done to be successful.
And, yes, success means different things to different people. For some, success is pure money in the bank. These people judge others by the cars they drive, the houses they own and the vacations they can afford.
For other people, success is freedom and being the master of your own destiny – knowing that you can do what you want, when you want, with who you want.
I prefer the second definition of success. Freedom is fulfilling and, in my opinion, a route to happiness. Here’s a great video of Tony Robbins explaining this idea of fulfilment:
Make Money In Videography – Wishing You Every Success
I wish you every success. I hope you go out into the world, use this material and create something amazing!
These guides have been a lot of work and they’re everything I currently know about the best ways to start and grow a successful video business. This really is the guide I wish I had when I was starting out. There are so many materials out there, and often with conflicting advice, that it’s so good to have quality information all in one place.
Feel free to contact me with your thoughts, ideas, or just to shoot the breeze. I can be reached via the Contact form on the site. I look forward to hearing your success stories!
We hope this article (and the Video Business Guides series) has shown you how you can make money in videography. If there’s anything I can do for you, just get in touch and I’ll help where I can.
Until then, I’ll see you around the site.
Happy Shooting,
Matt
Matt Crawford
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Great write up! Very motivating to say the least. I love the Tony Robbins video, he’s awesome.
Thanks, Gary. Motivation is half the battle!
I’m a big Tony Robbins fan and have been for many years. The guy is awesome and a positive role model for people all over the world.
“If I could instil three qualities in any video business entrepreneur that I knew would set them up for maximum success it would be these three very related qualities – confidence, faith and passion.”
I like this. I like this a lot. All your articles have lots of how to with examples and followthroughs. This may sound symbolic or philosophical but it’s also very straight forward and how to in a way, too.
Hey thebossfilmmaker,
Thanks for getting involved!
Yeah, if you’ve read my stuff, you know I like to mix in famous quotes and philosophical takes on the things I teach here. It’s important to look at the big picture!
All the best to you!
perfect
Short and sweet, Marty – I like it! 🙂
I would like to say that this is an understatement of the year! The way that you articulate your posts makes it so much easier to comprehend and learn from. Thanks for that!
Thanks for the kind words!
Inspiring words.
Confidence that you are a talented video production business owner who knows what he’s doing.
Faith that you’re on the right path and making the right decisions to get you where you want to go.
and
Passion, so that you will take risks, put yourself out there and do what needs to be done to be successful.
I think these are the the key to get succeeded. Thanks matt for your nice post.
Hi John,
Thanks for getting in touch and highlighting those areas.
Cheers,
I like Tony Robbins very much. An idol to follow.
I completely agree with your words, yes,IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT. Nothing is just perfect.
Thanks.
Thanks, Peter. Tony Robbins was the first self-development guy I stumbled upon years ago and he has been extremely influential on me.
I have also been fond of listening to him speak. Always very motivating and easy to associate with. Tony Robbins for the win!
80% of American families did not buy or read a book last year!!!!
Someone said, book is the direct connector of the knowledge.
I am moved. Really good writeup.
Yep, it’s true and very shocking, John!
Thanks for taking the time to write a comment here.
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d without a doubt donate to this brilliant blog!
I guess for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed
to my Google account. I look forward to new updates and will share this blog with my Facebook group.
Chat soon!
Thanks, Luke. Really appreciate that!
From someone who has literally just taken the first step, this couldn’t have come at a better time. My family and I thank you for taking the time to write this and can’t wait to dive deeper into the site. My 2 major challenges. Building up the confidence that I know what I’m doing and finding a mentor. I’ve read so much of what you’ve mentioned with Tracey, Robbins, Ferris, Gerber, Covey and am glad to know that their strategies resonate in more business owners then me. Wish me luck and keep up the great work!
Hi Gabriel,
Thanks for getting in touch and for the inspiring comment!
Confidence is the number one issue that people have with getting started with their production company. That’s why a large part of Filmmaking Lifestyle is dedicated to tackling issues with confidence, self-esteem and just having the guts to get out there.
It’s not surprising that those guys you mentioned resonate with business owners, as all of them are great business people in their own right (as well as being well known self development authors).
Are you on my newsletter list? https://filmlifestyle.com/join-newsletter/
You mentioned looking for a mentor. Definitely read the rest of the site and gain some more tips from the articles. I’m planning to launch a coaching/mentorship program in the near future, too, so lookout for that.
The first step on any journey is always the hardest step. From there, it’s just putting one foot in front of the other.
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
Matt