Whaddup Family!
Currently writing this up on the Brightline train from Boca Raton on the way back from a podcast shoot for a client. Have you ever ridden it? I feel like I’m in Europe. I wish America invested more in rail travel — it’s the best way to travel IMO.
Anyway, I’m really excited about this past month. I was able to get three editors on board to help with my videos (I’ll explain in a minute), as well as potentially a production coordinator. It’s actually crazy to see a team coming together.
I am unfortunately a little behind getting the next video out, but I’m almost done and excited about the change of pace I’m attempting for this edit. Hopefully you enjoy it!
Behind the Scenes — Find People Who Believe in You
I have been listening to a biography on the life and business of Walt Disney, and one big takeaway comes from his first failed business: Laugh-O-Gram Studio.
Although it filed for bankruptcy in 1923 after only two years in business, something stuck with me on the lesson of getting something off the ground.
When Walt was first getting animation gigs, he was an absolute nobody in the middle of nowhere Kansas. Most gigs paid very little or nothing at all. He knew he could not build a studio without a team of animators, so he started recruiting. He had almost no money to pay them — the only compensation he could offer was ACCESS to do work and get experience. So they did.
He formed a small team of young men from around town and they created their own little “animation fraternity.” They moved quick, spent all of their time together, and sometimes even slept in the studio.
This blew my mind. This man had no money and STILL was able to build a team to chase a dream.
So that’s what I tried to do too… and it worked.
I connected with four different friends who were looking for some creative editing and production work. I broke down my video production into repeatable systems for each to own, and I offered them a small base pay plus a percentage of video ad revenue.
The biggest thing? When I asked why they were interested, all of them wanted something I had to offer: Opportunity.
- The opportunity to try a new editing style.
- The opportunity to get experience on a production team.
- The opportunity to be a part of a budding YouTube channel.
Opportunity: “A favorable juncture of circumstances.”
I believe the only difference between where I am now and being full time is just 50 more videos. With this crew I’m assembling, it’s inevitable — and I haven’t been this excited in a while.
(I will still be doing a final polish of each video with a heavy, hands-on approach to the edit. This will severely shorten the amount of time I’m spending in Adobe Premiere and allow more time for planning and filming more videos.)
Coming Soon
Next up is a new video series where I ride every ride throughout all four parks. The goal? Find the most magical ride on the planet.
My secondary goal is to create an extensive database of my personal Disney Park preferences — a resource anyone can use to help plan their next trip. The benefit is that it also gives me a repeatable video series to hand reps to the editing team and allow me some creative space for some bigger swings I’m taking later in the year.
Looking forward to getting your thoughts when it drops soon!
Comments of the Month
No comments this month, but a week ago I was filming in Animal Kingdom for the next video when I was approached by an awesome couple who watch my videos — Morgan and Derek.
Something I absolutely LOVE is putting faces to numbers. It’s easy to see the view count of a video and just want it to go up. But there is a whole different feeling when you can recognize the people behind those numbers. Shoutout to Derek and Morgan. This made my week.