Studio Sherpas Podcast

When I first started out with my business, I thought that branding meant little more than having a cool label and a good looking website. Yeah... I was wrong about that. Through the years, my branding has both hurt and helped my business, as I’m sure it has for many of you. Today we’re diving into the art and strategy of branding, and how you can put it to work for your business. In this episode, I want to share some of the highs and lows (and embarrassing relics of past iterations of my businesses…) of my branding journey, tips and tricks of how to avoid getting lost in your branding, and how to figure out what makes your company different. Proper branding can give your company a stronger sense of direction, help you access your target audience and secure larger and more profitable projects. It’s important to keep refreshing your brand over time to make sure it is still speaking your language to your potential clients, and figuring out what your company’s overall feel and vibe is your first step. Where are y

You know that feeling of hitting a brick wall with your business. Like you’ve tried everything to do more for your clients and stand out from the pack but nothing seems to stick? Maybe you’re overwhelmed and know you need to bring on more help but don’t know where to start? Danny Gonzales joins us today to share how he’s been able to set his business apart in the crowded world of video production. Danny Gonzales created Optimum Productions over 11 years ago and is a valuable member of the Studio Sherpas community. His company is focused on B2B marketing, boasting a client list including Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, HP, and more. Combining video production, strategy, and digital marketing, Optimum Productions mission is to create impactful content that makes their clients lives easier. Danny, the self-proclaimed ‘owner, operator and janitor’ of his small video business, is here to discuss what it takes to keep hold of your dreams and how to improve your craft while also figuring out what it means to actual

Have you ever felt like there’s more you could be doing for your clients than just delivery beautiful work? Going above and beyond and providing additional value to your clients is something that will set you apart from your competition and keep clients coming back to you again and again. Today, Marley Baird is going to share with us exactly where to get started. Marley is a video branding expert who has worked with huge brands and influential people to create a unique video creation and marketing company. Marley focuses on social media marketing to create videos that explain a core message while eliciting an emotional response to increase her client’s exposure and relevance online. Based out of Edmonton, Canada, but constantly traveling for work, Marley Baird Media has created a solution where other video companies are falling short. She dives into her client’s ‘why’ factor and shares how she gives more value to her clients than just a nicely shot and edited video.  Marley has capitalized on new revenue stre

When you hear the phrases “multi 6-figure film business”, or "celebrity clients", do they sound like unattainable goals from your current vantage point? If so you’re going to want to hear what my good friends Chris and Toni Wheaton of Heart Stone Films and Portico Pictures have to share with us today. Married in 2008, Chris and Toni are a power couple of film business gurus. Heart Stone Films began in 2007 and has since captured the wedding moments of numerous NFL, NBA players, NASCAR drivers as well as Emily Maynard of The Bachelorette. Over time, their connections, connections and jaw-dropping work allowed them to branch into commercial video, and Portico Pictures was born. Chris and Toni share tips on growing a thriving film business including dealing with staffing and outsourcing, working with your spouse, how to build a great portfolio, pricing and how to move up in the filmmaking world to a higher creative standard. Originally posted as a Facebook Live video, look out for the bonus Q&A with live vie

Do you ever find yourself struggling to justify your pricing to clients who just don’t seem to get it? As returning guest Sean Low shares, not only might you be conveying the value of your work in the wrong ways, but quite possibly you shouldn’t even be talking to these clients in the first place.   In 2017, we hosted Sean on Episode 18 of the Studio Sherpas Podcast, and our discussion was one of the most talked about episodes of the year! Now he’s back to share round two of his expert creative tips. As the founder of The Business of Being Creative, a consulting company and online network, Sean helps clients from all around the world tackle the tricky world of creative businesses.   Today we dive into what to do if you’re struggling with how to price your services, are worried about how to get potential clients, or don’t fully understand how to help your creative business thrive. Linking design, decision, and money, Sean, and his BBC Collective are a guiding light for anyone in the creative industry who needs

As a business owner, you will eventually come to a point where if you want to grow further, you need to stop selling your product and start selling your company in order to thrive as a business. Instead of injecting your creativity into your product, you need to use that creativity to sustain and grow the company. John Warrillow explains exactly how to make this transition. Productizing your creativity is what John and his company, Built to Sell, are all about. John has put over 20 years of research experience into his Value Builder System, and shares what he knows through his podcast, Built to Sell Radio and his best-selling books. Today we are highlighting the difference between being creative and creating a business, and how to make sure your company’s model is teachable, valuable and repeatable, so your brand can continue to grow.  Are you willing to give up creativity in order to build a business of value and substance? Did this episode grind your gears a little? Let us know in the comments on the episod

Do you struggle with being a starving artist? Or maybe you have trouble taking yourself seriously as a creator? Today’s guest believes that the stories we tell ourselves have a major impact on our success, which means we can change those stories, too. Jeff Goins is a best-selling author and speaker, focusing on writing, life, and creative work. His books include The Art of Work and Real Artists Don’t Starve. He also teaches writers to hone their craft and get the attention they deserve in his course Tribe Writers. Today, he talks to us about the difference between starving artists and thriving artists and the importance of the stories we tell ourselves. We also discuss the power of practicing in public as a way to commit to your art, as well as the power of “stealing” from other artists. Are the stories you’re telling yourself limiting your success? Do you feel like a starving artist or a thriving artist? Let us know in the comments on the episode page!   In this episode: The biggest difference between starv

Are you a creative with a process, or do you worry that systems would detract from or even destroy your ability to be spontaneous and creative? Doug Darling makes a case for us today about how having a process and method will help empower your creativity and create better projects for your clients. Doug is the Founder and Executive Director of Tripwire Media Group, a media company focused on using storytelling to get their clients the results they need. Today he talks to us about how he’s seen storytelling improve everything from his emails to his client projects, and on the flip side, the importance of having a process and structure in order to make that creativity and storytelling flourish. He also talks about how to get client buy-in on creative ideas, as well as how he approached hiring to grow his agency. What processes or methods do you use to help give structure to your creativity? How do you get your clients on board? Let us know in the comments on the episode page!   In this episode: How having a pr

Do you have any passion projects that you’ve been dreaming of creating for years, but never had the money to make happen? Most of us have projects we'd love to work on, but without a client to fund them these types of projects clearly require a different approach to financing.  Brandon Adams is the executive producer and co-host of Success In Your City, a reality show currently in production all about success and the different ways that different people define it all over the country. He also has a background in crowdfunding and serves as a consultant or advisor for various companies. Today he talks to us about how he has found smaller sponsors in each city that they film in order to bring his vision of the project to life, as well as how to get creative about what’s received in exchange for that sponsorship. He also discusses his unique approach to creating a show, and what it takes to run a successful crowdfunding campaign. How have you used crowdfunding or creative financing to produce projects? Let us kno

Have you ever made an awesome video for a corporate client, only to later find that it did very little for their business? Ben Amos got tired of realizing he wasn’t providing a lasting solution for his clients, and did something about it that changed the way he runs his business and the impact his work delivers. Ben runs the video production agency Innovate Media in Brisbane, Australia, and is also the man behind the Engage Video Marketing Podcast. In both businesses, he’s all about helping clients use video content strategically to help their business goals, rather than making video for video’s sake. Today, he talks to us about how he sees more clients bypassing agencies and going right to the video producers, and how that is impacting the evolution of our role as production companies. He also discusses the three parts of a marketing funnel, how he qualifies clients, and the three circles of strategic video marketing that need to be considered. Do you talk strategy with your clients? How has that impacted yo

We may specialize in filmmaking, but we’re still entrepreneurs, and we struggle with all the same things that every other entrepreneur struggles with, too. Steph Crowder gives us tons of mic drops about some of those same struggles that she’s faced and how we can work through them. Steph is Head of Member Success at Fizzle.co, co-hosts the Fizzle podcast as well as her own podcast Courage + Clarity, and is also a business coach for people who are hungry for meaningful, independent work in their life. Today, Steph talks with us about being present in the journey and appreciating the now, as well as dropping some truth bombs on imposter syndrome and how to get past it. She also talks about building community, and gives us some very concrete, actionable tips on getting amazing interviews in our corporate and documentary films. Do you deal with imposter syndrome and impossible expectations of yourself? Share a story on the episode page about how these feelings have held you back or how you get through them!   In

This week we're throwing it back to one of our all-time greatest hit episodes, and one that personally had the some of the greatest impact on me and my business. We're talking with Dane Sanders all about what it means to ditch the shortcuts in our businesses and do the work we need to do.  Dane spent 12 years as a professional photographer before a “leadership book [he] snuck into the photography community” took off and helped him realize that he had more to offer the world. He now works as a speaker, coach, has written two best-selling books, is the founder of Fastermind.co, hosts the Converge Podcast, and organizes the annual Go Summit. Yeah, he’s a busy guy with a ton of insight and drive. With so much on his plate, Dane has realized that maybe the most important skill to develop is understanding how to prioritize your time effectively. We also talk about why good coaching is essential, and what to look for in a good coach, how he hacked his way to leveling up his friend group and why you should do the sam

  If you’re anything like me, there are times where you get tired, worn out, and uninspired by the direction of your creative business. Yup, I’ve been there, many, many times. Life is constantly changing, and it is easy to find yourself burying your passion underneath frustration and all the mundane tasks associated with running a profitable business. It is not until you put your foot down and re-evaluate why you are doing what you are doing and how you are doing it, that you can rediscover your passion. Today, I want to share my top 3 ways to re-energize your business and take back control. Here at Studio Sherpas, our number one goal is to help you grow your business. I want to make sure you are getting the right kind of clients and doing the right kind of work that inspires you, while also being able to pay the bills. We didn’t start making videos and creating movies because we thought it would be a lucrative career, we do it because we are moved by the work we create, and to keep putting out creative, movi

Do you ever feel like the walls are closing in due to competition, and there's not enough work to go around? In this episode, PJ Accetturo discusses the importance of thinking out of the box and breaking the creative bias, competition and community, what makes a good reel, how knowing how to correctly network can be a game changer, and how to keep pushing your boundaries as a filmmaker.  PJ is an award-winning filmmaker currently working as a freelance director based out of Tampa, Florida. He was published by National Geographic at the ripe age of 18 years old, and has continued to work on inspired and globally conscious projects. We talk about our passion for filmmaking and how the ability to take a story from your head or heart, and translate it visually to create compound change is at the core of our role as filmmakers. We also dive into why community is so essential to our success, why a 30 second reel can be more impactful than one 2 minutes long, why PJ thinks that at least 30% of what you create should

Do you find yourself dreading doing something that you’re supposed to love, something that you originally got into because of passion that’s now faded? As Zack Arnold explains on today’s episode, there’s more to leading a successful life, putting out great, original work, and just plain feeling good than the work itself. Today he’s going to share with us how to optimize our lives and cultivate our creativity. Zack is an award-winning Hollywood film editor, working on shows such as Empire, Burn Notice and Glee, and has also created Optimize Yourself, a program to help people maximize their creativity, output and well-being. He shows us how by examining our current behaviors, and pinpointing the habits in our lives that lead to destructive thoughts which can inhibit our ability to maximize our creativity, we can start to turn the ship around. Things we as creatives often don’t consider, or think of as non-important like diet, exercise and sleep can have a drastic impact on the quality of the work we’re putting

If you’ve ever participated in a business partnership, you know that it takes a TON of work to make sure all partners are on the same page, mitigate conflicts, divvy up tasks, and on and on and on. In this episode, Matt & I dive into our experience as partners in Studio Sherpas, and share a big announcement about the future of the community. We’ve always seen each other as friends first, business partners second. And after two and a half years of working, it is time to take a moment to reflect on what’s helped us get this far, some of the challenges we’ve faced including lessons learned from mistakes along the way, and why it’s so crucial to constantly be making sure your priorities are in order when it comes to your business and the rest of your life. Listen in for a brief history of Studio Sherpas, and an announcement from Matt about the future of the podcast. We will also discuss how working smarter is always better than working harder, and how influential the Studio Sherpas community is. Do you have a

Today we sit down with someone I’ve looked up to in the production world for a long time, Jem Schofield. Jem created TheC47, a full-service production company and educational resource focused on teaching the craft of video production and filmmaking. He has a 22-year long career, beginning by creating brand focused web content and eventually finding his passion in video production. Jem has a wide range of knowledge of everything production related, and shares this information with his YouTube viewers, clients, and with us here today! The long-term success of TheC47 is due to the fact that Jem has always had a clear vision for his brand and what he wants to produce, starting as an educational platform, and growing to focus on filmmaking, production, consulting and education. By combining his unique teaching style with consistency and passion, he creates memorable content and shares his expertise with other small-to-no crew production teams. He believes that you must be passionate about what you are creating for

Are you willing to be weird, risky, and brave enough to make films you produce come alive? Today’s guest does all of those things plus a lot more when it comes to the documentaries she directs, produces, and, sometimes, edits herself. She shares with us what it takes to create moving feature-length films, from the artistic to the funding, and everything in between. Mo Scarpelli is a director, producer, and cinematographer for documentaries that explore human identity and the forces that inform, conflict, and construe it. Her award-winning debut feature-length documentary, Frame by Frame, has been screened all over the world and her writing, short documentaries, and photojournalism have been published with top names like The New Yorker, BBC, CNN, and The Wall Street Journal. She’s a no-nonsense, raw, authentic creator who embraces her “weird” and it’s no surprise that she makes some amazing work because of it. We get into the ins and outs of getting grants for your films and why America isn’t the best place to

Most of us think we know what marketing is, and are all too familiar with the not-so-great feelings many of us as creatives feel in the pits of our stomach when thinking about how to “market” ourselves. But what if we have it all wrong? Today’s guest flips the notions we have of what marketing means and what it entails on their face, and boils it down to two very simple but powerful words. Human Connection. Chad Brown is owner and creator of Shade Tree Films but still prefers the moniker storyteller to filmmaker even after over a decade in the business. Another title that he should have is marketing maven and boy does he deliver today. We get into it right off the bat where when he redefined marketing and what it should really be for creatives, gives us tips on what we should jump into right away when it comes to marketing, and even breaks down exactly what it takes to connect with people and how you can redefine your business and yourself through that practice. We also dive deep into core values, how you def

If you’ve been listening to Studio Sherpas for long, you know we believe that the greatest investment you can make is in the people you surround yourself with. As creatives, many of us get an uneasy feeling when we hear the word “networking” but as today’s guest explains, real networking can be filled with heart, personality, and true, genuine connection. Mike Kim is a marketing consultant, communications strategist, and copywriter who loves nothing more than giving back to the world through his podcast and conferences. His insights into what the number one thing you need to do to properly market yourself, his tips and tricks on connecting with influencers right from the start, and how you can stand out from the crowd to get yourself remembered, are priceless. Mike also dives into why being a “connector” can ultimately lead to your biggest successes, and how you absolutely need to learn one critical skill every year if you want to level up your business. You will love hearing Mike speak because everything he