How did you turn it all around?

Being an entrepreneur entails more than just having no boss. What you're doing is effectively a job - one in which your clients are your bosses. At the end of the day you move on to the next gig without building any assets (other than maybe enhancing your reputation) and with no opportunity for scaling it up.

If you're burnt out now, with little or no paid work, you need to stop and refocus. You "turn it around" by thinking medium to long term and positioning yourself advantageously.

An entrepreneur looks for changes in an industry or market that can be exploited. For businesses that can be scaled.

What gaps are there in your market? How is technology likely to impact on demand for your service? If you must stay in videography, think in terms of agencies or outsourcing rather than a one-person operation. Then you can expand into related services.

But entrepreneurship isn't for everyone. If you get the most enjoyment and satisfaction from being a videographer, maybe looking for a position in an established company would be your best bet. Maybe it's just the romantic idea of being your own boss that you find attractive. Up to you, obviously.

Oh, and by the way - 30 isn't old. Trust me.

First thing, REAL WORLD grown up talk...YOU are NOT VERY GOOD AT MARKETING.

If you are snowflake vulnerable, hope this doesn't melt you down.

If you're serious about being Entrepreneurial, I'll do my best to help, fair enough?

In another thread, in main forum, https://www.warriorforum.com/main-in...lp-future.html

there is a discussion about skills to learn to become successful, worth your time to read.

My opinion, which is what will help you, is; answer this question...HOW much is the cost of customer acquisition? And read that post carefully. You traded TIME for potential income, and giving away a sample of your work, is actually a good idea...

Sampling WORKS, if it results in sales.

So from a marketing angle, your sampling did not work.

Who is your IDEAL customer? Is it Realtors? Who spent the 600. I don't know what Dream 100 is> but, whatever they paid for...that would seem to be the kind of customer you want to get, right?

Now, as to turning this time drain, no money boat you are trying to keep afloat, around...

Start with first thing, seeing which one of those BUYERS in the past year and a quarter, are in a niche or market which would buy similar video from you?

The first thing in turning a lost ship around is to have a port of destination, where you want to get to, and WHO can get you there (ideal customer/Avatar)...use the data, limited as it is, from your sales, your BUYERS...what feedback did you get? What industries? And what the fastest, easiest job you did this past year? Which video was easiest for you?

See, you started with a SERVICE, a competitive business which is a commodity for all intents and purposes, getting a video made today is as easy as going to Fivver/Freelancer etc. and taking bids, or finding one of a 1000 people who can do it.

What do you have that is different? Unique? Special? What Xtra do you bring to the table? Why did one customer pay you 600? I think that buyer would be worth giving your full examination attention to, because a few of those a month, and you would be far more than 2k a year+ later, right?

So, if video is the boat you want to continue to use, then you must:

A. Identify your Unique proposition, why you over the thousands of other choices?

B. WHO? Ideal avatar, customer? What is the cost and process of reaching them, and with what message? If you want to use the free sample way, what after sales process do you have in place? What qualifiers do you use to give away the free sample?

C. A new plan, based upon your answers to the above questions. If you got 3 leads and 1 accepted, at the time she is happy and USES the video, what do you have ready to go for other area Realtors, is she going to allow you to use that video as a sample of your work, and if she is happy...what sort of future offers do you have for her...is she aware of the costs, time, and is or was that mentioned in the free sample (it should have been).

You only need ONE happy customer, if they like the free, why wouldn't they PAY for more? And once you get a paying customer, it should be as simple as rinse and repeat. If TIME allows.

Why realtors? Why not clowns, entertainers. performers who might want a short video as a sales tool? Local businesses who do events, could be a "retainer" situation, where they use you over and over for short videos? How about PETS, or local rescue shelters who may do a free monthly update for, although you can do the video for free, you can put subtle ads in intro and at the end.

I think you need to sit down and answer some hard questions about what you want to do, and set a money goal, and quit deluding yourself with the idea that you are a good marketer...you may become one, if you do right the ship, if you do make a turn and focus

in...on, what really brings in the dough for you. And hopefully you take this free advice as it is intended, to help you turn things around, OK?

GordonJ

You turn it all around by "KEEP GOING," that's how.

I'll try to keep my story brief, but I could write a book about it.

My IM journey started while I had a stable secure job working
as an office worker/computer operator.

Around 1997 I had an offline side hustle and I wanted to move
it online. I got on Free Yellow or Angelfire, I can't remember the
exact one but it was a free website hosting. I was trying to post
a list of colors of my items, and it kept on publishing in a straight
line so I found a site called HTMLGoodies and got the code for
a line break <BR> that was the first HTML that I ever learned.

BTW, back then there was NO WORDPRESS!

And I've been at it ever since.

Around 1999 I started buying and selling on eBay. I started with
Beanie Babies and evolved to other products. I used to advertise
merch and not buy them until I made a sale. I was enterprising
in that regard, always trying to think outside the box.

One year, I wrote in a notebook "Next year I am going to have
$250K in sales" I still have that notebook, I was looking at it the
other day. That following year, I had $253K in sales. Not profits,
just sales.

That was around the time that I quit my day job. I figured if I
could generate that much sales while working at a job, I could
do even better if I worked on my business full-time.

Some things I sold at eBay, I eventually went to dropshipping
because I couldn't stock things like:

Swimming Pools
Juke Boxes
Furniture
Underground Bunkers
other large items.

Some things worked and some did not.

I don't need to do any of this anymore as I receive pensions, and
I could just lay around and do nothing but that gets boring and I
prefer to stay busy, and I like having extra money to do whatever
I want or need.

My current project, that I started last night, I am setting up an
affiliate site. I am using an AI blog/article generator because it
provides great content but also fantastic images, real photograph
looking ones, that I can use on my website. I will work on this until
I get it done, probably by tomorrow.

Once that is done I am going back to work on the other projects
that I have going, I have a few. The things that I tell people to do
to generate income are things that I am actually doing myself.

As to your business, I remember your previous posts. That lady
with the revisions, people like her can be discouraging. IMO you
should not offer re-dos until a freebie seeker is satisfied because
you will run yourself into the ground trying to please someone that
will always find something to change.

There's a lady who does something similar to you, she has other
online business but she got her FAA drone license and she makes
aerial videos for real estate agents and other people.

The purpose of telling my story is to illustrate what it means to
KEEP GOING and DRIVE ON.

To anyone who feels like giving up, I would recommend that you
keep going. If you need to get a job to survive in the meanwhile,
that is fine, do what you need to do.

Research online, maybe read some business books about all the
different things you can do as an independent business person.
There are hundreds of them on Amazon, as well as hundreds of
YouTubes about all sorts of ways to make money online.

Topics to search for include, but are not limited to, work at home
business, internet marketing, side hustles, multiple streams of
income, passive income, affiliate marketing, etc.

Just keep going, you will be fine.

okay so that wasnt too bad to read through, i am slowly getting through everything and hope to reply to each of you guys, but did want to give an update

"All communication is a loving response or a cry for help" - Anthony Robbins

Life has been getting to me lately, been on this venture for a while and not seeing "good enough" results, and my marketing skills... well looking back.... very dull lol, the core concept is there, "value", but how to translate that into more concrete money making systems and methods that work, more complicated, especially when people are invovled, (i'm an empath and deal with alot of social anxiety throughout my life),

that was a good wake up call, my burning ship lol

I bought some udemy courses on social media marketing and web design that i've been getting through since i posted this, I realized my main issue was and always has been traffic, and now that i understand the core concepts of social media marketing (all udemy courses on sale for the next few hours by the way), i can see how to turn it around,

But there was a missing piece,

Funnel strategy,

I am re reading dotcom secrets now that i understand the social media piece and i think i get it now,

I have to / get to position myself as a digital marketing agency that utilizes video, organic and paid, to get results for my dream customers, (i had a psychological block that said "dont do paid ads", but now i realize that was a mistake)

but part of that is the value ladder, and actually using my services on myself to generate my own leads and sales,

"A business that has a boring front end offer will always struggle" - Russell Brunson

you guys were right,

Thank you

in a few ways I think you are missing the boat...

Your a creative person.. and yet you are allowing your creativity to be dictated by the actions and decisions of others... I dont care how good a marketer you may or may not be.. that is NOT a good position.

If you loved the act of film making for the sake of film making... well, you would have a job doing that and be happy... you dont - and the dont here implies there is more to the creative aspect of the process... you dont want to film other peoples stuff.

I say get a job... pay the bills and start CREATING... with youtube and youtube shorts at your finger tips... your missing the boat... you are forcing your creative hand... and your only client this year is a pain in the ----.

I would walk into a local business' and I mean literally walk in... hey I am a local videographer and working on my portfolio.. if its ok with you I would like to spend an hour or so and take some video of your business that I can post on my youtube channel, and in return I will post it on your google business listing - no money no charge free free and free.

Get back to your happy place... build a library of local videos... Post on Instagram like you are the mayor of the town you live in.

With youtube... views equal money.. a strong enough social push and business' will contact you to come do a video for them - 30 seconds $1000 - because you are no longer begging them for work with an expectation of getting paid - a really bad business model btw.

Just go out and give it away - no strings attached - BUT this time... its YOUR content - YOU are in control. Build the back end Social media - thats where YOUR money and happiness is. You will starve looking for clients - Just stop looking, and make it about YOU - hey im building a portfolio and will do this for free - no expectations on your part or theirs.

How do I know this works? for a whole lot of years now 10 to 20 times a week I walk into business' and ask if they would like to set up a FREE google business listing... and set it up for them and leave - no strings attached.- yeah I come back once the listing is approved and up... ask if they need any changes - then have an opportunity to share what it is I do... BUT there are absolutely no expectations.

Think of it as relationship building... some people you meet you hit it off with, and others you decide that is to many shades of crazy for me... professional relationships are the same thing - and they must be nurtured as such - your previous approach had to have been awkward at best - I would think right in there with begging.

Hey Im doing this for me ( my portfolio ) would you have the time today to do this? No charge.

It changes the dynamic of the ask... it more than implies you will be posting the effort - its for YOUR benefit - because NOW, you will be posting it on YOUR social media... and building a library of local business' - THIS is a working business model - with back end money

i realize after posting this that i was wayyyyy to hard on myself,

I totally discounted the fact that i pivoted in January to youtube for like 2 months and totally gave up on my videography business, i started a new channel, a new concept, doing review videos of things i buy off amazon and the internet in general, managed to get 2k views in 45 days lol, with 11 subs lol,

So the first 2 months i didnt even think of my videography business,

the other thing is that i started everything up again 4 weeks ago, and within that time, i followed up with everyone i ever worked with or inquired and managed to get 2 leads for $500 per month x 3 months retainer deals,

So theres that,

but to answer savidge, i realize after reading what you wrote, im not good at filmmaking, it doesnt come naturally to me, i dont really like the process of it, and its actually a weakness of mine, and most things come pretty naturally to me,

but yeah get your angle there,

so the thing i *decided* to do, is actually just to oursource the work then split the deals or tack a fee on top of videographers in my area and aim for recurring work,

im gonna work the deals, theyre gonna film, and ill deliver the overall marketing experience / results, everyones happy

i reached out to a good one near me and he was on board completely with the idea,

so wish me luck

I certainly relate to trying to market online, but because this is the type of business that is usually extremely local, real, old fashioned boots on the ground marketing is what you need. Attend chamber of commerce get-togethers in your area where you can and actually network, meet people and develop an elevator pitch that works.

I changed my habits, focused on what mattered most, and sought help when needed. By setting small achievable goals, staying positive, and learning from my mistakes, I gradually improved. Persistence and determination played a key role in turning things around, leading to a better outcome.