Studio Sherpas Podcast

What’s the first thing you think of when I mention the word “lawyer”? It’s ok, you can come out from under the bed. I know most of us creatives are easily scared off by the thought of lawyers, contracts, accounting and the like. We’ve all heard about hourly rates that are waaaay out of our price range, and we work with such great people that we’ll never actually need a contract to enforce to protect ourselves. Right? Colleen Bezich is not only a practicing attorney specializing in helping creatives with legal issues pertaining to their business, but a filmmaker herself. She knows how we think as creatives and is joins us on the podcast to bust some of the myths most of us have around the legal aspects of our business. I can’t even believe how many notes I took during the recording of this episode, covering everything from what type of business structure we should be set up as, what to include in our contracts to not only protect ourselves, but actually earn more money, to how to find cheap or even free legal

Do you ever feel like if only you could convince your wedding clients to get rid of the photographer on the wedding day your job would be so much easier, and your films would come out better? As videographers, most of us have felt this way at some point. But as today’s guest, Sachin Khona points out, the problem is not that there’s a photographer there vying for the same angles and moments as we are, it’s the fact that we don’t communicate and collaborate enough to help the day flow smoothly. In fact, approaching the day collaboratively with another creative can often lead to different angles and shots than we might capture on our own. Sachin is a Vancouver based wedding, portrait and street photographer who also puts on an annual conference in his hometown called The ARC Experience geared towards wedding photographers. He’s heard all the complaints from both videographers and photographers about working with each other, and shares some of his tips for how to ensure the wedding day goes smoothly and everyone

I know as well as anyone that it’s only too easy to focus on the tactical, hands on aspects of dealing with clients, chipping away at the never-ending to do list, and practicing our craft in an effort to maintain and grow our businesses. The thing is that when we do this, we often tend to get sucked in, overwhelmed, and burned out. Adrian Koehler is a performance coach who helps high-level entrepreneurs and teams improve their mental fitness and approach to business so that they can achieve the results they’re working towards. He has a history working as a crisis responder, and working with inmates in the prison system to improve their outlook on life. He’s found that with all of his clients, much of the struggle comes from the filters they view life through, and the stories they construct to explain their reality, many of which are not only not true, but are actively limiting our potential. Today we talk about how to maintain a healthy outlook that will not only help us achieve our business goals but help us

If you’ve been hanging around Sherpa land for a while, you know how passionate we are about building teams around ourselves so that we can live the lives we want and not be overwhelmed by our work, no matter how much we love it. Jordan Bunch is an Austin-based wedding filmmaker, and host of the Wedding Film Academy Podcast, who realized early on that by hiring a team, he could free up the time to be a better husband, father, neighbor, and person, focussing on the things that are really important to him in life. He didn’t stop there though. After hiring his first editor and seeing the impact on his business, he ran with it, and created two separate wedding film brands, both with unique approaches to the business. He shares today which roles in his team he feels are most important, how to build a team that you can trust and rely on, and getting over the fears a lot of us have around letting go of doing everything ourselves.   In this episode: Why Jordan created a second wedding brand not associated with his nam

Have you ever heard the phrase “content is king”? It’s a phrase that is sold to creatives the world over encouraging them to continue to put their best work. We’re told that if we do, sooner or later, we’ll catch our break and get discovered. The thing is, it’s not enough. Sure we need to be putting out quality work, but our work alone, no matter how good it is, will rarely get us where we want to go. Joe Simon has been working as a filmmaker and DP for 20 years. He transitioned from starting out as a professional BMX rider and filmmaker focusing on action sports, to a successful and in demand wedding film company, and then again transitioned into a commercial and corporate film brand. He now travels the world shooting TV shows for networks like CBS and CNN, and workign with brands such as Norwegian Cruise Line, TD Ameritrade, Oakley, and many, many others. Today, Joe shares how even after 10 years working in film, when he started his commercial brand The Delivery Guys, he still fell victim to the creative bi

Do you ever find yourself watching TV, and when a commercial for a big national or even international brand comes on, find yourself thinking, “I could’ve shot that.” Many of us believe we have what it takes to produce that same quality of work, but we have absolutely no idea about what it takes to break into the world of commercial advertising. If that sounds like you, do we ever have a treat for you today. Raj Dhillon is a freelance commercial TV producer from Toronto who works with some small brands you might have heard of like Heineken, Toyota, and oh, yeah McDonalds. Today she joins us on the podcast to walk us through everything we need to know if we would like to get established in the world of commercial advertising. She breaks down the entire process from concept to finished product, the people involved, and where we fit into the puzzle. She also lets us in on who exactly we need to be networking with, what producers like her are looking for in the reels we submit, and she also shares her story of bar

Quick question for you. If you wanted to take 8 weeks to volunteer in South America with limited wifi, is your business set up in a way that you could do it? If you’re anything like me, and most small film companies out there, I’m guessing the answer is no, and if that’s the case, then this is the perfect episode for you. Shannon Avery is the founder of Hoo Films, a California-based wedding film company currently shooting around 75 weddings per year all over the world. In addition to traveling for work however, Shannon routinely will take a few weeks off at a time to travel and recharge her creative batteries. Oh, and yeah, she’s planning on taking that 2 month trip to South America this winter, managing her team remotely. She didn’t always have the flexibility to do this however. Over the past 5 years she’s built her team in such a way to allow her the flexibility and freedom that she needs. She shares her secrets and processes that have allowed her to create the business that she always wanted (and the one

Ok, so first off I want to share that Matt and I were called out by one of our followers a couple of weeks ago about the lack of women we have on the podcast. This was by no means an intentional decision but rather a result of us just being better networked with male filmmakers and educators. We’re super appreciative of the feedback and we’re going to be making a much greater effort to find talented, strong, female filmmakers who can bring a different perspective to what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry (although not for long!) Jennifer Moon is the founder of Northernlight Filmworks, as well as The Posh Retreat, an annual conference focussed on women filmmakers and photographers that is going into its seventh year this fall. After 11 years in the film industry, she noticed how at pretty much every conference, the majority of speakers were male, and if there was a woman on stage, she was likely accompanied (and perhaps talked over) by her husband. As a passionate educator, she realized that the

Ok, so to be completely honest, I don’t even know how to sum up my conversation with today’s guest, Dane Sanders. I left our call completely jacked up, inspired, and motivated to be better, and I have a feeling this episode is going to do the same for you. 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 same, and why you should be focussing

We’re going to try something a bit different on the podcast this week, but I think you’re going to enjoy it. Since launching the Studio Sherpas podcast we’ve received a ton of questions both from listeners, as well as members of our Selling Like A Sherpa course, which we recently relaunched. In this episode we wanted to address some of the most common questions we get and give our take on how we approach the different challenges that come our way, and what’s worked (or not) for us. The questions in this episode come from a live Q&A call Matt and I did with Selling Like A Sherpa Members. We wanted to share one of the perks of being a member with the rest of our community and we hope that this episode answers some of the questions that you’ve been asking yourself! What do you think, should we do more Q&A type episodes? What are you still wondering about that we didn’t cover? Let us know in the comments! In this episode: • If you have an existing film business, how do you diversify your brands operationa

We’ve talked before on the show about how to start landing high end weddings and corporate clients, but I don’t know if anyone has ever laid out the strategy in such simple terms as today’s guest, Caleb Lee. Don’t be fooled by Caleb’s age, he’s been doing this for a long time and knows a thing or two about not only filmmaking, but running a successful business. At 16 he sold his landscaping business to invest in film gear before traveling the world for a year helping a charity produce videos of their projects. His first film? In the Himalayas in Nepal, no big deal… He now primarily focuses on high end destination weddings and shares with us how he was able to break into the world of celebrity, politician, professional athlete, and Fortune 500 company events and weddings. His secret? It’s all about networking with the right people, and he shares exactly who he was able to network with and how he approaches working with wedding vendors to keep booking big budget weddings, and getting to travel the world while d

Have you ever thought about moving past the solopreneur, one person band, or maybe husband/wife duo business model and build up a team around you? Those of us who have made the leap to hiring a team often only realized that we needed one after nearly working ourselves to death trying to do it all ourselves. Part of the reason is that most of us have absolutely no idea what makes a creative team click or how to hire a team where each member complements the skills and personalities of the others. David Aguilar of Archaius Creative, a SoCal post-productions house, started in the same place as many of us, wearing a ton of hats working first as a filmmaker before moving to a freelance editing role. He quickly realized however the drawbacks of doing it all himself, including backlog, stress, and a resentment of the work he once loved. Since then, David’s put a lot of thought into how to structure and hire a successful creative team, and the post-production house now has a staff of 11. Today he shares with us how he

Let’s face it: It can be hard being a self employed filmmaker. Not only do we have to worry about how to run our businesses better, find new leads, and keep the lights on, but we also need to continuously improve our craft and the finished products we deliver to our clients. Oh, and don’t forget that many of us have families and lives outside of our work, as much as we may love it. My conversation with Matt Thompson on the podcast this week took a bit of a turn from where I thought it might go. But Matt being Matt, he delivered some incredible insight as the theme of managing our relationships emerged over the course of our chat. Matt is the CEO of Blade of Grass Holdings, an umbrella company for SongFreedom, Fyrfly, Luna Music Group, and U Management. As you can imagine, with this many companies straddling the music and film worlds, Matt knows a thing or two about the importance of working with, and learning from other people. Furthermore, he’s proof that if you master this skill, success will find you in wh

We might not realize it, but a lot of us waste a huge amount of our client's time - and money - on set by being impractical in the way we approach our gigs. Dennis Abad is a Manila, Philippines based filmmaker, educator, and co-founder of Shoot Practical Videography. He and his partner founded the school after witnessing novice videographers botch jobs again and again, and deciding to do something about it. They place a heavy emphasis on the practical, what new filmmakers need to know to get started in the world of video and run a profitable business. A past student of our own, with our Selling Like A Sherpa Course, Dennis has seen how defining processes and systems have affected both his shooting and sales results, and heavily preaches the same approach to his own students. Today he shares some of the biggest mistakes he sees beginning filmmakers making, and gives us some tips on how to be more practical when it comes to our own work. When you look back at your own progression as a filmmaker, what were some

So many of us work primarily as corporate or wedding filmmakers - and love what we do - but have dreams of doing more. Of pursuing passion projects and making a living from them. It can be hard to know where to start, however. How can we set up our businesses in a way that allows us to expand and grow beyond our current client base? Abraham Joffe is an incredibly talented wildlife and travel filmmaker based in Sydney, Australia whose work you may have seen on a little network called Netflix with his show, Tales By Light. He’s traveled all over the world and filmed some of the most incredible cultures and creatures to be found on Earth. But Abraham didn’t start out this way. In fact, he had an established wedding and corporate film business before he was presented with the opportunity to pursue something bigger. Today he shares with us how he had already set up his business to allow him the flexibility to take his chance and run with it when it came. He also talks about how pursuing unpaid passion projects all

Most of us didn’t get into filmmaking in the first place to take on clients and run businesses. When we picked up a camera for the first time and were captivated by what we could do with it, it was because we ourselves had something to say. Our own story to share. The deeper into the world of film we dove however, the more we realized that it seems all but impossible to bring our passion projects to life in a sustainable way. Sure, we could invest thousands of hours and vast amounts of money to complete a project, but most of us will never see enough return on that investment to justify ever undertaking another one. This sucks. For all of us. Patrick Moreau is racking up his Studio Sherpas frequent flyer miles and returning to the podcast to share how he and his team are bringing their new original content series The Remarkable Ones to life. Patrick knows a thing or two about heartbreak and failure when it comes to creating original content and putting it out there. His feature documentary Stand With Me - des

As filmmakers, most of us spend the majority of our time thinking about how we can best tell the stories of our clients. When it comes to our own businesses however, we often neglect to think about the stories that make us unique and might help us connect with new prospects. Bill Baker is the Founder and Principal of BB & Co. Storytelling, a company that helps brands—and the leaders, teams, and organizations behind them—work smarter by leveraging the timeless power of strategic storytelling. Bill encourages brand leaders to look inward, defining their vision for the world, their point of view, and the story that brought them to where they are today to help them introduce more meaning to them, their workforce and ultimately, their customers. This episode is chock full of actionable steps you can implement today to help clarify and convey to clients who you are as a brand and what you stand for. From website tips, to how to boost your sales process, to how to use story to move your own business forward, Bil

A few years into my video career I got a big time scare. Not one, but two filmmaker friends of mine were sued by big record labels for using unlicensed music on a couple of videos that happened to go viral. I’m ashamed to admit it now, but during my first few years making videos, I didn’t even know what music licensing was, let alone pay for it. I wanted to support artists, but I couldn’t afford to license mainstream bands like Coldplay or the Black Eyed Peas and the royalty free music that was available… Well, let’s just say it was less than inspiring. Artlist is one of the most exciting of a number of music licensing companies that have sprung up in the wake of a spate of lawsuits against filmmakers in recent years. They feature incredibly high-quality music at a seriously insane price, and their interface is designed entirely with creatives in mind. My companies and I use them constantly and they’ve been a godsend for our business. Artist Manager for Artlist Jeremiah Benzion is on the podcast today to talk

Have you ever come across a tool that makes you business run so much more smoothly that you would gladly pay 5x the price for it and still feel like it’s a steal? Yeah, me too, and for me, Wipster is one of those tools. Wipster is something of a “Google Docs for video”, allowing for commenting and collaborating right on top of the video, where it makes sense. You can even export those comments into your Premiere timeline to keep them front of mind when doing a round of revisions. It makes collaborating with clients and other members of my team SO much easier than it was in the past. Seriously, this tool couldn’t have come around sooner for me and my business, it’s that good. Not only does the Wipster team have an amazing product (they actually don’t feel like they even need to sell to customers), they are deeply in tune with the pulse of the industry and where it’s headed. Content Marketing Manager Hayley Jordan and Partnership Marketing Manager Andre Van Den Assum join me on the podcast today to talk about w

If you’re anything like me, when you first started your creative business, literally the last thing you wanted to be spending your time on was selling. For me, it was all about creating emotional films that moved people, but as I took on more work and got busier and busier I ended up spending less time shooting and more time selling. Besides the fact that I wasn’t spending as much time doing what I loved, the problem was that I had no idea what I was doing when it came to sales. No way to guide potential clients to the conclusion that my work was worth more than what somebody else down the street was charging. I had always assumed that my work would speak for itself, but was realizing that this was not the case. Matt and I (Ryan) got together this week to discuss how building out a defined sales process has changed our businesses, and how it can do the same for yours. For each of us, the moment when we actually put a sales process in place was a pivotal turning point for our businesses, freeing up our time to