Highlights of 2020. EP #144 - Den Lennie

Hey, guys, it's Dan Eleni here on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2020. That's Christmas Eve, of course, isn't it? With episode 144 of the how to Scale a Video Business Podcast. We keep it pretty short today because it is Christmas Eve, and I just wanted to sort of, you know, maintain the continuity of the show by not missing a be.

Because the thing, of course, is important in all business is continuity and consistency. So I don't want to let myself down or let you down, who've been loyal listeners.

So I was just gonna focus today on, I guess, the best moments of 2020, because there's lots of focus on the worst moments. But what about some of the best moments? My proudest moments this year are the journeys that my video business accelerator clients and course clients have been on. Smashing through goals, taking control of their business and life, and not allowing external forces to influence and control the outcomes they have in their business. And we've had some just phenomenal, phenomenal success stories, as she, you know, Derek got absolutely smashed by Covid and was really struggling, but he stuck with the program. We worked with them to get his business back on the ground. He totally transformed how he was doing things and got himself back up to ten grand just a few months later. And then, inspired by some of the members, went out and secured a $75,000 project. And so, you know, just phenomenal case study. Or Caleb, who's just had an enormous growth this year, who, who started with us just the beginning of COVID and was sort of making 10 grand a month, had closed off his year on a $45,000 a month, is now employing a second employee. So seeing him grow and, and, and, and shine is just phenomenal. You know, Andrew's had a massive year. Ryan's had a massive year. Tom's had a massive year. Tim's had a massive year. So many, so many people have just, you know, persisted and kept going. And I think that's, that's one of the highlights for me is that business is hard and the world will always throw obstacles at you, but if you don't give up and if you stay focused and stay committed and stay consistent, you get the results. You know, I've had some, on the flip side, some really quite entertaining calls with, with potential clients this year who haven't ended up being a good fit for us. And the thing that I take away from speaking to literally 50, 60 businesses this year for, for a good period of time, like an hour, an hour and a half, is the difference between those businesses that succeed and those that fail. And the number one trait is, is a sense of reality versus a perception of their own reality. And, and what I mean by that is the members that have taken the action and joined us and work with us have a very, very solid handle on reality and they have equal perception of the downside of any project and also the upside. What I've observed with, with other people who have perhaps not been a good fit for us is that they're, they're, they're stuck in their own reality. You know, phrases like, oh, I think I'll be okay, you know, I've always got by on word of mouth and I'm pretty optimistic about how things will go.

Versus, you know, taking acts actually massive action to determine their future outcomes by not leaving it to chance. The businesses that I've seen fall by the wayside this year and suffer really deep cuts are the ones who just threw their arms in the air and went, oh well, I guess I can't, I can't do anything about it. You know, demand's gone versus the businesses now that are shining and thriving and are about to take a Christmas break with plenty of cash in the bank jobs well into January, as opposed to the ones who are literally panicking or you know, I suppose to someone recently who had like one main client and, and they were just like, they were like, feel a bit vulnerable. It's like not kidding, like one of anything's terrible, a terrible idea. So you know, but look, you know, we can't help everyone and nor would we want to. And we're pretty, pretty selective about who we work with. But what I have been excited about is in the last month or so we've, we've just started releasing the Video Business Accelerator course to the market and we've seen a number of people join that really quite quickly and it's really thrilling to be able to serve that side of the market. You know, up until just recently we could only rework with businesses who were doing 10,000amonth plus.

But now that we've got some more capacity because our business has grown, therefore we have more resources, we're able to offer the course as well. And that's for you. If you're doing three to five thousand a month or two to five or just under five thousand a month and you want to get, you know, your business off the ground. We've, we've got the access to the Video Business Accelerator course training which is the same training that my high end mastermind students get Just without the coaching. So we're able to make it a little more affordable and a little more accessible, but you can still work at your own pace to get the results. And it's been just fascinating watching the new members come through that program. So, you know, we, we're really thrilled, you know, 11 years in business this year, we've, we've reinvented ourselves many times to adapt to market conditions, but our focus for the last two years has really just been the video business accelerator. And it's so exciting to be able to release a kind of a version of that that's more accessible, you know, if you're a filmmaker who's, you know, be still freelancers who'll be doing three to five grand a month and hasn't quite reached that ten grand a month mark. And the reason we keep the 10,000amonth mark as a benchmark is that at $10,000 a month, you have some spare cash to invest in marketing. You're no longer in feast and famine mode. You're no longer in kind of, you know, robbing Peter to pay Paul. Cash in, cash out. You have a bit of reserve, but, but it, it's a lot of work to get there. And what we've done is we've broken that down into eight accelerators, which we talked about a couple of weeks ago in the podcast, in fact, last week, the eight growth accelerators. So if you want to understand more about that, then, then you can go and check that out. But I'm really excited to, to kind of wrap this year up. I think it's actually been a f. A fantastic year for people being more conscious. A fantastic year to be more aware. A fantastic year to recognize that the grit and resilience needed to grow a business was, was kind of forced through a massive magnifying glass. And, and frankly, those that aren't surviving or haven't had a, an easy year, you know, I want to probably encourage you to go and take a look at yourself and ask yourself, why not? Because if we blame external forces for everything that happens in our life, then we're fucked. And as, as Jocko Willink would say, you know, just, you know, get, get out of the pond and like, start taking responsibility. And if you don't like that, then tough shit, because that is what it's like to run a business. Nobody cares about whether you succeed or fail. And I think one of the dangers that a lot of creative people fall into is that they just get a little bit too emotional about the fact that, you know, they're creative. And I had this conversation with someone recently where it's like, there's a time and place for your creativity, which is on set, developing scripts, developing the creative part of the process. But a business needs structure. A business needs discipline. A business needs form. It needs. It needs consistency. And that can be a challenge for us as creators. But I've learned through doing and learned through working with a lot of people that if you. If you develop a grit and a resilience and you follow a trusted process, you will get the results. Anything beyond that, if you're not getting results and you're following the process, it's because of something. If you're not getting results, rather, it's because of something you're not doing. And the best thing you can do over this Christmas break is really think long and hard about, you know, are you giving your business everything you can to make it succeed, or are you coming up with excuses and reasons why it's not worked? Are you blaming external forces? Because whenever you catch yourself blaming an external force for something that's not gone right in your life, what you're actually doing is looking in the mirror and saying, I haven't done something here. And so I'm looking externally to see if I can justify why it hasn't worked. And it's a tough lesson. And I learned it through Jocko Willink, and I'd learned it through, you know, just being married and realizing that, you know, the world doesn't revolve around me. And.

It'S a very brutal lesson, but one that you might want to reflect on this holiday season, which is, you know, if you're not getting the results you want, are you telling yourself stories about why that is, or are you actually looking in the mirror and saying, you know what? No, I really have tried everything in my power to do to get the result. I've worked evenings and weekends to make this work. Or are you spending more time on Netflix? Are you spending more time on your computer looking at the latest bit of gear? Because that is not going to get you the results. And so if you want results going into next year, you need to find someone who's got a plan, who's got a strategic objective, who's got a roadmap that you can follow, and that whether that's with me or someone else, like, you know, it doesn't matter. The point is you should commit to your business. If, you know, even 30% of the people that I speak to put as much effort into their business and personal development. As they do into buying gear and lenses and cameras and rigs, rigs and tripods and sliders and gimbals, like their business would be more successful. I did a survey a couple of years ago and like, literally, on average, people had spent in excess of £30,000 or dollars on equipment, depending on where they were, and only like three on their own development, if that. And so I guess what I'm trying to say is that until you take responsibility for yourself and until you actively go out and, you know, you know, you know, actually own it, own the fact that if your business is not more successful, it's because something you're not doing, it might just be as simple as you need to just work harder or. And more and more and more specifically, you know, we did an episode a couple of weeks ago about Inbox Zero, and all of my members have committed to Inbox Zero and the clarity they're having as a result is phenomenal. But, you know, the point is, is that it's usually over Christmas New Year, when we sit down and we reflect and we think about, you know, all the things that have come and gone. And there will be many, many people sitting around Christmas tables this year over the holiday season going, oh, my God, I can't wait for 2020 to be over. Because then, like, somehow, magically, 2021 is going to be better. Not necessarily. Not if you come at it from the same perspective. You know, the definition of madness is, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. So if you want a different result next year.

Differently, and by showing up differently, I mean, maybe change how you're doing things radically and step into fear and actually embrace it with a strategic plan and actually build your business and do it properly. And, and we can help you with that. But if we're not right for you, then maybe someone else does. But, but, but what I'm going to say to you is, is that we have a proven system that is getting our members phenomenal results. The question is, are you ready for that? Are you ready to take on next year and have phenomenal results? Because we've got the roadmap, we've got the system, we've to prove it, we're seeing it again and again. This is a proven system. And I, I couldn't be more excited to work with new businesses next year and continue to work with my existing businesses. And we have a very large number of our membership now in the Video Business Accelerator who've been with us well over a year and, and there's nothing keeping them there other than the results.

So, yeah, that's, that's my kind of little end of the year rant. I think it's a great time to just, you know, let it all out. I can't wait to get stuck into 2021. We're going to take a good long break now for a couple of weeks, certainly, which is a long break for us. I'm pre recording this, so I already, I'll already be on the, on the champagnes, enjoying some quiet time with my wife and friends up here in Noosa. And just to wish you all a very happy Christmas and, you know, enjoy, enjoy the downtime and, and think about how you want to show up next year. Until then, guys, I'll see you later. You've been listening to the how to Scale a Video Business podcast with me, your host, Dan Lenny. If you're a video business owner who's hit a ceiling and we benefit from mentorship, support and coaching, then check out how you can work with me over@denlenny.com. don't forget to subscribe and rate the show over on itunes. And we'd really appreciate you taking a few minutes to leave a review. And don't forget to share. If you feel you've gotten value from this episode and you think it would be useful for other filmmakers you know, then please do me a massive favor and share it on social media and in groups that you might be in. So thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.