How to Adapt Your Video Business to Survive & Thrive in The Next 30 days - Shorty EP #078

G', day, guys. Tuesday the 7th of April here for another shorty this week on week 15 of 2020. So I had the great fortune yesterday of spending 30 minutes with a shark from Shark Tank, Andrew Banks here in Australia.

Ben Simkin, my mentor, he was on the podcast last week, facilitated a call with his high level Mastermind members. Spend 30 minutes with Andrew Banks, who is, you know, if you're from the uk, he's like the equivalent of Peter Jones from that show, what they call Dragon's Den. Now that in itself might seem like not that big a deal to most people, but what I think we've got to do is look at it from the point of view of what is his experience.

His net worth, some in the region of $350 million, has been in business a very long time and has ridden through a lot of financial crisis. And what he said yesterday on the call was really interesting. He said.

What we're experiencing here is something very unique and that is, you know, that demand has been crushed temporarily. That's really what's going on, is that demand. You know, 7 billion people on the planet have been told to stay at home. So what you said was you've got to respond very quickly and now is absolutely the time to act and certainly don't assume this will blow over in a few weeks. So what we did today on our coaching call with my members was we focused on revising the strategic plan. And the strategic planning process is something we've done. We do every quarter and we review every quarter. We also review every month. And normally what we do at this stage we'd be reviewing the next three months. But actually what we're doing now was just focusing on the next 30 days. So what we did today was really focused on revising the plan and executing without excuse because we need a high level of accountability. And I wanted to just share a story.

I, you know, I've seen a lot of people online really just throwing the towel in. And let's be clear, you know, this is a tough situation for a lot of businesses, but it's also a great opportunity for a business if you're strong in video production, certainly in Australia. Here we're still able to go out and shoot, albeit in a very, very minimal way. And I appreciate if you're in the US that that's largely on lockdown just now. But I also want to be clear that we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. The curve is flattening in Australia and I believe in Taiwan and Singapore, similar stories. So we do know that right measures in place, this will start to slow down and hopefully be able to get some, some, you know, regularity back in whatever form that might be. But we can't assume this will blow over quickly. And so what you have to do now if you want to survive is pivot your business and start offering different services. My advice as well is, is to sort of not, you know, don't refer to COVID 19 in your marketing because the whole planet now knows what's going on. And so I don't think it's going to serve you to speak about it in your marketing. And on our coaching call today, we actually reflected on the fact that, you know, most of our members are just a really kind of strong. And look, we all have wobbles and the community is there to support people through no matter how they're feeling. But the real kind of focus of energy in the group is can do. It's like, what can we do? And I looked this morning, was it two, four, eight different videos on LinkedIn in the last week, each from different members of my community who were just pushing out value and helping their community, helping their MAP network. So the very best thing you can do is reach out to your clients and over communicate with them. And by that I don't mean send them an email and say, hey, how's it all going? You know, hope, hope you, if need any help, I'm here. You got to get on the phone, guys. You got to form people up, call them up and ask them how they are and, and then say, look, how can I support you? What can I do to support and help you? That's really going to be the key to, to getting through this. And yeah, you know, a lot of the guys in the group, they're leveraging each other, they're supporting each other, they're doing joint ventures, they're helping each other out. So, you know, you, you want to have a community right now who can support you. In fact, Andrew Banks made this point that, you know, having a community around you that support you in times of challenge is absolutely critical. You know, he, he said himself he's been a member of mastermind groups for many, many years. And you know, it's the kind of thing that you can't do this alone. He actually says exact words were, you're going to improve your chances of success and restrict the likelihood of making dumb decisions when you're part of a mastermin.

And you know, I've been a member of various mastermind groups for the last eight years. And I run my own, the Video Business Accelerator. I talk about it every week. They're immensely powerful. You know, for example, you can just have like a rambling thought about a challenge that's going on in your business and you can articulate that on a call and someone will help formulate a plan of action. But most of all, you're not alone. And I think that's why, you know, I want you, if you're listening to this, if you're sitting there thinking, what do I do? Then reach out, because we can have a call. I am open to bringing people into the group right now. We do have a qualification process, but it's not, it's really just to make sure we get the right people. But if you want to be part of a group of people who are taking action, who are winning work, who are battling against this, this current situation and attacking it with a strategic to get results, then I encourage you to reach out and let's have a chat and see if it's a good fit because it really is very powerful. We are, we are seeing some incredible.

Attitudes, some incredible approaches at a time when.

A lot of the talk and a lot of the chatter online is of, oh my God, it's all over, I've got a sign on, my business is over. And here's the kind of unpopular truth about that, is that this is going to kill off the cowboys. And by cowboys, I mean someone who's got a DSLR or a small camera kit, no overheads, and is going out and has been undercutting the market for the last few years. They're dead on arrival. It's as simple as that. There's nothing in the tank. I hear stories of people who've just leveraged too much on gear and, and you know, kind of I've got too much to pay back or recently bought new laptops. And, you know, it's going to be a tough lesson for many and a lot are not going to survive. But from a business perspective, as a, as a video production company who's a professional, who runs a business, this is going to create a great opportunity because it's going to clear the market out. And so if you are a robust company and you see opportunity in this, we're discussing every week on our calls, you know, who's doing what, what's coming through. We had one client this morning who I suggested last week, if you call someone, make sure you call them. Three back to back. First time person didn't pick up. Second time person Pick up. Third time they picked up and they were a bit like, oh, why are you calling me? I'm really busy. But by the end of the call was saying thank you for reaching out to give support. Now that's the, that's the level of persistence that we coach in the accelerator. You know, there's a famous expression here in Australia which is, we're not here to fuck spiders. And never more true has it been than at this time. Because you have to, you have to survive first and then pivot and thrive and move quickly. It's not something you just can't kind of ride this out thinking, well, I hope the government gives me some money and then I'll be okay. Certainly you want to be protecting your cash flow just now and deferring longer term investment spending, but really asking yourself the question, you know, what are your customers and clients going through? And build muscle to get ready for what's coming next and focus on what you can control. You have to have your head straight. Now is not a time to be consuming the wrong kind of news. I mean, I, I refuse to consume the television news and I refuse to enter into debates, debates about conspiracy. And it's not that I'm not aware that there is an element of truth potentially in all of those things, but I'm focusing on responding and now is absolutely the time to act. This is where I want to be focusing my energy and attention on what can I control, what can I influence?

You know, Andrew Banks said yes, he said, if it's to be, it's up to me. Think about that. If it's to be, it's up to me. So I want you listening to this to be going, am I doing enough to win this battle? Because it is a battle, you know, don't be the rabbit cotton headlights and think this will blow over in a few weeks. That are new ways of generating revenue. We talk about them weekly in our group. We're always looking at the new ways, be it doing remote filming, be it, you know, repurposing zoom calls, but also working out ways in which you can. We talked this morning about the fact if you use ECAMM Live and Skype, you can actually soften the background and make a better looking image. So we're constantly looking at some practical things as well. But we're now playing in a fully digital universe and there's nothing that can't be cut through in a digital world. You know, it's absolutely where things are going to be. So you want to be pivoting your offer in some way to a digital offering. And then really for the next 30 days you want to be focused on revenue generation, coming up with new products and services and really over communicating with your clients. That is the key.

And I actually going to be hopefully on Thursday if we get the edit done in time. Did two amazing podcasts with Soumy Aryan Swami. Aryan is UK's number one top voice. Sami was a client of mine a number of years ago when we first started the program and is now a serial entrepreneur and investor. And we caught up and we did two amazing podcasts on, you know, partly what's happening just now, but also how to pivot and they're going to be coming out later this week. But seriously guys, if you have been sitting on the fence thinking about whether or not you should get involved in coaching, I can tell you that now has never been a better time just to reach out and get that support. If you're interested, please DM me. We'll have a chat. We'll figure it out. As I say this, this is the time where the rubber meets the road. So guys, have an awesome week and remember to keep taking action. 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@denleny.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. See you next week.