What is the Video Business Accelerator Anyway? EP #138 - Den Lennie

G', day, guys. Dan. Lenny here with the how to Scale a Video Business podcast. This week I'm actually going to address something that I realize I haven't really spoken about in great detail.

And that is the Video Business Accelerator and what it actually is. I realize I've spoken a lot about it and refer to it frequently and we often talk about the calls that we have with our members, but someone actually messaged me the other day and then I've been listening to your podcast for a while and I've heard you talk about the Video Business Accelerator. Like, what is it? And can you explain it in a little more detail? Because I'm interested.

And so I realized that, you know, and this is the result of, you know, probably doing too much.

All at once. I've just come off a call with my virtual assistant, my marketing assistant, actually, Milka, and we were talking about some of the stuff we've been doing and she's really been stepping up her marketing game recently. And I, and I actually don't give her any other anything other than like a folder full of stuff. And she does everything else. So it's, that's part of what we teach in the accelerators, you know, leveraging the help of other people and expanding your team so you can do more. So I thought what I'd do today is actually explain to you. If you're wondering what the Video Business Accelerator is, if you're looking to permanently improve your work life balance and at least double your profits in the process, then this is the only coaching program in the world that's dedicated exclusively for video business owners. It's an online coaching program and it's really a tried and tested blueprint that you need to feel comfortable and confident in your video production business so you can finally achieve the freedom you always wanted. We start a business and we're looking for freedom. And if you run your own business, you know that all you've got is a very poorly paid job with terrible hours. So if you ever wish you ran a video production company that actually generated regular inquiries and made consistent sales and never stressed you out that it might be something you're looking for, you know, maybe you've been dreaming of a stable, reliable business that doesn't keep you up at night worrying where the next job's coming from. I know, I remember my early days, you know, those, those horrible middle of the night kind of panics of like, how am I going to pay the bloody mortgage next month? You know, this, this job hasn't come in yet. This this check hasn't come in yet. And you know, you want. You want a business that means when you wake up in the morning, you've got a smile on your face, you're looking forward to the day, not stressed about it, you know, and you want to be ready to grab the day by the horns and give it your all, not be like, oh, my God, I've got to figure this problem out. If you want a business that gives you freedom in your professional and personal life so you can go out and do the things you love with the people you love, then you know the truth is, a business that provides financial, professional and personal freedom, it really is achievable. But maybe you've got that nagging feeling that you're just overworked. Maybe you're lacking stability and struggling to get the business to where you really want it to be. Right now, it could just be that you just don't quite know how to make a positive change on your own. So I want you to ask yourself this. Has owning your own video business been everything you dreamed it would be when you first got started? Now, it might be hard to admit, but think about whether you're genuinely achieving everything you set out to when you made the decision to grab your camera and go alone. Are you really working less? Are you really earning more? Are you really. Are you really in control? Now, the chances are you're bloody good at what you do, but you're having to work your ass off 70 hours a week or more, whether it's filming, editing, marketing, or any of the other jobs that come with being, you know, the boss of your own video company. You know, when you're managing projects, you're desperately searching for new clients and worried about cash flow, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture or just make any real progress. You know, you end up kind of chasing your tail on that roller coaster. Let's face it, that stress is the last thing you need when you're trying to run a profitable company, one that supports you and the people you care about. Now, video business owners everywhere are making a habit of burning out. So if you're answering hell yes to any of these questions, you might be heading the same way and in need of some help. Are you suffering from the freelancer curse and struggling to grow your business? And you're reactive, not proactive, operating at breakneck speed just to stand still? Or are you working long hours on tasks that could be handled by someone else? And if you're racking up more than 20 hours a week on editing or admin activities. There's a problem there. Are you feeling stressed and under pressure in your business on a daily basis? And are you always fighting fires because you haven't created any proper systems and you don't know how, frankly? Or are you worried about your pipeline of new inquiries and future financial success and you feel like it's either feast or famine with no stability in your revenue? We all know that one, right? Are you unsure on the best ways to attract higher quality, bigger budget clients? And so you end up feeding on scraps because it's the best you can get right now? And are you getting frankly lonely in your business and sacrificing quality time with family? You know those, those Sunday nights you go into the edit suite to finish a grade that you've just got to get done by Monday morning or you're working late into the Friday night or getting up early on a Saturday morning to work. Are you feeling like you're getting further away from where you wanted to be when you started? So that's where the Video Business Accelerator Coaching program comes in. Because you can take the first step on your journey to a successful business that doesn't control your life. You know, with my unique coaching program, you'll learn all the tools you need to get completely confident in the success of your video business. And how do I know? Because this is video has been my life for the last 26 years. And I'm not kidding. I filmed with Robbie Williams, Tom Cruise, Duran Duran, Cristiano Ronaldo, done stuff for Oprah. I've traveled to over 60 countries around the world and I helped Sony design, you know, their first ever large sensor camcorder, the FS100. And I've shot multiple projects for Sony since, you know, I've been there, done that, and I've frankly got the SD card, in fact many of them and compact flashcards and all sorts of other media. You know what it's like. But now I focus solely on using my experience to help people like you get the lifestyle you've always wanted. Together we can create a stable, reliable video business that doesn't keep you up at night worrying where the next job coming from. And let me, let me share a bit more about how that works. So the Video Business Accelerator Coaching program is your one stop shop for creating a stable, profitable video business. Now whether you're a freelancer stuck at 10k a month or even getting to 10k a month, or a boutique production company looking for proven systems to scale your operations, or an established company Ready to double down on your success. This program has you covered. It gives you the tools to go from chaos to clarity in your business and make that shift from overwhelmed to frankly overjoyed. You'll have everything you need to take the first step on your journey to a successful business that doesn't control your life. Now, if you're interested in applying for the Video Business Accelerator, you can take that first step and regain control of your business and achieve so much more. And you can stop working every hour under the sun only to see limited progress. You know, when you're a business owner, you want to work hard. But there's a fine line between effort and burnout. And it's even worse when your constant effort doesn't seem to get you any results or better results. So the VBA coaching program is going to teach you how to work smarter, not harder, and break that freelance curse of doing everything yourself. You're going to reduce your stress levels and earn predictable regular income. We've all been there, okay? Living from project to project almost as if you're starting from scratch every month. And the truth is, there's nothing quite as worrying as not having a consistent revenue stream. That's why the VBA program is designed to teach you how to develop systems that win predictable work on a regular basis. You'll learn how to generate inquiries from high quality clients you actually want to work with. If you're working with low level clients who don't pay well and aren't great to work with, the VBA coaching program can help you make a change. It demonstrates exactly how you can generate inquiries from high quality clients with money to spend, all so you can have a more pleasant working experience and boost your bottom line. Now this next line. It's not an understatement. You can at least double your profits and scale fast by developing proven processes that get results. I've been doing this a while and my clients are getting results consistently. So if you're stuck at a certain level of business, it's very easy to get frustrated. But you don't need to be. The VBA coaching program gives you a clear path forward to boost revenue, slash costs and expand your operations quickly. And it helps you put the right systems in place so you can take a step back and get out of the habit of doing day to day tasks. And of course, we all want to be creative. So you're going to learn how you can express your inner creativity and passion for video production. Finally. You know you probably got into this industry because you love creating videos. The problem is when you're up against the wall with project management, invoicing, lead gen and everything in between, you might find yourself wearing too many hats and lacking passion for your business. The VBA Coaching program helps you find motivation again and focus on the parts of the business you enjoy the most. And I want to help you create a business that finally allows you to experience true freedom. Now the chances are you start this business to have more control over your life and not spend your days firefighting and troubleshooting business issues every day of the week. The VBA Coaching program is going to show you how to reduce your hours while boosting your productivity so you can start building a business that lets you do the things that you love. Now, often I get asked, you know, what do you actually get in the Video Business Accelerator Coaching program? Well, think of it as a proven toolkit for future success.

The program is an online coaching program based on seven unique growth accelerators designed to scale your operations quickly. It helps you grow your business with support from its ambitious community of like minded video business owners. Now, once you're accepted into the program, you'll get instant access to insider knowledge that teaches you how to delegate, create systems, follow processes and run successful marketing campaigns in a way that massively boosts performance. Here's just some of the incredible benefits you'll get. You get comprehensive in depth training videos focused on seven key methodologies including mindset, lead generation, sales training, data done for you, systems and client nurturing. You get a whole bank of incredible assets including scripts, templates, agreements, contracts and step by step practical instructions that work for your business. You also get weekly coaching support and accountability to keep you on track. From me, a real world video expert who actually knows the specific problems of your business inside out. Because I've lived and breathed them myself and you get direct access to me and my wealth of experience in the video production industry to give your business the best chance of success in the future. And you know, each and every module has been carefully created to take you from overwhelmed to overjoyed in your video business. So let me take you through the modules. In Module 1 we look at business foundations. You know to build a video business empire you have to lay solid foundations. You're going to learn how to do those basics right from day one and scale faster in the future. Module two is Strategic Planning. Prior planning prevents poor performance and in this section we look at planning your year strategically and assessing where you are in the business growth journey. Module three is Mindset. Everything starts and ends with stories that have been coded since childhood. We talk about your belief systems and how to manage any major limiting beliefs. Then we get into marketing in module four and those are the marketing essentials. How to market your video business. Everything is marketing and marketing is everything. This section goes deep on strategy and tactics to help you attract ideal clients that you want to work with. In Module 5 we go deeper into generating leads and inquiries. No leads means no sales and while word of mouth has got you to this point, we're going to create a systemized lead flow and sales pipeline to generate consistent inquiries. Then in module six, we're going to look at sales and selling. Now, sales aren't dirty and the sales process, when handled in the right way, is an absolute service to your clients. This section shares a whole load of resources to help you close more, including sales, scripts, what to say and how to say it. Once you start to scale, we look at module 7, which is video business systems. Systems have the power to help you find freedom. So this is an in depth module that breaks down everything you need to know about creating your own processes. And finally module 8 is leadership and team building. As you scale, you're going to have to start thinking about getting some external support and leveraging other people. You know you can't build and scale a business alone. So whether you choose to have in house staff or work with a remote team of contractors, we'll discuss how leadership starts with you. Now, as long as you're a subscribed member of the VBA coaching program, you're going to get all of this. You're going to get all of my insider tips, tricks and training. You need to run your own profitable video production business without constant stress. You're going to have the ability to kick that freelancer curse and create a stable video production company that earns predictable income. And you're going to have clarity and control over what's required to double your operating profits with higher quality clients that are dream to work with. You'll get the proven systems and processes that let you boost performance and spend time with your family and friends. And you'll be completely calm in your business without worrying about burnout or where the next paycheck is going to come from. And of course, ongoing support from a community of like minded business owners who want to see you succeed on a big scale. That's why so many people use this mentorship and accountability program to achieve all of the video business goals. And we've got some incredible success stories from clients. You know, Tim, you know, had three consecutive six Figure quarters. Caleb has recently, you know, doubled and then tripled his monthly revenue to the point where he's got to hire more team. Craig was really skeptical at first, but really helped him turn his business around. And you know, the way I see it, you've got two options. Okay, you keep struggling. Option one, with the freelancer curse of going from job to job, you keep working far too many hours for far too little reward. And you keep missing family events because you're editing something or shooting something that should have been done two weeks ago. I'm not far off the mark here, right, am I? Or option two, you apply for the only coaching program on the planet tailored to people in your exact position and start your journey to a stable video business that makes you money, doesn't steal your time and helps you find the freedom you've always wanted to. It's kind of a no brainer, right? You know, with the video business accelerator coaching program, a stable, profitable video business with new reach. So if you're ready to learn, grow and build a better business with the support of an incredible community of video professionals, now's your chance. Now the first thing you've got to do is you can go to my website, denleny.com and click the free training or indeed click on the accelerator program and from there you can apply. Now, on this process, I want to be really clear. We don't take everyone. You know, we're looking for a specific type of person and we used to have a kind of a threshold of revenue which was $250,000 a year. We've since modified that slightly because what we're finding is that if you're not quite at that revenue, Maybe you're only 100,000 a year or maybe even less. But if you have the right attitude, then we'll always be interested in talking to you. Now, the truth is you've got to be doing between 6 and 10,000 US a month to be able to afford to do the program. And that's because we obviously have a fee that we charge to be part of the program, which is it's fairly priced, it's not as much as you think, and it's more than fair for the value that you get. I often say to people, you know, I don't take a percentage of your future profits, but I charge a certain fee up front and that's a monthly fee. And, and what we also do is we don't tie you in. This isn't a coaching program where you have to sign up for a year. We invite you in if we do indeed offer you a place for an initial term of three months. And then at that point we, we discuss, you know, if it's going to be a good fit for both of us for you to continue. And I'm pleased to say for the most part we have members that have been with us, you know, well over a year and they're there every month because they're getting a huge amount of value and some people stay a short amount of time and that's okay as well. But what we find is that the members that stay the longest get the most consistent and most predictable results. And that is what I want for you. I want to, to remove that feast and fam that, that roller coaster that, that we are so used to as freelancers and start to predict income on a weekly and monthly basis. I've got a number of clients now who are booked all the way through to the end of the year and are now booking into January. And in our industry that is rare. And it's, and it's rare because what typically happens is people rely entirely on word of mouth. And word of mouth can get you so far. But as we've seen this year, that we've had a pretty unusual year in 2020 and that's no longer enough. You have to have marketing systems, you have to have the ability to spend time and energy on nurturing leads and inquiries. And there are ways you can do that that won't cost you any money, but you do need to put some time into it. So anyway guys, I just thought I'd share that with you. It is probably the first time I've actually talked in detail about what the accelerator is and we're up to about 132 episodes. We've always touched on it, but I thought it was useful to actually give you an insight to what it is. And if it's something that you have been curious about, then I encourage you to go to the website and watch the free training or go straight to the accelerator page and apply today. At the end of the day all we can do is have a conversation and on that conversation I'll learn more about your business and if I feel we can help you, then we've got a couple of different ways in which we can work. We don't just have the accelerator program. We're also going to be launching a training only version. So if you're not quite ready for the, for the Mastermind, there'll be a way for you to do the training in your own time in an eight week program that we're launching very shortly as well. So the way, the way to find out about that is just to apply today. And, you know, and it's always useful to talk to other filmmakers and see where you're at and if we can offer any support and help, you know, then we'd be happy to do so. All right, guys, I'll talk to you soon.

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.