How This Real Estate Video Agency 3X His Business - Master Filmmaker Review

What's going on, guys? I'm here with one of our clients, JJ from Changeover Media. You said you're on track to 3X the video business this year. What's going on, dude? How are you?

Yeah, man, I'm doing really well. And, yeah, that's exactly it. You know, going through the program and realizing first and foremost that there was a lot of things I was doing in the business that I needed to just get rid of, and so took a kind of scary, difficult step to say, hey, clients, we've been doing this for you for five years. We're no longer offering this anymore. And giving up what at the time was about three years, 30, 35% of our revenue that we just said, let's cut it loose. And then applying a lot of the things that, you know, honestly, from my eyes, the mindset was really one of the big things that really kind of helped. I thought my mindset was good going into this, but realizing that I was just thinking too small and that there are people who will pay these bigger rates, these bigger retainers, and I am providing way more value than I really originally thought I was, which allowed me to go back to an existing client and raise our retainer from 1500amonth to 7800amonth.

Wow, tell me about that real quick. So how did you. So.

So.

So mindset shift, obviously, around, like, charging more. How did you go from 1500amonth to 7800amonth? Like, what did you do for them? Would you take out. Would you add? What'd that look like?

Yeah, so basically this was a client that. It's twofold. So part of it was I was jointly partnered with a marketing agency that was doing this, and the marketing agency was looking to exit so that they. The retainer was about 3800 in total. My portion was 1500. We were, like, editing. Editing the podcast, so doing some social media content. Not doing a lot for them, but just kind of helping them with maintenance. So we did take over, like, the full social media scheduling. We are helping them with some of the newsletters and stuff, which we've been able to leverage AI to. To accelerate that process. But the big portion of it is with that client, they're. They got their hands on a whole lot of different things. And so as they're expanding other kind of, like, sister companies or other interests, we went to them and we're like, look like we're already kind of involved in what we're doing. I love what you're doing over here. And you're I know you're just getting started, like, how can we help? How can we, we leverage what we've already done and built on the relationship we already have and help you in this other venture as well. And we basically, they realized like, they're just getting off the ground. They needed a lot of the same services that we were already doing for them. So, you know, the social, they needed to start from scratch on social media. They needed to be able to send newsletters and stuff to their clients. But also, you know, looking at YouTube and like, they just knew that if they wanted to get people to buy into this new kind of product offering, they needed content to promote it and they needed to look profess. Yeah. So it was kind of going back to them and leaning on the existing relationship and understanding their business well enough to say, hey, I see where you're going with this. We, I would love to be a part of it and I think we can do more to help. And what's really exciting about that is part of our agreement also is we are a strategic partner on this, on this other business. Basically it's a community that they're, that they're launching of people who own different franchises all over the country. And so we're not just working for them, but they're actually going to be marketing our services to their members, which is a great, it's a great win win because they're going to get a little percentage of the revenue that comes from that. They're going to help me with a lot of the marketing and so I don't have to go and do all the manual outreach and everything. And I can focus on what we do best, which is having those sales conversations, solving problems and then actually delivering for our clients. So it's a, it's a, it's a great retainer, but it also has a you huge potential to grow even further than what it already is for sure.

And maybe for anybody who doesn't know your company or kind of what you guys do, what sector do you mainly work within and what does that kind of look like for you guys?

Absolutely. So we do, we do a lot of work in the real estate industry and we do work outside of that as well. When we first started, it was doing things for real estate agents. So it was, you know, photos and videos of houses. It was, you know, helping them with their specific marketing. And a combination of my business growing and the real estate industry being down led me to realize, well, the real estate agent isn't really the ideal client for me. Anymore. And that was difficult because some of those clients I've worked with for five, six years now, and so saying, hey, look, I've loved working with you, but unfortunately, I can't offer these services anymore. But finding them someone else who could was, you know, the solution there.

But so you stopped just for clarity, because I know we're talking about this before. I want to kind of just clarify for other people watching this. So you were mainly doing the listing photos, the tours, the kind of lower ticket stuff. And then what did you kind of transition to now doing?

Yeah, absolutely. So in the very beginning, when I first started my business, I had come from a real estate marketing company that was just doing that. And so my first few clients kind of came over with me. And so I was doing the photos, the videos, the 3D tours, all the things that the agents needed to sell the houses. And from the beginning, I knew that that was never the full direction of the business, but especially that was right around when Covid was hitting, and it was so needed. So that's really what kind of helped launch us in the beginning. But as we grew, I realized the. The content we create for a property really isn't selling the property. The market's so hot in most places that it was going to sell regardless. Really, what I'm doing is I'm creating content that's helping the agent get their next listing because they can say, hey, look what I did for my previous one. I'm going to do the same thing for you. And that's really where my head started thinking around, like, well, really what I want to do is help people grow their businesses. I don't really care about the selling of the houses. That's just kind of a byproduct of what I'm doing. And so through that, I started working with real estate agents and then started working with leadership, moving up and working with the some of the bigger teams, some of the brokerages. And now I have a couple clients that are doing bigger projects as real estate agents or teams, but I'm mostly working at the brokerage level. So working with, like, the franchisees who are running an entire office. And their focus is on, yes, they want more listings for their agents, but really they want more agents. They want to keep the agents that they currently have, and they want to kind of have a say in the direction that the industry is going because there's so much change going on in real estate, especially with all the lawsuits. And so, like, our big value add is I've been working in this industry for longer than a lot of their agents have been. So I understand and I can talk to the individual agent and help them explain their value add, but I can also understand the economics of a brokerage and say, well, here's how we're, we're not making money this way. What if we looked over here and we can focus on this to help make you more money so you're more.

Of a strategic partner for these brokerages. And then are you typically like charging a retainer? Are you doing one time fees? Like what does that typically look like for you guys?

Yeah, we're doing a little bit of both. And so we have a couple of our core clients we're on monthly retainers with. But what we found is, I mean the real estate industry is so ever changing that what we kind of have is like this is a base of what we're doing consistently. And then a lot of the times we're billing additional, additional products, additional projects on top of that. And so for example, we have a title company we're working with and we have a retainer that says once a month we're getting together the film. And almost every month we've done at least two or three additional additional projects because they're like, we have so many offices, so much going on. Let's just keep getting you out there and making that content. So it's, it's been like our focus is let's lock in a kind of a base level of income for my business. That way we can breathe easily and then let's focus on how do we add more projects and grow and scale more than what we're currently doing.

Makes sense. And so you know, just to kind of back up for a second, I guess. Why did you maybe choose this program over some, some of the other programs? Like did you see other ones? Like what kind of made you kind of go with maybe this program over maybe some of the other ones you've seen in the marketplace?

Yeah, I mean to be honest with you, I've, I've been in a couple programs. I, I very much believe in lifelong learning and growth and there's always opportunities to learn more. And so honestly when I first approached you, I don't actually remember exactly what it was, but I think it was talking around the, the lead gen side of things because what, the part of business that I hate the most is going out and looking for business. Like my dream is that appointments are on my calendar and I talk to those people because I'm, I love building relationships, I love solving Problems. I hate having to search for people to give me business. So that's what brought me in. And so I was like, all right, let's, let's give it a try. Let's see. And the way I viewed it is, no matter what, I'm always going to learn something because someone else has a new perspective on it. And you know, what's been really great is a lot of what was taught to me is not like it's some of this brand new idea, right? Like, I was watching your videos going, oh, yeah, but you broke it down in a way that applied specifically to my business. And when I'm constantly running and doing all these things, like, it was hard to spend the time to think, how do I apply a concept that I've read and make it specific to my business? And so I think that's where like my big value was, is like, I'm not starting from scratch. I just needed someone to help me shortcut that because I, you know, I'm pretty confident. I know I'll get there eventually, but I know that the spending the money to have someone get me there faster is almost always worth it. And so that's really what, what brought me in. And you know, in all honesty, like, my business has grown so much that I haven't even fully completed everything yet.

It's so funny because a lot of these case studies I do are with people who are like, yeah, I just use, like, I use these specific parts. I didn't use all of them. Like, hey, it's not always like a point where you need to overhaul everything. Sometimes it's like, let's make some little tweaks, changes, strategic moves, right? And it's those little hinges that kind of swing the big doors within businesses that make these big opportunities. Your model, your specific industry, which, which makes a lot of sense. And I guess, like, if, I guess if anyone was maybe like on the fence about even just booking a call talking about the program, like, obviously it's, you know, it's a big leap. It's a big investment in yourself. Like, what advice, I guess, would you say to them, kind of knowing what you know now?

Yeah, I mean, you know, first and foremost, there's no way around it, no matter what program you look at. Like, there is both a financial and a time commitment and that can be hard to swallow sometimes. And so, you know, I think the biggest takeaway I can give is like, there is an immense amount of knowledge and value in both the course and having access to the team as well as Having access to a community of people who are going through it, too. And sometimes what you need is someone to hold your hand and show you this is the process. Sometimes you just need someone to be like, hey, I've been there. Like, I get it. It sucks. Let's. Let's power through this together, you know, and so I think that from. From my takeaway, you know, from my eyes, like, the biggest advice I can give is if you're on the fence and you feel like, hey, I think this can help, like, take the dive, take the step. Whether it's with this program or something else, like, you're never going to achieve the results that you want unless you make some sort of a change. Right? And change is hard. Change is difficult. So take that leap, Take that risk, but and make sure that you can fully commit to doing it, because it's clearly working. It's proven that it works. So get out there and do it.

Yeah, and I think you said a good point. It's like, it doesn't have to be with us either. It can be with anybody. It's just make a change. If you're not getting the results you want, doing the same things over and over and over again won't get you there. Right. I've hired so many mentors for myself, my own businesses, and every time I'm reminded, I'm like, hey, it's these little things that someone with an outside perspective can come in and say, hey, stop doing this, do this. Instead, whether you're at, you know, 10 grand a month, 100 grand a month, a million dollars a month, it really doesn't matter. There's always those kind of blind spots. And having somebody who can come in and show you that is invaluable, Whether that's with us or maybe somebody else, you know?

Absolutely. And, you know, and finding. Finding whoever it is you choose to work with. One of the reasons why I love working with you guys, right, Is I love working with other people that have an abundance mindset, right? Like, cool, we're all in the same industry. One. One group of people could say, oh, you're competitors, but I'd much rather be around people who said, yeah, we're going through this together. There's enough business for all of us, and let's all make money together. And so regardless of what program you choose to go with, find someone who has that type of mindset. And that's something that you guys have been phenomenal with, is let's figure out how to make, like, your priorities. Make making sure that I as your student and making money, and I love that. And that means. That means so much to know you have that support system that really cares about your success.

I appreciate jj. I'm going to let you get back to closing deals. Appreciate your time. And we'll check in in a bit.

Sounds good, man. Thanks for having me.

Yes, sir.