Coffee with Creators

Today, our guest is Jon Rettinger. Jon is a regular face in the tech world as a commentator on CNBC and Fox Business and a contributing writer to Wireless Week. As President and Editorial Director of TechnoBuffalo, he brings consumer electronic news to over 21 million viewers per month. He ranked in the top 5% globally in social media influence and was one of OC Metro's top 40 under 40 for 2011.

Today, Jon talks about his past experiences and aspects of his life where he made some erroneous actions, the journey that has molded him into someone in the content creator community, and how one could build a highly effective and efficient team.

Content Creator Space [07:35]

Content creators are divided into artists and business creators. For John, his reputation is crucial. You must have a sense of urgency in fulfilling deadlines and providing material to establish that reputation. Brands have traditionally sought to collaborate with creators who would deliver on schedule.

Fantastic Working Space [10:44]

Being in a good relationship with your coworkers is essential because things tend to fall apart when there is a lapse in communication. It allows for simultaneous brainstorming of ideas, but it also makes it simpler to pitch new ideas when the people around you are receptive and open to them.

Irreplaceability [12:33]

You should know you can be replaced. Non-compliance will result in dismissal, and your input can be burdensome or dilute your unique voice. Your work is vital, but far more significant persons are leading the way.

Hiring Process [19:09]

Hire only when necessary. You must decide if the employee can earn enough money to sustain their wage. Now is the moment to hire if you know what they will do and how it will assist your bottom line. It is not the moment to hire for your peace of mind or display your hiring skills by recruiting someone.

Widen your Circles [26:49]

It is sometimes perceived as lonesome to be a content creator, especially if you do it yourself. But keep in mind that expanding your circle of friends through acquaintances is not only a game changer in that sector, but it will also provide you with support from people who are specialists in their respective fields.

Mentor [36:56]

John got a sincere and polite offer from John Morrison, now of DLD, to film his studios for a while and see how they worked, their creative processes, when he was an old techno bull. For John, that line of action re-ignited a lot of things. He is continually working to create a work environment where he feels fully integrated.

Check out Brady Keegan on:

Email: bradykgn@gmail.com

Welcome to Coffee with Creators Podcast! Today, our guest is Jade Rennie, a brand designer who runs the brainchild studios in Australia. Listen and learn more about how Jade faced the difficulties in her life as a designer and what she did to overcome them.

The Challenging Year [12:05]

Jade was busier than ever. Jade’s friends and family are asking if she’s worried that she’s not going to get any work and business will dry up. And it just wasn't a thought in her mind that she wasn't going to be working through it. It was more than Jade needed to homeschool her children and run a business. What Jade thought was going to happen happened. Business owners were at home, and they finally had some time to work on their own business and a lot of them were online ready. Jade did so many websites throughout 2020 and 2021.

Approaching clients [16:54]

At the start, it was very much recommendations. Jade relied on the community. Jade always wants that when you first work with a business, and they're just started, they've got that enthusiasm, they're keen, and you've got their full attention, that's what she wants her clients to feel.

Using Canva [25:08]

According to Jade, Canva is a fantastic tool for those fast jobs that small business owners are using. It's a fantastic tool if you need something really quick. But why would you pay a designer $3,000 for a design when you could do it yourself on Canva using a template? If you use a template, that design is not yours.

Education as a designer [30:40]

Jade is self-taught. She went to high school and did a fine art illustration to illustrate children's books. That was her goal, and building websites was the furthest thing from her mind. When people ask her now, she proudly says that she is self-taught because it shows that she’s passionate about the subject that she is learning, and she’s taking on jobs and learning on the go. That's a real entrepreneurial spirit.

Imposter Syndrome [34:23]

Now and some days, Jade has to tell her thoughts to habits like just being quiet and pushing through that. Often, it is fear talking and sometimes on the days where it is quite bad because she lacks some experience in that job. You have to learn to block it out or even be aware that it is that fear talking and not a real logical thought.

Difficult Clients [39:34]

Jade had at the start a lot because she was taking on everyone, saying yes to every job that came her way. A lawyer told her that anyone with a laptop was a graphic designer. Jade didn’t take her on which was one of the earlier ones she said no.

Saying no [43:43]

Who would ever say no to work? After a few years, you realize you don't want to do that job and want to work with that person. You need to say no, and you need to do it tactfully. Because you might want to say yes to them later on, and you don't want to burn any bridges. To learn how to say no, and even to stay true to your boundaries is a real skill and you only get good at it by practicing and doing it again and again and feeling okay.

[1:02:16]

We all need to treat everyone with a little bit more patience because you don't know what someone else is going through on the other end. And having boundaries and having them in place.

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Welcome to Coffee with the Creators Podcast! Today, our guest is Reba Buhr. She is a voice actress who has worked on English dubbed anime series, Western animated TV series, and video games. She is a classically trained vocalist and began her career in musical theater before moving to film/television and voiceover work.

Migrating an Audience to a different Platform

[09:04]

Reba runs three separate social media accounts. One of the accounts is about mental health for a book she is publishing about panic and anxiety. She also creates comedic content for Instagram and shares the ins and outs of the voice acting industry on TikTok.

Constant Growth

[17:41]

Reba says that it's never going to be your job to talk yourself out of a room. Nobody wants that from you and, nobody will believe in you unless you first believe in yourself. Tell people that you believe in yourself even when you don't and people will believe in you. Maybe you are better at what you do than you're willing to admit to yourself.

Dress for Success

[19:54]

If you want to be successful, start dressing like you're successful. Dress for the job you want and not the job you have. Dressing for success is convincing yourself that you have the capability of being something better than you are today. Convince yourself that you are the person you envision yourself to be. It is a manifestation of who you are.

How Reba got into Voice Acting

[23:17]

When Reba was in college, she took a Tai Chi class for one credit. The teacher was also an improviser and director for dubbing. The teacher-directed a dub and offered Reba $75 an hour to do little voices. Reba then had to learn all the technicalities and process of dubbing but eventually got the hang of it.

Slow Down and Listen to your Body

[34:40]

Listen to your body when it whispers so you don't have to hear it scream. Sometimes, the things that we overdo are exciting.

Reba’s Mental Health Journey

[36:29]

Reba’s mental health journey started with panic attacks that wouldn't go away right off the bat. The only option was to stop everything she was doing and listen because she was non-functional.

Panic Attack vs. Mental Breakdown

[40:09]

A panic attack is a brief period of discomfort that comes on suddenly. Some symptoms are heart palpitations, shallow breathing, hot and cold flushes, abdominal distress, dissociation, depersonalization, tingling, and numbness

Building Legitimacy

[59:35]

You may find yourself making the content you think the people want rather than the content that you want. But you need growth, which is why you need to have legitimacy on various platforms to be noticed and taken seriously by people.

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Welcome to Coffee with Creators Podcast! Today, our guest is Caleb Pike, the DSLR Video Shooter YouTube channel creator, where he makes videos for filmmakers and content creators. Before joining the channel, Caleb worked as a camera operator and editor in the corporate and documentary spaces. He talks about his humble beginnings as a filmmaker and the inspiration behind helping people have a basic understanding of photography setups.

All about Caleb

[01:21] Caleb smoked for almost four years before switching to a vape and gradually diminishing his vape usage. The most challenging aspect of quitting smoking is breaking the habit of holding something in your hand. It could be a sense of being in command, but you'll get over it eventually.

Humble Beginnings

[11:42] Caleb began his online presence with a Vimeo channel and a blog. He had always wanted to be a filmmaker but couldn't afford it, so he instead enrolled at a community college. Because he had a history in WordPress, he created many websites for clients. He developed the "Custom Mac" website, which became popular until he closed it down.

Perks of having a regular job

[21:34] There are some fantastic benefits to regular employment, such as a consistent paycheck, health insurance, and other benefits. There's something about the idea of doing one activity, or maybe a bunch of jobs, and that's your work, that appeals to you. And there's no place for experimentation. Switch pivots, try new things, and entirely change what you're doing.

The quest towards filmmaking

[28:33] Caleb began his filmmaking career with narrative films. He aspired to be a director, photographer, and filmmaker. He became more interested in documentary work as time went on. His focus switched away from being on set to assist others.

[32:30] The production world still doesn't consider anything we're doing right now to be real; it's all a game. Caleb struggled with those identities, and he had difficulty calling himself a filmmaker. He despises the term "influencers." Caleb began generating these materials largely to assist others in figuring things out.

[42:44] Caleb enjoys making things and providing information and movies for public consumption. He is an electronic nerd who enjoys custom construction and 3D modeling, and printing. He also enjoys playing PC games, which he and his brother do every week.

Unmastered Skill

[45:17] Caleb wishes he had known how to manage time when he was younger because it's something he struggles with now. Calendars should be scheduled, and scheduling and time monitoring should be efficient. He wishes he had learned how to do it sooner because it is difficult to perfect.

[56:00] Caleb has already assessed 20-25 cameras. He considers himself a collector and has been collecting vintage lenses for cameras for ten years, but he doesn't splurge because the money could have gone towards more practical products rather than items that lie on shelves collecting dust.

Learn more about Caleb Pike:

Welcome to Coffee with Creators Podcast! Today, our guest is Edward Lee, a photographer, videographer, and filmmaker. For today’s episode, we’ll discuss all about filmmaking and videography. We will also talk about the path to success and the key to moving forward.

Edward’s Background

[4:17] Edward started as a photographer back in middle school. He did family portraits, senior portraits, and also experienced working on weddings.

[5:25] Edward’s first job was at Rhino Camera Gear. His experience in this job led to him on his career today. He was able to learn filmmaking during his time on the job.

The Path to Success

[16:16] Edward learned that the most important thing he could’ve done does not focus on the area of expertise but on how he never stopped achieving what needed to be done. It was about never stopping what he was doing and just moving forward.

Low Point in Life

[21:33] Edward mentioned that one of the low points in his life was during college. Edward felt like college was a huge weight on his shoulders. The dream of being successful was under a lot of pressure.

Making Calculated Risks

[34:00] Edward eventually realized that he could earn money through content creation. Although he has an idea on the industry, it doesn’t mean that he would jump out right away and make money out of it. He played it safe, but he made YouTube videos when he had time.

Edward’s Podcast: MIDCONVO

[51:13] Aside from photography and videography, Edward also has a podcast named ‘MIDCONVO.’ It is all about the creative business side of being a freelancer. He loves podcasting, and it is something that he wouldn’t want to go away from his life.

Freelance and Business Industry

[55:10] When you’re self-employed, you will no longer have income for day-to-day living. Edward has a YouTube career, as well as a photo studio that is located in Seattle. He is currently establishing ways to make money to go on a vacation without thinking of any problems.

Social Media Pressure

[59:08] Edward sometimes feels YouTube anxiety and pressure. He is sometimes pressured to see that other people post content weekly than he posts monthly. You should not mind what other people are doing and just focus on yourselves. You cannot force yourself to do a pace that you are not used to doing. You don’t have to follow and go with your flow.

Learn more about Edward Lee:

Greetings, and welcome to the Coffee with Creators Podcast! Jordan Pulmano is our guest today and he is a California-based director and cinematographer that focuses on live event coverage and production. Today, he discusses his humble beginnings, overcoming challenges posed by the pandemic, and how he came to terms with the idea of continual change in his line of work.

About the Guest

[01:37] Jordan started as an assistant editor on a documentary. He collaborated with a close friend, and as he grew more involved in the production, he took on the roles of cameraman and editor.

Taking on Challenges

[08:06] Jordan believes it is crucial to handle the workload and maintain a professional attitude when working in the music and film industries. Managing these ties and managing relationships in another business are two very different things, yet you must handle both and be dependable in both.

Distinguish your goals

[20:16] It's so easy to get lost when you're young and new, and you're just extremely excited, especially when attempting to create something for yourself, such as a name.

The Effects of Pandemic

[22:29] During the epidemic, Jordan's situation changed dramatically. He was doing 80% of the music work at the time, and the production staff was overworked. Suddenly dropped, and Jordan struggled because that was his source of income. That's when he decided to leave the manufacturing industry and focus on E-commerce and internet platforms.

Building online influence

[31:43] Jordan has been motivated to return to social media to create a YouTube channel and post material. Jordan is attempting to organize his schedule to devote more time to developing his online presence.

The Importance of Goalsetting.

[35:00] If you are not deliberate in your actions, they are meaningless. However, if you have a goal, regardless of how unclear it may seem at the moment or how seemingly impossible it may appear, it is acceptable as long as you have one as long as you have that one reason that motivates you to progress.

Adapting to Changes

[43:23] Jordan does not feel as if he is straining to adjust to changes in his profession, and he thinks because he is still young. At the outset, he embraced the concept of perpetual change.

The Impostor Syndrome

[47:05] Jordan continues to experience impostor syndrome whenever he uploads fresh footage to his YouTube channel. He believes this is also because his YouTube channel is still relatively new, and some may be put off by the type of content he uploads on his YouTube.

Learn more about Jordan Pulmano:

Justin Moore is a Sponsorship Coach & the founder of Creator Wizard, a school & community that teaches you how to find & negotiate your dream brand deals so that you stop leaving thousands on the table. Justin has been a full-time creator for over seven years and has personally made over $3M working with brands. Today, he talks about how you can find your dream brand deal and build long-term partnerships.

About Justin’s Business

[04:29] Justin Moore is also known as the Creator Wizard on social Media. His business focuses on helping creators find and negotiate their dream sponsorships.

The Challenge of Finding Good Brands

[11:58] Often, the journey creators come on get a lot of negative experiences. In the beginning, they didn’t know any better, and they felt like they were taken advantage of.

What Brands are looking for in a Creator

[16:30] Many brands don’t care how many followers you have or what your demographics look like. They care about how you can help them with their challenges and solve problems.

The Creator Economy

[19:13] The problem with early or new creators is that they bring a lot of ego into the business when they get into this influencer space. But many brands don’t look at your popularity or status.

Valuing the Expertise, the Brand, and the Audience

[20:33] As creators, our top priority is maintaining a very intimate connection with our followers because we wouldn’t have built the career that we have without our following.

Is it possible for smaller accounts to be successful in the Creator Space?

[22:30] Justin says that it is 100% possible. As a creator, you are the creative services. You edit the content, distribute the content, market the content, and you’re everything.

Justin’s Advice for People starting in the Creator Business

[26:24] Justin says that the moment you publish one post, you are ahead of 99% of people making this a thing and do it as a side hustle.

[28:17] Understand your STP or your Surprising Transformative Promise

Claiming a Title

[42:13] It’s easy to claim to be something. But getting yourself to a point where you evolve into the situation, there’s a lot of genuineness, and it’s more believable.

Augment your Brand Relationships

[49:38] The goal is not to get a brand deal to get that brand to pay you right. The goal is to establish the relationship because the likelihood of you reaching out to the brand during an active recruitment period for a paid campaign is extremely low.

Not Now, But Soon

[59:29] Having that abundance mindset that maybe you don’t get it right now doesn’t mean that you’ll never get anything.

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Welcome to Coffee with Creators Podcast! Today, our guest is Alex Miller, most popularly known as Liquidverve on Social Media. Alex is a famous photographer and is widely known on TikTok and Instagram due to her unique photography style. She has been in Los Angeles for ten years now. She was born and raised in Germany and moved to California when she was 16. In today’s episode, we will be discussing all about photography and other things about Alex’s life.

Alex Personal Background

[3:38] When Alex moved from Germany to the US, she changed a lot about her along with her name.

Alex’s Photography Journey

[10:14] Alex started photography together with social media. When you’re starting on a particular art, you should figure out your intention as to why you have chosen that path instead of another career.

[14:31] A hobby doesn’t immediately turn into a full-time career. Alex sees herself as lucky for turning her photography hobby into a business she enjoys doing.

Photography in the Public

[29:47] Alex has experienced shooting photos out in public. They are often cautious when shooting to avoid disturbing the people and causing a problem. Sometimes, she thinks they will get kicked out of the location, which she had experienced before.

Ethics on Public Photography

[35:22] The photographer is responsible for its model during a public shoot. It is their responsibility to keep the model comfortable and safe. The photographer must stay alert to their surroundings.

[37:31] The assistant's role is to manage and organize the place of the shoot. The photographer still has the sole responsibility of controlling the environment for stability and stress-free shooting.

Alex’s Other Interests

[42:11] Aside from photography, Alex has been taking martial arts, kickboxing, and tai chi. She also takes arts and meditation classes.

Being Self-Employed

[46:22] The experience with working for yourself depends on the relationship within you. It is all about how good your self-discipline is, how workaholic you are, or how you balance life.

Alex Other Hobbies

[48:55] Alex is also into psychology. As of the moment, she is learning the origin of Attention Deficit Disorder. Social Psychology, Behavioral Psychology, Abnormal Psychology are some other interests of Alex. Aside from that, she is also an avid fan of paintings.

Learn more about Alex Miller or Liquidverve:

Welcome to Coffee with Creators Podcast! Today, our guest is Dunna, from “Dunna Did It”on YouTube. Dunna creates videos about photography, filmmaking, and various other topics. Today, he talks about how his channel started, the inspiration, and why he believes everyone should start creating content to contribute to the knowledge pool.

About the guest

[03:13] Dunna creates videos about photography, filmmaking, and various topics. You’ll find gear reviews, tutorials, tips & tricks, and even the occasional vlog on his YouTube channel.

[07:53] Dunna describes himself as 80% technical and 20% artistic. He enjoys the process of learning and the techniques involved - gears, specifications, and so on. Dunna is obsessed with statistics and data analysis.

The Numbers Game

[13:53] Dunna wants everyone to feel accepted on his channel. Sharing something he learned with his audience makes him personable because they can follow the tutorial.

The Impostor Syndrome

[17:37] When Dunna went full-time as a Youtube video maker, he faced impostor syndrome. He is cautious about the things into which he would jump all the way.

Staying Focused

[27:14] Instead of focusing on other people’s success and being disappointed that you aren’t making progress, concentrate on your own. And, if there’s anything to be learned from it, try to react accordingly.

[34:59] All of these external cues are received in various ways. Depending on who we’re conversing with, we process information differently. People learn in multiple ways. Because that specific information is integrated into the knowledge pool for everyone’s access, anyone should develop content.

Creating Online Contents

[44:37] Dunna has worked as an audio engineer and a music producer in the past. He is a co-owner of a recording studio, where he worked full-time as a musician. However, he began to feel like he was creating music for other people rather than himself. He began tinkering with Instagram, and his passion for photography grew from there.

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Today, our guest is Adam Hlavac, a Digital Creator, and Producer based in Los Angeles, CA. His earliest influences came from films like Star Wars, which inspired him to become a visual effects artist. This led to him working on over two dozen blockbuster titles such as The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. In 2021, he amassed millions of views on YouTube with content dedicated to discussing various film genres, partnering with brands like Walt Disney Studios, DC Entertainment, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros. Pictures, Marvel Studios, and Universal Pictures. Today, he talks about how he got into VFX and how it is changing the movie industry. He will also talk about the future of the superhero genre and how it is becoming the staple of today’s cinemas.

Why VFX Artists are often overlooked [12:39]

If you’re a traditional visual effects artist, you’re either helping design a shot, doing the previous on that shot, rigging, lighting, texture mapping, or the actual modeling. The thing about 3D and VFX is that unless you sit there and you explain the intricacies of every single shot, no one’s going to know that you worked on it.

VFX Artists should get more recognition [15:58]

Visual effects are getting more of the spotlight. It’s getting a lot more recognition. A visual effect people don’t notice is a visual effect that slips under the radar. But the people who took part in the design and the effort to get the praise. There is so much work in the background that people don’t even know. Many people took the time and energy to create masterpieces, and they deserve the praises.

How Adam got into the VFX industry [17:15]

VFX is Adam’s fascination, and it started with Star Wars. He wanted to learn how to make a ship fly in space and do other things that were deemed not yet possible. He would binge-watch documentaries and behind-the-scenes and featurette on Star Wars. He also pointed out that Steven Spielberg, Robert Rodriguez, and Jurassic Park were his influences. He would just find any material about visual effects and just experiment with his ideas.

Starting a Youtube Channel [29:24]

Adam started a Youtube Channel because he was obsessed with watching content on movie talk shows. He started watching horror, action, superhero, and classic movies. So with a couple of his friends, they came up with the idea of creating a Youtube Channel that focused on DC, Marvel, and Star Wars. They made reviews, comments, and trailer reactions on their channel.

[32:33]

Are Leaks and Spoilers Intentional? [51:47]

Adam thinks that people are just looking for clout. Some studios feed this information to people who like to tweet about it. And then people get excited, and it makes them feel good because they think that they are feeding people this information, and it gives them a high.

Learn more about Adam Hlavac: