Being Authentic With Your Content With Matt Smolen (Part 2)
12/03/19 • 34 min
Last week, we had Matt Smolen talk to us about the processes and the journey he went through from being a freelancer to hiring his team. We had a deep dive into the business side of growing Balloon Tree Productions.
Just as promised, we’re bringing him back today to talk about the creative side of his business. Now, Matt believes delivering excellent quality is what keeps Balloon Tree Productions running. But what does excellence mean for Matt? Let’s hear it from the man himself.
What’s In This Episode:
- Matt shares his passion for creating films and being a film director.
- Matt talks about his short film, “There’s A Mobster Under My Bed,” and how he got into MIFF(Melbourne International Film Festival).
- Matt relays his experience with MIFF.
- What makes Matt’s brand unique?
- Matt’s key to success as a production company
- Is there a thing such as “a freelancer’s curse”?
- How Matt’s overall experience with understanding costs helped him in working with bigger corporations
- About Balloon Tree Production’s finances
- What is the Nirvana of every business?
- Matt answers the question, “Why don’t other businesses treat their business as an investment vehicle?”
- Matt describes his studios in detail—availability, what they offer.
- Matt talks about his events.
- “You are equipped to make things true to you.” - Matt Smolen
Connect with Matt Smolen
About Matt Smolen
Matt Smolen is the Owner of Balloon Tree Productions. A company that specialises in video production, photography, and media development. Matt is a Director and Writer who believes that excellence doesn’t always equate to being overly serious. Matt likes to give his content a fine mix of wonder, humor, and fun.
Connect with Den Lennie
Connect with Den on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/den_lennie
www.thevideomentors.com
Last week, we had Matt Smolen talk to us about the processes and the journey he went through from being a freelancer to hiring his team. We had a deep dive into the business side of growing Balloon Tree Productions.
Just as promised, we’re bringing him back today to talk about the creative side of his business. Now, Matt believes delivering excellent quality is what keeps Balloon Tree Productions running. But what does excellence mean for Matt? Let’s hear it from the man himself.
What’s In This Episode:
- Matt shares his passion for creating films and being a film director.
- Matt talks about his short film, “There’s A Mobster Under My Bed,” and how he got into MIFF(Melbourne International Film Festival).
- Matt relays his experience with MIFF.
- What makes Matt’s brand unique?
- Matt’s key to success as a production company
- Is there a thing such as “a freelancer’s curse”?
- How Matt’s overall experience with understanding costs helped him in working with bigger corporations
- About Balloon Tree Production’s finances
- What is the Nirvana of every business?
- Matt answers the question, “Why don’t other businesses treat their business as an investment vehicle?”
- Matt describes his studios in detail—availability, what they offer.
- Matt talks about his events.
- “You are equipped to make things true to you.” - Matt Smolen
Connect with Matt Smolen
About Matt Smolen
Matt Smolen is the Owner of Balloon Tree Productions. A company that specialises in video production, photography, and media development. Matt is a Director and Writer who believes that excellence doesn’t always equate to being overly serious. Matt likes to give his content a fine mix of wonder, humor, and fun.
Connect with Den Lennie
Connect with Den on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/den_lennie
www.thevideomentors.com
Previous Episode
How To Scale From Freelancer To A Team Of 4 With Matt Smolen (Part 1)
Business owners understand how responsibilities pile up once you decide to scale your business. Responsibilities are a lot easier to bear when we have people to share them with.
In today’s episode, I will be talking to Matt Smolen, owner of Balloon Tree Productions. Just like many other businesses, he started from humble beginnings as a solo freelancer. Matt will be sharing with us how he started, and what it takes to grow from a freelancer to having a team of your own.
What’s In This Episode:
- Matt’s Backstory: How did Matt go from freelancing to being a business owner?
- Why Matt has always been conscious about giving an excellent experience to his clients
- Matt’s story of transition from freelancing to expanding and hiring people
- Why it is crucial to choose a team with the same beliefs and values as you
- Matt relays the journey he went through from being a freelancer to hiring people and loading up on responsibilities (i.e., paying salaries)
- How Matt’s team helped him leverage his time differently—from a business perspective
- How the Video Business Accelerator has impacted Matt and his business
- Matt’s next goal for his business
Connect with Matt Smolen
About Matt Smolen
Matt Smolen is the Owner of Balloon Tree Productions. A company that specialises in video production, photography, and media development. Matt is a director and writer who believes that excellence doesn’t always equate to being overly serious. Matt likes to give his content a fine mix of wonder, humor, and fun.
Connect with Den Lennie
Connect with Den on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/den_lennie
www.thevideomentors.com
Next Episode
Are You Too Reliant on a Key Client?
Relying on one or two key clients could end up in the devastation of your business, especially if one of them leaves, or worse...both! Today, I’m going to do a solo episode about the dangers of relying on key clients.
I’ll be sharing a story about how this issue impacted my business at one point. How did we manage to mitigate the risks? As failure is at some point—inevitable, it is also important for one to be able to rise above it.
If you’re one of those people who rely on key clients, this episode is for you. Go ahead and enjoy it!
What’s In This Episode:
- The dangers of being in business with one or two main clients.
- Den shares a story about his experience related to relying on one or two main clients.
- Why it’s important to have a “fail-safe” in case of emergencies.
- Den talks about his realizations when he experienced “failure” due to major reliance on one main advertising/marketing platform.
- The importance of learning from mistakes.
- Don’t be afraid to niche down.
- “If you can describe your client’s problems, desires, needs, and aspirations better than they can, they will automatically assume you have the solution.”
- What do Den and his company offer?
- Where can you get more tips and insights for scaling your video business? Are they free?
- If you’re reliant on one or two main clients, now is the time to think strategically about what were to happen if one of those relationships ended. What are you going to do about it?
- Three important things you NEED to ponder on.
- How do you improve your storytelling ability? How do you grab the attention of your market?
Don’t allow yourself to be vulnerable by having just one or two key clients.
If you need support or help with any of the things that we’ve discussed today—please make sure you reach out!
Connect with Den Lennie
Facebook-How to Scale a Video Business
Connect with Den on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/den_lennie
www.thevideomentors.com
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