Your Competitive Advantage Is You

“I just can’t seem to ‘keep up’ with the competition. I feel like I’m barely making it by and some days I just want to throw my hands up in the air and run away from it all.”

Trust me, you’re not alone there.

Being a creative entrepreneur or content creator is freeing and exciting but if you’re not careful, it can be just as equally draining.

We all feel the pressure to buy the latest camera gear, join in on the latest trend and even copy what other ‘successful’ creators are doing.

But if the goal of every business is to be the preferred business of choice, how do we do that if we’re all copying each other?

What if your unique value proposition was YOU?

What if you really honed in on your quirky traits?

How could you incorporate your personality within your branding?

Take 5 minutes and write out what makes you YOU.

Why do you think so many people follow and respect Peter McKinnon?

Sure, he has an amazing eye for photography and knows how to work a camera.

But I think it ultimately comes down to authenticity.

He 100% owns who he is and what he enjoys.

And those kind of people are like magnets.

We all secretly want to live a life that is true to ourselves so when we see someone else doing exactly that, we can’t help but admire them.

It’s almost like we find ourselves vicariously living through them.

But that doesn’t have to be the case.

A truly happy creative is one who prioritizes authenticity with relevancy.

The more you lean into YOUR uniqueness and priorities while also sharpening your skills, the more business you will have.

The separator isn’t what camera you own or even how much experience you have.

The ultimate separator is YOU.

So take some time to dig deep and find what makes you different.

Then make a plan on how to incorporate more of YOU in your business.

Trust me, it’s worth the effort.

You got this👊🏻

-Landon

PS - The Diary Of A CEO Podcast’s video with Jocko Willink was a good watch and triggered the idea for this week’s newsletter. You can check out the full YouTube video HERE.

Landon Bytheway has been working on some big and exciting new resources for creatives and he wants to hear from you!

What are you going through right now that Landon could help you with?

Click HERE to give him your answer!

CREATOR SPOTLIGHT

From Volunteer Videographer To Six-Figure Agency Owner

The story of Kyle Jewell

My filmmaking story began back in 2014. Everyone normally says “Since I was a small child I always liked to create videos… Well that was not the case for me. When I went to college back in 2014 and was interning at our church, they asked me if I would be interested in creating videos for the youth group. Without hesitation I said yes and thats where it all began.

Over the years I started to create really, really crappy videos but loved the process. From brainstorming ideas, to filming, the editing process and of course the final result. It was and still is a true joy seeing others watch videos you made and enjoy them. Unknown to me, this was the start of my filmmaking journey. 

Over the years we have sifted through different “industry’s” to find the ones we love capturing the most. Since 2020 we dove head first into real estate and didn’t look back. It’s not a flattering niche but it sure does allow us to enjoy what we do and make great money doing it. 

Within the last year we recently started doing more short form content for companies, and this may be one of my favorite things to date we get to do. Having a monthly retainer fee is incredible and offers a great peace of mind. 

Over the last 10 years, with the help of Full Time Filmmaker I have been able to grow to a mid 6 figure, solo media agency (and growing). 

The stuff all these courses teach you is not something you are going to find on YouTube. Yes, you may find helpful bits and chunks but nothing like you get in the courses. The other aspect that helped is I was able to move at my own pace and work through the courses that would benefit me the most. I didn’t have to go through all of them, just the ones I know would help me craft my skills. 

I have already made my money back, plus from Full Time Filmmaker. You will get your return on investment if you do what these courses say. 

What advice would you give to someone getting started?

If you are new to filmmaking, here are 5 things I learned along the way that I think are helpful.

1. Take as many opportunities as you can at the start. This was a key growth step for myself. Regardless of the videos not always turning out great, it was an opportunity to learn new things and meet new people in the process. 

Birthdays, family reunions, nature, cars shows, food trucks, your church, the gym, a small local business. 

* Most small business won’t say no to a free or low cost video (Free or low cost doesn’t mean bad quality all the time).

2. The entire Full Time Filmmaker crew says it all the time. Gear is not as important, but it’s knowing how to use it. Your first camera / setup does not need to be fancy. Get really good at understanding how to use the camera, and learning good techniques. 

3. Find a niche that works for you. We started in weddings but found out quickly how much I disliked them. 

We primarily shoot real estate now and my running joke is “brides talk back, houses don’t.”

4. Utilize the FTF Facebook page for feedback. This is a fantastic tool to get feedback from thousands of other filmmakers. You will become better at what you do when you ask for feed back.

5. Have fun. Regardless if you want to run solo or grow a team. Have fun with it. Have fun with the process. You will get burned out very fast if you don’t have fun. Encourage clients to have fun and make funny videos from time to time. It sounds easy, but this often gets forgotten about. 

You can check out Kyle’s Instagram HERE.