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Your business should be dedicated to delivering high-quality service and products. I once met a young guy many many years ago who said something to the effect of "if a client can't afford me at X, I shoot on this really low end camera. If the client pays more, I might consider using my best camera." Obviously, this young guy saying this, didn't sit well with me. I also did not work with him again after the project I was wrapping up at the time. It showed his true character. I

Have you ever thought "if only I had taken 5 more minutes..."? I can relate. On my second feature film, due to release this Summer, I said to my cast and crew, "had we only taken five more minutes, this could've happened or this wouldn't have happened." Ever feel like that in business? During our movie production in the summer of 2025, it was very hot and windy most days. Everyone was fatigued as the days went on and decision-making was becoming questionable by the minute. On

Set and forget? Your media and marketing strategy should not be on autopilot. Here's why... I'm not sure where the initial impression came from that marketing can be a passive process but business is not easy and neither is marketing. So many businesses, especially small businesses believe in "set and forget" media and marketing strategies. For example: Some may hire a young intern to make a few posts every so often. Some "boost" their posts and call it advertising. Some h

The toughest thing for most beginning and even veteran business owners is separating one's personal life from business life. Always separate finances, yet I am talking about life. The inbetween. The person you may be seeing or married to, kids you may have, hobbies you enjoy and other areas that make up life. These days, too many pride themselves with how much hustling their doing, work they accomplish, titles achieved, awards on their shelves, etc. In the end, it doesn't rea

Do you offer value? ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Do you offer a product, service or experience worth value at your business? I am not saying "cheap", "affordable" or the like. I mean true value. Example: The extra sauce, the best cherry on top, the few words of advice or encouragement. In plain speak - going the extra mile for the client / customer when they either least expect it or know that you are willing to help them with what they need from your business. You may be surprised to know that ma

When I first started my production company in 2013, I spent money and was listed everywhere. I had multiple phone numbers, advertising, different business programs, etc. It cost money and most of it did nothing but hit the bank account. So, I narrowed it down to only what was essential for day-to-day operations. Even as the business evolved from video production to motion pictures, the strategy was the same. Simplicity is key. Simplicity wins the day! When I launched Mi Media

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Doing what everyone is doing and expecting their successful results can also be considered insanity. If McDonald's wasn't successful, Burger King wouldn't build next door to one every time another Mickey Ds shows up. However, if you're a big fan of either, you probably wouldn't care much of the geographical location as long as you get the food and service you expect from the plac

Recently, I've made various attempts to contact various professionals for personal (not business soliciting) services and found something very very alarming. Missed communication and poor communication. For a big event I've been planning, I've made attempts to contact a certain location for over 3 months via phone, email and online form. I left voicemails as well. Not..a..single...callback. And the place is open and operational. Someone finally called back, months later and b

This is going to be a hard truth to swallow, but if you don't take this now, your business could continue to struggle or fail. When we go to a doctor, attorney or maybe an auto repair shop, we often expect a "quick fix" for whatever issue we're facing. Most often though, we may be given homework along with the fix. A doctor may prescribe diet, exercise and consistency over time with medication to solve an issue. An attorney may need documents, signatures and meetings prior to

How do YOU and OTHERS see your business? ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Criticism is tough. Especially when it involves you and your baby (Ex: project, store, business, brand). How do you see your business? Do you know what you do and why you do it? Is it easy to shop with your business, whether it be a service or product offerings? Do you speak to your customers and prospective customers in a way that is understandable? What does your brand, logo, colors, slogans and overall presentation say about

Do you KNOW where your customers are coming from? ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Word-of-mouth, friend-of-a-friend, ad in the paper, news on TV or post on social media - these are all great sources to get more customers. Question is, do you know for certain, this is where your customers may come from? Of course, we may know that this person was referred here or this person told you about your business ad. Yet, oftentimes, most businesses don't know and/or don't care as long as they make sales. That

We were never meant to do this life alone. Collaboration on anything is key to success and continued success. Some of the great successes in business were because of collaborative efforts. For example, movie directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas (though considered creative rivals) collaborated on movies that became great successes! Ex: Indiana Jones Unfortunately, we don't often find collaboration a "win" in a "me" centered hustle culture. We fear ideas being taken, rel

Ever have the thoughts of "I can do this myself", "Why should I pay someone else for this" or "What bad could come of this anyway?".... Should you DIY your media marketing efforts? This is a loaded question that has many answers. In short, yes and no...and no and maybe. Confused? That's OK. Here's some thoughts... Have you ever done a task or given a task to another person who is either not qualified or partially qualified to complete the task? And then you ended up redoing t

People like to work with people they like. Read that again. If your business is not clear on the Who, What, When, Where and Why, then your missing your best clientele. If you are clear in your marketing and outreach on who you are, what you do, when you do it, where you do it and why you do what you do, then trust will build with current and prospective customers. More people will begin to say "I gotta [person]" or "I know a [person]". And YOU want to be BE that PERSON! :)

"Nobody watches commercials anymore." If this were true, Super Bowl commercials and big brand commercials wouldn't exist because companies would just be wasting money. Now some may believe companies are wasting money when in reality, they're gaining more visibility than ever through both sight AND sound. Here's why this is a general marketing misconception. Small businesses may not believe it is affordable and their Tik Tok videos got lots of "likes" and "shares" but no conve

Before you consider video, photos, media, website builds or any marketing for your business, consider the following: Is who I am hiring a legitimate business? Is this person or business insured to be on my property or can be held responsible for errors and omissions? How experienced is the person or business? Can I trust them? Do they understand FCC compliance for advertising, standard practices, copyrights and compliance for media and website builds? What exactly am I receiv

Hustle shouldn't break you. This is not a message for the "weak". It is encouragement to keep going but with necessary guardrails and boundaries. As a business owner of a movie production company with a small business service division, I am still learning all too well, healthy boundaries. These boundaries keep me balanced between work and family. If you're still posting, texting, calling or even doodling ideas down for your business during what should be family time or just "

If you spend or plan to spend money in digital marketing...you will want to read this. Do you know your return on investment for you digital marketing strategy? Or do you pay someone per month to post X amount of times, maybe report some clicks / likes or create a cool video that you wanted to "go viral" and fell flat? It's difficult to hear so many business owners and non-profit organizations spend money on digital media /video marketing and seeing little to no return. In fa

If you run a professional business then you should have professional videos for marketing... When people often hear videos, several thoughts come to mind. Shorts, reels, films, commercials, video clips, etc. Sometimes they envision "expensive" or even "unnecessary". When clearly, that's not completely true. So why video for your business? Well crafted video from concept to completion and launch gets the right message to the best audience. Why settle for a cute, fun or beautif

Advertising your brand doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. It just has to work. As a former Media Marketing Director for a successful dealership here in Michigan, we ditched traditional (mostly) and leaned into digital. Risky? At the time in 2016, yes. (Still is often too) Social media was just really starting to take off, advertising on social media and video apps like Google was full of uncertainty. For example, how do we know if these ads convert (make money)? I'v