Transcript
Debunking the Spend Money to Make Money Myth
Welcome back to What is MAVEN, the podcast geared for kickin' your ass into gear as a real estate professional or a small business owner entrepreneur!
Get paid, get laid, lose weight, let's go! Woo!
Today, we are going to talk about why you shouldn't hire a videographer, what to do instead, and why…
…having to spend… Well, the advice, the advice, the advice, the advice to that you have to spend money to make money is bullshit and we're going to talk about that right now because that is something that it grinds my gears.
I actually paint with it. That was someone I talked about on my other podcast! Well, he was painting with cow shit, but either way.
Anyway, check it out by Amara. So, today we should start off by talking about why…
Yeah, I want to talk about you have to make money, you have to sell– ugh, you have to spend money to make money and why that's awful, awful advice. So, I've been working with people for 13, 14 years now, hundreds of entrepreneurs helping them build six and seven-figure businesses, thousands of people have used our products to do the same.
You don't have to spend money to make money. Listen to the people who are telling you this. Everyone who tells you that benefits from you spending money on their products to make more money.
Universally, 100% of the time, I've never given this advice, even though we stand to benefit from send– telling people this, and realtors are told this all the time. And this is partially also what we're talking about in this in this episode is you shouldn't hire a videographer. MAVEN, whatismaven.com, Amara does videography for realtors…
There's a like– there's something you should be doing instead…
…which we will talk about…
Woah! We did it! I didn't– I just guessed at what the word should be.
Oh, that was fun!
So, yeah, so like that is the thing, because everyone who tells you need to– you need to spend money to make money is merely manipulating you to spend more money on their products. Sure, you can make more money by spending money, but if you're starting out, what do you have? You have time.
What don't you have? You don't have money. Don't waste your money on things that aren't going to help you yet.
You're not ready.
I thought we were going to do it again. Okay, that was a one-time thing. So…
Why New Creators Should Be Self-Reliant
So, don't hire a videographer.
Genuinely, you shouldn't. No matter if you are a brand new agent in the field or if you're a seasoned expert and you're just starting out on social media, no matter what level you are in real estate, you are a total novice beginner in social media. So, what you should be doing instead of just being like, "I'm going to hire a videographer because it's what all my friends are doing, it's what everybody's doing in the field, let's just do it," don't do that.
Do not do that. You should learn to be self-reliant, and here's why. Let's go!
So, I don't know why I looked at him. I was just like, "Let's do it!"
We can look at each other. Hi!
Hello! So, why should you be self-reliant? Well…
You know, I'm self-reliant.
Yes! We are both entirely self-reliant. We're like self-cleaning ovens.
Like both of our businesses– I mean, his business, like he said, he's been doing it for 13, 14, 100 years, whatever, so– Sorry, that was– that sounded mean, I didn't mean it like that. I meant like you have tons of experience, but it's literally you and Dave.
His business partner. Literally the two of them.
And Dave does design and I do all the rest. Not to take away from what he does, but like literally he is the designer in our design agency. We also do, like, web development and programming.
Anything that isn't design is me.
And then in MAVEN, I do everything. I mean, Jeff comes with, he helps me shoot, he gives me critical feedback if I'm like, "Hey, does this look right?"
Well, I'm a second set of hands because it helps on a video shoot.
Tremendously! It makes things go quicker, which is why we can get two months' worth of content in one three-hour shoot with our clients. But anyway, that's enough plugging!
So…
On the shirt! And on the back of his! Turn around!
So, you should be self-reliant. Why? Because you need to figure out what works and what doesn't work for your content.
So, for example, one of the main things you should even figure out before you are even like, "I'm going to make all this content." What do you want to make? Are you going to be making– excuse me, are you busy? Can I…
I'm getting my notes out! You ding-dong.
Short-Form Versus Long-Form Video Content Strategy
So, do you want to be making short-form content? So, do you want to be making something for–
You're texting everyone like, "I'm recording."
Do you want to be making short-form content? So, is it for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts? That's short-form vertical videos, so basically anything under 60 seconds vertical, or do you want to be making long-form content, so a horizontal YouTube video?
That's like basically it, but you could post it wherever. But what kind of content do you want to be making? Do you want to do short, little informational kind of things, which are super beneficial to people, which I highly recommend.
Yes. Or do you want to do hidden gems tours, which is totally awesome content, or like the five best ice cream flavors at this local ice cream shop, or whatever?
Yeah, hyper-local, very, very valuable, and untapped. Sure, people are doing it, there is not enough out there, and I don't think there possibly can be.
Yes. But you need to start recording that content by yourself. I know you might think, "I look like a fucking psycho sitting in this corner of an ice cream shop."
Yes. However, nowadays it really doesn't matter. I mean, I feel psychotic when I'm out recording in public, but at the end of the day, who cares?
Like, whatever! Especially if it's going to be helping you build your business, build your brand, and get a shit ton of money.
Well, let's just stick on that one part. You're going to look ridiculous. Like, you're going to look ridiculous.
…to yourself. The sooner you don't care, though, the better, to be quite honest. Well, because, but the important part is you'll look ridiculous to yourself.
No one will notice you. You're worried about how you're walking down the street, what you sound like, what you look like, what you're wearing, and guess what? Every fucking person's worried about the same thing!
No one's looking at you, nobody cares.
Or if they are looking at you and they ask you what you're doing, then you could just be like, "Oh yeah, I'm at Joe Schmo on Instagram, come follow me," or whatever, which is perfect, because that happened in Miami to us when we were recording stuff. They're like, "Oh, they're filming a documentary."
Haha, yeah! But, just real quick, though, like, stop worrying about what people think. Like, you're building something.
It's you! This is your life! This is your business!
This is your whatever you're doing. You have to do it for yourself first. You can't worry about people walking by, your parents, your friends, like people judging you.
You're worth so much more than that. Like, their judgment, just dump them. You don't need those people.
Anyone who's judging you like for anything you're doing, that's– they're not worth your time.
I lost my choo-choo train of thought. Yeah, so just be self-reliant. Just figure out what kind of content at the end of the day you want to make.
So, like also then figure out what your scripts should be. Make sure you are also editing your own content. You will suck so hard at– So, not only are you going to look like a total psycho in the corner of an ice cream shop, but then you're going to get home and you're going to be really disappointed with your footage.
But this is super beneficial because then you're going to figure out, "Okay, I have all these like plot holes, so to speak, or I'm not necessarily connecting the dots like I should be for my viewer, or I'm not having that hook at the beginning that is telling people what it is we're looking at." You won't know that if you're working with a videographer off the bat.
They're going to edit– Most normal video– We're not normal videographers. Yeah, or people, but most normal videographers are just going to edit your stuff and give it to you. They– they don't really care.
Like, I– I care a little too much, but most of them will not care. They're just going to be like, "Okay, well, this is the dog shit you wanted to put out there, so whatever." They're not going to give you tips and help you to try to have a better experience. And at the end of the day, too, you might be– You might not even look back on your stuff, you'll just be like, "Yeah, this is good enough." And then you'll be like, "Why is this not converting?" 'Cause it sucks!
And that's totally fine, that's normal!
Self-Editing Videos and Improving Retention Rates
And when you're– when you go out and shoot, you shoot 10 minutes, 20 minutes, an hour of content. When you're watching back what you're editing and you are bored out of your mind watching yourself…
…guess what? The viewer's going to be more bored. They already clicked off.
If you're bored, if you can't keep your own interest in the thing that you created, that's when the light bulb goes off. "I'm doing this wrong. What do I change?
How do I make this engaging?" It is so hard to work with a videographer when you don't speak the same creative language. So, you need to have the beginnings of the creative language. It's like if your videographer spoke Italian and you only spoke English, you aren't going to have great results because you cannot communicate whatsoever.
Now, if you don't speak the same creative language, you also cannot communicate. You can say, "I like Ted Lasso," and then it's like, "Okay… Why?" It's good, you need something.
You need to understand and be like, or let's talk about The Bear because we just recorded a little skit with someone.
Just like, you might watch The Bear and be like, "Oh, I like how they– how they do their cuts, how they do this, how they do that." Watching it, we had never seen the show, watching it just yesterday with a client, it was like, "Okay, they shoot from down low up. It gives a different feeling like you're really like you're in there, but you're like in the way.
And they don't actually do any cuts, it's one take. They do full one-take shots with really quick motion throughout to make you feel the anxiety." But if you can't express that to someone, the videographer won't be able to do that. So, your vision is The Bear.
The creative output that you got after you spent your money, after everything's done, is not The Bear. It's not what's in your in your mind because you can't express that. So, you need to be able to build your creative language to communicate with the– with the artist, for lack of a better term.
And the beauty of doing stuff by yourself, too, is you can re-record immediately like if you want.
Yeah, you could just be like, "Oh, this sucked. Let me just redo it really quickly," and then like you can be far better for it. The thing, too, which I think you talked about at the beginning, possibly, is that you will have all the time in the world, also, but no money, possibly.
I mean, it depends on where you're at in your business and everything.
Well, no, but like people starting out, you have all the time and you lack the money. That is just sort of universally. Like, you might have a day job, you might be like whatever, I don't have a ton of time, but you have more time than money in your hustle, in your side hustle.
And use that time to be creative. Try weird things, like see what works, see what doesn't work. I mean, I made a really fucking weird video!
It's, what I ate last night. And I was just so weird in it because for some reason I was just like, "I should do a Jaws thing," and I find it funny. Some people found it funny, some people were questioning my sanity, but you know, whatever.
So it's just it's fun. It just like just do it yourself and then you can become more familiar with what you want, what works, and what you should be doing next. So, then what I also want to talk about then is when you *should* hire a videographer, because at a certain point, you definitely should.
So, be self-reliant up to a point where it doesn't get in the way.
When to Hire a Professional Videographer
Yeah, and I just wanted to say, you shouldn't build your expertise as a videographer, unless that's what you want to do. If you want to be a videographer, go for it!
Then get out of real estate!
But, we're not saying that you should be an expert videographer. No. We're saying you need a passing grade in creating content, and those are very different things.
Beyond the passing grade, you're wasting your time, and there's that point where your money– your time is more valuable than the money involved and that's when you should be hiring a videographer.
Exactly. So, yeah, at that point where then you are starting to have more income and you're generating leads and blah, blah, blah, XYZ…
And you understand what you want.
Yes, then you can spend the money. I mean, obviously, do your research and figure out which videographer will work for you, because a lot of them– ugh, we've talked about this before, but a lot of people that we work with have had horrific experiences, which kudos to them for getting back out in the field because I would have just been like, "Completely no, like you all are ridiculous.
I'm not going to fucking work with another videographer."
How to Choose and Filter Videographers
Yeah, which almost like, this could even be how to hire a videographer, but you need to click with them. So, why does someone hire you as a realtor? Because they know you, they like you, and they trust you.
Those are the three things for any business, for any anything of this sort. So, you need to first know the videographer exists, obviously. If you're watching this, you know we exist.
You need to like them. You might like us, you might not like our like how we do things…
…that's– that's the filter! Like if you don't like that we're sitting on the floor with a shot that's like, why are we shooting like this sitting on the floor at a coffee table? If you don't like that, if you're like, "Oh, this seems like cheap," or whatever, you're not for us.
We're not shooting this with clients.
We're doing this 'cause this is what we want to do, because this is more fun, this is silly, we're going to have really wacky shots in the future that we're doing. But, also…
Well, and our clients are actually our friends, too, which is really fun. Like, we hang out after shoots, it's very fun.
But it's– it's the opposite direction. Most people are like, "Oh, my friends became clients." Like, no, none of these people were friends. Like, they were– they were clients who became friends because we hit it off.
But anyway, and then you need to trust the person. So, that's why we're doing this, too, so you understand like, we know what we're doing. We've been doing this for plenty of time, but you need to find that in the videographer you work with.
You need to find someone that you like…
…above everything else, and then trust them to deliver on what you want.
It's just like finding a realtor. It's like you need to date the realtor and like date, quote-unquote, but you need to see, do they match my vibe? Are they the kind of person that I want?
Which is why you should be making content to get it out there. But then also, as a real estate professional, or small business owner, whatever, entrepreneur, you need to figure out which videographer works for you, because otherwise, like, some of them just– it's like building a friend group. Like, you need to find somebody that you're like, "Oh, okay.
I would totally hang out with this person," or not. I mean, it depends on your vibe. Like, you don't have to, but…
I think if you're working with anyone for in-person time, you have to like them enough that you would spend that time with them even if they weren't doing something for you.
Yeah, 'cause if they're a huge asshole and you have to be like, "Hey, I don't like this edit. Can you change it?" And they're like, "Why?" It's like, "No, no, no. I said change it, please." Like, you can have a little bit of back and forth, only if they think it's going to be better for the creative vision overall, but at the end of the day, they should just be like, "Yeah, sure.
Sounds good."
Well, and you don't have to agree on everything either. It's merely, you need to have a relationship, because this is a relationship business, just like real estate. Real estate is a relationship business, seemingly more than most, but only because we don't always think about business as relationships, but that's all it is.
Yeah. So, then when you're hiring your videographer, so you found the perfect person, you've got it all figured out, and you're best friends, and it's great! Just kidding, you don't have to be best friends.
Then, by the time you get to the point where it's like, "Okay, I want to– like these are the videos I want to do," then you can actually explain to them, "This is what I want. I want to have a 5-6 minute finished YouTube video where it's a look at these seven different ice cream flavors at this weird ice cream shop." you can go back and visit it and make a longer video or something like that.
And also, don't be afraid of re-making content, because nobody's seen what you've done before, so just don't even worry about that.
Just like no one's looking at you, no one is going to say, "Didn't you make this a video about the same thing three months and four days ago?"
And if they do, they're a die-hard fan and sell 'em products!
So, just make sure then, so then at that point you can communicate, "This is what I want, I want it to have this kind of a vibe, I have these inspirations or these samples or something." I mean, you don't have to, but you could just kind of explain like, "I want to have a voiceover here and then maybe some b-roll over it," or whatever you want.
Yeah, even those details aren't as important, I think. It's more the creative vision and the why.
Yes. So, yeah, when you hire a videographer, it is an investment, of course, 'cause that is a decent amount of money that you're giving every month or however long you're doing whatever with your videographer. But you want to make sure that it's worth it, worth your money, and then that you don't also have to keep going back and be like, "Hey, can you fix this?
Hey, can you fix that? Hey, can you fix this?" Which it's fine if you have like little minor edits, but, honestly, if it keeps coming up all the time, that's a lot of your time, also, that is being spent where it's like, "Okay, something's not meshing here. Like, we're not speaking the same language," like you talked about at the beginning, where it's like, "Okay, well, you're still speaking Italian and I'm not, so I– I don't know what 'gio bella' means!"
Highlighting Local Businesses for Real Estate Leads
Haha, real quick, I want to touch on the why, because we keep talking about local gems, hidden gems, and all these different things, like an ice cream shop. So, just to say, why are we talking about that? Because you are a realtor.
You cover a region. There are certain cities, certain neighborhoods you cover. You're not really looking for customers, if you're in the Chicagoland area like we are, you're not looking for customers in California.
Like, that's not who you're trying to sell to. You're trying to sell to Wicker Park, Wrigleyville, what– suburbs. Give me some suburbs.
Hinsdale! Like, you want to be known, liked, and trusted in those areas. So, this is free content ideas, very, very broad, but if you calibrated your entire strategy around being the person known for your neighborhood, as the person who knows everything, they know this is the best Thai food in town, this is who you turn to when you need a plumber, this– just everything in your area, you will be the person on the tip of everyone's tongue for when they need a home, as well.
Exactly, and just being that connector, too, between the business owners in your community, just being like, "Oh, ask Jim Bob Cooter. He knows the ice cream owner– or the owner of…"
That's my favorite coach in the NFL!
Just because of his name.
Nope, I just really like how he plays. I like– No! What, and– and his team?
Anyhoo. But then you can become that resource for everybody, so it's like, "Okay, well, go talk to Jim Bob and he'll know every single person within this community." Like he is the connector, so that helps you tremendously. I also– this is a severe tangent, but I also wanted to touch on 'cause I've had this happen with a few people where they're bored of their content.
That is entirely natural! I am so bored of my podcast that I do separately.
And it's called By Amara.
Yes, and it– I talk about just weird, strange, and just downright odd things that happen in the art history field.
Every year, or every year, every week! Jesus!
And I'm her host and personal curator!
Amara Andrew. The format, no. But I get bored of it, to be quite honest, but I do still find the value in being consistent and I'm building something much better, much better, much bigger with it, and then I get the little clips and everything, so there is a strategy to it.
But, yes, I get very bored of talking about some of the same things. So, at the end of the day, we were just talking about this yesterday, just like investing money, making content should be relatively boring. There will be moments where it's like, "Oh, that was so cool!" or, "Oh, that was awesome!" or like, "I love that!" But then, for the most part, it's going to be really boring, if you're doing smart investing, I should say, 'cause you can have investing where it's just fucking volatile, but you do whatever.
This is not financial advice.
Maintaining In-House Content Consistency and Strategy
Well, yeah, we're not in the gambling game. So, like, this is why also we do everything in-house. Like for my businesses, for MAVEN, the– the expenses for a year are as close to zero as is possible.
And that's not by accident, that's on purpose, because we're not gambling. Like, why– why gamble our livelihood? Why just see if we can get a million views on a TikTok video?
Like, that happens. Like, we've had that happen with us, with clients, everything. That one video didn't get people thousands of dollars or hundreds of new clients.
That's not how it works. So, that's gambling on virality versus investing in the long-term viability of you as a personality, as someone who's known, as building your– your community of the people who love you. Like, that's all this is.
People need to know you exist and love you.
And being consistent, and making sure that you're, again, back to starting out by being self-reliant. You need to find out what's sustainable for you, because maybe you can record four small YouTube videos every time you meet with your videographer. That'd be great!
Like four little 5-minute whatever's, then you're populating your YouTube channel and then you can get clips from that. I mean, that is like a perfect setup, but if you don't have those things put into place where, "Oh, I'm going to write out my ideas for this video every Monday," or whatever, "Every Monday morning, that's going to be my thing." If you don't have that already set up, you're fucked!
Like, just plain and simple, you need to have that system set up, because otherwise, then it's kind of like, "Ugh, I don't want to have to do this," or, "Ugh." And then why are you wasting money hiring a videographer if you don't even have that discipline to do that?
And all that to say, too, your videographer might be able to guide you on strategy and all of this, too. Like, this is what we do. Well, yeah, we are an anomaly, 100%.
Like, the videography is the tool that we use to build a business. Like, grow– growing up, building my business, I was– people would be like, "I'm a WordPress developer. I'm a this, I'm a that." I'm like, that's– like I would build websites on WordPress, but that was just the tool I was using to help people build a business, it had nothing to do with my identity.
So, like, videography, as a videographer, that's what you can like say. That's what's easy to say, but the harder thing is to be like, "I help people gain more exposure, reach, make more money, build six and seven-figure business." Like, that's so nebulous. What does that even mean?
It's easier to say videography.
Yes. Yeah, MAVEN is definitely an anomaly, but I think that's all I've got.
Other than a joke for you.
You have a joke for me? Why would I want a joke? Oh, no.
Yes! At the end of the day, if you're bored with your content, you're doing it right! Sort of.
You need to make sure it's actually working.
So, real quick, if you're like bored watching a video, that's a problem. Like, retention's important. But if you are feeling like, "I've done this before.
I've been talking about my expertise more, like I'm– I'm tired of talking about my expertise," you've only scratched the surface. Not– no one knows you exist.
Unless you've been doing it for 10 years where you've been talking about your expertise on TikTok, which is impossible, then…
Well, yeah, so it's like that's– that's a moot point. It's not even possible. Like, it's not a thing.
YouTube is barely like over– it's over 10 years old, obviously, but it is not…
It's not old enough that you should be bored of it! So, just keep creating, keep doing things. Again, if you're just starting out for social media, or with your social media, sorry, you need to make it on your own.
Figure out what you want to talk about before you're sinking money into hiring a videographer. That way, you set up a schedule that works for you, you can become self-reliant, you know what works, you know what doesn't, you know what needs to be kind of punched up in the edit and everything, and then your videographer in the future can work with that and make your videos just 100% amazing, so that I think is all I have.
Oh! One more thing, if you need help or have any questions at all, reach out to us. We also have a number, which I'll have you give out in a second, 'cause I forget.
Have me give it out? I was about– I was about to give it out and then you said one more thing.
But then, also, we are going to– we're going to start releasing a newsletter, I think actually this week, 'cause why not? And in it is going to be a tip kind of for the week of what you should be doing or thinking about or whatever. I'm going to have a content creation prompt within the email, within the newsletter, so if you're just like, "What the fuck do I make today?" It will be in that email, and then also a recommendation, 'cause why not?
And just the– the big thing is it's going to provide value to you, so you again, you can go sign up at whatismaven.com on my little shirt, and sign up, I forget.
Yeah, and if you have any questions, leave a comment below this YouTube video. If you're listening to the podcast, thank you so much. If you leave a review, that means a lot.
But if you head over to YouTube, find this video and leave a comment, that keeps everyone's conversation in the same spot. And that phone number to call in to be featured on the show, we'd love to love to talk to you, and well, hear from you and answer your questions on another episode, the phone number is 530-628-3611.
That's 530-MAVEN-11.
Yes.
What are sophisticated realtors known for?
What are sophisticated realtors known for?
Constantly talking about proper tea.
Tea!
Thanks so much for watching and listening! We love you! Get out there and create stuff!
Bye! You love me!
