Creator Scale

#078 - Growing a business from scratch is tough. Especially when you're also trying to build up the skills to do the work your future clients need you to do at the same time. In this podcast episode I talk with my wife Jen Wojcik about how she built and scaled her wedding photography business into a full-time job over the course of 6 years after moving to a new city and not having photographed a w...

#077 - One year ago I launched my camera tripod invention, [SwitchPod], on Kickstarter. It went on to raise over $415,000 and we have since manufactured and shipped almost 10,000 tripods all over the world. In this podcast episode I share 17 lessons I’ve learned from launching and growing SwitchPod over the past 3 years that you can apply to the projects and businesses that you’re building. Here’s...

#076 - In this episode I share a quick update about what to expect from me in 2020. I’ll talk about my YouTube channel, my podcast, and my training courses. 2019 was the busiest and biggest year for me yet. And that’s not just because my family actually grew by one and I’m now a Dad. :) Here’s a full update about what’s to come from me in 2020, what’s been hard about balancing 3 businesses, my wor...

#075 - This episode is a little different in that I don't interview anyone, but I tell my story. I went immediately from college into the corporate world, and then from there, into the entrepreneurial space to work for a blogger. I eventually started my own business as a freelance filmmaker. I discuss how it's led to my channel, my podcast, and my new invention, the SwitchPod. In this episode I ta...

#074 - In this episode I talk to Dave Maze who runs a channel called Kinotika where he talks all about camera gear and equipment. We talk about transitioning from full time freelancer to full time YouTuber, what it’s like to run a channel focused on reviews, and the future of YouTube and camera gear. If you want to grow your YouTube channel or do sponsored content as an influencer, this episode is...

#073 - In this episode I talk with Kitty Peters who runs Atola Visuals, a filmmaking company focusing on client work, as well as a YouTube Channel with the same name, where she features filmmaking gear and tutorials. We talk about whether or not she believes film school was worth it for her, why it’s important to have multiple income streams, and quantity vs. quality when it comes to content. In t...

#072 - Levi Allen is an adventure filmmaker. In this episode we talk about how his short film Untethered got a Vimeo staff pick, which lead to the film being distributed internationally, but then how he fought back for the rights to have it free and public again. We also talk about how to build up a client business from scratch and why your personality is an important reason why people subscribe t...

#071 - Pat Flynn helped me co-invent and create SwitchPod over the past 15 months before we launched it on Kickstarter . At the time of recording this episode, a couple days into the campaign, we had already doubled our goal and raised over $227,000 to make thousands of SwitchPods for our backers. In this episode we talked about: 1:06 — 15 Months of Development 7:25 — Building Pre-Launch Buzz 13:0...

#070 - In this conversation I chat with 5 other YouTubers and Filmmakers about what it takes to be a full-time YouTuber or Filmmaker, gear recommendations for starting out, what really matters feature wise in a camera, what stats and numbers you should track (and what you should ignore), and how to actually make money on YouTube. If you'd like to jump around the conversation, use the timestamps be...

#069 - In this episode I share why I am putting this podcast on hold to focus on creating more video content for YouTube. I talk about doubling down, simplifying, following what is working, and how video is the best format for most of what I want to share & create. I also share my ten favorite episodes from the last sixty-eight. Show Notes Subscribe to the DIY Video Guy YouTube Channel Check out a...

#068 - I think podcasts are one of the best ways to continually learn while you're doing something. Most days I listen to multiple podcast episodes while driving, working out, or walking my dog. In this episode I share what some of my favorite podcasts for filmmakers, YouTubers, and freelancers are. April 21, 2016 http://www. DIYVideoGuy.com/68 To learn more about me and what I offer, go to CalebW...

#067 - When you follow a lot of people online and you see them publishing videos all the time, it is easy to get down on yourself for not publishing as frequently or at as high a quality as you'd prefer. In this episode I chat with Satchell Drakes, who runs a YouTube channel with some of the highest quality videos in the video gaming niche. I talk with him about his process of creating videos, wha...

#066 - In this episode I discuss video gear, but I don't talk about specific pieces I recommend. This will be more of a philosophical discussion about why you need gear and more importantly, when to stop buying it once you get to a certain point. I also talk about when to upgrade vs. when to keep using what you have and share my strategies for getting the most money you can when selling old gear y...

#065 - Knowing exactly why you're making videos and who they are for is the best way to be successful on a platform like YouTube. In this episode of the podcast I talk with Jessica Holsman, who YouTubes at Study with Jess, about what it's like to grow a YouTube channel to 100,000 subscribers in a year by knowing exactly who your target audience is and what to make for them. She also shares how she...

#064 - It is already a ton of work to make a video, so setting up your YouTube channel with proper branding, tags, upload defaults, and more often gets set aside. In this podcast episode I chat with Tom Martin about how to properly get your YouTube channel fully set-up so your videos are more likely to show up in search and as suggested videos in the sidebar. After listening you'll have a bunch of...

#063 - Being unique and standing out in a sea of creators within a similar niche is tough. That's why I wanted to chat with Luke Sizemore, better known on YouTube as Yungtown, about what it takes to stand out in the genre of making videos about video games. In this episode we talk about how he was making music way before rapping on YouTube, why it makes sense to hide older unrelated videos on a ch...

#062 - It can feel great to have all the time in the world to complete something, but more often than not, that leads to never finishing what you're doing. Deadlines push us to hustle, finish, and ship. (Just like cramming really hard in school for an exam.) In this podcast episode we talk about how having a release schedule and public accountability helps push you to be consistently creative and...

#061 - Some videos you make tank and get barely any views. Others, sometimes unexpectedly, continue to be watched and get plenty of organic search and referral traffic. How can you guarantee a video you're making will be the latter? In this episode we discuss how to plan and create videos that people want to watch. We use two of our recent videos as examples, one that worked and one that tanked; t...

#060 - When you put a bunch of time, effort, energy, and money into making YouTube videos, you don't want to waste all that and not reach anybody. Yet, most YouTubers make the same mistakes over and over when getting started. In this episode I chat with Tim Schmoyer of Video Creators about 8 mistakes most YouTubers make. We also discuss what he has learned after vlogging for ten years and how to a...

#059 - I don't typically pay much attention to the current events of a platform like YouTube, but this week's controversy with The Fine Brothers trademarking 'react' videos made me want to share my thoughts on some recent trends and conversations happening about YouTube. In this episode I talk through the sad economics of being famous on the Internet, why you shouldn't try to trademark recording a...

#058 - When people email and ask me questions about video, whether they're asking about ones I've made or they're trying to make videos themselves, without a doubt the majority of the questions I get revolve around gear and equipment. "What camera did you use?" "What lens is that?" "What software do you edit in?" I always answer their question, because I can geek out about gear as much as the next...

#057 - Today's episode brings you Levi Allen, a filmmaker out of British Columbia and Founder of Left Coast Media. Levi's most recent film 'Untethered' was featured as a Vimeo Staff Pick in December 2015. In this episode Levi discusses how he started out making films, the importance of not letting gear stand in the way of creation, why he decided to begin vlogging, the story behind the making of U...

#056 - One of my favorite parts of being friends with entrepreneurs is seeing how far they progress in just a year. In this podcast episode I chat with Thomas Frank, a four-time guest on the show, to talk with him about how he has grown his YouTube channel to over 166,000 subscribers and almost 5,000,000 views by making weekly videos for just over a year. In this episode we discuss: * Why sometime...

#055 - Only in looking back can you accurately assess what you're capable of going forward. Looking back at 2015 gives me a lot of reasons to celebrate, be grateful, & look forward. In this episode we look at back at lessons learned, what went well, what didn't go well, and what to expect from DIY Video Guy in 2016. http://www. DIYVideoGuy.com/55 January 6 , 2016 To learn more about me and what I...

#054 - Dave Dugdale has been sharing his filmmaking journey on YouTube since he first got a Canon T2i in 2010. I stumbled across his videos a few years ago when I first bought a DSLR and was trying to figure out what camera settings to use. In today's podcast episode I chat with Dave about how he transitioned from making videos about real estate to drive search traffic into teaching video producti...