Winter Media

BEFORE vs AFTER 🔊 Background noise can be a challenge when it comes to interviews. This was definitely the most challenging interview we had for quite some time! We found a rather delightful and quiet cafe for this morning of filming, however, one thing we didn't account for was the café actually being OPEN! 😅 Lunchtime hit, and people flooded through the doors. We still had a little filming to do but had to rely on some audio magic for voice isolation in post. Safe to say we're happy with the results! ✅ -------------------------- If you're looking for help with your content production, make sure you give us a shout! Drop me a message 📨

The WORST CLIENT I have ever worked with

I'm normally a pretty positive person... but THIS grinds my gears ⚙️🤬 As a result of this incident, I now run what I like to call a 'Del-Boy' check on business owners 🔍👀 i.e... if you seem dodgy, you probably are! 😅 I can laugh about the whole situation now, because watching back this video, I actually realise just how STUPID I really was. On a more serious note, I've learnt huge lessons from this. I always do whatever I can to give people the best possible videos, and the best possible service to match... And so I really didn't take well to being accused of trying to rip people off. For anyone that knows me, I couldn't imagine ripping someone off in any way, let alone actually doing it. For that matter - if I was trying to rip people off, I wouldn't take a minor deposit, outlay twice as much into the project, and then spend 8 days planning, filming and editing for no pay. If I did that, I wouldn't make a very good scam-artist 😂 However, I definitely got mugged over on this one. Moving forward: ✅ I have to be a lot more strict with deposits. ✅ I have to be a lot more strict on planning, and detailing out the 'what-ifs' of a project (like being locked outside a venue for 2 hours while the client turns up late) ✅ I have to be a lot more strict on boundaries and learning to say no. This project genuinely ruined a holiday for me and my girlfriend. I spent the entire time cleaning up the client's mess after they failed to meet their end of the logistics just days before the shoot. ✅ I have to be a lot more strict on WHO I work with. I have no interest in dodgy business deals, tax-dodgers, cash in hand jobs and mates rates who inevitably mug you off. I'd stick a rusty spoon in my eye than work for someone like this again. I want to work with genuinely good people, real business owners, marketing professionals and people who want to make a difference through awesome videos. 🙌 ------------ ✚ Follow for more! 🔗 Con

The bigger the business, the bigger the problems.

About 5 years ago, I started freelancing. The first 6 months were some of the most stressful times of my life, and at the time, I didn't think things could get much worse. I also thought that growing the business would solve all my problems. I was only partially right... I'm very early-on in my journey and learnings within the wonderful world of business, and you soon realise that running a business is stressful on any level. It's just stressful, full-stop. It's that simple. Just when I think I have things bad, I speak to bigger business owners and realise it could also be worse. I currently have £8,000 in overdue invoices... Some business owners have £80,000 in overdue invoices. Some have £800,000 in overdue invoices. The really unlucky ones (or lucky ones perhaps) have £8million in overdue invoices. Currently, we're £12,000 out of pocket within the business. But 5 years ago, I would have DREAMT to have £12k in outstanding invoices. 5 years ago, I was just starting out. I had no clients and no money - and even still today, I'm not sure which situation is worse. It's all relative! Working with a range of businesses gives me a chance to speak to lots of business owners. They all want the same: to grow their business. I've learnt to question 'why?' a lot more now... Whenever I see an overdue invoices, or have clients not pay us altogether, I still think back to myself 5 years ago, and remember the stresses then. I wouldn't say it was better or worse.... just different. ------------ ✚ Follow for more! 🔗 Connect with me and learn how to grow your business through content!

Would you spend £100,000 per year on content creation? 💸 That's my aim by the end of 2025! 🙋‍ For Affinity Media Group, I aim to be spending £50k/year on content by the end of 2024, and £100k/year by the end of 2025 purely on content creation. In this clip, I'm breaking down some of the investments needed into building a decent content production team ⤵ Big things to remember: 💡 Content is an investment, not an expense. 💡 The best data is found between your own 2 thumbs 👍 i.e get engaged with your audience in the comment section and see what people are saying! 💡 Hiring one person to do all of your social media marketing is a sure-set way to lose money and be ineffective in marketing. One person can't do it all. ------------ ✚ Follow for more! 🔗 Connect with me and learn how to grow your business through content!

Def Leppad Highlights | Christmas Rocks 2022

Looking forward to getting back to Christmas Rocks Festival this year to film some of the UK's best tribute bands 🤘 Here's a video we made for Def Leppad the UK Tribute Band! Not bad for a debut gig!

My honest thoughts on outsourcing video

My honest thoughts on outsourcing video 💭⤵ To me, every business should be employing a great video FULL-TIME, but ONLY on these conditions 📝 1. You understand the difference between video, and video-marketing. 👉 Most business assume that just because they create videos, they will instantly market their business. 99% of videos don't market or sell businesses effectively. They are made without purpose in the hope of bringing in sales or growing a brand, but very rarely do so. 2. You understand that video-creators are NOT marketeers. 👉 Just because video is a great way of marketing, it does not mean that anyone who creates videos is good at marketing. If you are employing someone to specifically work on creating videos, you need someone else to create the actual marketing ideas. 3. You have the right ideas at the right time 👉 A lot of videos can be made within a 40-hour work week. Don't make the mistake of employing someone, and realising the 3 videos ideas you had only took a few minutes and an iPhone. 4. You understand the message your business needs to put out 👉 This is crucial. You could spend years of your time and thousands of pounds creating videos, but if you aren't communicating your message effectively, those videos are about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike 💨 5. You have time, or management in place to work alongside the in-house production 👉 It's no use employing a video creator if you're too busy, or they don't have an effective team alongside them. Video creators want creative minds, they want a great team, and they want great ideas, but most importantly, they want to create great videos. Make sure you have everything in place to accommodate and work effectively. ------------------------------ Can't manage that? Then hire us instead! 😜 Our monthly marketing packages start from £1,250 per month (half the cost of a full-time employee) where we write, script, plan, film, edit and even upload all of yo

Let your margins decide your marketing

When planning advertising and marketing, a lot of businesses start with how much they can afford to spend. Let's say they have a budget of £10k... They think about creating a video for £2,500. They spend the remaining £7,500 across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Google. They sell 3,000 items and generate £15k in revenue. Sounds great right? However ⤵ - Their product sells for £5. - It costs them £2.50 to make. They have a £2.50 gross profit. - but it's costing them roughly £3 per sale. - This leaves them with MINUS 50p per sale. I know this mistake as I did exactly the same. I started a side hustle during lockdown and invested £5k into stock (t-shirts). They were sold at £25 with a 50% gross profit. However, cost of advertising was so high that it was costing around £15 to sell each item. This means I was losing £2.50 for every sale that came through 😢 It took me a while to realise and immediately stopped. Now I have £4k of stock lying around doing nothing! This is hugely important for any business, but particularly product-based businesses. Spend a couple of hours looking very closely at your numbers before you spend thousands on ads and potentially lose more money than you make. This is extra important with Christmas fast-approaching, and a hugely busy time for e-commerce businesses. ------------ ✚ Follow for more! 🔗 Connect with me and learn how to grow your business through content!

At the moment, I'm working with a few commerce brands, a few that are looking at video and ad campaigns on the run up to Christmas and venturing into 2024. One common theme is that a lot of their goals are based on revenue ❌ This is a big mistake that I've also been making for the past 4 years. Only in the last 12 months have I really shifted my mindset to start monitoring my business properly 👀 Most people manage their business by monthly revenue and how much cash is in the bank. As I've come to learn, this is a big no no! ⚠️ If you hit £10k monthly revenue, but your business costs £15k/month to run, you'll be bankrupt before you know it. You have to look at how much profit you want to make. Look at how much salary you want to take home on a monthly/annual basis, and work backwards from all your expenses and running costs. This should give you a fair idea of how much revenue you should aim for in order to do all of that. This is especially important for commerce businesses, it's easy to forget about cost of sales when you're plucking numbers from thin air, so always work backwards from your desired profit! Your revenue should be a bi-product of every aim you have for your business. As I say in this, I'm just learning this now! Don't forget, a monthly profit and loss paints a much better picture than the number in your bank account. Take a look at your books for the last few years, and produce some monthly management accounts to properly track where you need to be. Revenue is vanity 🌟 Profit is sanity 🧠 ------------ ✚ Follow for more! 🔗 Connect with me and learn how to grow your business through content!

Revenue is vanity 🌟 Profit is sanity 🧠

At the moment, I'm working with a few commerce brands, a few that are looking at video and ad campaigns on the run up to Christmas and venturing into 2024. One common theme is that a lot of their goals are based on revenue ❌ This is a big mistake that I've also been making for the past 4 years. Only in the last 12 months have I really shifted my mindset to start monitoring my business properly 👀 Most people manage their business by monthly revenue and how much cash is in the bank. As I've come to learn, this is a big no no! ⚠️ If you hit £10k monthly revenue, but your business costs £15k/month to run, you'll be bankrupt before you know it. You have to look at how much profit you want to make. Look at how much salary you want to take home on a monthly/annual basis, and work backwards from all your expenses and running costs. This should give you a fair idea of how much revenue you should aim for in order to do all of that. This is especially important for commerce businesses, it's easy to forget about cost of sales when you're plucking numbers from thin air, so always work backwards from your desired profit! Your revenue should be a bi-product of every aim you have for your business. As I say in this, I'm just learning this now! Don't forget, a monthly profit and loss paints a much better picture than the number in your bank account. Take a look at your books for the last few years, and produce some monthly management accounts to properly track where you need to be. Revenue is vanity 🌟 Profit is sanity 🧠 ------------ ✚ Follow for more! 🔗 Connect with me and learn how to grow your business through content!

❌ Most events businesses are a HUGE failure! ❌ Here are the most common reasons: 🤑 Too money-focused They are too busy worrying about money, trying to break even or make profit in the first year. You need to invest money and kick your profit down the road onto following years 💰 Lack of investment It's easy to focus on saving costs. This means your event will only ever 'lack' and not improve. You have to invest to make a truly great brand. ⏳ Lack of patience Most events-based businesses take time to grow and develop a following, popularity or good marketing materials to promote year on year. A lot of people do not have the patience to see an event grow over 5, 10, 15, 20 years. Always think in years and decades, not weeks and months. 📸 Not thinking with marketing in mind Every event is your promo material for the next one. Always be thinking about how you can capture content and things to advertise your event the following year. Whenever you look at big festivals or events throughout the world, 90% of their promo content is captured from previous years. If your event is crap, that's exactly what your next event looks like when marketed. ------------ ✚ Follow for more! 🔗 Connect with me and learn how to grow your business through content!

The biggest reasons event businesses fail

❌ Most events businesses are a HUGE failure! ❌ Here are the most common reasons: 🤑 Too money-focused They are too busy worrying about money, trying to break even or make profit in the first year. You need to invest money and kick your profit down the road onto following years 💰 Lack of investment It's easy to focus on saving costs. This means your event will only ever 'lack' and not improve. You have to invest to make a truly great brand. ⏳ Lack of patience Most events-based businesses take time to grow and develop a following, popularity or good marketing materials to promote year on year. A lot of people do not have the patience to see an event grow over 5, 10, 15, 20 years. Always think in years and decades, not weeks and months. 📸 Not thinking with marketing in mind Every event is your promo material for the next one. Always be thinking about how you can capture content and things to advertise your event the following year. Whenever you look at big festivals or events throughout the world, 90% of their promo content is captured from previous years. If your event is crap, that's exactly what your next event looks like when marketed. ------------ ✚ Follow for more! 🔗 Connect with me and learn how to grow your business through content!

The hardest thing about becoming an employer

🚨 I'll soon be getting arrested for tax or pension fraud 🚨 However, I'll be sharing this clip as my defence in court 😂 I've always had huge respect for business owners... but until August of this year, I never knew how much of a headf*ck it was to employ someone! Maybe I was looking in the wrong places for information, but I never thought it would be such a struggle to find answers to relatively simple questions. A HUGE shoutout and thank you to Chris Newham at Solutions Accountancy Ltd for all his help. I've pestered him with more questions than even an accountant could count, but he's been absolutely awesome help! 🙌 ------------ ✚ Follow for more! 🔗 Connect with me and learn how to grow your business through content!

🚨 I'll soon be getting arrested for tax or pension fraud 🚨 However, I'll be sharing this clip as my defence in court 😂 I've always had huge respect for business owners... but until August of this year, I never knew how much of a headf*ck it was to employ someone! Maybe I was looking in the wrong places for information, but I never thought it would be such a struggle to find answers to relatively simple questions. A HUGE shoutout and thank you to Chris Newham at Solutions Accountancy Ltd for all his help. I've pestered him with more questions than even an accountant could count, but he's been absolutely awesome help! 🙌 ------------ ✚ Follow for more! 🔗 Connect with me and learn how to grow your business through content!

When I was deciding on hiring my first employee, I had 2 options. I either hired a video editor, or I hired a PA 🤔 🎥 A video editor would give me back 40hours per week, and all their time would be dedicated to edits, and making amazing videos for clients. 💻 A PA would give me back 20hrs a week planning videos, organising shoots and all things admin within the business. Ultimately, I decided on a video editor, and can safely say it was the correct decision 🙌 One of the biggest and best things I learnt from James Sinclair is that as a business owner should spend time GROWING their business, NOT OPERATING it. To be honest, I always knew this, but sometimes it's good to be reminded! It's been great to find myself talking about this with other videographers, freelancers and clients/business owners. I feel that the more I grow as a newly-found video agency owner, the more I'm able to take a better view of a client's business and advise on their videos and marketing. It's made such a difference to grow from being someone who just makes videos, to sharing the same struggles, stresses and challenges as my clients, and helping overcome them together 👊

Here's why I'd rather build multiple business at one time. I'm happy to accept that they will grow slower as a result, but I'd much rather have the variety and enjoy my weeks! 🤘 Especially when working in content, it takes a huuuuuge amount of time to build up an audience. Whilst there'd never be a time where spending more hours on one particular business would be unhelpful, it won't always guarantee the most effective results, at least in terms of channel growth and the inevitable content fatigue. Right now, I'm building 3 businesses at once: Winter Media, Affinity Racing, and my drum channel. These inevitably all have their own revenue streams and micro businesses within them, but ultimately, 80-90% of my time is split between these core brands within the Affinity Media Group. There's a chance I look back in 10 years and wish I did things differently, but right now, this absolutely works. It's about the patience! ⏳