starting a solo video biz? watch this first 

you should get a sponsorship from manscaped, raid shadowlegends, storyblocks , squarespace, audio, epidemic sound and do all the adverts in one video... how that would conflict with your lumix adverts , im not sure, but it would be quite the video. welcome to youtube 2024

Love this style of vid man, the cut aways to you setting up and working with the subject against you VO is super engaging.

Yeah you nailed it, I've been solo for over 23 years now. Regarding with dabbling, yeah that's a good point but being generally a creative means you likely would have gotten "bored" with that after a while. Diversity of projects helps keep things fresh.

A bit off topic but just wanted to say your videos are always very informative and helpful. Thanks very much.

I’m glad to hear that someone as successful as you struggles with the same things that us beginners struggle with! I feel like you made this video specifically talking to me - from the loneliness to the bottlenecks, I felt every single point. Thanks for sharing! And if you ever find yourself in Philly/Atlanta, I’d love to collab with you!

awesome and authentic content Caleb. For my personally, pigeonholing my target client, deeply understanding their problems and focusing on selling the result and not the video has changed the perspective on the business and the client relationships to a positive side. I see this as a win and opportunity now, but it is a journey to get there and a constant process.

Excellent advice, thanks a lot.

Well, in my case my start was quite slow...gradual let's say, like it wasn't something really planned, but rather it was more of a hobby, until someone hired me to make a second camera and so on. But the long periods without clients, the difficulty of dealing with clients directly made me start working with agencies. Now they are in a period of being audiovisual director of a group of technology brands (thanks to the portfolio I had). I also maintain my job as a remote editor for my regular clients and some who arrive occasionally...also as a remote video reviewer; And as this period of "stability" ends, I plan to turn more towards the social media, make myself known more (perhaps make some RU-vid videos when I´ll brave enough, he he)... and definitely do more work in teams, subcontracted or subcontracting. And do better networking.

Thank you for this, Caleb. Solo video business owner here. Hitting a bit of a lull recently, just missed out on a $30k 6 day gig. I need this positivity and advice.

Working solo or as some say “one man band” can be brutal, mastering one or two styles is a great idea. 40 years of broadcast video editing, the last 4 back as solo is so different to working for a network. We all need sounding boards, support and creative raves. Don’t get me started on tax and invoices etc haha a nightmare. I’ve started to make my own videos and now look for specific type of client, but that’s not easy tbh. Editing is more than a job for me, it’s a passion, perhaps obsession 😬. Fantastic of you Caleb, to just put this out there, keep the sun shinning !!

Very relatable. Especially with the niching down and doing 1-2 types of videos. A buddy of mine specializes in doing videos for public speakers and he's always been more successful than me even though (he says this too) my videos look better than his. I'm just barely starting to niche down more and only take those other opportunities if it's worth it instead of trying to just get as many kinds of videos under my belt.

Thanks for the video.. I have already been stuck for months, trying to be prepared for those first clients and not lose the opportunity with them, but I am lost in what many others are also, which is how to get paid, what forms do I have to have apart from a contract and what should that have? contract. I have seen dozens of videos and basically they all want to sell you mentoring, etc. Basically I have been trying to complete a good camera equipment, lights and so on, something at least basic without breaking the bank, without sales yet. My next step is to make several videos maybe for free to have a new and fresh portfolio of what I want to do. I have bad stories with clients who, even if I give them the video to have something, come up with stories and demands that in the end I end up doing nothing. When you give for free they don't take it seriously, they cancel or make a deliberate cancellation, others have wanted to tell me how they want things and do it in 20 minutes and so on several stories. But hey, I just wanted to express my situation a little. In any case, I remain optimistic and believe in what I can do, so the only thing left to do is move forward. Thank you

The struggles that I have going solo are all in the realm of time and money while trying to launch from direct word of mouth to actually marketing myself. Working a day job, then coming home to my wife and three kids, if I have gigs going on, I get no time with them and it can affect them. Trying to get a website going, but don’t have the money to pay for help in that realm, so I need to take more time to learn some of that, or logo design that doesn’t look like Corel paint. I haven’t even updated my RU-vid or facebook pages in the last year. Even when I don’t have a gig going, I still feel a bit overwhelmed trying to get stuff done, and can always feel that the family isn’t exactly happy that I will be in the editing cave.

Thanks for sharing this! I have been working one shooter/editor job for an ad agency for over a decade. I feel like I've hit the ceiling and have been wanting to branch out to a solo video biz. I know my abilities and knowledge of the creation side are good, but just have almost no knowledge of the business side. It's kept me from getting a start on things for a while now.

Awesome tips Caleb.

I love this video. Really helpful, insightful stuff. Thanks for making it. I’d love to start collaborating with other video people in my area (Boston). Anybody have any tips on finding smaller creators in the area to start watching and how you initially reach out to other creators to collaborate? I’m sure this is no problem for most people but honestly the “making connections” step both excites me and gives me anxiety. lol I’d love thoughts from anyone. Thanks! And thanks for another super rad video!

Did you shoot this in 6K open gate on the Lumix S5II? The aspect ratio looks like either 4:3 or 3:2, and it looks like you left extra headroom for either horizontal or vertical cropping.

Great video Caleb. Lots of useful tips. I would love to establish, but I struggle to find client work. Thanks for sharing!

It's not a great business to get into, especially this year. But we're all insane, so we'll keep going anyway 😜

This video helped me find myself.

I was literally gonna make a video talking about this topic .

'No man is an island' - what does it mean? The phrase 'no man is an island' expresses the idea that human beings do badly when isolated from others and need to be part of a community in order to thrive. It was coined by the English metaphysical poet John Donne in 1624

Intresting🎉is the dji pro focus handle w lidar going to autofocus Lumix autofocus lenses w/o motors?i just like building rigs at home for the past 3 yrs and its been a moneypit.i got into the Lumix system when i retired my T2i and cant keep up. Hopefully i can call it a business before im 50😂my wife and kids are supportive and thats what makes me a Creator. I sold 150 acres and blew over 100 k on camera /film making gear to start at 10 acres close to home and grow from there on a hunting show ! Meanwhile making practice content w mostly Storyblocks footage to practice editing. Editing is not easy.im not a business yet . It can be lonely for sure.Thank You

Truckers hat Big hipster beard Arm tats Dude must be an artist