Introducing My 3-Month Accelerator Program for Freelance Filmmakers

Last week I mentioned how Michelangelo “struggled” as an artist, but actually was one of the most financially successful artists of all time.

The idea of starving artists is a myth and one that needs to be put to bed.

Creatives do not have to struggle to thrive. You just need to be diligent in working on your business while you develop your craft. Developing these side by side is how you become great.

So often I see creatives with little to no business experience struggle to put the systems in place to be financially successful, but that doesn’t have to be the case. You can be a creative AND a successful business owner. You just have to learn how.

That’s why today I am opening up my Freelance Filmmaker Accelerator Program.

This will be a small, intimate, group of filmmakers who are serious about growing their businesses.

I’ll be providing a 3-month long, hand-crafted experience. You’ll have direct access to ask me questions and get customized advice on what you’re struggling with most to grow your business.

There will only be 25 spots available this first time around, so we can build deeper relationships with one another and not get overwhelmed by the size of the group.

Here’s a sneak peek at what we’ll cover over the 13 weeks together:

• How to niche down into serving only your ideal clients

• Figuring out which potential clients can actually pay you what you want to earn

• What you need on your website (and what you ignore)

• The parts of your brand that matter (hint: not your Instagram grid or follower count)

• How to pitch your proposals so your clients almost always say yes

• Positioning yourself as an investment for your clients, not just another expense

• How (and why) to say no to certain clients (even when you need the money)

• A templated questionnaire to figure out if a potential client is the right fit for you

• Raising your rates with existing clients

• A process for figuring out how much to charge

• How to always get paid on time (and never have a project drag on forever)

• Choosing the best software for getting paid, collaborating on videos, and running your business smoothly

• Everything to include in a contract to protect you and your company (including my template)

• An invoice structure to break down how much you're worth to clients

• A step-by-step project management checklist you should use for every client project

• How to keep your clients in the loop, avoid miscommunication, and prevent rework

• Setting client expectations and how to exceed them

• Where to find crew and talent to hire

• Simplifying and speeding up client feedback and revisions

• Determining how long to estimate for post-production and what NOT to promise

• How to turn one-off clients into retainers or repeat customers

• A simple way to leverage past clients to get more work through referrals

• Determining the proper business structure for your stage in business

• Strategies for properly forecasting cash flow, tax payments, and bookkeeping

• What kinds of insurance you need to protect your gear, clients, and business

• Travel hacks I use to avoid fees and losing any checked equipment

• Tactics for changing from one type of client to another

• Knowing when is the right time to quit a day job to go full-time

• Figuring out the perfect moment to hire an employee to help out

I’m not offering something that I think is going to be a breeze. This is going to be 13 weeks of dedicated and sometimes difficult work. But I’m in if you are.

We’ll spend three months doing a deep dive into your business. Both on weekly virtual discussion calls with time for Q&A and a private Slack community.

If you’re like many filmmakers I know, you focus most of your time and energy on your craft. You’ve pushed yourself to the next level creatively and honed in on your style and aesthetic, but we’ll focus on setting your business up to succeed too.

Maybe you’re just starting out and want to make a go of it full time. Maybe you’ve been at it for a while but just can’t book those higher paying gigs or the type of clients you really want to be working with. Or maybe you’re killing it, but something else is holding you back.

I will help you problem solve what you’re struggling with most right now and give you actionable steps to move you toward your goals faster than if you were to do it on your own.

There’s power in numbers, there’s power in community, there’s power in investing in yourself and your business.

Enrollment in the accelerator is open now and will close next Monday.

Learn more about the program here.

P.S. - Tomorrow I’ll share a story of how I quit my dream job to risk starting my own video company four years ago, how I survived financially, and built my six figure client business.