Do you ever feel like if only you could convince your wedding clients to get rid of the photographer on the wedding day your job would be so much easier, and your films would come out better?

As videographers, most of us have felt this way at some point. But as today’s guest, Sachin Khona points out, the problem is not that there’s a photographer there vying for the same angles and moments as we are, it’s the fact that we don’t communicate and collaborate enough to help the day flow smoothly. In fact, approaching the day collaboratively with another creative can often lead to different angles and shots than we might capture on our own.

Sachin is a Vancouver based wedding, portrait and street photographer who also puts on an annual conference in his hometown called The ARC Experience geared towards wedding photographers. He’s heard all the complaints from both videographers and photographers about working with each other, and shares some of his tips for how to ensure the wedding day goes smoothly and everyone gets what they need.

He also breaks down how he transitioned out of his corporate job into photography, after realizing that while he was supposedly working the perfect job at one of the best companies in the world, he still wasn’t happy.

What’s the best experience you’ve had working with a wedding photographer? What made it so great? Let us know in the comments!



In this episode:

Some tips to ensure the wedding day goes smoothly when working with other creatives
How to set the the tone for the rest of the wedding day right off the bat, and why this is essential
The blueprint for how Sachin left his corporate job to pursue wedding photography
Why you NEED to educate the client on your style and what it takes to achieve it


Quotes:

“What I’m trying to when I first meet a couple is, I don’t really want to try too hard to sell what I do. It’s really about us connecting, and seeing if our personalities and our vibe and our energies match. I’m definitely not trying to convince them at that stage to like my work as a photographer.” [18:31]

“I feel like the really critical part definitely is the morning, because it sets the tone. Making an effort to connect with the photographer, videographer etc. [beforehand] is cool.” [28:11]

“There’s people who do amazing work, but I can’t really refer them because I’ve working with them and I know actually how they are on a wedding day.” [32:47]

SSP 041: How To Be More Effective When Working With Wedding Photographers w/ Sachin Khona

What’s the first thing you think of when I mention the word “lawyer”?

It’s ok, you can come out from under the bed. I know most of us creatives are easily scared off by the thought of lawyers, contracts, accounting and the like. We’ve all heard about hourly rates that are waaaay out of our price range, and we work with such great people that we’ll never actually need a contract to enforce to protect ourselves.

Right?

Colleen Bezich is not only a practicing attorney specializing in helping creatives with legal issues pertaining to their business, but a filmmaker herself. She knows how we think as creatives and is joins us on the podcast to bust some of the myths most of us have around the legal aspects of our business.

I can’t even believe how many notes I took during the recording of this episode, covering everything from what type of business structure we should be set up as, what to include in our contracts to not only protect ourselves, but actually earn more money, to how to find cheap or even free legal services.

Colleen also shares some eye-opening stories about creatives she’s worked with who were bailed out by having their legal ducks in a row, and some who faced some severe consequences as a result of relying off of supposedly cheaper online or crowdsourced legal advice.

This might be one of the most important episodes we’ve put out to date, so strap yourself in.

What’s your experience with contracts or legal services? Do you have any crazy stories of times when you were either glad you were protected or wished you were? Let us know in the comments!

*** We just want to mention again, that all of the information Colleen provides is general knowledge and is NOT specifically tailored to your personal business. Alway get a lawyer familiar with your situation to help with any specific questions you might have! ***



In this episode:

Sole Proprietorship vs S Corp vs LLC: Which one is best for your business?
How to view freelancers/interns/employees, and where many of us get it wrong
Some specific clauses you might want to consider adding into your standard contracts, some of which can even help you earn more money!
What to ask a prospective lawyer when looking for legal advice
How to find cheap or free legal services
Soooooo much more amazing information that doesn’t get talked about enough. Just listen to the episode!



Quotes:

“Sole proprietorship is the route that most people go to because it involves literally no real filings with the IRS or otherwise, it’s easiest, it’s the least costly way to operate. That is until you get sued. I don’t advise anyone who’s looking to turn their side gig or hustle into a legitimate business enterprise to sit as a sole proprietorship for long at all” [14:54]

“How the IRS make their classifications [on freelancers/employees/interns] is very different than what most small business owners look at when they’re classifying people.” [19:42]

SSP 042: The Most Fun Legal Advice You'll Ever Get w/ Colleen Bezich

If you’re like me, and most other creative business owners, you’re really good at starting projects, but not always at finishing through on them. You have a ton of amazing ideas but most of them never get acted upon, and it feels like if only you could find the time to actually implement these thoughts your business would be unstoppable. 

If that sounds familiar, this is completely normal. You’re most likely what Mark Winters calls a visionary.

Mark is the co-author of a book called Rocket Fuel, where he and his co-author Gino Wickman detail the two essential roles that need to be filled for any business to truly thrive. As we discuss, most business owners and entrepreneurs are Visionaries, people who excel at coming up with ideas, but often lack the focus to follow through on the details and execution.

That’s where the Implementer comes in. As visionaries, these are the people we need to hold us accountable, and who excel at seeing that the grand ideas get put into practice in our businesses.

Mark and I talk about how to know when it’s time to seek out an implementor, how to find and make use of an one in your business - even if that business only consists of you, and some common hiring mistakes small businesses make, along with a ton of other insight.

Does the visionary role resonate with you? Have you ever hired someone who fit perfectly into the Integrator role? What results did that have on your business? Leave a comment below the post! 


In this episode:

• The difference between visionaries and implementers and why both are essential in successful businesses and partnerships
• How to know when you need to start looking for an integrator, and what characteristics you should be looking for
• How to make the integrator/visionary model work even in a small 1 or 2 person company
• Why you can’t only hire people that you like and resonate with, and some of the consequences


Quotes:

“It’s so hard for us to realize that all the stuff that drives us nuts, there’s actually somebody out there, that’s what they love!” [14:19]

“It’s the simple math problem that says, ‘If I can pay $25/hr to have somebody do that and I can get an hour, what can I do with that? What could I generate with that hour?’ It’s probably way more than $25, and worst case it’s an hour of freedom.”  [17:56]

SSP 043: Your Film Business on Rocket Fuel w/ Mark Winters

Grow your video business by increasing your profits and keeping your sanity all without losing your creativity! Learn how to create a system – how to become a sherpa. Be inspired by filmmakers and creative professionals like Patrick Moreau, Jeff Goins, Dane Sanders and Steph Crowder (aka sherpas). Start elevating your video business to the next level. Learn more at https://studiosherpas.com/

Ryan Koral: Video Business Coach & Sherpa