Here’s why you suck right now:

• You have no skills

• You have no direction

• You have no clear value proposition

The good news?

You can learn the skills that will then provide clarity which will in turn create the value.

And you can do this over and over and over again until you become am absolute weapon.

I’m going to give you a step-by-step blueprint outlining what I would do if I were starting from square one, based on my own experience.

1. PROBLEM SOLVER

If you don’t know what problem you want to solve, you’re dead in the water. You need to zero in on a creative medium that resonates with you. Here are 4 examples:

• Photography

• Filmmaking

• Graphic Design

• Social Media Marketing

Within any such medium, there can lie a new substack of metaskills.

Filmmaking or Videography can be broken up in to:

• Filming

• Editing Videos

• Color Grading

• Sound Design

• Script Writing

Social Media Marketing:

• Copywriting

• Graphic Design

• Social Media Management

• Media Buying (Ads)

• Ghost Writing

If you’re like me and you fixate on hundreds of sub-interests at once, don’t panic.

Just choose one, you can always pivot if you wish.

I would personally suggest Video work as it is and will remain in high demand as companies and individuals continue to market themselves online.

*If you cannot afford video gear, you can always start with Video Editing (Davinci Resolve is FREE, you just won’t be able to use noise reduction and your timelines might scrub a little slow, but you can for sure get by).

That’s how I started until I could afford some decent camera gear.

Same principles apply, just interchange the medium.

For the sake of continuity, we’ll resume this Warpath as if you chose video work because that’s what I chose long-term.

2. RESEARCH

Once you’ve zeroed in on a creative medium that speaks to you, you’re going to want to dive deep in to that skill and research the best of the best in that category.

I will die on the hill of private education by way of course material from your favorite creators or those you wish to emulate.

I’ve spent thousands of dollars maxing out credit cards on Filmmaking courses, Editing and Color Grading courses, etc (not recommended, by the way).

But I knew that if I applied myself and the teachings, everything would work itself out. Always has. Always will.

$1000 here and there for a lifetime of practical information from actual practitioners of the fields I’m interested in isn’t even a question.

If you have the funds available to you and can (comfortably) invest in some courses, I’ll leave a link to one that helped me out in the beginning.

If you are consistent, you will make it back every time.

Fulltime Filmmaker: https://www.fulltimefilmmaker.com

Fulltime Filmmaker also has a Youtube channel.

If you’re on a budget, there are a ton resources on YouTube, you just end up spending a lot more time sifting through A LOT of low-value content.

Not being an asshole, it’s just the truth. Here are some of my favorite channels for filmmaking inspiration:

• Matt D’avella

• Danny Gevirtz

• Mark Bone

• Brady Bassette

While you’re doing research, try to follow along where you can.

Download free test footage, templates, LUTS, etc.

Familiarize yourself with your tools AS you learn what they’re for.

If you’re learning how to light an interview, do what you need to do to practice lighting for an interview.

If you’re learning about White Balance and Exposure, take the time to get comfortable with those things in-camera.

I’ll be releasing FREE video courses on Filmmaking and Photography where i’ll go over everything from choosing your gear to operating it and all of the nuanced technical stuff.

Eyes peeled for the email link when it’s ready to rock.

Of course, you want to get involved in the space.

Let your curiosity guide you; observe other creators and what they’re doing.

Find inspiration.

Let your mind wander, but don’t stray too far.

If you chose Filmmaking, you don’t need to be watching a YouTube playlist about Ghostwriting on “X.”

The key here is intentionally focusing your brain power on one medium.

If you happen to find branching interests in sub-stacks of skills, by all means, get after it.

3. Free-to-Fee

Now that you have a fundamental understanding of the skills you set out to learn, it’s time to start asking people to work… for free.

I know, I know. Hear me out.

You need at least a few bodies of work that you can use to sell your services.

These don’t have to be full blown productions.

I remember using my friends’ footage to edit and then using those videos to showcase my editing chops.

When it came time to start filming, I started with BTS for other creators.

Did a few for free so I could practice and then I started getting paid.

Few hundred bucks here, few hundred there until eventually I had enough of my own samples to start pitching my services.

I was able to get my first gig shooting a few Youtube videos per month for some creators in LA.

$1500/m.

Absolutely terrible (I hate LA) but hey, it helped and I already knew a lot of people there. Which brings me to my next point…

Leverage any and all advantages you may have.

I had the unique advantage of already knowing a lot of people who needed videos filmed and edited.

I also had a secondary advantage that they all happened to be in LA, surrounded by other people who love the sound of their own voice.

This included myself at the time (not everyone, obviously, but you should’ve been there with me).

My point is, don’t get discouraged or too worried about where you’ll even find business.

Leads are everywhere.

If you have contacts in your phone, you have leads.

If you have neighbors, you have leads.

If you have friends, you have leads.

Start reaching out.

Reach out to everyone.

Go in to the mom and pop coffee shop down thee road from you and pitch them a video for free and hope to GOD they have a marketing budget.

At the very least, you get free coffee and food when you go in to edit your other projects.

That’s right. You don’t have to work for money.

Money is always great, yes. But, you can leverage your talents for other things.

• Merchandise

• Gym memberships

• Coffee

• VIP Access to events

I’ve done all of these.

Not because I hate money, believe me, I’d prefer money.

However, some opportunities will open up bigger and better ones for you in the future.

Doing an event for free may get you VIP access to a room full of people who (ding! ding! ding!) just so happen to need someone who does videos.

That free event has the potential to unlock thousands of dollars in income.

You just have to pick your battles and knowing when to take what job comes with experience.

You’ll get to a point where you’re more familiar with how to price your services and what makes sense to trade for, but for now, say yes to everything and do as much work for free as you can.

People often know exactly what they need to do but just don’t do it. I’m STILL a victim of this and probably always will be.

Difference is, I’ve been at this long enough to understand when I need to reel it back in and re-actualize mission focus.

At first it will probably be making money.

But I want you to keep in the forefront of your mind that cultivating long term relationships with people is how you’ll make sure you never have to scramble for client work again.

We’ll talk more in depth about monthly retainers, sales and service packages in the next One Page Warpath.

Until then, here are your 3 key takeaways:

1. Learn the skills necessary to solve a problem that you know other people have.

2. Work for free. This is how you practice the skills as you learn them.

3. Say yes to everything you can as you build rapport with your clientele

If you put in the work, it’s literally all within arms reach.

Get after it. ✅

-Em