Ever wondered what fuels the ascent of a successful media agency? Join me, Chris Anderson, as I unfold the roadmap to scaling a business that thrives on client relationships and sheer quality. In the latest episode of the Elevate Media Podcast, we navigate the trenches of entrepreneurship, from the initial leaps of client acquisition to the intricate dance of project management. My journey hasn't been a walk in the park; it's been a steady climb marked with the kind of experiences that could be your ladder to success. I'm laying it all out – the strategies that crafted our agency's story into a multi six-figure success and the team dynamics that keep our standard soaring high.
This session is a treasure trove for freelancers, early-stage entrepreneurs, and agency owners looking for tangible, actionable insights. I'll share with you the art of building genuine, long-term client partnerships and the magic of transparent communication that has become the hallmark of our operations at Elevate Media Group. You'll get a front-row seat to the stages of our workflow, from our meticulous client discovery process to the delivery of a polished end product. Plus, we tackle the inevitable challenges head-on, with anecdotes and solutions that will guide you through your own entrepreneurial journey. Let's elevate your business acumen together – tune in and be inspired.
Our mission here at Elevate Media is to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs elevate their brands and make an impact through the power of video podcasting.
Disclaimer: Please see the link for our disclaimer policy for all our episodes or videos on the Elevate Media and Elevate Media Podcast YouTube channels. https://elevatemediastudios.com/disclaimer
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Elevate Media Podcast with your host, Chris Anderson. In this show, Chris and his guests will share their knowledge and experience on how to go from zero to successful entrepreneur. They have built their businesses from scratch and are now ready to give back to those who are just starting. Let's get ready to learn, grow and elevate our businesses. And now your host, Chris Anderson.
Speaker 2:
Welcome back to another recording of the Elevate Media Podcast. I'm Chris Anderson. We're going to pull back to curtain a little bit today on the inner workings of the Elevate Media Group agency, which you know. I am super thankful, humbled, blessed, to be able to say that we are a multi six figure revenue producing company over the last couple of years. And, yeah, we're super thankful for where we are, where we're at, where we're headed, and so I'm going to dive into a little bit about what running this agency is like. Hopefully, you know, with the day to day operations, sharing some insights on different aspects like client acquisition, project management, team dynamics and maintaining quality standards are going to help you in your journey as a freelancer, as a early entrepreneur, as an agency owner, to improve and to elevate what you're doing.
Speaker 2:
So let's go ahead and get into it. We're going to start with client acquisition, because that's the important thing, right More clients, more profit, things of that nature. And you know it's one of the cornerstones of any successful business, and at Elevate we've found that building genuine relationships with clients is key to our success. You know, whether that's through networking events, referrals or just showcasing our work online, every interaction counts. Building relationships is not the easiest thing and it takes time. It's not going to be a quick thing. Sales is not going to be, you know, an instant thing every time. Yeah, sure, we have some that come out quickly and we don't have to talk a bunch, we don't have to have a big process, but we don't hard sell. You know where for who needs us, and you know what we provide is for those who are ready and you know, see the back. We're not going to hard sell anything just to make a buck. So relationships take time and that's our process with it. So I remember one client who came to us through a referral from another satisfied client, and they were hesitant at first. They didn't know if we could meet their specific needs. But because we had open communication and a very transparent approach, we were able to not only meet their expectations but exceed them, and this not only led to a successful project but also a longer term partnership. So for those looking to improve their client acquisition game, remember, focus on building trust, providing value and showcasing your expertise through your portfolio and testimonials. Don't be afraid to reach out to your network or attend industry events to expand your reach and connect with potential clients All right.
Speaker 2:
Now on to project management. Now, this is the backbone of really any successful production agency or agency in any form for that matter because from the initial client acquisition or consultation to the final delivery, the project management process has to be streamlined as best as possible to ensure efficiency and quality each step along the way, you know and they can always be improved, it can always be made better, right. Our workflow typically starts with the in depth discovery phase, where we sit down with the client to understand their vision, their goals, their target audience. From there then we move into pre-production, where we develop concepts, scripts, storyboards, and this brings that vision to life. And then, once they verify that and give the OK on that, we go into the production phase. This is where a team who's super talented. They work really hard to capture and edit the footage. They want to make sure they get every frame right and that it aligns with the client's vision. And then, after that, we enter the post-production phase. This is where the team edits, puts the finishing touches on and we deliver the final product to the client. Thank you.
Speaker 2:
Now, of course, there are always challenges along the way, whether it's unexpected client requests or revisions or really tight deadlines, but if you have a clear communication and a proactive problem solving strategy, you're going to be able to navigate through them a lot smoother. One challenge that comes to mind that we had as a project we worked on last year. It was a very tight deadline, despite facing numerous obstacles, including bad weather and also some equipment malfunctions. Thankfully we were able to deliver the project on time and exceed the client's expectations. So having that flow, that process in place allowed us to do that, and we utilized some management tools like Monday or frameio that have been game changers for us. It keeps everyone on the same page and tasks were organized there.
Speaker 2:
We also have an online server that anyone on the team can access remotely, wherever they're at, to get files, to upload files if needed, to share things across that, which has been pretty impactful and allows us to do a lot more, a lot faster. One thing Chaviot to an online server is to remember file size. It can take a long time to upload and download, depending on your internet, although try to hardwire, try to have good internet to shorten that time as much as possible, because files can get pretty big and take up some time. So just a little asterisk there, but also with the team. I try to check in on a regular basis with each individual to ensure that everyone is aligned and everyone's feeling good. Everyone's good, not overwhelmed. Just try to keep a pulse on everyone. Make sure the team's running smoothly and everyone's feeling good.
Speaker 2:
It's always important with a team and when we're talking about teams, there's always a team dynamic right. It's a crucial aspect in your agency, in your business. Now our team runs pretty well. They've been doing it for a little bit of time. Everyone brings their own skills and expertise to the table and we structure in a way to collaborate and cross function or have cross functional support with one another. Each person has a role where their expertise lies, where their strengths are.
Speaker 2:
For the most part, obviously, we ask individuals to do certain things. Sometimes, when we need it, when we have bigger projects, it might stretch them a little bit, but I think that's good as well, because you're allowing them to grow and you're allowing them to try new things. Now what we can do. This this allows us to tackle projects that have bigger sizes or more complex, that are more complex, and we can do it with confidence, knowing that the team can manage, and to adapt. Plus, of course, we also have built a great network that we can reach into. Whenever we have even bigger projects come our way or something comes up, we need an extra hand.
Speaker 2:
It's all about the quality of the relationships you make and being able to, you know, rely on others and then get back value how you can, to those individuals as well, because you know collaboration and communication are two important things Communication and collaboration you know they're at the heart of our success. We always encourage feedback and brainstorming sessions to ensure everyone's voice is heard on the team. You know this allows people to, you know, have a sense of ownership and accountability, but also lets them, you know, have more creativity with things. You know I want certain results, but how we get there, you know I'm cool with whatever it looks like, as long as the result is the quality and you know the outcome the client desires. Because we want to try to cultivate a positive culture, the best we can and when we can, be supportive and we can have fairly inclusive work environments. You know you're creating a team culture that encourages, that encourages creativity, innovation and growth. We try to celebrate success, this together, and then we try to support each other through challenges, because we know we're stronger as a team and it's been. You know it's a testimony to the team. We've had some ups and downs and you know we've supported and the team especially has supported this mission and this business. You know very well I could have dealt without those on the team, and so that's why it's important to try to do your best to, you know, lift them up along the way.
Speaker 2:
And then, finally, I want to talk about maintaining quality standards, and we take that very seriously here at LB. Quality is not a negotiable thing for us. It's truly what sets us apart and keeps our clients coming back. It's important to focus on quality From the very beginning, the initial concept, to what would finally deliver them, to the final product. We strive, we're excellent in everything we do, because we understand that you know your reputation is on the line with every project you do, every service you provide, every you know call you get on. So we go above and beyond the best we can to ensure that every aspect meets or exceeds clients' expectations.
Speaker 2:
So, with client expectations, we also have to manage quality control right. We have to be able to measure that and we could have a and, to be straight as a matter, we could probably have a stricter quality control measures in place. We have good ones, but they could definitely be. They can always improve right, we can only do better. So this includes reviews, feedback throughout the whole production process. This allows us to catch any issues early on and address them before they become bigger problems. So we also encourage client feedback, of course, and revisions to ensure that with a final product meets their vision and objectives.
Speaker 2:
But we do our very best and we do a good job about catching anything before it gets to a client. We go over things. Our team goes over things a lot Multiple times multiple passes, multiple people to get different views and get different eyeballs on the project to make sure something's not missed, because those things I want you to look at something over and over for so long Captions, the video clips themselves, things like that you just start to miss things, and that's why we have a process where most people look at it and give feedback, because we want to have continuous improvement right. So we don't stop at quality control measures. We're always striving to learn and improve, whether that's staying up today on the latest trends or investing in training and development for our team. By continuously pushing ourselves to be better. We ensure that we stay ahead of the curve and deliver the best possible results for our clients. For example, we are attending the Leeds Conference here locally in Indiana. That is done through Northview Church as bringing speakers, leadership development, individual business leaders to help us be better leaders, to be better business owners, to be better individuals on the team, and we're doing things like that. We're going to do more and more. We take courses together to improve our skills, to learn new things, so we can continually elevate ourselves, so we can elevate our clients even higher.
Speaker 2:
Running in multiple six-figure video production agents hits not a small feat, but I'm super grateful for this journey. I'm super grateful for those that have helped me, that I've learned from that, have supported me for the team now that helps run this endeavor to accomplish our goals and by focusing on our client acquisition, project management, the team dynamics, maintaining quality standards, it's definitely achievable for you as well. Focus on those things as yourself right now, as you're growing your business, and eventually you'll be able to implement. Looking back, when I started and was doing this myself, I couldn't imagine where I am today in such a short amount of time. 2021, the end of 2021 is when Elevate was started, and so we're still super young in this and it's super blessed to be able to say that we've made multiple six-figures.
Speaker 2:
And it doesn't come without its ups and downs and its rough patches and the storms you have to weather, because storms come, economy changes, things shift and you have to adapt. So I wanted to hit on this to share a little bit about how we've been able to grow Elevate, and so if you have any questions or future topics that you'd like us to cover, don't hesitate to reach out. You can email us at support at elevate-media-groupcom, or shoot me a message on Instagram at christam. I'd love to hear what you could have your thoughts and ideas that you want to hear going forward. Until next time, continue to go out there, keep Elevating your Life, elevate your brand. We'll talk to you in a minute.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for listening to the Elevate Media Podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. See you in the next episode.