This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
How can I find gigs as a video editor? Welcome back, welcome to Side Hustle School. It's Chris Guillebeau your host. We're gonna look today at the world of video editing and exploring how to turn one's passion for visual storytelling into a profitable side hustle. And of course we do these questions and case studies as a proxy.
So if you're not interested in video editing, that's okay. The whole point is how can you take a skill that you have or a skill you're developing and find a way to get paid for it? Because you need more than a skill, you need a business model, you need an offer, a product or a service. So our guest today, Ethan from Atlanta, he has been honing his editing skills and is now ready to take the leap. But before he can press record on this new venture, he needs some guidance on, well, what happens next?
I think he's actually asking about some equipment. I'm not sure I have a great answer about equipment because that's something he's gotta figure out. I mean, he's the expert in that field. But let's see if we can kind of pivot the question a bit to look at some strategies for building the portfolio and attracting those crucial early clients. So thank you for being out there.
Thanks for being part of this community. I wanna say a quick thank you to our sponsor and then we're gonna jump in episode 2007-03 all about video editing. [Music]
Hello, my name is Ethan and I'm a video editor from Atlanta, Georgia. I've been improving my skills for years and want to create promotional videos for small businesses. I'm confident in my editing abilities but unsure about what extra equipment I need to get started such as cameras, microphones or lighting gear.
Additionally, I'm looking for advice on how to find my first clients and build a portfolio. Should I reach out to local businesses directly or use freelance platforms or leverage my personal network? I'm excited to turn my passion into income but they've got its own getting started. [Music]
Ethan, thanks for the question. I'm gonna focus on the second part of it rather than talking about the equipment because I don't really know that.
I might get it wrong and also it's kind of in the weeds. So I'm gonna assume you can research and figure out exactly what kind of equipment you need since you do have those skills. So you're gonna think about cameras and editing software and all that. Let's talk about building your portfolio and landing your first clients. I'm a little bit better at that side of things.
One of the best ways to start is by offering services to friends, family or local organizations at a reduced rate, sometimes even for free when you're just getting going. That allows you to gain some experience, build a body of work, some work you can demonstrate as a portfolio and collect testimonials that will help you attract future clients. We've seen a lot of people do that over the years. Nothing wrong with that. It's actually very effective.
Another strategy is to partner with local businesses to create spec ads or promotional videos. So this is kind of also working for free, at least at first, when you're like, "Hey, I'm gonna make a video for you. And if you really like it, maybe we can do something later." And you can't do that forever. You can't do that for everyone, but it can be effective when you are just moving into a new industry, especially as a beginner or at least as a new entrant. Ultimately, what you wanna do is kind of get to know more people.
You want to get to know more people and have them get to know your work. And so people often talk about, "Well, go to networking events." In some cases, that's a good idea, but in other cases, people just find that a little bit too vague or they're also like, "What do I say to people when I go?" And so you can do a lot of this online now, like networking events. I feel like Instagram and other social platforms are the new networking events because you can reach out to people. Like every single day, video editors actually reach out to me on Instagram. It doesn't really go anywhere usually because I don't need one at the moment, but I don't mind it.
It's just like they're trying. They're shooting their shot. So feel free to do that. And hopefully you're gonna connect with some people over time. Also, freelance platforms like UpWork or Fiverr can be great to get started.
You're not gonna make a lot of money there, but you will definitely get experience. You will make some money. It's better than working for free, right? And as you build a reputation and get reviews on those platforms, then you can sometimes attract higher paying clients. You know, these things take time, Ethan.
That's the last thing. These things take time, but if you've got the skills, now you need to spend time building that client base. So I would focus a lot on that, obviously figure out what equipment you need, but then focus on building that network. Let us know how it goes. Listeners, if you have a question, sidehustleschool.com/questions.
New questions every week, updates from listeners. Case studies, Throwback Thursday, Failure Friday, other segments. I'm just so excited to make this podcast for you every single day. Going into the 2700s. This is episode 2703.
Much more to come. It's always completely free. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
