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A few weeks ago, I was back in LA hosting a choir concert; something I've done twice a year for more than a decade. It's fun performing in front of a live audience. One of the choir members had a son who was interested in media as a career and she asked if I could give him some advice.
As we stood backstage after one of the concerts, I asked him why he was interested in media. While I don't remember his exact answer, it was along the lines of he enjoyed creating video. (An answer that I think would apply to all of us.)
Then, I asked a harder question: How do you plan to earn a living creating video? Here, he had no answer. He hadn't considered that video was also a business. Yet, running a business creating video is essential if we want to earn a living and stay with it for the long-term.
As we continued to talk, I asked him to think about three questions: What do you know besides how to shoot and edit video? What skills, knowledge or expertise do you have that separate you from the competition? And how do you plan to tell potential clients what those unique skills are?
Now, when I say "unique" I don't mean unique in the entire universe. I simply mean unique from the perspective of anyone else competing for the same job. For example, if a local university wants to create videos illustrating math, I'd be a very poor choice - my math skills atrophied decades ago.
All of us have a professional grade camera in our pocket with our phones. Having gear no longer makes us unique.
Competition is world-wide and instantly accessible via the Internet. Competing on price is no longer unique. There will always be someone willing to work for less and they don't need to live in the same area as we do to do so.
What makes each of us uniquely different is what we know in addition to how to create video. What can we bring to our projects and stories that no one else can? How can we apply the skills and knowledge that we have, along with the experiences in our life, to the projects we create?
Story-telling is still essential. Each of us has unique stories to tell that audiences and clients want to know. As we spend the remaining days of the year reflecting on the past year and planning for the future, think about what makes you, your gear and your skills unique - then leverage that into telling your clients and potential clients what makes you unique.
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