We started 2:1 Studios in August 2016 with limited gear and even more limited knowledge on how to run a business. We were freelancing to supplement our income from the day jobs we had.
In our first 12 months, we filmed over 14 weddings. That was a pretty great accomplishment in our eyes. However, we still didn’t know exactly what 2:1 Studios was or could be. During our first year, we received lots of positive feedback from all our clients, whether they were from family portrait sessions, weddings, corporate videos, or pet photography sessions.
So comes our second year as a business and we move to Austin. We had a lack of focus and we were looking for guidance, and perhaps a bit of change-of-pace influence. We weren’t shooting as many weddings as we had hoped, and we really didn’t have a cohesive brand image in our minds.
Nonetheless we were getting closer. We still created content, and still filmed some weddings. With each day we were getting slightly closer to what we envisioned quality-wise. However, part of this industry is keen on having an aesthetic, as well as an artistic voice.
We were stuck. We had enough portfolio work to succeed and book new clients, and we had great reviews from our past clients, but we weren’t focused.
Then came a phone call from Jacob’s mother in the summer of 2018. She said she knew of a business and life coach who could help us. Jacob set up an initial consulting call with Henry Shelton, of Assure Coaching based in Dallas-Fort Worth.
We’ll let Jacob tell the story from here:
I was amazed at how easy it was to talk to Henry. We talked about 2:1 Studios origin and passion, my own interests and passions, as well as Olivia’s. We dove into our hopes for our business, and Henry offered me some crucial, valuable constructive criticism from his research on us.
He was so prepared and honest. Warm and personable. I felt like I knew him already, and we had only spent an hour on the phone!
After our chat, I talked with Olivia about working with Henry and investing in his mentoring. We both strongly agreed we needed help. We had a few doubts that came up. Here’s what they looked like:
“Do you think we could get the same level of mentoring and guidance online? Through YouTube or other venues?”
“He said he’s never worked with videographers before. Do you think he’d know how to help us?”
“Does the fact that he’s in DFW and we’re in Austin matter? We’ll have to do everything over email and phone… is that really ideal?”
We had these questions in our minds and talked about them throughout the following couple of nights. I mean, investing money is a big deal, and it’s not a decision that happens without deep discussion.
A few days later, we committed to working with Henry. We were really excited to explore his guidance, and still not fully certain what that would even look like yet. Short story: We were blown away with the revelation that this was the best decision we’ve ever made.
From our first session, we were hooked. An hour phone call with Henry was more helpful than ANY YouTube video we’ve ever watched or any blog we’ve ever read. Why? Because the discussion was in real-time. We had to answer questions about ourselves, our business, our passion, our interests, etc. in real-time! That’s the first game changer. Nothing but honesty came out from both sides.
The thing about reading blog posts and watching YouTube videos for education is that they are both PASSIVE modes of learning. Working with people directly will always win. Because it is an ACTIVE mode of learning.
I would love to write a behemoth review of every detail regarding our 90-day program with Henry. However, thanks to Henry’s help, we are getting very busy! I’ll try to keep to the main points here.
“Big Picture” story and conveying that story through language.
o What we love about filming weddings and working with couples in general is the fact that each love story is wholly unique from the next. Love is a powerful thing. As Jacob likes to say, “Love is the delivery system of the little things. What we all live for and cherish.” It’s true. Each and every couple has inside jokes, personal quirks, and intimate memories that cannot be replicated. That’s how powerful love is. It cannot be imitated. It is divine. Even though these are our words, we did not know this was how we truly felt until we talked with Henry. He has a way of opening up the collective mind between people and his questions are deep and sincere. Olivia and I agree that Henry has a mind that lifts others up, and awakens each person to their individual role in their purpose. Once we found our clear emotions on love and capturing love for others, we started working on keywords, taglines, and language to express them.
2. Ideal Clients and The Law of Attraction
o Henry is a big believer in The Law of Attraction. As are we. We believe that if you make your interests and passions known to the world, opportunities will start popping up for you to explore them. Henry not only helped us define these interests and passions, but also helped us figure out WHY we were attracted to them in the first place. See, this is very important to attracting ideal clients. Because, knowing what you enjoy and feel passionately about will ultimately help you find others who feel the same way. It comes down to defining your interests, finding avenues of exploring said interests, and then showing up and being yourself. That’s pretty much it! Not only do we now have an accurate depiction of our ideal clients, we also know how to attract them. Now it’s time to get to work, show up, and start being ourselves.
3. Attraction-based Marketing Strategies
o Now that we have defined what we love about what we do and enjoy, we can start marketing those interests toward potential ideal clients. For example, I love writing. You can probably tell by now… But it is true! I love writing and I love language. So, start a blog. That simple. Doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be YOU. Olivia loves animals. So, share photos and videos of our dogs on our social media. Done! Olivia wants to get involved with rescues, volunteer programs, and animal-centric charities. You see, our individual interests are actually our collective personality. So, to attract clients we want to work with, we have to share ourselves! To market to our ideal clients we have to market to our basic interests and passions. Show up at animal events, show up at writing events, show up at arts and film events. This was a big one. Thanks Henry!
4. Value and the Art of Truly Caring
o Quotable sentence from Jacob: “In a world of fake it ‘til you make it, try something deeper. Care.” We put a lot of hard work into our films. They may not be perfect, but they are ours. News flash for everybody who creates: There will always be someone better than you, so why be anyone but yourself? We want to grow, get better, be kinder, be better. We aren’t hung up on perfection. We aren’t hung up on what gear we’re using. We aren’t hung up on being the best in the biz! We only strive to be better versions of ourselves, so that our clients are getting the best of who we are. I see so many creatives who simply “show up” or simply does the basic requirement from them. No thank you. We treat every moment as if it’s a milestone. Because it is. We are dealing with LOVE and TOGETHERNESS. Trust me, every wedding day and every moment of every wedding day means something different to each person involved. That is why we treat our business as if every moment is an opportunity to learn, experiment, grow, and enjoy. Thanks to Henry’s coaching and heartfelt care, our value transcends just videography. We offer our clients an experience, a heart-to-heart glimpse into our souls. It’s why we offer pre-wedding and post-wedding services. Engagement? We’ll be there for you. Life event? We’ll be there if you wish. Expecting your first child? We’ll be there to help capture the joy that your love is now transcending past your coupled connection. This is it: We offer sincerity and dedication to you, because a caring attitude is what we crave. We treat our clients how we would want to be treated.
Long story short. Henry Shelton is our mentor. Though we’ve completed his guided program, he is still in our ear every day. He’s available to chat if we need to ask him for advice. In our office, when we’re having business discussions and idea-generating meetings, we reference all the notes and thoughts he’s given us. We are deeply appreciative for his help, and his hardworking dedication to 2:1 Studios. We could not be more thankful for his services and we look forward to our collaboration together.
Check below to get more information about Henry and Assure Coaching:
Email - coach@henryshelton.com