Welcome to Creative Director Up Close, where I give you full access to my fun, amazing, chaotic, occasionally brilliant, and definitely weird mind as a creative director and entrepreneur. Running a video production company for private schools, non-profits, and businesses isn’t just lights, cameras, and action—I often find myself navigating the current market, relationships, stress, crazy ideas, and a stream-of-consciousness monologue. This blog series is your one-way ticket to the insights, challenges, and wins that come with the territory.
Now, I’m not here to tell you what to do or what’s right or wrong, but I do believe in sharing the good, the bad, and the often bizarre experiences that come with being a solo entrepreneur, especially in the content creation space. So, buckle up, buttercup, for the exciting, messy, and fulfilling world of a creative director and entrepreneur.
Everyone’s Got a Piece of Advice: Navigating Good Advice in the Noise
Let’s talk about advice. Sometimes I wonder why people give advice. Most of the time, it’s to provide quality help and genuine care for someone else. That’s always ideal. However, I’ve recently realized there are other reasons as well. Sometimes it helps validate their own decisions, sometimes it’s to exert control or influence over someone, or it stems from cultural norms. Other times, there’s a desire for reciprocity, or it just makes people feel important. I don’t think there’s ever a wrong reason, as long as genuine help is a priority.
In my experience, there are five kinds of advice people get:
- Good advice that sounds bad.
- Good advice that sounds good.
- Bad advice that sounds good.
- Bad advice that sounds bad.
- Cookie-cutter advice.
But do you know which one really trips people up?
Bad advice that sounds good. This is the one most folks fall for. Let me share an example. Some time ago, I was feeling pretty stagnant in my business growth. So, I began consuming content from coaches geared toward videographers and content creators. One coach caught my interest, and I signed up for a call with him. As we talked, he asked about my pricing, and I gave him a range. His response? “Double that, your work is worth it.” I didn’t think he was wrong. It sounded good, and he gave me plenty of reasons why I could (and should) do it.
So, for about a year, I followed his advice. In that 12-month span, I had the lowest revenue year since launching my business. While I did close some bigger deals, it wasn’t sustainable for growth because my lead flow wasn’t particularly high-volume. I typically work with 15–30 clients per year with varying budgets and deliverables.
Here’s what I learned: the whole “double your prices” strategy only works when you have an excess of demand. In my case, while demand was decent, it wasn’t sky-high, and I wasn’t working 80-hour weeks consistently. So, doubling my rates wasn’t the right move, and I paid (no pun intended) the price for it. Reflecting on that experience, I knew I didn’t want to drop my rates back to where they were before, but doubling them was clearly too much. Instead, I went with incremental increases—10%, 20%, 30% over time—working the pricing muscle and building confidence. This approach helped me close more deals and grow the following year. I didn’t figure this out on my own, though. My new coach, Michael Gebben, helped me see it.
This is just one of the many examples I’ve experienced where bad advice that sounded good led me astray. I believe the first coach didn’t extract enough information from me to give sound advice.
At the end of the day, not all advice is created equal. It’s easy to get swept up by someone’s confidence or the allure of quick success, but what works for one person might not work for another. The key is to know your own business, your own strengths, and your own market. The best advice I can give is to trust your gut, be patient, and seek guidance from those who truly understand your unique situation. Find the path that works for you.
