In this episode of Creative Grove, Tim sits down with Andrew Stone, a photographer and videographer specializing in health, wellness, and lifestyle brands. Andrew shares his personal journey—from his humble beginnings with an iPod Touch camera to becoming a full-time creative entrepreneur.

He opens up about the power of niching down, the value of spec work, and the importance of mentorship in building a thriving creative business. Andrew also dives into how Donald Miller’s Business Made Simple framework reshaped his business strategies, emphasizing the crucial balance between creativity, entrepreneurship, and life.

Throughout the conversation, Andrew highlights practical tips for young photographers, the mindset needed for creative longevity, and the deeper “why” driving his work—his faith and passion for storytelling.

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Tim (00:00)
The Creative Grove is a series of honest conversations with marketers, designers, and creatives about the work behind the work, On today's episode, I have Andrew as a guest. Hey, Andrew.

Andrew Stone (00:11)
That's it.

Tim (00:12)
And Andrew is a prolific photographer and videographer and specializes in the health and wellness space. So Andrew, talk to me about how you got into photography and video in general.

Andrew Stone (00:24)
Yeah, thanks for having me on, Tim. First of all, I'll try to give the brief backstory. it's honestly, it's funny because I remember getting a iPod Touch fourth generation way back in, I think like junior high or something. And I just remember my camera taking lots of photos and editing on VSCO Cam. Tell me you remember VSCO Cam.

Tim (00:43)
Yep, yep.

Andrew Stone (00:44)
the A6

filter, I like remember the specific filter. So I remember just like loving being so interested in color and light and photography. Never thought of myself as like a photographer. I never really wanted to, the thought didn't cross my mind to ever buy a camera and start doing photography professionally, but it was probably like, I think it was like 2016 or 17. My dad had been doing photography at the time and he had done it.

professionally on the side on top of his job and I got to shadow him a few times. He ended up asking me one random day like, hey, Andrew, have you ever thought of saving up for a camera? Like buying a professional, know, entry level camera. And I was like, no, thought about it for a week. And I decided, yeah, I wanna get a camera. And he was shooting, I think, yeah, he was shooting Fujifilm at the time and he recommended a camera.

to get and I started saving up for it and then maybe a few weeks later he ended up buying me the camera I was about to buy. He bought it for me and it was so sweet because my mom was kind of like, you sure he's going to use that honey? It's a lot of money. And now eight years later, I'm doing this full time and he has said this, this is not from my mouth, but I far surpassed him in skill. So thank you, dad, if you ever listen to this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. He's kind of gave me a good launching pad and a platform, which is crazy to think.

I love, I always love telling that part of my journey and how it started and it was something I naturally think I had and my dad kind of like called it out in me in a way I would say and didn't force me to do it. And now like, I absolutely love what I get to do. So that's, that's how it's say like the brief backstory of how I got into photography. I did college for one year, dropped out and YouTube university is essentially YouTube and just doing it, trial and error, failing, learning.

and have been a part of a lot of different, you know, tried a lot of different niches and genres of photography, weddings, couples, families, senior portraits, just all sorts of portraits, headshots, some corporate stuff, stuff like food, some food photography, and really realized that I love working with brands. So yeah, that was kind of the thing for me. I recognize like I love people. So I like that lifestyle aspect.

and I love shooting products. And so I was like, okay, lifestyle, like product photography really was it for me. And the health wellness fitness niche was really because I already, I'm already like, live that lifestyle. Like I'm a consumer of those products, that type of lifestyle. So for me, it was a no brainer. Like if I do kind of try to niche down into that space.

It's a lot, I can add value to those brands because I'm already a consumer of those products and I live that lifestyle. So like I know that mindset, I know what their audience wants because I am the audience in a sense.

Tim (03:19)
Yeah.

Who are some of those YouTubers that you listen to or learn from regularly?

Andrew Stone (03:28)
⁓

my gosh, yeah. think now, present day, Danny Govertz. Love Danny. His approach to filmmaking is really down to earth humble, but you see his work and you're like, what the heck, this is crazy. And how simple, how simplified I think his approach is, he just gets the fundamentals and does it really well. And even his storytelling style and the way he lights and colors is like...

Tim (03:35)
Yeah, that was great.

Andrew Stone (03:52)
inspirational for me. really relate and connect with that type of filmmaking. I don't connect with the overly technical, the people that like Pixel Peep, those kind of guys, like your YouTube dad guys. I'm just like, it's just not me. It's interesting, but I don't really care as much. So Danny Gevurz is a big one. I remember Daniel Schiffer. That was back in the day, I feel like around the pandemic, the really cool

Tim (04:01)
Yeah. Yeah.

Andrew Stone (04:14)
handheld, 120 frames a second, like speed ramp, all of those kind of shots. I remember being really interested in those and try to do that style myself. He was another one for a while, but man, I'm trying to think. There's a few other guys on YouTube. There's a guy named Blaze. Pivovar, think is how you pronounce his last name. He's in Kansas City. He's a DP. And he's, yeah, he does just great work. Similar to, similar like feeling to Danny Dertz. Very real.

Tim (04:39)
Yeah, yeah, Mark.

Andrew Stone (04:39)
Yeah, it's

his name, I lost him. Yeah, I really love his documentary style stuff. I've learned a lot from watching his videos and watching even like his critiques on other people's films are really, he's given like so much value to the YouTube world. I mean, I've watched, who hasn't watched Peter McKinnon back in the day? I like, I don't watch a lot of his stuff anymore, but he's an interesting one. I'm probably missing some guys, but honestly, like I would say those are the main guys that I've,

Tim (04:57)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (05:06)
I consistently watch it. would say honestly, it's probably Danny Geverts at this point. Because you can get sucked in that rabbit hole of YouTubers and feel so stuck or behind because you're just constantly consuming stuff. So try to limit it. Yeah. Yeah.

Tim (05:12)
Yeah.

consuming and comparing. Just

it can be so like, man, I'll never be this good. You know, like, especially like looking at like someone like Mark bone is like, he's so aspirational to me. I'm like, man, he, he's doing exactly what I would really like to do. You know, the documentary style, ⁓ stuff and, but he's also really approachable. He's like, shoot on FX six. I'm like, that's not crazy. You know, you can get another five or 6,000 bucks to get one.

Andrew Stone (05:24)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Mm.

Yeah.

Tim (05:44)
Anyway, but yeah, I don't know if you watched mango street.

Andrew Stone (05:48)
my gosh, Mango Street, that sounds so familiar. feel like Mango Street. Let me just like, I'm just gonna do a quick search here, Mango Street. Yeah, Mango Street. If this is who I'm thinking of. Yes, my gosh, yes, I used to watch them a lot back in the day. Yeah.

Tim (06:02)
Yeah, so I mean, there's so many, that's a good thing about YouTube, like there's so many really skilled photographers and videographers and cinematographers on the space that you can learn so much from.

Andrew Stone (06:12)
my gosh, that's a throwback. Sorry, that's fun. You brought up the name. Like, wow, I used to watch them a lot. Definitely for a lot of photography stuff. I really like their approach and them as people, their personalities are like, not your stereotypical YouTube. There's another guy, P.D. Mokri, he's like a DP from Dallas, gaffer and DP. He has like a one ton grip band and he just does like behind the scenes breakdowns. They're like not crazy high production.

Tim (06:18)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (06:35)
behind the scenes videos, it's just him with like a mic on his headband and he just like talks through his set. It's actually really, they're really educational, I learn a lot. I love like the behind the scenes. He's another really cool one for just learning how to light stuff, it's really fascinating. We love you too.

Tim (06:49)
So YouTube,

it's crazy that it's free. At least that the people post on YouTube for free, and it's mutually beneficial. get AdSense, or at the very least, they get recognition from people, and then we get, obviously, free knowledge. So kind of going into your photography, what camera were you shooting on, that first one?

Andrew Stone (06:55)
you

Yeah.

Yeah, I, Fujifilm X-T20, they're like, they're flagship cameras of the X-T, like the X-T1, two, three, four, five, now five, and they're making the six, I think. And my dad had the X-T2, and he bought me the X-T20, which is, think it's essentially the, like the younger brother version of the X-T2. It's 85, 90 % of it, definitely significantly cheaper, a little smaller body. And I liked that camera, it was great. It's a fun little camera. Yeah, I did, I think it had,

Tim (07:18)
Three. Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Andrew Stone (07:38)
some decent video capabilities but I wasn't doing video on it the time just photography it's what I started with for the first probably year and half or two in 2017

Tim (07:47)
So what, how did you

actually get into the professional space for photography?

Andrew Stone (07:50)
Yeah.

Yeah, that was...

I I started doing, well, just for fun, I would just grab my friends and shoot. We'd just do portraits downtown and out and about. We'd have fun all the time, which I love. And I fell in love with it and would bring in my photos into Lightroom and just obsess over color grading and learning as much as I can. And I think it was probably doing a few different senior portrait shoots. And then got...

I got asked to second shoot a a few hours from my hometown and ended up doing a good like, over the years, 10 or 15 weddings with this gal who just started a wedding photography business at the time. And that was really fun actually. I think I learned a lot doing weddings. I know now that I don't want to do them full time. I do a couple a year for friends and family. That's kind of my rule. It doesn't feel like work. It's just fun documenting.

Tim (08:34)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (08:39)
That's where I think I discovered my love for more of that documentary style. It's in a way there's high pressure because it's like you get one chance, but there's not, you don't have stage anything. You just document a fly in the wall. And I love that getting to see those in between moments and, you get to share them with the couples and then they're just like, they're floored. They're amazed. Like, this is so awesome. And I do actually enjoy that. I did start with, started with that. And then, and then I think, yeah, a couple years into it, I got an opportunity through.

Tim (08:48)
Yeah. Yeah.

Andrew Stone (09:06)
Right, just friends, it's just always like mutual friends, random people that usually it's like they don't have a ton of budget and they're, probably hit up a professional established company that's 10 times too much. they're like, you should talk to this guy. just got into doing video. so had a guy retouch to me. was like a custom homes company. And we did, we did, a couple ads for like Facebook and like they lived on their website.

kinda deal and yeah, was my first time doing a video and I was so nervous. I remember watching tons of YouTube videos and trying to figure out how to do the lighting well and audio was the big thing. I just had no clue I was doing and I looked back at them. They're actually not as bad as I thought but the audio is bad which makes it just seem like low quality. But that was my first intro into video and then yeah, there's a whole journey.

I could digress into. I would say that's kind how I, that was my start into the professional side of things.

Tim (10:04)
Yeah. So at what point did he go full time with what you're doing?

Andrew Stone (10:07)
Yeah, here, this, yeah, this will be good. I can give more of the story. So 2019, I met this dude, we became good friends and he had an idea to start this video company. essentially, essentially we just did a lot of reels, basically like short form vertical video ad stuff kind of for a lot of midsize businesses. And we did that for about a year. COVID hit 2020.

And was living at my parents' house and employed. The company kind of stayed afloat. And then out of that, we were like on lockdown for three months. It was like maybe June or July when that kind of like lifted. We still were doing stuff for a while, but I think it was like that fall, that company Rapid Render was the name of the company, joined with another company in town, Advest Marketing. And we merged and out of that was Birth Trend Z.

So Trendsy was, past tense, it's changed now, but was a TikTok marketing agency. So that kind of merged and I was one of the co-founders and doing all of the creative. like we would work with a lot of DTC brands. So Ollipop was one of our clients, which is so fun. I got free Ollipop. If you go to that TikTok, you scroll all the way to the bottom, you'll see me in there. So it was like mass producing and shooting TikTok iPhone videos. Ollipop, Everyman Jack.

Tim (11:10)
Cool, yeah.

Andrew Stone (11:20)
I brewing companies like that. And it was really fun and I loved my team, but I did that for a couple of years and just got burned out. I was like doing, I was just doing so much and that for a couple of years and all throughout that time I was still freelancing, just a lot of word of mouth referrals. Didn't really have a plan. I didn't have a business plan. I just knew like, I love creating stuff and telling stories. I'm a crazy young 20 some year old with a camera.

and I'm good at it, but I don't know the business side of things. And so that was kind of like all through the years has like paid the bills. There's a few other like random things I did through my own like freelance business, like trying to start other businesses and just funny because I didn't go to school for it. And I don't think of myself as a entrepreneur or like a businessman. My dream has never been to just scale businesses. just, I'm the technician I want to create the artist.

I love if I could just shoot and edit all day, happy man, honestly, and like, and do some of the client stuff. I love, I love working with people and like the client process and experience. So anyways, dropped, left that company in about the summer of 22. And then it was, I think that fall of September or something of 2022, I joined a coaching program through Paul Weaver, freelance photographer, shout out Paul. He's the man. And,

That really helped me gain a lot of confidence and clarity. That's what helped me niche down. That's when I really decided I needed, my portfolio, the work is good, it's just confusing. I started to realize I want to work with brands. I want to work with brands in the health, wellness, fitness space. And so I started repositioning myself as that. I was just kind of uncomfortable for a while and hard to come in and make that decision, but I'm glad I did.

I started doing, I like during that season I did a lot of spec work that aligned with health wellness fitness, a lot of free shoots and like learned how to pitch that to those brands, learned how to pitch to other people, did a lot of brand research and outreach, did a lot of, learned how to like do discovery calls and sales calls. So I did a lot of mock sales discovery calls and grew in that side of things, got some more systems into place with my business.

So I feel like that was a really good foundational piece starting to like get solidified as a business owner, figure out what I want to do a bit more, get more of a direction and some confidence and build up my portfolio so that it would align with like what I actually say that I do. And so I did that for about a year and then let me think. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tim (13:32)
Yeah.

Well, can I let me stop you right there? Let me

so with niching down, that's something I think probably every creative and especially creative entrepreneur struggles with, you know, because you feel like, well, I don't want to put myself in a box. I don't want to be able to have to turn down work because I don't know if it's that like famine mentality or it's like, well, I I don't know if I'll be able to do that.

Andrew Stone (13:52)
Mm-hmm.

Mm.

Tim (14:02)
I would say it's probably even a stump in our problem that we have, which is we want to probably niche down at some point in the future, even with the type of work that we do. But it's just, you don't know which one you want to niche down into. So I think it's almost like this act of discovery that you have to go through. And it sounds like that's exactly what happened with you that you were able to discover, like you uncovered, like, actually I like this. And this is what I want to really focus my time on.

Andrew Stone (14:02)
Yeah.

Mm.

Yeah, yeah, so it's a weird, it's a weird thing. think a lot of people in the perfect world would want to, but there is that fear of, I guess FOMO in a way, it's like fear of missing out initially, because you kind of have to take steps back to go forward. And that's kind of what I experienced. like, well, yeah, I will probably initially for a year or so, I don't know, like miss out on projects I normally could just take, like random one-off things that are kind of just.

I don't know, random, and that's not bad. I know a lot of people, they love that. I have a buddy who does great work and he doesn't have a set industry or niche. He has definitely a specific look to his work, which is great. And he does a lot of reels, short form reels, simple B-roll, and does them well for companies, but there's no set niche. And so that's totally fine.

And I think I got a bit, maybe a bit married to that too, the whole idea of like, Nishidana have to be so like, in this lane and I can't do anything else. And I think, yeah, if people can understand the why you, what's the benefit of Nishidana, I think that's what we got in like, honing on. I think it was Paul, when I did the freelance photographer gave the analogy of.

He gave the analogy of a restaurant, and he correlated with niching down. said, imagine you go into a restaurant, say you, maybe this is my analogy, I don't even know, I'm just thinking out loud. Imagine you go into a buffet, an American buffet, you're like, but earlier than that, you're like, man, I just want some good sushi, and you go and do a buffet, and they have sushi, and they have pizza, and they got.

They have like every single cuisine. They got Mexican food and stuff.

The sushi's not gonna be that good. Even if objectively it is really good, subconsciously you're just gonna think, it's like whatever, because they have like, they're jack of all trades, they do everything. But if you go to a sushi restaurant, yeah, the sushi, I mean, in all reality it's probably gonna be much better, but even if it's not objectively, objectively if you did a side by side buffet versus the sushi restaurant, and you think the buffet is actually better, you're still like, just like,

Tim (16:09)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (16:28)
psychologically you're gonna wanna go to the sushi restaurant. You're gonna say, wow, well they specialize in just sushi, so yeah, they do it better. Before even tasting, that's how our brains work. So if you think of that with niching down, it positions you in such a way that you can be a specialist in this set field. And it does help qualify leads better too. It helps you do that, I think, if you can get more clear with what you do, who you serve. That can be an advantage, but.

But in a way, yeah, can sure you could miss out on different kinds of work. So that's kind of what I've experienced and I'm totally down to doing other niches, other projects if it's one off, but I'm not gonna go like hardcore searching for like every type of work now. So I don't know if that makes sense. That's something I've just thought about like a kind of an analogy. Jack of all trades versus being a specialist kind of idea.

Tim (17:10)
Sure. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean

with specialists, you're just going to get the extra attention that a jack of all trades, not that they're not capable of doing, but just that they probably can't do just because of the amount of work, the other kind of work that they're doing. ⁓ and so, so you're talking about with, Paul Weaver's, his coaching program. Can you talk about what, what did that entail and how, how beneficial was that for you?

Andrew Stone (17:20)
Yeah.

Hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah, it was honestly, I'm trying to remember like how everything was structured has been a few years since I did the program. I think the some of the big things for me that were really helpful was the community aspect. There was a lot of like minded people. So that's just like huge in our industry. If you're doing it alone, man, it's so discouraging. You just get in your head. So having people to

within the program, then outside of like, I kind of made my own sub community of people and we would, in our own time, we'd just set up, mock discovery calls and like talk through problems we're having and share wins. And so it was cool because I think you did a really good job with that because the community already, without him encouraging or telling us to, made other little pods in communities, which is really, really sweet. So I think that was a huge aspect, the collaboration, the community aspect of it, sharing work.

and Having a place where there's no like no one's gatekeeping anything It's just like we're trying to help each other all grow. It's really beneficial and I think I think at the end of the day the one-on-one mentorship with him the coaching was the most beneficial we would have access to top on a call or DM and very specific pointed questions is like really really beneficial because you can like

Yeah, you can go on YouTube and search through tons of different YouTubers and find similar advice, but there's something so much more valuable about a personalized solution to your very specific problem. To have him listen and understand what you're wrestling with and then give you a very personalized action plan. here's what I'm hearing, here's what I think should do. Try these two things and let me know how goes.

So nice, so there's that accountability aspect was another big thing. And then he was always putting out new curriculum. think it was like twice or once a week, there was like a call with a specific focus, kind of like a topic. Then we have a lot of Q &A time. And the program's probably changed now, but he would like save those calls so we can go back and watch them and then always adding new resources, like really good.

proposal templates or Canva pitch decks or even like contracts templates which can save you like literally hundreds of dollars. Like you've got like professional ones that are approved and like what not like all that kind of stuff. So that was really helpful and I use a lot of those templates and we called it like the toolbox. So I have lots of that stuff that it's fun looking back now I use there's just a ton of stuff I do that I don't even think I realize that are like ingrained in me because of

the program I did, so shout out to Paul. Plugged the TFP. It's really helpful. think overall, to sum it up, it's not a place to learn the technical, like the creative side, it's to grow your business, like as a freelancer. So it really helped me on the business side of things, gave me a great foundation. yeah, honestly, just like learn how to ask good questions on discovery calls too. I think that was a big one.

Tim (20:18)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (20:27)
made me lot more confident.

Tim (20:28)
And so you, you go through this coaching or you already doing this full time professionally before that.

Andrew Stone (20:34)
Yeah, think that's when I just started to dive, try to like go full time was when I did that program. I think it was September of 2022. Yeah, it was when I did it. So that's when I was like, okay, I'm going full time. But then actually I didn't even mention I did that. then my wife and I, well, now wife at the time we were engaged and we got married December 27th of 22. And we went off grid for three months on missions, did missions work basically for three months.

and then got back in April. So I kind of put a pause on everything from December to April and then yeah, came back. And then I was officially like, all right, let's hit the ground running. that's,

Tim (21:10)
So you're full time, you do this coaching program where

So what has the business changed these past few years for you? Like 2022, 2023, till 2025? Like what are the biggest differences and the biggest changes that have been beneficial for you that you've made?

Andrew Stone (21:26)
Yeah. So I'm trying to think of timeline wise. Last, it was last year, I guess that would have been fall of 2023. I think I had like wrapped up. I just had like dipped out of the program for that full year. And so that fall through like early 2024 then yeah, that was, I was like applying a lot of what I learned and

Just trying to niche down. Like I said, it's kind of like you got to take some steps back to go forward basically. And I was like committed. I'm like, okay, I'm going to, got my systems out and do my outreach and do all these things, spec work and pitch it. It was a, it was a tough few months, especially like that January, the new year, January through March probably was, I don't even think I had a project actually. It was, it was tough. So I was doing a lot of like trying to build my business and work, work on the business, but

Those are pretty discouraging months, because I'm like, I am at my optimal. My sweet golden zone or whatever is when I'm shooting and editing, when I'm creating stuff. So that was kind of tough, just feeling like, am I doing anything? I'm just going stir crazy here. So that was actually really difficult last year. And come May of last year, I got an opportunity, and it was a total answer to prayer. was just such a blessing. got.

an opportunity to be contracted out through a local marketing agency. Their old videographer left, they wanted just to hire a freelancer. I saw a job opening on LinkedIn, someone tagged me and I didn't even know this was a thing. Submitted my resume in April and then heard back in May and they were like, you're the guy. I looked through a whole bunch of others, when do you wanna start? And that was really awesome. So I did that for six months. And that was a lot of just corporate type stuff. So testimonials, kinda like brand story.

recruitment videos for the company, promo type stuff like that. But I actually, came to find that I really do enjoy doing that, more that type of content compared to a lot of what I was doing and trying to do like lifestyle product photography, which I love. So I came to discover I actually really do enjoy doing this and really getting to do.

You know, that type of stuff is a bit longer form when you're doing the like three minute brand film. Actually, I enjoy those, getting to meet people, work with them, help flush out a story for their brand. Cause I know how actually, how impactful those are when done well are like the foundation, think of kind of like of your marketing and of your brand. So did a lot of those and I got to, I got to use that now to build kind of a different side of my business and portfolio. So

Now this year, when was it? Yeah, beginning of this year, I invested in a 12 month, another coaching program. came to realize, like, I need, I just need mentorship. I don't think it's something we ever graduate from, and I need the community. don't want to go stir crazy and feel alone. So I came to realize, like, okay, I need some help, some like more help and direction. I think the way I described it was I need, I need help like,

Help channeling this this like passion this energy this gift into the right direction. I need like a direction that'll That'll give me more clarity and confidence so Did this program? It's a 12-month thing. I'm still in it and this it it's even it's not a video Course by any means not a creative course. I'm the only creative in there, but it's it's a Donald Miller

like Business Made Simple, if you're familiar. The coach is Business Made Simple certified and I actually love, the principles are just so solid and I think it's all across the board. It's every single business, everyone I'm gonna work with. It's really good foundational stuff and it's so simple and I feel like now that I'm applying what I'm learning, it's definitely helping me get more confidence and clarity and I'm learning, I built out a whole other basically side of my business now.

Tim (24:40)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (25:01)
So I'm still doing like the health wellness fitness brands, but leveraging a lot of this, this other work I did for local businesses. And essentially I'm using that to pitch to a lot of local companies. And that's where I'm, that's where I'm still like, I don't have a necessarily a niche, sure health wellness fitness is ideal, but I'm just really wanting, wanting to help a lot of these local businesses tell their brand story and create.

Tim (25:17)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (25:23)
Like just give them a good, if anything, give them a good foundation and help take time off, help save them time and stress. Because there's a lot of people that want to be investing in video but just don't have time. And they try to do it and then it kind of sucks and they get frustrated or they pay some kid out of college who's not professional and then they get burned. So I've been having a lot of conversations with people now, a of local business owners, and trying to like...

understand and dive into that market a bit more. Doing brand story films, testimonials, promo stuff, kind of, in that kind of realm is what commercial, what I've been doing.

Tim (26:00)
So what are some of those principles that you've been applying from Business Made Simple? Like what are those systems that have been really helping you as well?

Andrew Stone (26:04)
Hmm.

Yeah, some of the big things, I guess he, Donald Miller talks about like different, he gives the analogy of like your business is like an airplane and there's different wings of your business. got marketing, you got sales, you got your products and services, yada yada yada. There's like five different areas. And one of the big ones I've been diving into is email marketing. I've been on Instagram, I've been...

On Instagram for eight years, I've been on LinkedIn for the past two or three years, which has been clutch. You know this, this is how we met. Whoever's listening to this, get on LinkedIn, especially if you're a creative, if you're in this space, the decision makers live on LinkedIn. Don't waste all your time on Instagram. That's my opinion. So LinkedIn, I know how to do this, I know how to make good content, but we're renting that space. All this could crash tomorrow, and if we don't have solid email marketing, like.

Tim (26:42)
Yeah, for real. Yep.

Andrew Stone (26:52)
Email, you own that and you get other people's emails. Statistically, it's always been the most effective, most cost effective and I don't think it's gonna change. I've kind of realized I've slept on that and I've known that statistic for a few years but it's overwhelming, it's the only thing. like, how do I do this? But it's all the same principle, nothing's crazy. So that's really what I've been working on is getting my email marketing down and building an email list and.

learning how to run automations and different sequences. And there's just like a whole bunch to it. It's a whole new world. So that's been challenging, but fun seeing, some growth in that and, you know, learning how to make lead magnets to then get people's email and then get them on those sequences. But I think what one of the really beneficial things I've done is gone through the like brand. think it's called like

story brand, framework or whatever. You know, it's taking, doing it for myself, I'm taking, it's like I'm going through this hero's journey. It's like any good story you think of where now when I'm speaking to people, I'm the guide, they are the hero, and it's all basic stuff, right? I'm agitating the problem a lot so they can, they realize, oh yeah, this is...

Yeah, he knows, wow, he's like, he knows my problems. So there's that relatability, create that empathy and that connection, and then he essentially provide the solution to their problem in a simple call to action, in like a very simple nutshell. So learning to do that and tell, I'm telling a story and doing that on my website and then using that in my marketing copy, my email stuff on LinkedIn and just making that narrative.

kind of the same all throughout is what I'm trying to do. So it's cohesive and consistent and the same all across all my different channels and platforms. So I'm trying to get as many touch points as I can when it comes to marketing. And yeah, think that's a big, big area I've begun to tackle and it's been kind of fun learning that side of things.

It's made me a, on that note too, think the other thing, the even more important thing is learning like really addressing what are my priorities and then how to, based off of that, reverse engineer. So block off my time based off of that and then it helps you set better boundaries and not feel like you're just running around with your head cut off and just doing tons of tasks with no direction and you feel like I'm not doing anything. So that used to be a big struggle I had, but I just feel I...

I keep saying it, but I feel more grounded, more confident, more, I have more clarity in what I'm doing and it's more purposeful and I can, I don't feel bad about just saying no to things and I can be like, yeah, I don't need to do that. It's just not gonna, doesn't align with my priorities or my goal right now. So that's been a really huge one at like a mental, I think at a mental level, a heart level.

Tim (29:31)
Yeah, so for maybe younger creatives, younger photographers, what are some of the most important lessons you've learned these past few years that if you could just bottle those up and say, Hey, you're going to need this, this advice, what would that be?

Andrew Stone (29:45)
Hmm.

I just touched on it, but figure out your priorities, like your why. I made a video about this. Like what is your why for, if we're just talking business, like what's your why for what you do? If you get that down just like three bullet points, then you can, that kind of aligns with your, I mean your mission, your priorities are similar. Then you can reverse engineer air quotes and work backwards. then, okay, what are my goals based off of?

that, my stuff, my why, and then you just kind of keep breaking it down and then you can get it, break it down to a week by week, a day by day kind of thing. What are the beats, the things I need to be doing every week? are, based off of that, what are the habits? You you just kind of break it down. It's something I think everyone, people kind of know it's not rocket science, but it's just a matter of knowing it versus doing it and like taking steps to actually do that. Because when you get that clarity, it's

It's really key and it helps you stay organized, not waste your time and like be aimless. think that's probably one of the biggest things I would say. Not just for your business or your work, your career, but your life in general. Cause your work is not your life. We should work to make a living, not live to work. Don't buy this American. I don't buy this American. The new American dream is just like, for some people it's like,

work, work, work, work, work, or at least in the entrepreneurial business culture hustle. We take pride in that, we work so much. I don't know, I want to work too to make enough money to have my needs met, my food, shelter, and provide for my family. If you can get that down and be content in that, think, to me that's what matters. I would say that's huge.

Tim (31:05)
Yeah.

Totally. I definitely,

I definitely agree with that. Like I think there is a good side to hustling, not, but not, it should never be, cause I think people treat it as like the never ending sprint that you just have to keep sprinting. And I'm like, no, there are seasons where you will sprint, but there will be seasons where you're jogging or when you're taking rest. And I think that

Andrew Stone (31:32)
Mm-hmm bingo. Yeah

Yeah.

Tim (31:42)
You know, I think when you're younger, you're with your single, like, of course, sprint, you know, I would say enjoy your youth, but also you that you have so much time and like, you're to run out of it sooner than you think. So I'm like, don't waste your youth just because you think, oh, well, I'll get to this stuff later. Like, no, you know, I wish I could have been able I wish I was where I am at now back then, you know, because I'm like, all right, well, I would have been in a much better place today. I would have been able to buy my family a home today.

Andrew Stone (31:47)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

Tim (32:11)
or whatever if I had been able to. I'm grateful for my experiences. I know it led me to this very moment. But I think that there's a mixture that it's not all one or the other. It's not all because I think that people can go the other way because people can be so lazy where they don't want to really work hard at all. And they only want to spend time just chilling and being with people. And like

Andrew Stone (32:18)
Mm.

Yeah.

Tim (32:35)
our lives are meant for us to work, you know, but also our lives are meant for us to work for our family and for the things that we love and work doesn't have to be divorced from our family either, you know, and I think that your work, your home, all this stuff is so deeply interconnected, know, least it should be. And for us, like we're doing something that we really care about, we really value.

Andrew Stone (32:47)
Yeah.

Tim (32:59)
and even entrepreneurship in theory, that's something that you were so moved to do because you wanted to solve a problem or sell a product or something that you resonated with enough. so, yeah, I would say like, that's, and that kind of goes back to your why, like the why behind what you do, I think part of his family, you know, but why, why this, why photography as opposed to anything else?

Andrew Stone (33:00)
Yeah.

Tim (33:24)
you know, like, and I think that if we go like five layers deep, even into that, you know, like, what are the whys behind, you know, like, let me ask you, like, what are the whys for you to be to do the work that you're doing?

Andrew Stone (33:37)
Yeah, yes, I was going to say, I was going say, if you didn't ask me, was going to tell the people, but.

I think it's such a, for me, it's such a simple one. The why for like photography. I just love it. I always tell people in a perfect world, if money weren't a thing, I didn't have to worry about money or anything. I would just, I would love just taking photos of people. Like documenting life, taking photos of strangers. And I do that and I haven't done it in a while. I used to have a pretty good practice of going out like in the neighborhood or downtown and talking to strangers, taking photos of people. would sometimes just be like, hey,

I'm just on the photo walk, could I take a photo of you? And sometimes they're like, no, but most of the time people are like, yeah, sure, that's cool. And then strike up a conversation and get to know them and take a few photos and like in their environment, in their element. And then I'll, follow up with, okay, can I get your email? I'd love to send you these. And I might never see the person again, but that is like at the core. That's me. Like to make them, to highlight other people and to help them feel.

to see their inherent value, their God-given value and just beauty, I think is such a win for me and I just love it. I mentioned this earlier, the way that light works and color works in different focal lengths, how different field of view can tell a different story and give it a different feeling and emotion. All of those, I could go nerdy with that, but inherently, am intrinsically motivated in that way. I don't need...

Tim (34:40)
Mm-hmm.

Andrew Stone (35:02)
external, I don't need like money to take photos. just do it. Like I got thousands and thousands of just so much stuff documented that I love for myself that you know, the internet doesn't see and doesn't need to see. So that's like, I think at the core, just genuinely like it's a gift from God that I enjoy so much. Like I enjoy a good cup of hot coffee, like a nice fresh chemex in the morning, like those things. That's probably the biggest one. And like I said, I'm not

I know people that are business minded, they're like, I wanna change the world and help people with this and my camera can do that, sure, in a way. And they might be more minded like that and they're like, oh, I just so happened to be a photographer. But I'm the photographer, I'm the artist, the storyteller. So I really care about the craft, I think is the big thing. With that being said though, I've come to realize you have to be like,

unless you're like a Vincent Van Gogh, like, you no one cares about your work. I'm just a guy with a camera. There's people that are way better than me, way better creatives than me, you know, whatever. But I've kind of had to drop the artist ego thing and be like, okay, I'm a business owner. And I have come to really enjoy doing business and just like, just building relationships with people. I think that's the other thing is I love.

getting to build relationships with people and honestly break down the like.

business facade like professional blah blah blah blah that jargon I'm just like not that kind of person so I just like I love getting to

Yeah, I don't know how to describe it, I just, at the core, would say, I would say this.

Like I really want to reach people.

with the gospel ultimately. Being that I love the Lord, love Jesus, I wanna be able to help people know Jesus. And what a cool opportunity I get to do that through, yes, through the creativity he's given me and reflecting him in that and just doing it with utmost excellence. And I wanna have a really good work ethic and I do pride myself in communication and not just over delivering and over communicating with people, to just love and respect them and care for them.

But like to just like have those candid conversations with clients because they're just people like they're not just a number I'm not trying to get money from them. I'm like, hey, let's grab coffee and let's just like Hang out. Let's chat. Like what do you think about? What do you about the Bible? What do you think about Jesus? know, so that's like a huge at the core. That's like a Under everything that's that's like my deeper why it's like reaching people with the gospel of Jesus and the love of God so that's like my my deep heartbeat and it's really cool that I get to

Tim (37:09)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (37:28)
do something I really love and I can genuinely help people and help mission driven brands, people that want to tell their story, can help bring that to life and save them stress and save them money because I know what that's like. I get it. It's really fulfilling to help take care of people and then give them the greatest news ever, ultimately. yeah.

Tim (37:46)
What have been your

most fulfilling projects you've worked on these past few years? Are there some standouts to you that you've really loved working on?

Andrew Stone (37:50)
⁓ Yeah

Hmm I Would say funny enough I Think a lot of the spec shoots have done have been my favorite. I know a lot of people say spec work is your best work and honestly, I Kind of would agree. Yeah. Yeah, like passion whatever passion spec either. They're fun because there's no There's no like time constraint. There's no there's no climb breathing down your neck. There's not that pressure. So sometimes when there's

Tim (38:03)
Well, passion projects are always good.

Andrew Stone (38:15)
Sometimes when there's less pressure, you just perform better in a way. But I'm pulling it up here just to jog my memory. I would say though, I would say favorite speck shoot I did, which was two summers ago, was for half day iced tea. I don't know if you've heard of them. They do like gut healthy probiotic iced tea. It's like low sugar. It tastes like Arizona iced tea. It's really good, but actually better I would say. Arizona iced tea is like.

thick and syrupy and kind of weird. anyways, besides the point, they're really fun, like nostalgic, vintage feeling brand. And that's actually, I found them and that's what caught my attention. And so I did some research on them and did a whole spec shoot, you know, passion project and treated them as if they were one of my clients. And the cool quick back stories that I pitched it to them, it caught their attention that landed an actual shoot with them. And this spec shoot to this day has been like,

has gotten so much attention from other brands that I reach out to. A lot of times people will reference this shoot. They're like, we want to do something just like this. So it's really cool how this, you know, I didn't really expect any of it, but it landed me the biggest shoot I've done to this day, which I would say is probably my favorite shoot I've done. This was just a couple of weeks ago. This back shoot landed me a shoot with another beverage brand and we did, it was a 13 hour day in the studio. built out.

three different sets with like cloud backdrop, a night sky backdrop, artificial turf, beach sand, like tons of props and fruit. I mean, technically there was five locations, if I'm being honest, because we broke for lunch and we did some photos at the restaurant, which is a really cool place. And then we took some, the fifth location was like 20 minutes at the end of the day outside. So it was a full day, but it was really cool. So that was a...

That's probably been my recent favorite one and I'm working on the full length behind the scenes for it and there's just tons of content for them and for my own brand as well. So really excited about that one and the clients, the client like loved it. They loved the finished product and they already have other products they're coming out with and they want more content for. So that's really exciting for me. That's been a big, definitely a big win I think in my journey.

Tim (40:02)
Nice.

That's awesome.

So how do you approach spec work? What's that process for creating spec work?

Andrew Stone (40:25)
Yeah, I would say I'm right. making sure it aligns with my why, with my niche, industry. And typically I'll research different brands. Like Half Day, I just found them on Instagram. I did this last year, a year and a half ago. I would take a day, a few hours on a Wednesday or whatever, three four hours, and kind of use that as like research, just researching new brands, put them in my Notion page.

organize all of that, try to find their email and do research on them. And they just stood out to me. was like, this is a really cool brand. Like there was just that feeling. I'm like, this is sick. I felt like I connected with them. And at the time I was doing more spec work because I'm like, I need to do that. You got to make the work, you got to make it happen. You can't just like expect people to show up at your doorstep. So I'm like, ⁓ I'm just going to make a whole campaign for them and send it to them.

Tim (41:11)
Exactly.

Andrew Stone (41:15)
And that got their attention. Imagine if someone made a whole brand film for you or something for you as a creative, it's on brand, and you're just like, what the heck? Okay, let's connect, let's talk, yeah. So I did that and research.

Tim (41:29)
So you did research and then what did

that research turn into?

Andrew Stone (41:34)
Yeah, basically like, I got a whole list, like a template I have and I just got good questions, know, blah blah blah, to kind of vet them, like would this even be a good fit? Like I don't want to waste my time. And I was like yeah, think this would be worthwhile doing a shoot and pitching it to them and if nothing happens with that brand, I can pitch it to other brands that are similar, that have a similar feel or vibe or whatever. And so.

I went to the store and I went to Target and bought some of the product. tried it. I was like, this is actually really good. I actually like the product, which is great. If the brand you don't give a rib about, it's like, maybe don't work with them. And so then yeah, I just treated it like it was an actual client. I created a mood board. I started to flush out the concept, kind of made the brief, gathered some props, found a couple of talent, reached out to them. I briefed them on the shoot.

We got the wardrobe situated, we got location, we shot at a skate park in the summer, which was great. So we didn't need any extra lights or stuff and got some pizza, got the cooler, got the drinks and the ice. And then we, yeah, we, we made a big shoot out of it. was probably like a five, six hours. got a whole bunch of lifestyle images and then a 30 second spot ad and then a reel or two, I think something like that. And yeah, it was really fun. I, my buddy captured a whole, whole bunch of behind the scenes. So I have.

Link in the bio, just kidding, I got a whole, but I do have whole like 10 minute kind of behind the scenes mic'd up video which is really fun, so yeah.

Tim (42:50)
Yeah

Cool.

It's, and so everyone I'm assuming volunteered for free to do that or.

Andrew Stone (43:00)
I paid them. I lost a bit, but I didn't. I saw it as such a worthwhile investment. Spent several hundred dollars buying the product and the pizza and the whatnot. I lost a bit initially, but it really didn't. That's all I had to say. It's just like, do that thing. If you got that idea, if you're unsure about it, just go for it. Also, don't...

Tim (43:05)
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Andrew Stone (43:20)
break the bank doing it. You don't have to like do anything completely crazy, but if you can and if you're in a season where your work is slow, client work is slow, just, I'm always of the idea of just doing spec work. And for me, it helps me creatively and just mentally. So I'm not just like twiddling my thumbs and I have all these ideas and I don't do anything. So that's something I'm already planning for. I got a few different concepts I'd love to do and work it slower. Usually in the winter months, it's just a bit slower.

Tim (43:23)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (43:45)
trying to make it happen.

Tim (43:46)
Yeah, I think that, you know, for creatives, if you don't have the work, if you don't have like, you know, these, like the work that it's almost like the device that people always say is like dress for the job you want. And so you have to create the work and show off the work that you want to do, you know? And so, I mean, I think that kind of goes into what you're saying with, the spec work, like if you want to have any thoughts about that.

Andrew Stone (43:58)
Yes, yes, exactly.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah, you gotta be confident and just treat it like I said, treat it like it's your own client. And you don't have to go like, I know some people do, you don't have to necessarily say like this is a spec work for so and so. Whether you do or not, people don't care. The decision maker at whatever brand doesn't give a rip. They wanna see the work and if it's really good, it catches their attention, they're gonna be like, oh, that's chat. You don't need to convince them of why they need video, the head of marketing. They know why.

Tim (44:21)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (44:36)
They know what they want, but they want to see like, okay, this guy's stuff is legit. And then if you already have more social proof of you online, if you're good at marketing yourself and you can create that trust with the client before even hopping on a call, that's definitely another win. So that's something I've been trying to do.

Tim (44:51)
So how are you preparing for these photoshoots with these clients?

Andrew Stone (44:54)
Like pre-pro are you saying? Pre-production? Yeah. I guess with this one, yeah. Or I'll give the example with this recent shoot I did. Big, big shoot, full day. Never done something like this before actually. We're gonna do it in a day and a half, but yeah, the thing is like, I'm wearing a lot of hats. I'm not just camera operator. I'm producer, director, editor, fire putter outter, all business, all the things.

And so you learn some, you gotta get good at pre-production. I think pre-production's half of the battle, not more. Honestly, I would say 60%. And yeah, especially as there's more logistics, you really have to spend a lot of time on the front end. And so I've just, I've learned that to really be thorough with your game plan. So for this big shoot I did, I'm trying to think, yeah, we had quite a few

pre-production call, there was a lot of product involved, so we had to make sure, I had to make sure I knew, understood the product, and he sent over a shot list, we went through the whole shot list, and I started to then, once we had our like kind of vision and yeah, the vibe, the vision, I started building out a mood board and started creating wardrobe based off of the different kind of scenes I came up with and.

I don't know, it's kind of a dance of just figuring out, here's our shot list, let's build out different looks. These flavors go here. It's kind of a back and forth, a dance, I would say, with this project in particular, and then also with wardrobe. And AI is amazing. I used ChatTPT to like, I explained everything and it's based off of this, create four different scenes and that kind of helped give a good starting point, a good visual before it even shot. And I was like, give me a lighting breakdown of how I could do this. And so I leveraged AI a good bit, which.

Tim (46:22)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (46:29)
I think everyone should be using, most creatives use those tools well. then yeah, like creating, once you really start getting all the pieces together, creating a call sheet with all the details, all the logistics for the location, the talents numbers, my number, different roles and expectations and outfits and whatnot, and communicating that with the client, communicating that with your talent, with any other crew members, and then day of.

you can feel so much more prepared and not stressed. There's so many details, I could talk for 20 minutes. making a full breakdown that people can see and you'll get to understand what I'm trying to explain. And it'll help me to remember all that goes into it, because it's a lot. So all I can say is just like pre-production is key. Do your pre-production. Don't cut corners and just try to wing everything. You can for some shoots, but for bigger shoots, there's no way.

Tim (47:20)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (47:20)
No way. Yeah.

Tim (47:22)
Yeah, we kind of talked about this before, but you said that, you know, you want to work to live. talk about like your kind of work life balance and, you know, has it always been good? Has it gotten better or worse or, you know, what are, what are your thoughts on that?

Andrew Stone (47:36)
Mm. Yeah.

Yeah, work to live, not live to work. I think when I was younger, not in a relationship, so I wasn't married and didn't have baby, I had a lot more time in my hands. And I totally agree with what you said, like, yeah, you're just gonna have more capacity, just go for it, spend more time. You have more capacity to work and do more, which is great for a season. But I would say back then, three, four years ago, whatever, I definitely didn't have

Tim (47:48)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (48:02)
I think part of it was I didn't know my why as much, didn't have as good of priorities and boundaries, so I did get more burned out and maybe felt a bit more aimless, hence why the burnout was doing things but not what I really should be focusing on. And so I don't think I really ever had a, it's hard, it's like what's my reference point? I could compare myself to other people, but I would say even back then, compared to general society, I feel like I've had a pretty good work-life balance.

I've seen people that have gotten burned out, even my dad, I've tried to learn from him. He's hospitalized for having a weird anxiety, heart palpitations from just doing way too much. He's not an anxious man, but I've learned from that and from my mom. I've tried to learn from people that are years and years ahead of me and just learn from their mistakes and go, I don't think I should do that then. I shouldn't take on that extra project. It's probably gonna burn me out, so I'm just gonna say no for now.

But I had to learn the hard way. I it's 2021, I did way too much. was doing like four business things and had to drop out, cut out two of them. And it was hard, hard conversations with people that I cared about. But I'm so glad I learned that lesson because I was getting like, there was, there was some weeks where I felt low key, like depressed, which I'm not a depressed person. very joyful and positive and hopeful, but I was just burned out. I was, and I thought like, what's wrong? Why don't I have motivation? Why am I just like,

bruh, just like staring at screen like a zombie. I was doing way too much. And so I learned that lesson. I've learned what my limitations are. now I think now fast forward that I am married and I have a kid. four month old, shout out to you, Joy. The best, our daughter's the best. So that's a whole new thing. That's a whole podcast. yeah, having a baby, having a wife changes priorities and changes my why. I think that...

That has really helped me these past four months. It's like put a good amount of healthy pressure, I would say, and has helped me cut out stuff. It's like when you have less free time, when you have less leisure time, time in general, you really start to ask yourself what matters to me? What's valuable? And then based off of that, based off of my conviction, my why, my priorities, okay, how can I live my life? Let's look at my calendar, where am I spending my time? So I think that's helped me more.

Tim (49:54)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (50:13)
Though I have more responsibility, I feel healthier than I've ever been. And I think my work-life balance is probably better than it's ever been. Though I am in a bit scarcer season with client work, I've just realized like, okay, stuff has to shift around and priorities will change a bit within work. But still trying to end work at around four. So I'm eight to four. And there's even flexibility with that, which is nice. Working at home. So I can have time just to...

Tim (50:35)
Yeah. Yep.

Andrew Stone (50:37)
shut off work and just be with the family and friends and whatnot. So it's a journey, man. We're always learning constantly, not doing it perfectly.

Tim (50:42)
Yeah, yeah, no, definitely.

So any kind of closing thoughts that you have about photography, video, your business, and doing this full time.

Andrew Stone (50:54)
that's a good question.

Yeah, I think something I didn't mention, it's a mindset thing when working with brands, businesses, let's just say like, I mean, yeah, just in general as creatives, videographer, photographer, whatever, it's easy to get into that feast or famine mindset, that like poverty mindset, so to say, and thinking that like, there's not enough work, there's not enough work, and you feel like you have to compete. But in all reality, like statistically, like,

That's not true, brands and businesses need us. There is actually not enough creatives to help all the businesses and brands in the world. So I think it's just a mindset shift I need to be constantly reminded of when you feel like, why don't I have, I wanna have this work, I want more consistency, I want this to remember, like, is, brands and businesses do need you. And it's just a matter of, think, with all of this.

Even though it's like landing work, it's a matter of reps and the long game. reach out to as many people as you can that fit within, right? That are within like your why, your priorities, your niche that makes sense. And don't get so discouraged quickly. Cause I had a time where I did, I was just like, ah, I felt kind of desperate and I don't think I had the long, the long, the long haul mindset. So there's, there's, for example, there are brands and businesses

connections I made two, three years ago, nothing had, nothing, just radio sounds and then out of nowhere they're like, hey, we got like all these projects, we're ready. And I'm like, and then, you know, they can turn into retainer client. You're like, what the heck? You're like, man, yeah, I had a convo. We had a couple conversations back when. So I think that's a huge one. I think another like just tip maybe I would give advice for people is for like,

past one-off clients, one-off shoots. So many of us sleep on those. We just do the project, we wrap it up, we're like, okay, bye. But I think two things, get good at off-boarding people and having a feedback time. Get their honest thoughts. Yes, get the Google review, Facebook review, whatever, but I always like to do a gallery review call if I'm doing photos, or just do a call and then hear what their experience was, what they liked, what they didn't, how it can improve.

And then always offer, I would say best case scenario, if you do shoot, this is just for me, but I always communicate, hey, I want to work with my clients on retainer, that's always, that's like a goal for my business. You can explain why, like why retainer's great. And it's not always gonna be good fit for people, but I communicate that, like I value long-term working relationships. So leave the door open, don't just say bye and just don't say anything.

Tim (53:17)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (53:17)
If you haven't done that, say it was four years ago you did a project, reach out to those past happy one-offs. Hit them up, take them out for coffee or whatever, or maybe give them something free, give them a freebie, some kind of lead magnet thing. Just ask them how they're doing and offer them, let them know, hey, you're there, I'm here. Because you never know, you're not pestering them, you're not annoying them. You would be surprised, there's a lot of people who've done that with. I'm always hesitant sometimes to send that email. Maybe it's just being annoying or...

But there's a lot of people that are like, actually thank you for reaching out, we've been wanting to reinvest in video or whatever. do it, gotta, gotta, quote unquote, pester people, you're not. You gotta let them know who you are what you do and you wanna help them. So I would say those are just some big things that came to mind.

Tim (53:57)
Yeah, that's so true. That's something I tell people all the time. Like, no one's going to advocate for you. You have to do it yourself. Yeah, no one wants to advertise your business for you. just it's something that we have to do ourselves and and because no one else is motivated to grow our businesses, you know, like us because they don't have our why, you know, they're not trying to provide for our family. You know, so.

Andrew Stone (54:02)
Nope.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, we got the advantage too. We're the creative people. I think it's often hardest. We forget to market ourselves and promote ourselves and build our brand because we're doing it for people. do that. The type of videos you're making for your clients, your brand films and stuff, make that for yourself. People need to know who you are and what you do and why you do it. And I'm preaching to myself, I have yet to actually make a legit like...

Tim (54:28)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (54:41)
brand film. have that throughout my social media. think people get a good idea, but it's just kind of like I need it. I'm saying this so can be held accountable to do that as well. We do it for other brands, but why not ourselves usually? So yeah.

Tim (54:53)
Yeah,

that's so true. Thanks Andrew for coming on and talking about your experience. And I think I'm sure a lot of photographers and videographers will really relate to your story, but also hopefully they can gain some insight from your experiences as well.

Andrew Stone (54:55)
Amen.

Yeah, appreciate it, man. Thanks for connecting with me on LinkedIn. I don't even know how, just mutual people and reaching out to me. You're in Lancaster. I'm in Fargo, North Dakota. And I just think it's cool. can, we have the ability to connect like this, do a podcast. Yeah. I hope, I hope this encourages someone, whoever's listening. I know it even encouraged me. And like I said, it's, it reminds me sometimes, sometimes when we, people ask us about our story, we share it.

Tim (55:20)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (55:31)
helps us remember and actually be encouraged and reflect on like, wow, you've grown a lot. So that's my last, that is my last point. Reflect on the, even just the past year where you've, you know, where you've come from in your growth. Don't, don't just compare yourself against your ideals of where you want to be. You're just going to be discouraged and feel behind. But if you can be diligent and intentional to reflect on where you've come from, it's like, I don't know, it's such a perspective shift that'll.

Tim (55:36)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Andrew Stone (55:57)
it'll encourage you and help you not get burned out and do this for the long run. that's what I got.

Tim (56:00)
Yeah, that's so good.

So where can people find you?

Andrew Stone (56:04)
Where can people find me? Fargo, North Dakota. Come here and don't come here in the winter. It's really cold. But I'm really active on LinkedIn. Just let me check. What is my thing? Is it just Andrew Stone? Yeah, Andrew Stone, photographer and videographer, Health Wellness Fitness Brand. So find me there and then Instagram at my handle is at AN, N as in Nelson, so ANstone111.

Tim (56:06)
other than North Dakota.

Andrew Stone (56:28)
I'm also on YouTube, Andrewstone Photography. I've started posting more there. I've got, there's a long form, that 30 minute behind the scenes breakdown is coming really soon and I think it'll be really fun one. So, trying to post more on there. I'm on Facebook too, but whatever, Andrewstone Photography, kind of on everything. So, yeah, follow me, follow along. Hope I can encourage and inspire people and I always tell people to just reach out, like I'm not.

Tim (56:42)
Yeah.

Andrew Stone (56:52)
I'm not, I don't have it all figured out, so I'd love to connect with you guys.

Tim (56:56)
That's awesome. So thanks everyone for listening to the creative Grove, a brand roots podcast segment. If you want to listen to more, you can find us on Apple and Spotify and our website at something root.co and we'll see you guys around. Thank you, Andrew.

Andrew Stone (57:10)
Peace.

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