Who am I to think I can start a business?
If I did start a business, what would I even sell? Or teach? Or do?
And do I need a ton of money to start something?
What if I don’t want to change my whole life and give up on my career…but I still want to develop a ‘side hustle’? Is it possible to do both?
These are all incredibly common questions for anyone who’s been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. As the pandemic continues to plod along and we continue to wonder when work will return, it’s become very common for people to come to the realization “Maybe it’s time I rely less on other people’s projects and I start creating my own income sources.”
In today’s Optimizer community Q&A we welcome special guest Misha Tenebaum, the CEO and Founder of EditStock and EditMentor. As a former assistant editor in scripted television, Misha is no stranger to balancing long hours working for others while trying to get his own ideas off the ground. He struggled at first building his business while balancing it with a demanding career, and it took him years to become an “overnight success story.” But it’s no accident that Misha is now the industry-leader in providing educational content for aspiring editors. There are certain key decisions Misha made that kept him moving forwards, and more importantly there are certain mindsets that ensured Misha would follow through with his business ideas to make the full-time transition from technician to entrepreneur.
If you’re interested in using your time wisely, you could do a lot worse than listening to Misha and our coaching & mentorship community talk about what it takes to start your own business….even during a global pandemic.
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Here’s What You’ll Learn:
- How do we generate some form of income during this pandemic?
- Misha describes the humble beginnings of EditStock and what it took for him to overcome fear of failure.
- Why ideas in themselves aren’t valuable. And how to think about sharing your idea with people so that you get useful feedback that can shape your idea into a winner.
- How to think about pricing what you offer and avoid making false comparisons with other businesses.
- Why all of us creative professionals are ‘businesses’ and why we could all benefit from adopting an entrepreneurial mindset.
- Key Point: “Fail as fast as possible.”
- Misha’s transition from editor on a network show to doing EditStock full time.
- Debby’ returns for another short ‘hotseat” where we talk about the lack of structure of starting a new business from scratch, working with your strengths, and how to deal with overwhelm.
- How to get better feedback and get more of it.
- Misha’s “goal setting trick” and breaking down big ideas into manageable steps.
Useful Resources Mentioned:
Ep99: How to Provide Value & Get Paid What You’re Worth | Community Q&A with Monica Daniel
Ep97: When Are We Going Back to Work? And How Can We Earn Income Now? | Community Q&A
Our Generous Sponsors:
This episode is made possible for you by Ergodriven, the makers of the Topo Mat, my #1 recommendation for anyone who stands at their workstation. The Topo is super comfortable, an awesome conversation starter, and it’s also scientifically proven to help you move more throughout the day which helps reduce discomfort and also increase your focus and productivity. Click here to learn more and get your Topo Mat.
Guest Bio:
Misha is the founder of EditStock.com, a site that provides professional quality film footage for editors to practice with.
Show Credits:
This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared and published by Glen McNiel.
The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).
Note: I believe in 100% transparency, so please note that I receive a small commission if you purchase products from some of the links on this page (at no additional cost to you). Your support is what helps keep this program alive. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Zack Arnold
Zack Arnold (ACE) is an award-winning Hollywood film editor & producer (Cobra Kai, Empire, Burn Notice, Unsolved, Glee), a documentary director, father of 2, an American Ninja Warrior, and the creator of Optimize Yourself. He believes we all deserve to love what we do for a living...but not at the expense of our health, our relationships, or our sanity. He provides the education, motivation, and inspiration to help ambitious creative professionals DO better and BE better. “Doing” better means learning how to more effectively manage your time and creative energy so you can produce higher quality work in less time. “Being” better means doing all of the above while still prioritizing the most important people and passions in your life…all without burning out in the process. Click to download Zack’s “Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Your Creativity (And Avoiding Burnout).”