14 years ago something special happened. I created UnoDeuce Multimedia. It was a huge leap of faith for me as I really didn’t have entrepreneurial blood running through me. My grandmother ran a small brunch cafe, but that’s about it and she closed it up when I was about 5 or 6 years old. So, why did I decide to go out on my own? Why start a company? A few reasons actually.
First of all, the digital revolution was here. Cameras were coming down in price, editing systems were coming down in price, media, etc. There was starting to be this trend toward the one man bands, and it was time that I took my chance at this as well. Secondly, I built a pretty fair network before moving back to Michigan from Seattle. It was probably a tougher state to move on your own in, but I knew with my knowledge of the audience I was targeting, it would be a good fit. Thirdly, a video company, that a friend of mine worked out was selling off all of their equipment so I jumped at that opportunity to pick up a camera, tripod and microphones. Now was a good time to go on my own.
The creative side was easy, the business portion was the steepest learning curve. Even though I ran the day to day operations at my previous job in Seattle, I didn’t have to worry about a lot of the little things that I had to take of now. There was a lot of organizing and getting out there. It took awhile for me to really gain traction as I took some freelance jobs around the Detroit area covering high school sports that really helped me financially, but I feel I wasted a lot of chances to grow because I didn’t have time to do it all and I tried.
When I made the move to Lansing, MI, five years ago, it was my opportunity to start fresh as a business. I immersed myself in the business culture in this area, I no longer had those freelance gigs to take me away from the development of the business, so that would not be a distraction, and I grew up. I don’t look at the first 9 years of what I had established as a wash, it was just a learning experience. I wanted this business to be more of a business and so I attempted to create that atmosphere and be an employer as well as a creator and producer. We are now structured differently, marketing differently, talking about ourselves differently. We are a we, not just an I.
When I first started this business, I didn’t want it to be just an I. That’s why it’s always been a different name, not just myself. I didn’t know how to go about being that we at first, but I know now, and am looking forward to this expansion. So, never give up on your goals. Figure out where you want to be. You may not have the answers at first, but you will come to the right conclusions eventually. Make mistakes. Ask questions. You will never learn if you never get out of your box.
Running a business and a successful business is a marathon. Remember that. Keep your head up and your mind, heart and ears open. You never know where that may take you.
