Beyond the Lens: Quinton's Entrepreneurial Odyssey experienced 2 of 3

Quinton video

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hello, Skoobelivers. And welcome to episode number 69 of the undiscovered entrepreneur. And it's me DJ scoop.

Coming at you, whatever device you happen to be listening on. All right. So first of all, we're going to talk about the school believer of the week. Now, the Scooby liver of the week, this week as Laura ribbons, Laura ribbons has been actually in direct contact with me. And you're probably going to hear about her a little bit in future programs. If you want to know more about Laura, please visit her website@successwithlaura.com. All right now.

Today is two of three of experienced entrepreneurs. So today we are talking to Quintin. Now Quintin actually has a. Videographer. Business. So he's been, he's been taking pictures of like weddings and professional photos and things of that nature. I've really, can't wait to dive into his, , origin stories.

And he also has just so many great, great words of wisdom for us. You know,

whenever I say, [00:01:00] I'm going to clip that out. You know, he said something pretty profound, so let's go ahead and take a listen to Quintin.

Salutation school believers. And we're here again with another amazing entrepreneur. Today. We're actually interviewing an experienced entrepreneur today. We're talking to Quentin. Hello, Quentin. How are you?

I'm doing well.

How about yourself?

I'm fantastic. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to be on the undiscovered entrepreneur. I really appreciate you.

Thank you so much for having me. I enjoy the opportunity.

All right. Fantastic. Okay. So before we get started here, I have one kind of semi serious question to ask you.

Okay. You ready?

Go for it.

All right. Here we go. Here we go. Are you a school believer?

I do believe I am.

You're a believer. You're a school believer. I love it.

Fantastic. Thank you so much for being a school believer, Quentin. I really appreciate you. Absolutely. All right. So, what I'd like you to do here is just kind of give me an idea of your backstory, describe for you the beginnings of your entrepreneur [00:02:00] venture, obviously what you do, but how you actually got it started doing it.

Jeez, that is a, it's a loaded question, but I'll try to simplify it. I would just say so I'm a videographer. I own a production company by the name of blank slate and also another one specifically on weddings called poetic films and company. And my beginnings, I would say, I, I wouldn't say like the true struggles, like everyone says of like, I made it from nothing or whatever the case is like, I went through some struggles.

Some, I believe but you know, here we are now. So, I think we can go all the way back to just before Cobra, actually, during cobit, like, 2019 and just before started, I was working at a newspaper place by the name of freelance star, which is around here in Virginia. And I was on this big fate journey trying to figure out what my purpose was and trying to figure out, okay, God, what do you want for my life?

Like, what am I supposed to be doing? And to keep the story simplified. I went in this long back and forth with God and, other people kind of like God [00:03:00] using other people to kind of speak to me and such I ended up leaving the freelance star, which is a, my first ever job out of college. That was like, benefits and everything of that nature to start working at a yoga studio, making 10 a month.

At the front desk and what 80 dollars every 2 weeks and majority of the time I just got out of college. So I'm living in my parents basement, eating, like, eating nothing more than like, toast and oatmeal and anyone who hears my story or as like, my friends know that we're there at that time. That's like, the biggest thing they always say, like, toast and oatmeal because that's like, that's literally all I was eating.

And then right before when I started moving there, I started working the front desk and try to get an understanding of the company right before I'm trying to take them on as a client. So I went from 10 an hour to, or 80 every two weeks to 1500 a month as a retainer. And then I lost them within the first three months.

Because I made mistakes messing up on times of posting, messing up on scheduling content. Like I was, I was making a bunch of mistakes. And then from there I got they let me still work at the front desk until they saw like [00:04:00] in the dead times of the studio. I'm always working on my laptop. I just don't figure out the business side of everything and they let me go.

And Lily, the next week COVID hit and everything got shut down. And I was like, okay, well, I already know, I don't know how long this is going to last, but I know I have a ring light and the newest iPhone, which is iPhone 11 at the time. And I had a dark room, my parents basement. I was like, you know what?

I'm just going to create content on what I know of social media marketing and anything else of that nature. And then the next day, I started, I created a fake podcast on my, I fake one. Like I never really went too far. But I created it off of the back of some advice that Gary Vee said of like, creating a local podcast to generate business for other people are for local businesses.

And I did that and I eventually got my first contract from that. With a guy by the name of Gordon Duncan who was a marketing guy. And then. At first we were helping and then I realized, okay, we're much better at shooting content or making videos than the [00:05:00] marketing side. Let's just focus on the content part.

And after a while I had a friend who, while I was filming videos in such that nature he had saw during Kobe, he's like, yo, like, I love the pace. I love what you're doing. Like, how can I be a part of it? Now, mind you, I was shooting on my phone. He was shooting on the same camera that they use to shoot like Marvel movies.

So I can think of shooting on like a red weapon or red dragon or something of that nature. And. The rush is history. I mean, I, I started shooting videos and then I, we landed our first big, big contract was like, at the time it was like 5, 000. It's like, Oh my gosh, like, what am I going to do? And then mind you, this is during COVID when like a P a good amount of people, everyone that I know wasn't making a ton of money, unless you were like a government worker or a central worker.

So we ended up doing that. And as soon as we locked the contract and Jake contacted me saying, Hey, I'm going to Vegas to film a movie. I can't help you with this. So remember I have no camera, but a phone. So another guy who helped us with the project before contacted us, I contacted him, he had multiple cameras, but at that moment I was like, Hmm.[00:06:00]

Ownership in this is key because if I rely on other people, I'm at their mercy. And if they're leaving, I don't have anything to do what I'm supposed to be doing. So I bought my first camera, which is a small little Canon SL two and a nifty 50 lens that only stuck. It was a prime lens. It was only one, one focal length.

And from there I've built the entire company of blank slate and poetic films and company to date.

Nice. Great story. That's amazing. That's

actually the shortest I've ever condensed that story down to do with you.

Oh, okay. Well, we'll have to get together and listen to the long story some other time.

That'd be great. I'd love to hear it, but you know, you make a couple of great points in that story. It's really rough sometimes to have to depend on other people for what you need to, to do what you do. So it's better depend on yourself. I, one of my real pet peeves in life is having to wait for somebody else to do their job before I could do my job.

Right. Yeah. So instead [00:07:00] of having to wait for them, a lot of times. Well, I work at a restaurant, so a lot of times I'm doing other people's jobs before, so I can actually do mine, but you have the same kind of parallel here, too, where if you depend on somebody too much, too much and so much that you can't get anything done.

If something happens to them, you have to depend on yourself now. So why not just depend on yourself from the very beginning?

I mean, for a lot of people, I think not everyone's used to the pressure of that. Yeah, like, and so me and my friend, where she's talking about this a little while ago, and it was the fact that when you start doing things for yourself, you quickly realize that all the systems and processes that a normal job brings to your life, you now realize how strenuous it is when you have to manage all that on your own, when you have to rely on yourself on your own for, for your income, for your, your benefits and everything that we're so accustomed to.

So I can understand in certain people's cases on why this is not for everybody. And I'm not, I'm not the entrepreneur. Like, Oh, if you just believe no, no, no, no. Like this, this, [00:08:00] this is real. This is hard work. This is, this is a lot of hours, a lot of nights. And sometimes I'm majority of the time. It's more than a job because everyone thinks like, Oh, I'm going to work for myself and set my own hours.

I hope you're prepared for that to be more than what you work normally, because that's the only way it's going to like thrive or survive. So when it's in your hands, it's 10 times more work and pressure because now everything down to the food that is on your plate is now reliant on your actions.

Exactly. Exactly. And I definitely agree with that mainly because on top, I don't just do this. This isn't my, this, this is kind of my pastime more than anything else, but I have two full time jobs on top of my podcast and on top of entrepreneur coaching on top of editing for another podcast. So I'm not just doing this.

I'm doing a lot of other things to, to be able to support what I'm doing here or so, we got, if we're going to be a one man show, we have to make sure we understand that it's going to take more than just believing in what we're doing to accomplish what we're going to accomplish, but we have to support what [00:09:00] we're believing to accomplish what we're going to accomplish.

Yeah. And I will say I am not the greatest, greatest example of this because although this, I preached like practicality, I, at the time was not practical. So I left a full job. Mind you, I was nine months away from getting married. That's the one part I didn't tell you. I was nine months away from married when I left the corporate job to go take this other job on.

And so most people would be like, are you crazy? Why would you and every person that I talked to was, I was thinking it was going to be the same thing, but this is where like, the guidance of God came in because every time I talked to someone, they were like, if you think God, this is we're telling what you want to do, like do it.

And I was like, what? Cause these are my, these are the most practical people I'd know in my life. Both my parents are military. My significant other at the time, she was, her, her family was very practical as well. So for me to hear that I didn't really know how to take it, but I was like, okay, I guess I'm supposed to, but for advice that I would give on a practical scale, I definitely agree with what you're saying.

Just know if someone was to ever do it, at least the way that I did it, which is the full jump, full send, just let's just [00:10:00] do it and forget everything. Be prepared because there are hardships that follow that and heavy ones as well.

But if you meant, and if you mentally prepare yourself, ahead of time that there's going to be hardships coming though, they'll land on you a lot easier than if you like, Oh, willy nilly all over the place.

And just like, Oh, hardship. Ah, it's just this, it's the same thing with failure too. If you expect failure, failure is going to come in. And that's part of what you do. It doesn't hit you as hard. As you would if you were just to fail and just throw your hands up in the air and just say, I give up.

You know what I mean?

Yeah. And I think that's, I think there's, that's one heavy point on why there there's the difference between people who actually succeed in it. And that do not because not as I tend, it mostly isn't just the skill set ever, but a majority of time, it's the mindset in the beginning of like, there's a difference in the beginning between someone being like, Oh, like I'm going to do this full out or whatever.

And then gets blindsided by the hardships and realizing like the difference, which is. Oh, okay. I want to do this. This is the end goal. Now I know it's going to suck. I know it's going to be late nights. I know it's going to [00:11:00] be hardship. Sometimes I may just be eating the same thing every single day. But again, I know the end goal.

Those mindsets are completely different, but it's easy to see where one will win over the other. Typically.

Absolutely. 100%. And you know what? Another thing I want to touch on here real quick too, is you don't need special, all kinds of expensive equipment just to get started. Just to get that one foot in the door to actually start exploring if you even like what you're going to do or not.

Yeah, that is, gosh, that is, I think that's one of the biggest things that separates I can, this, this is my industry, particularly like videography and such, I think that's the one thing that really separates people just before there's race even starts, because there are a lot of people that start off and say, okay, if I just get, if I just get the, Best gear.

If I just get the best equipment, then I know like people are going to pay for my services. Not always the case. And even if you do, then they may end up being upset at the end result because the product doesn't match what your gear presents in comparison to someone who just [00:12:00] brings in say a little 600 camera and a decent lens, but knows the basics of what to actually do to make things look good.

They'll go way farther than the person that has 30, 000 worth of equipment. Camera gear in comparison to the person that has a kit lens, but knows how to use it. Well,

excellent. I'm definitely going to clip that out, especially for my new entrepreneurs. I got to understand they don't have to have all this fancy schmancy stuff to just get started.

Not at all. Nah, not at all.

All right. And one other thing too, I noticed in your story that you told us you hit rock bottom pretty hard at one point, but you know, when you hit rock bottom, that rock bottom actually lays the foundation for something new and exciting to move into.

Yeah, it does. Now I do want to clarify, cause I never, I never want to make it seem like I'm from like the gutter or something like that.

Like I stayed with my parents when I got out of college. And my, I'm not going to lie and say like my parents had like the worst basement ever. [00:13:00] Like it was, it was a, it was a nice basement. Like I'm not ever going to say like, Oh, my story, trying to fabricate my story. So my rock bottom to some people may just be like, Oh, like I'm not doing too bad, but my rock bottom was more so like the, the very low points of me building the business.

So I want to make sure that that is clear. But the building blocks of the hardships that I went through, As far as the rock bottom are absolutely the foundations that build to the success I have now. And I always, there's a, I'm big on like animated movies, so like kids movies. But there's a quote that I heard a while ago and it said, the best part about being at rock bottom is the only place you can go is up.

Oh yeah. I've heard that several times too. And that's really good. That's really some nice mindset to keep in mind, even though we're really having a rough time where there's only one direction from now. Yeah. And that's going upwards.

It's going to be a fight, but if you can, if you can withstand it, because most people, most people bat out, when it gets really, really hard, but if you can, you can, in the [00:14:00] words of someone that I really admire, if you can take those licks and continue to just keep going forward, knowing like those beginner licks of like the hardships of being in the industry.

You'll do just fine.

Exactly. And then we take those as learning opportunities too. When we have those rough times, when we have those rock bottoms, okay, what brought me here and how do I get myself out of it? And then when we get out of it, what have we taken from those experiences that we can implement later on in our lives?

Add on is

a hundred percent and I, I always admire someone who has struggled in the beginning processes because they can always look back and see like, Oh, like this is where I came from versus, well, I mean, we see social media all the time. I like people who have like, are like overnight successes. Now, granted, is it rarely ever, is that ever the case?

No, but for the people that who just random, like get, gets fame, get success, get money out of nowhere. And like, nothing was really laid or foundation. Like, and it doesn't last long. It's mostly because they didn't have what I call the [00:15:00] character development in order to maintain what they were now granted.

Well, the thing we got to keep in mind too, is when we're looking at anybody, I don't care who it is. It could be anybody on social media, anybody we're looking on TV. What we're actually seeing is the end product after the fact that they've been through the hardships after we've been through the struggles.

So what all we're really seeing is the tip of the iceberg, the very end product. What we don't see. It's the struggles, the hardships, the time, the, the, the eating toast and oatmeal times that we don't see because they don't, you probably typically don't want to show that you want to show success when it comes to being out in the public like that.

So people see you in a better eye. What we don't get to see is those hard times.

Yeah. And the, the people that do, and I, and you can check on my Instagram as well. Like I've, I posted a picture of me and my parents basement with my dog who passed away a little bit ago. Who when I was in my parents basement in those actual times, like, I just, I just lost the job.

Kobe just hit and even [00:16:00] more. I had this whiteboard. That I was holding and I wrote on it and I say, all you need is you. And that is one of the pictures that I took in the very, very beginning processes.

And that's like on my Instagram, everyone saw it. So like, you can always see like my story of like where it really came from. I would be on my stories like every day talking about, Oh, what meeting I'm going to and where I'm headed. And eventually I became a, got a rhythm of it. So like people can see like my journey to like where I've even been now and probably even still to where I'm going to go.

So those people, I always respect 10 times more that actually showcase the journey. And the one I've read, the people I really don't respect as much are the, the social media gurus that tell people how easy it is or that, they're done for you process is because no real business is ever actually done for you.

And if it is done for you, basically all you're really doing is copying somebody else and it's not authentic. And people could really sniff that out really in the very end too. That's not really authentic. If it's not you, I mean, you are the thing that makes people follow you. Your vibe is your tribe, right?

[00:17:00] So, I mean, if you don't have that vibe and it's not an authentic vibe, you're not gonna, you're not going to attract the people that you want to have in your world. You're just going to get more people that are as fake as you are, really, if you really think about it. Yeah.

Yeah. And it's not something that's going to last long.

No, not at all. Not at all. Here's a question I like to ask when I get to a point here is we all have failures, but do you have one failure that you're proud of? Something that happened to you, which was kind of, kind of bad, but. I'm glad I went through that because now I learned this.

One major failure.

I made you, I made you think there, didn't you

really got me? Cause I, I can say I've had a lot. You know what I will actually say.

So I'd probably say this last, so I'd say two years ago. So I I just moved out. I actually was going through a divorce at the time as well. And I just up and just moved [00:18:00] cities. So it's not too far. I went from like Stafford, Virginia to Richmond, Virginia. So it's only like an hour and some changes and difference.

But this was monumental because I learned. I learned so much in that year. And the reason why my biggest failure was reaching my goal and then losing it all. Cause you didn't know like what you need to do to maintain it. So for instance, I made in videography, which I was super surprised at that I did because every year I doubled my revenue.

So this year I added that year, I ended up making like 129, 000, which I was super like, Oh my gosh, like I finally hit six figures. The thing that everyone talks about, I finally hit it. And within that same year, At the end of that year, I had to move back in with my parents because I had squandered every bit of it, every bit of it.

And I had like maxed out credit cards and all, like, it was just, it was such a bad, bad, like, way to go about it. But what I learned is the importance of managing, understanding the importance [00:19:00] of like a plan with money, like moving forward, like with business. I understood the aspect of a CPA because that year also like the beginning of that year I, I went to TurboTax, which is my dad's advice to go to, and I only, that year I only made 60, 000.

I, and still had to pay like 5, 000 in taxes. And then I ended up the next year when I finally hire like a CPA and such like they really got me together. So I was like, okay, I understand the importance of having certain people around you that'll help you and actually maintain you. So a CPA was super important for me because I can make a bunch of money, but if you don't know how to maintain it or have those things that'll help you like keep it or like make more, it's, it doesn't matter how much money you make because you can squander every bit of it in a very short amount of time.

I also learned that six figures is actually as at least the lower end is not as much as everyone thinks that it is and then managing, managing money, managing expenses, managing the [00:20:00] accounts, accounting, everything of that nature. I think that biggest failure for me. Having to move back in with my parents after doing so well in my head was humbling, but the experience I needed because it taught me everything of these are the real things of an actual business and this is how bad it can be.

And it could probably be worse, but the understanding how to maintain, to manage and even Excel past. So those are probably my biggest, that would be my biggest failure. That was my most proudest lesson. That's why I probably say.

That's a good one, too. That's a good one. Really. Everybody really needs to understand how that actually works getting to that one figure in your head that makes you think you made it.

It's great. But what you do after that is just as important as actually getting there in the 1st place. Right? Yeah. Yeah. But having I mean, I, I could tell you that managing money is definitely not in my zone of genius. I definitely have to have somebody else do that when I do have money.

When

I get to [00:21:00] that point but yeah, if it's not within, I mean, if you're not like have the, the numbers brain, like I don't, it's probably best to hand it off to somebody else who does, who knows the how to get around those kinds of things.

Yeah, and so I've learned a couple things because I asked my mother this question actually and I will always give my mother credit for this one I asked her I said mom, you know if if the king is not the strongest, the smartest, or even the wisest, why is he the king? And she told me, he said, she said, because, because although everyone has those individual skills, there's always that one person that's just.

That is open to to leading and opening the door for others to walk through. So for instance, he may not be the smartest, the strongest or the wisest, but if he opens the door for opportunity and then puts those people in those positions to where like their expertise is at, that's what makes him the king.

Cause he, he's the one that's willing to head, take on all the hardships [00:22:00] and all the, the, the take on all the responsibility that everyone else doesn't really want to, but. He's the one that everyone goes to, but just knows how to position people. So for instance, this year, my biggest thing is I'm starting to understand that everybody wants to run a business.

And that was a big surprise to me. Cause I'm like, are you serious? Why would you not? I have a lot of friends and even people in my company now that they're like. I was like, I was like, you are smarter than me. Why don't you just go start your own company? They're like, Quentin, I don't want to deal with the business.

I don't want to deal with the taxes. All the, and the responsibility it comes with. If you were just able to bring me opportunity, I will continuously work for you without question. And that put a switch in my head. And I was like, So you really don't need to be the strongest, the smartest, or anything, because me growing up, I wasn't the strongest, I wasn't the fastest, even when I played football, I wasn't, exactly, but it just, it just takes that, that willingness to be that one individual to walk through a door so others can walk behind you and then sometimes they'll end up following you just because you granted the opportunity.

Well, that's what, that's [00:23:00] basically the definition of a leader, right?

Yeah, that is, that is exactly it.

That's amazing. That's a great, I'm definitely going to clip that out and we'll make sure your mom gets the credit for that one. So yes, I'm sure she'll love that. Yes. But yeah, it's amazing to think about how.

When we surround ourselves with people and things like that, we have a purpose for it. There's a reason we're surrounding ourselves with people that are smarter than us, that may be stronger than us, but we're the ones that help them get where they want to go. And that's really what makes us a leader.

Yeah, and and I've always said this even with what I'm doing like it's me. It's never always been about the money It was more so of like if I can bring creative opportunity to others, then I'll be happy. So for instance blank slate right now We are now offering creative opportunity in different states because now we're So instead of me flying out one team, because I now I'm getting into the event space.

So instead of me flying out an entire [00:24:00] team that is super close to me, but I now have to deal with travel expenses and I have to deal with flying and all that other stuff. I will go to cities and the moment we locked on a contract, I will go to this networking thing that I'm in for videographers and I will say, okay, I'm in this city.

And I'll develop a team in that specific city. And now my company technically goes up in value because I'm bringing creative opportunity to other markets outside of the one that I'm originally in.

Nice. That's awesome. It's nice to be able to surround yourself with people like that are nowhere to go to find them so we can accomplish things that normally without them, we wouldn't be able to accomplish them.

Yeah, like whoever, whoever you put yourself around, like that circle is extremely important because that it can either uplift you or it can definitely like hinder you and not, and I mean terribly. And I've seen it firsthand.

Absolutely. Absolutely. What do they say? The five people that are around you most are the people that reflect on you the most.

So you got to be careful about who those five people are.

Yep. You are the, some of the five, most [00:25:00] people you hang around.

So yeah, I was close. I was close. Okay. That's amazing. Okay. What I'd like to know is in your vast circle that you've been in, do you have anybody that you like that are that you like as a mentor or somebody that you idolize as you go along?

Are we referring to, like, in my industry specifically or just in general?

Just for you, as, as Quinton, who do you idolize, you think?

I don't idolize anyone. I don't, I don't see myself idolizing anyone. There are just people's advice that I respect and that are people that are, like, ahead of me. So some people that I, I'll put it in that sense.

I would have to say happy to my father. Cause my father's where my initial like work came from when I was playing football. Then as more of a life coach, particularly as a Russell Roby, who is my coach, when I [00:26:00] trained for football that that's where like the, the hunger really came from, more so in the football sense, but now just in life in general and probably like the latest, my my, I guess, business coach or mentor would have to be J.

R. Spears. So these are, these are obviously, these are personal individuals that not everyone's really going to know about. But these are more personal to me. If there's anyone out there that I particularly look up to and depending on the person that because this may or may not get heat for is actually someone Justin Waller that I like him.

So he runs around with whether, however people like them or not, the Tates, and I don't know how I repeat everyone feels about them. But. Him particularly. I liked because he was a small town guy, built himself up and literally has gone on to do a lot. And I respect, and I resonate that a lot because, being where I'm from Stafford, which is like a small military town sometimes I always question, like, can I really make it from where I'm at?

And like being from a small town and everything of that nature. And to see someone who is similarly also been [00:27:00] from a small town and has built themselves up for in a very successful way. It was just like, Oh, like it's possible. Okay, great. That's all I need to know. And then from there, just like, okay, now how can I replicate that success in my own industry?

So that those would probably be the individuals that I'd say.

And you're actually doing it too. Starting from a humble beginnings and working your way up just like they are.

Yeah. And even more so. So as now I'm actually leaving, this is my last week in Stafford. Next Monday I will be moving to Dallas, Texas.

Are you getting around there? Aren't you? Quentin? Yeah, that's right around

the corner.

Nice. I like the fact that you're the people that you chose was like 90 percent family, people that praised you, people that, that pushed you forward, that you learn that hunger, that you learn that work ethic. And of course your mom taught you about the King.

We'll, we'll, we'll make sure we get that in there. All of that. It's amazing to have family. That's that's. [00:28:00] Able to push you forward. That's able to give you that little oomph that you need to succeed.

Yeah. And, and so I'll say this, whoever, whoever has a dream or an ambition to go for something and your family is supportive of you, you are truly blessed.

Cause trust me, that is not the, the experience for a great majority of people. There are a lot of families out there who actually will try to shoot it down because it's something outside of the framework of what the family is used to seeing happen within the family. I would typically say if you have a family who does not truly believe in what you're doing.

You may just have to prove it to them before they see it because that's exactly what I did. So when I first started, when I left the company and everything of that nature, when I first told my parents at first, they're like, okay, I don't know where this is going, but we'll see the very next day. My dad chewed me out because he was like, do you know what you're doing?

Do you know what you've left? You're getting married in nine months. Like, do you know, and Those hardships are experiences of a lot of people who are trying to get [00:29:00] into business, but your family may not represent or support you, or even your family or your friends will support you. But sometimes it takes you to see it because it was only given to you.

That vision was like given to you. And if you can stick with it through again, those hardships or the negativity that those people who are supposed to support you if you can fight through that, Eventually when you're able to give some result or show like it's possible, then they'll have, then they have no choice but to buy in.

Like my family, they at first thought I was crazy for what I did and they didn't outright say it outside of my father. But it wasn't until I think that same year later I was able to take my parents out to dinner and buy them whatever they wanted. And they took, they took every bit of the, they took every bit of that because I was like, this is my, Feedback to show you like what I did.

This is this is real. Like I'm not just flying around. This is legit And when they saw that I brought it back up to my mom I actually just interviewed them [00:30:00] because they're actually getting ready to move to south africa so I said, you know now seeing everything that i've done. What is your take on it?

And she was like, I I understand where I was coming from then But i'm just so proud to see that you stuck through and did exactly the way you wanted to do regardless of what anyone else said And that feeling for me was like, that was a, that was more, that was better than making all the money that I did because it.

It showed me that believing in myself and betting on myself, regardless of whatever I said, and the, the the words that were stated against me, I still did it and that I don't think there's anything else better than that.

There really isn't. I mean, you can't put a price on that. There's no way. I mean, being able to come across and say, Hey, I accomplished this.

I did it. Even though you told me not to, or you were against what I did. I still did it anyway, and look where it put me. Look where I am now. As compared to where I was when we first started talking about this. It's such a great goal to be able to do something like that.

Yeah, and it's, it's, it's so [00:31:00] rewarding on the opposite side.

It's, it's, it's a struggle in it, but on the opposite side, it's, it's, it's extremely rewarding.

What's funny is my next question was going to be what in your vast number of accomplishments are you most proud of? And I think he answered that you took your folks out to dinner. That's it.

I mean, to most people who, if it makes money like that, and they'd be like, Oh, like, okay, you took your parents out to dinner.

Like, why is that a big deal? Because for me, I've, I always struggled to do things. like betting on myself when I was younger, like even when I played football in college, like I still had a lot of doubts about myself regardless of like how my stats looked or whatever. So to me, take to take a leap of faith in this nature with so much hanging in the balance on like the back end of it.

And seeing the successes and the fruits of it, and then being able to go to the people who I didn't quite see it at first, but still, like, believed in, just like, we'll just see what happens to reward them back for, just [00:32:00] giving me a space to do what I was doing while COVID was happening.

It was the, it was the sweetest reward in me. It had to be because there's, there's no feeling greater than being able to gift your parents back something, even something as small as dinner where they don't have to pay for it. Mind you, they've paid and take care of me my entire life. So me being able to do this meant a lot to me personally.

Because my parents always joked when I was younger on, Oh, because I used to eat a lot, like a lot as a kid, a ton. So whenever we went out, I'd always try to get the lobster legs and everything of that nature or the crab legs. And so they were like, Oh, just wait, like one day you're going to be able to pay for us and me being able to do it.

But with everything on my, on my tab, on my record, on my accord, it just, there was no better feeling for me.

Fantastic. That is definitely a made up moment. I'm going to, I'm going to keep that in mind, maybe for me too. Someday I'm going to take my parents out to dinner. Okay. All right. , at this point I'd like to [00:33:00] know what kind of advice can you give to an entrepreneur that's just getting started?

I mean, they're looking to make that jump into entrepreneurship. What one or two pieces of advice would you give them?

It's not as easy as you think it's going to be. Would be number one, because there's a lot of social media people that will let you know how easy it is when in reality, they're probably hiding a bunch of things from you that they just don't want to show. Cause they know it's not sexy really study your industry, really try to get an understanding of what it is and then think, how can I do this as minimally as possible?

Also like cost wise, of course like for instance, in my industry. Everyone knows everyone thinks you need a bunch of gear. When in reality, like if I can just get the minimal setup or just the minimal cost of what it takes in order for me to just operate well, or at least just. At all, then start building from there.

Because for instance, I started with one, one [00:34:00] camera, a little mic on the top of the camera and a stabilizer. And that's all, a lot of people will probably else will tell you that you need a camera, all these additional lights, all these additional mics, loud mic setups, whatever the case is now, just whatever you need to operate and do, whatever it is from start to finish, from the time of bringing a client in to sending them off with their end product.

If you can, whatever minimal setup you need for that. Just start with that. You don't need to start up with the most expensive anything or whatever. Just start with the bare basics and work from there. Because my last bit of advice is just get out there and gain experience. There are so many people that will talk about, the how much you can make, how much you can really accomplish, but there are a lot of people.

And if you really look at it, their accounts on social media are only about talking about doing it, but not actually showing that they're doing it. So for me as a videographer, my advice is always get out there and just make it happen or get out there. Get the experience. Just like, for instance, when [00:35:00] I got started, I just went out and just started shooting videos for random companies locally.

So whatever industry that is for you, go out and get the experience, makes those calls. Just ask people randomly, Hey, can I shoot a free video for you? Hey, can I do this service for you? Because the next thing you're going to need is the experience and the testimonial of the person to then get your next person.

So those are probably my, my most. My most valuable pieces of advice for someone getting started.

Perfect. And that goes right into my tagline to you. I can, I am, I will. And I'm doing it today. Just do something to get started. It doesn't have to be a fantastic, but it's something to get your feet wet to see if you actually like what you're doing.

If you like what you're doing, then just kind of keep going with it. And there's nothing wrong with doing things for free because you love doing it. If you love doing it enough to where you can do it for free, then you know, you're in the right place.

Yeah, and I, I think my, the last bit that I would say for this is just, talking is overrated and people [00:36:00] taking action is underrated because everyone talks about what they need to do or all the information and you can learn all the information you want to, but if you're not taking any action on it, you will be in the same place and not move anywhere.

Exactly. We could read all the books we want and we could talk all the talk we want, but until we actually start putting something out there where people can take a look at it help you along with it or, or anything for that matter, then you're just stagnant. You're not doing anything. I mean, it's nice to know about it, but that actually goes into a little saying that I heard.

Kind of a little bit of a riddle. Five frogs are on a log, four of them decide to jump off. How many, how many frogs are still on the log? Five. They're all still there. Cause they only decided to jump off of the log. They didn't actually take the action of jumping off the log. There you go.

Okay, I like that.

So,

awesome. All right, Quentin, this is your time to shine. This is the time where I would like you to advertise who you are, what you do, and get to know about your business. [00:37:00] Okay? Ready, set, go!

What's going on, everybody? My name is Quinton Gray. I am the owner of Blank Slate and Poetic Films and Company.

Blank Slate specifically just highlights events, weddings, so, oh, events. So, speaking, it's like speakers, hosts, everything of that nature as far as the information. People who are speaking at events because we give a full out service of capturing all the content from full out edit speeches to testimonials, strategic testimonials.

Recap videos over your entire event. And then of course, anything else that you really need to help build a brand and also allow you to give back to the people who invested into your event as well. Really just trying to pack on all that value to every host and speaker. And then poetic films and company is just high end wedding videography.

As we were moving down to Dallas, Texas, we were actually going to be opening up more. I would say an event that'll help kind of expand our reach more. I can say that in a sense, cause it's, it's a lot behind the scenes. But creating events and cut [00:38:00] in like private events. So like, fashion shows.

So like, top end private wedding dress, fashion shows, and other Experiences that allow people to see like the wedding industry and what they're like in different places, specifically, obviously going to be in Dallas. But just high end wedding videography services to really just showcase any wedding at the highest place possible.

And also just making sure that we give your entire day back to you in a cinematic film that you can look back on for the rest of your life.

Fantastic. That's awesome. Thank you so much, Quinn. It's been an absolute blast. This has to be one of the best interviews I've had in quite some time. Really.

Thank you very much for being on the undiscovered entrepreneur today.

Thank you so very much for having me.

All right. All right. School believers. Make sure you stay tuned for the wrap up. All right, everybody. Have a great day. Bye bye.

All right, scuba leavers, that was Quentin. Man, that was amazing. That guy just had so much great, great knowledge, not just in [00:39:00] videographer and all that kind of thing, but in general entrepreneurship, knowing what you need to do to get things going. Always remember to kind of keep track of your spending.

We did run into that. And if you can't, Get somebody that does that can help you when it comes to that kind of thing too. So, great information about family. Man, I really hope you really got something from this cause I certainly did some great, great information. So what we're going to do is actually go ahead and follow up with Quinton in the next six months.

Just finished talking to him off. Off the camera here and we're going to see where he is. We all know he's going to be in Dallas, Texas at that point. We're going to see where his company is at. Let's look into that in six months. All right.

Okay. So let's get into a little bit more about what I've been up to lately. , if you couldn't tell already I have been working on live speaking. It's been one of my goals is to be able to talk to groups of people and things of that nature. So, , I did my . Entrepreneur of Olympics [00:40:00] talk.

I did finish that and I will be putting in the show notes the first and second parts of that. So if you'd like to take a look at that and see what that's about . I have that available. Also, , it's really strange, but the place I moved into actually believe it or not has a stage that they put on live shows on.

I'm going to be talking to the manager here at the place and seeing what it takes to actually start talking on that stage. I have, who knows? It could turn onto some of the big, maybe it's just practice, who knows, but you know what? I'm going to give it a try. Anyway. Also I have this place. I think I talked about it once before. Called elevate Branson.

And they actually have places for talks there too. And they have a huge entrepreneurial program that I want to get involved in. So that's definitely going to be something I'm going to give a try to. Also, I would like to offer my school believers. I'm looking for too. To school believers that want free coaching from me. DJ scoop. , if you want to take a part of that and see if you could be one of the two people that actually get [00:41:00] a free coaching from me. Email it doing it today.

coaching@gmail.com. To be part of that. See if it gets some free coaching for me. And I'm pretty sure I can help you. And your entrepreneurial adventure, I've helped so many people so far. You've heard him be a part of it. I really want to be able to help you out. And the last thing I'm going to talk about is a huge announcement that I have right now.

I am working on a, another podcast. As another podcast is going to be a short form podcast. My goal. I don't know if it's going to work out or not, cause it's still kind of under construction, but my goal is for it to be a daily podcast. Now am I going to pull it off daily? I don't know, but we'll see what happens. So the, the premise of this podcast that I'm working on. Is, well, okay.

Let me give you the whole story here. So I have a friend of mine at the hospital I work at and he and I talk about AI every single day that we're there. So he introduced me to [00:42:00] a. AI. Product or thing called PI. Now pie. It's P I. And it's basically a AI with a human voice. The, you could just have normal conversations with, and you have the vast knowledge of the internet. To talk about.

Yeah. It's really hard for me completely explained, but here's the idea. I want to sit down and have conversations with PI about entrepreneurship that you can listen in on and learn from. So I'll be asking questions about startups, best practices, things of that nature. And obviously with the vest knowledge of the internet, get some probably pretty good information. So I want some feedback from you to know if you think this is a good idea.

Is this something that you would listen to? Email me at

you eat podcast 20 twenty1@gmail.com. That's my email address. or reach out to me, you reach out to me on Twitter.

That's DJ scoop [00:43:00] 2021 that's S K O B. Reach out to me there. Uh, I want to hear what your thoughts is on this. Cause I've really want this to be good. If you, if this is something you think he lists to contact me anyway. And let me know, Hey, I don't think I've listened to this. It would definitely save me some time and energy if I knew that ahead of time.

So I want to hear from you and kind of get an idea of what you think. Art school believers. Thank you for another fantastic episode. Make sure you stay tuned for number three of three, our final part of the three-part episodes of experienced entrepreneurs. Aren't everybody. Thank you. Have a good evening.

Bye-bye.