About 4 months ago, DJI announced the launch of their latest drone, called the Mavic Pro. I’d been watching the drone space for a while, and their timing was beautifully aligned with CASA’s (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) amendment to law’s allowing commercial use for under 2kg weight drones.

I was very eager to buy one, but with the cost just over $2,000, I had to justify buying it for anything other than a little bit of fun. I am certainly no photographer, and that didn’t really align with the business either, so the idea had to be put on ice.
But through my musings about cool footage of me on my mountain bike or hovering over a sun kissed beach, I knew that I wanted to do more in video. Specifically, share more stories.

So I hatched a plan to spend the money I had looked at for a drone on getting some video gear together. I wanted to be smart, as this was definitely a money pit with no bottom! First and foremost, I needed a camera.

There’s very valid arguments that the camera within our phones these days is more than sufficient to record decent quality video, and with my limited cinematography abilities, I’d never get the most out of any serious gear. But I wanted to have a ‘kit’ that was specific for this task. For some reason, I find it easier to achieve something when I have the tools for the job.

So I did a little research, looking at DSLRs, video cameras etc. and eventually settled on a video camera way above what was necessary But buying second hand allows you to do that.

Next, I followed this up with some LED lighting, backdrops and lapel mics. Just to get a good mix, I also got a Go Pro camera, more on this later.

And so with my ‘kit bag’ filled, I started working on what I wanted to say. My aim was to create a Youtube channel that covered 3 specific topics:
1. Me and my business – the idea is to provide some insight into how I run my businesses, my ideas and thoughts, warts and all.
2. Interviewing business people – Most of our clients are in real estate, so there’s a strong focus here. Sharing their journeys, tips and inspiration
3. Expert Interviews – bringing the wisdom from field specific experts, with simple, actionable advice for my audience

And so, 3 weeks in, I am really enjoying it. So far I have 3 interviews and 2 ‘self’ videos up. The exciting thing is, by accident, I kind of created a feature video style. If you’ve ever seen James Corden’s ‘Carpool Karaoke’ where he sings along with a famous person… Well, it’s not exactly like this, but a chance catch up with Daniel Hayes who had flown in for a meeting changed this. I knew he had a packed schedule, so the only chance I would have was for an interview in the car. So I set my phone up to record as wide an angle as possible, and filmed us – me driving, him in the passenger seat. It got some great feedback for it’s style, and so I purchased the GoPro to provide a second angle on future videos.
There are many more successful Youtubers than I, and it will always be that way. But for something that has cost me way less than an ad in a magazine, only 3 weeks in and I have clocked up over 35hrs of watched video time. That’s more time than I would spend in front of clients in a given month!

And the great part is, I am really enjoying doing it. My guests seem to love being a part of it, and my audience love the content I am putting out.

So I’ve learnt that video doesn’t have to be massively complex, overly expensive or heavily staged. I invested a little bit of money to make me feel comfortable with my setup, and it has given me a new way to communicate with my potential customers.

If it’s something you are considering, no matter what the topic, I’d highly recommend giving it a go.

If you want to check out my channel, you can do so here