An Open Conversation With Dyme - Dyme Witherspoon | Ep. 53

Dyme is back on Creative Roots, and this conversation goes exactly where it needs to.

The topic is simple, but not easy:
“Starting Over or Keep Going?”

What starts as a focused conversation quickly takes a turn after one show-stopping statement that shifts the entire direction of the episode. From there, it becomes an open, honest discussion - the kind you can’t script.

We get into:
Knowing when it’s time to pivot vs. stay the course
Letting go of what’s familiar to grow
The fear and uncertainty that comes with starting over
Trusting your instincts and moving with intention
Real-life moments where the path forward isn’t clear

This episode is filled with gems, laughter, and real-time reflection.  Not just answers, but the process of figuring it out.

If you’ve ever questioned whether to keep pushing or walk away and start fresh…this conversation is for you.

Thanks for listening! If this episode hit home, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share it with a fellow creative on their journey. 

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Tae-@taewiththeedits
Shamar-@alanluxstudios

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We are here to promote you, your business, and and you know, let people know your journey.

SPEAKER_03 0:06

I think another side to that also is that um when when you undercharge for whatever it is that you're doing, you're doing yourself a disservice and you're doing a client a disservice. You you understand what I'm saying? So it's like if you really want to do it, you're gonna find a way to get it in. And it's only an inconvenience for what a day or two, and then you get like this video is gonna live forever. You know what? You should do that. I'm gonna tell you why. Like so Truth in the air, let it speak. Act like you care about yourself.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Because you have to act like you care about yourself because if you don't care about yourself, who's gonna do it for you? You see what I'm saying? Yeah. Dom, Dom, Dom. It's been a long time coming. I don't care what you say. I already said Dom was coming back.

SPEAKER_03 0:56

What a dough beat the statue, a statue. Y'all need a producer in here? As far as like you, the producer?

SPEAKER_01 1:04

I'm producing everything. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 1:05

That's what I'm saying. You do a lot of stuff, Max. If you need a producer, we'll talk.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

It would be nice to have somebody else here. Um, especially when Shamar Dina can't make it. You know, I need somebody to keep me from having squirrel moments.

SPEAKER_03 1:23

Yeah, you be rambling, son time.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

I mean, I still be on topic.

SPEAKER_03 1:28

Yeah, I mean, it's cool, ain't nothing wrong with it. But no, that's it.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

No, that's it.

SPEAKER_03 1:34

Yeah, I just mean like even like what you just say here, it's a lot of stuff for you to have to think about by yourself. You feel me? It's like when you go on like a single-person shoot, you gotta worry about the technical.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

A lot of times that reminds me, I gotta turn these lights on, but keep going, I'm listening.

SPEAKER_03 1:49

Okay, a lot of times, like let's say you go on a single-person shoot or one-person shoot, or whatever. You gotta worry about the technical. You already know when you get there, the location ain't gonna be right. It's gonna be something's gonna happen in the location, or something's gonna happen that you gotta fix on the fly. You worry about the camera, the audio. Are you getting the the right content for what the client needs for whatever they're using this end product? For it's a lot of things that you just you gotta you gotta figure out on your own.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

At the drop of a dime. Yeah, you gotta figure it out on the spot. Yeah, and it does be a little uh what's the word? Um, I don't know what the word is, but it do get to you. Yeah. And I know you you deal with that sometimes too.

SPEAKER_03 2:33

I like to have at least one, like at least like a production assistant. Somebody. At least one person.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:39

At least. Even if I'm bringing out all my gear and I don't need you to bring nothing out. I just sometimes like you need somebody that knows some stuff about some stuff. Like they could just put the camera, like, even if they don't get the proper framing or whatever, just to get the camera on a tripod and you just adjust.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

I'll go from there.

SPEAKER_03 2:54

Yeah, basically.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Yeah, that's kind of what um shmore normally do, you know, um, here with with this. But yeah. Now I'm over here making pictures. Y'all need me. I know you need me because I seen that you need me.

SPEAKER_03 3:14

It's all love.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

Yes, it is. Listen, y'all. Welcome back to another episode of Creative Roots Podcast with C Song Become Visions Grown. Um, y'all already see who we're sitting with. You know, the lovely Dime.

SPEAKER_03 3:29

Hey, she back.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

That means she likes us a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 3:32

Yeah, I'm glad to be here. I think we should collaborate more often.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Me too. Yeah, I wasn't gonna say it though. I was gonna wait. I was gonna wait. Look, because when I need another co-host, shots fired.

SPEAKER_03 3:43

Oh, we out here. We gotta see how we vibing. We vibing all right, it's all right, yeah. Okay, cool, cool.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Because we can have a conversation about a lot. You know, we're both videographers, right? You don't do you do pics? 2026 down do picks.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

Hey, you know what's crazy? I want to, I mean, I don't know. Usually uh I'll do photos, but I would uh I think I charge a bit more for photos because I don't really care to do them.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

And in in the likes of, oh, she costs too much, we're not gonna book her.

SPEAKER_03 4:16

I mean, I guess not necessarily from the client perspective, but more from my perspective is that it gotta be worth it for me. Because I prefer not to. That makes sense. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 4:28

So I could take it or leave it.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Yeah, I mean, I ain't gotta do it. It's not at the top of my list of things to do, but if you're asking me, this is my price.

SPEAKER_02 4:37

Yo, yo, yo.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

Yeah, I mean, I don't know what your price is because we ain't discussed that, and I wouldn't put that out here. I will let you put that out, right? But when you think about the levels of photography, I feel that's one thing that we don't really factor into setting our price.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

What's that?

SPEAKER_01 4:55

The the thing of it's gotta be worth it for me. You know, we factor in um camera cost, uh insurance, uh, the space, regardless of we rent it or if it's their space, gas, um knowledge and know-how, but never it's gotta be worth it. And I think we take all of that and put that together and make that what's worth it, not an extra charge. Like I have a headache fee.

SPEAKER_03 5:26

That's like the asshole tax, ain't it?

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Yes. Yes. You're gonna get taxed and it will continue to go up the more you you you push me away, you're gonna have to pay for me to deal with you.

SPEAKER_03 5:38

I think another side to that also is that um when when you undercharge for whatever it is that you're doing, you're doing yourself a disservice and you're doing the client a disservice. Because for whatever they're trying to do, you may have this vision or they may have this vision, and it takes more money, time, resources, contractors, or whatever to execute, and you're not able to bring it to life because you're not even charging enough to cover yourself.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:07

So everybody suffers.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

That's deep. It's deep. When you think about it, a lot of people undercharge themselves because they like, well, maybe they got, maybe they can't spend. We start pocket watching.

SPEAKER_03 6:23

Oh yeah, you charge it from the wrong pocket.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Right. Just because I ain't got but$20 don't mean that they they got less than$20.

SPEAKER_03 6:30

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Cause I'm about to, I'm about to X this two grand. Hear me. You asked me to do what? Yeah, my price starts at$2,500.

SPEAKER_03 6:39

That's a fact. Not for real.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Yeah, yeah. People don't. This ain't even a topic for today, y'all. But you gotta know how to charge yourself, even as a beginner. I'm not opposed to free work as a beginner, but I'm also like, get paid something. You at least wasted your gas. Yeah. At minimum. You gotta drive it in them. Hey man, I just need with today's gas prices.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

My goodness.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

It takes$40 to fill up my car.

SPEAKER_03 7:11

How much was it before?

SPEAKER_01 7:13

$20. I got a little of um Hyundai Lantra. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:18

That's what?

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Yes. Quarter tank from E, it would take about$20 to$25 to fill it up. Now, quarter tank from E, I'm driving$40 and I'm like, I ain't going nowhere.

SPEAKER_03 7:33

That's true.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

If I can't be there on uh virtual, Shamar, I come help you set the studio up on Google Meet.

SPEAKER_03 7:43

Nah. For real? Not for real. You you saying that?

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Like, no, it's really$40 now.

SPEAKER_03 7:48

Okay, but like what you're saying about I'll virtually help you set it up. Like, you mean that or no?

SPEAKER_01 7:52

No, I don't mean that. I don't mean that. I'm like, hey, make sure, hey, put that over there. No, a little bit more to the left.

SPEAKER_03 7:59

Yeah, it's all funny games to something, break. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

And we we we don't need nobody breaking that. You'd be surprised how many people come in here and don't want to touch anything. And I'm like, bring your mic closer. They be like, so so where do I touch this contraption at? Like, man, just grab the thing, just move it.

SPEAKER_03 8:16

It swivels. It's okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

It's on a swivel.

SPEAKER_03 8:18

It's okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:20

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Yeah. Well, yeah. At least charge for gas. That's why I started.

SPEAKER_03 8:25

I think um it's crazy because I was just thinking about this earlier for no reason at all. Um boy.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

I don't even know what you're about to say.

SPEAKER_03 8:37

Nah, nah, nah. It's nothing crazy. It's nothing crazy. I was just thinking about like, um, so there's shoots that I've done in the past where I would bring somebody in. Like I said, like I don't, or at least one person who knows a little something about something. So I'll bring somebody in, and I will not be getting paid for the shoot, or I'll be getting underpaid for the shoot, and I'll pay out of pocket for that extra body. And and what ends up happening, like even if it's a zero dollar shoot, or it could be a thousand dollar shoot or whatever it is, but when you're able to bring in your different resources, you can make that$1,000 shoot like a$10,000 shoot. And so now that end product, you end up selling it to somebody else, even though you may not have gotten paid on the front end, you get to maximize that on the back end.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

That makes sense. Yeah. That's um similar to spec. Spec ads. Is that what they call them? Spec ads. I just know the word a spec.

SPEAKER_02 9:31

Yeah, yep.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Um, how do you feel about spec ads? Because I'll I'll I'll tell you why I'm asking that after you answer it.

SPEAKER_03 9:39

Um, I think they're cool, especially like if you're pivoting to a new industry or maybe you're just excited about something. Like, I'm all for all types, like, say you just got this new light and you like, I want to see what I can really do then. I want to learn this piece of equipment. And so now we're gonna take it out. We're gonna create something, we're gonna learn how it works, we're gonna run into different issues. We're gonna know for now when we're on a pay shoe how to fix it or we know what to expect. I'm all for it. Why not?

SPEAKER_01 10:02

I like spec ads. Um I'm gearing up to do spec ads to let people know more of what I do personally. Um, like, yeah, we do so many things with the studio and with the with the the media production company. Shout out to Alan Luck Studios, Charlotte Podcast Studio, and Artbox Charlotte. I would like to thank us. Shamar, I didn't forget. See, I got this. Um, but I'm like, I want to get into a different space. I like motorcycles. I have a motorcycle. I wouldn't mind doing like motorcycle videos and you know, tapping into the motorcycle um community or you know, really doing like real commercials, even if it's just us, and make that thing look real good, and then use that to start pitching to businesses, like, hey, you know, this is what we can do. And I feel that is a necessity.

SPEAKER_03 11:01

Which part?

SPEAKER_01 11:02

Um, spec ads. Because it's hard to tell somebody um you can do something, but have no examples. Like, for instance, I can say, hey Dom, I need to put this together, but I can't use my face. This is what I need. Just come in. Hey, this is a script. Take this, make it fit for your business. Now, Dime has a free ad, and I got, you know, this spec ad to put out.

SPEAKER_03 11:30

Okay, you kind of lost. I didn't know where you was going. You kind of, okay, I'm back with you. I'm back with you.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

My bad. Yeah. You know, I be starting back there, then I come back.

SPEAKER_03 11:38

So you're saying you this is something that you could propose to a bike owner, for instance. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

You said a bike owner?

SPEAKER_03 11:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

No, it a business.

SPEAKER_03 11:49

Yeah. Okay, because we talk about motorcycle. What did we transition? I don't feel like quickly.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

I was on it.

SPEAKER_03 11:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

So, like, I know people that have motorcycles to just do those fancy clips, edit them the way that they want them done, or the ones where they ride down the interstate, you know, those are still a popular thing, as far as I know. To do something like that, to say, hey, I don't know how to do that, but I want one of those. Hey man, I got you.

SPEAKER_03 12:21

Okay. Okay.

unknown 12:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:24

I want you to know you're like, I'm with you on the spec part of it, but what you just described, I'm kind of against it.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Which part?

SPEAKER_03 12:33

Um, it sounds like you just said like a series of B-roll.

SPEAKER_01 12:38

Well, that was on the motorcycle.

SPEAKER_03 12:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

Hold on, y'all. Pause. The motorcycle. That's over there. You mentioned I just went back to it.

SPEAKER_02 12:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

When it comes to businesses, letting them know what we can do for them here by approaching someone like you to say, hey, Dom, I want to do an ad for you. Spec ad, literally, for you. That way I can show people this is what can be done in the studio. That way it's not my face or Shamar's face. It appears to be a real client because at that point you would be. That makes sense. That's what I'm getting to.

SPEAKER_03 13:16

I mean, it does make sense. But are we workshopping it right now? What are we doing?

SPEAKER_01 13:22

I'm just throwing it out though. I just mentioned it. Okay. You know, spec as is to so you can grow your skill, like you said, to reach new markets.

SPEAKER_03 13:31

Yeah. I'm just saying, what you just said, and I don't know, like if you mean it specifically or just as an example.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

We can do both, girl. Let's go.

SPEAKER_03 13:40

Cause not because what you just said, it sounds like it's more of a commercial for you all. Yeah. And you're using them as the talent for your commercial. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

It makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 13:53

Unless, unless if you're showing what they can do, and and that's a part of that is them producing a podcast here, but the actual narrative or the the audio that's being used is what promotes their business while in the studio. So, like for instance, what you describe sounds like, yo, we shooting a commercial for this space and how it can be used. But you're saying it as if you're doing me a favor. It's like it's disguised in the form of a favor, but it's really for you and your space and what you're trying to sell. However, if you be like, we're gonna do that, but at the same time, this is like a documentation, like a vlog experience almost. But the audio that we're using is actually me sitting here and promoting my business.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Okay, so maybe I'm talking about something different. So what I'm saying is showing people that this is what we can do or what can be done in this space, right? Yes, it will still be for you. So I guess think about like how when we do the podcast, people are coming here, they're doing a podcast. And then we have pictures and video examples of what we do in the space. Is that making sense before I go?

SPEAKER_03 15:14

Well, it sounds like to me, it sounds like you mean like if I'm a business owner and I come here and I utilize this space, you're taking BTS photos or whatever, and I get excitement because look at all this gear I'm around. I'm really out here doing it for real. That's what it sounds like you're saying right now. Is that it? Are we talking past each other?

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Oh, we definitely talking past each other.

SPEAKER_03 15:35

Okay, because all right, so look, when you say spec ad, I'm thinking, like, because you you conflated the spec ad with um creating for a business owner. Cool. Like you could create a promo, whatever, for a business owner. But now when you throw this space in here, that kind of changes the dynamics of it a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 15:56

So take the space out?

SPEAKER_03 15:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

That was a question, though.

SPEAKER_03 16:01

No. I'm saying, like when you once you take this space out, now it's like if you have a business coach, for instance, I say that because I work with a lot of coaches or whatever, you have a business coach and you're creating something for them, a commercial. Is it a commercial? If you're creating a commercial specifically for them, who they help, how they help, or whatever, to position them in a certain type of way, that's cool. You feel me? Now, if we add the space back in, I'm just saying, like, the space can't be the focal point of it unless it's positioned that way for a specific reason.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

That makes sense. Let me thought process through that.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

Okay. Take your time.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

We're gonna talk about that.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

On to the next subject.

SPEAKER_03 16:42

Okay. Did we like are we using this for real? Did we start the podcast? Are we is this like happy chatter? Like how they do, like on daytime talk shows? I don't know. They still do that. But I mean, we're here. Hey, what's up? This is how we, this is how we are. Yeah, you know what's crazy?

SPEAKER_01 16:58

What's that?

SPEAKER_03 16:59

The first time I came here, I was a bit nervous because I didn't really know what to expect.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

I don't know why you were nervous, but I understand.

SPEAKER_03 17:05

Right. And earlier when I was getting ready to come here, I'm like, I still don't know what to expect, but I do expect the conversation. I'm like, we just gonna vibe for real.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

I mean, and that's what I be trying to tell people. Like, oh, I'm so prepared. I don't know what to do. It's an interview. I'm like, it's not an interview. You are not applying for a job. We are here to promote you, your business, and and you know, let people know your journey. And I I feel a lot of people miss that because they've mainly focused on quote unquote interview. I'm not I can see that. I don't think I'm hosting interviews. I don't feel like this is an interview or anybody that has been an interview, right? We're just talking because we know enough about each other to hold the conversation, everything else is gonna spill out as we talk. Because I'm thinking my generalized thought of a spec ad is making sense, and you like, nah, dog.

SPEAKER_03 18:08

We might have to watch it back because I'm questioning myself.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

Rewind the tape real quick. But I mean, we're gonna talk about that. So listen, the the main topic for today is supposed to be starting over or keep going. That's what the subject is supposed to be.

SPEAKER_03 18:31

Yeah you know what? Um I wanna thank everybody for watching.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Yeah, shout out to y'all.

SPEAKER_03 18:38

Yeah, and I want to uh kind of promote the last episode. Um what was it? No, no, no, no, the uh the messy middle was it was that the name of it?

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Oh, yeah, the uh uncomfortable middle phase.

SPEAKER_03 18:50

Yeah, no, because uh I was watching that and I'm like, I hear what y'all saying, I hear it.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

So this one is what start over or keep going.

SPEAKER_03 19:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

So let me preface the the theme that I originally had for the month of April, that's that's gone. But the when when we were in conversation talking about what April was about to be about, you stated, I don't think you should start over. I think you should just keep going. I said, you know what? Well, that's what we're gonna talk about. I ain't got no bullet points.

SPEAKER_03 19:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 19:31

We just gonna talk.

SPEAKER_03 19:32

I know what you talking. I didn't say that. I know what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

Something close to it?

SPEAKER_03 19:36

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:38

I said my my belief is that you don't start from zero, you start from experience.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Oh, hold on now. I gotta shift position. Uh we're about to get deep. I can see it. Listen, let me pull my pants down a little bit, cover up my ankles.

SPEAKER_03 19:52

Can't say got the ankles out.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

I gotta cover up the ankles. You don't start from zero, you start from experience. Explain.

SPEAKER_03 20:04

It doesn't matter. So to say that you're starting from zero will imply maybe there's a pivot happening. So if you're pivoting into something else, you still take all the experience that you gained over the years with you. Whether you're leaving a nine-to-five job or you're going from school to something else, or you're going from one business to the next business or whatever, you don't just start from zero. You still dealt with people. You probably did some customer service in one way or another. You probably had calls. You you don't just start from zero. You have experiences under your belt. That's like saying every time you you get up in the morning, you gotta learn to walk again. That's not what's happening.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

No, yeah. Okay, okay. So I think that correlation was off.

SPEAKER_02 20:58

So I'm like, so when like when I say start over, it's like, so let's take for instance, 2025.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

I was supposed to have been vlogging, right? I stopped in April. I was done. So I'm telling myself, okay, 2026, I'm starting over. Basically, I'm getting a stride and I'm making things more intentional instead of just putting out a video to say that I put out a video. I want to put out a vlog with substance, right? Um, that's what I'm talking about when I say start over. Is that making?

SPEAKER_03 21:36

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But even then, I don't think you're starting over. Because you've created before.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

True. Yeah. And I'm starting from my experience. Exactly. I'm starting from a space of I know what I want now, compared to I have no other choice because this is what I told myself I was gonna do.

SPEAKER_03 21:54

So yeah, yeah, you start from experience, you know what type Clips you need to capture now to tell a story that you want to tell. You'll probably you'll probably be able to be more efficient. You're probably gonna be a little rusty starting out, but you're gonna get back into the swing of it.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Yeah. And it goes back to just press record. Just press record. The easiest yet most difficult thing that you can do with you in front of the camera, even if you're not in front of the camera, because you start second guessing, overthinking, and then that's when a lot of people stop. Um some people. Yeah, happens to the best of us. Yes, you hear that the best of us. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:37

For real.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

Yeah. So start from experience. Let's say your experience is like very minuscule. You don't have much experience because you haven't started anything. When you think about somebody that's like, okay, my experience isn't anything except the research. Do you think they need to keep going the same way somebody that has been doing this for years or any time, any amount of time, with just from what they know? Are you are we calculating this research as experience or we calculating actually doing something as experience?

SPEAKER_03 23:27

You gotta do.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

You gotta who?

SPEAKER_03 23:29

You gotta do.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

You gotta do.

SPEAKER_03 23:31

You gotta do. That's how you gain experience.

SPEAKER_01 23:33

Can't say you did.

SPEAKER_03 23:33

Yeah, exactly. Not for real. For real.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

You gotta do something. You can't just and that's the whole thing. I think um, like for me, one of the themes for this year is like execution, focus and execution. Because a lot of times we get stuck in a planning phase or we want to analyze how we could do this or how we go about that. But you gotta do. You gotta do, and that's the only way you're gonna be able to learn. That's the only way you're gonna be able to really know what's what works for you or what works for whoever it is that you're providing some type of value to. You need that feedback.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

You gotta do.

SPEAKER_03 24:08

You gotta do.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

So if you've just been studying and researching, that's not experience.

SPEAKER_03 24:16

No, you gotta do it.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

There's no action. Like it was that I mean, I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 24:20

I think that's a stretch now.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

What the action part? Yeah. This is why I love our conversations. Because it's like, sounds good, but no.

SPEAKER_03 24:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

So to keep going, reflect on what you've already done. Know what needs to be done to make it better. And then push. Is that what we're going with?

SPEAKER_03 24:48

I mean, it sounds like you're just saying stuff.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

Just a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 24:51

You're just saying the series of things. Just a little bit. What are we talking about now?

SPEAKER_01 24:56

Starting over and keep going. So we we on the keep going part. How do you think people should keep going? What what do you start with keeping going? So for instance, you stop doing whatever it was because of whatever took place, right? Now you're ready to pick up that paintbrush again, pick up the camera, pick up that pen, write this song. Where do you see um, I guess, starting the keep going part? Is that making sense? I'm trying to make it make sense, Down.

SPEAKER_03 25:27

I mean, it kind of makes, I mean, because you just gotta do it, you gotta just do the trash reps. You feel me with the messed up form or whatever? You're gonna get better over time.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

Keep going.

SPEAKER_03 25:39

Me, I don't know what to tell you.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

I mean, I guess I'm trying to elaborate for those that are like, well, how do I do that? How do I push? What do I know? When do I know I'm pushing? When do I know to start again? I guess is what I'm asking.

SPEAKER_03 26:02

Well, it's gonna come back, it's gonna come back to why? Why are you even doing it? Why? Why are you even doing it? Like you said you want to vlog again or whatever, because basically it's a promise that you want to keep to yourself. You want to be able to trust you. Do you know every time that you don't do what you say that you was going to do, you lose a little faith in yourself? Like, and it's not, I don't think it's something that you just recognize, I don't think it's conscious, but it's like, but it's it's happening. Your body knows, right? Your spirit knows what was going on internally. And it comes back to why do you want to do something to begin with? And if you don't have a strong enough why, then why would you do it? Why would you do it when you don't feel like it? Why would you start? I mean, it's some things that just sounds good, but if it's no reason behind it for real, then why stop smoking? Like a lot of folks ain't gonna stop smoking until they got a job interview coming up or something like that. They know they're gonna have to pee in a cup. Is that all? Is that was that off? My bad, y'all.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

No, you good. You okay. I'm with you.

SPEAKER_03 27:05

Yeah.

unknown 27:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:06

I mean, you you got some money on the line. Now it's like, all right. If you got a matter of fact, look, so I did a gig, was it last, was it last year? I think it was sometime last year. And I was actually hired off of uh LinkedIn. Shout out to LinkedIn, but shout out to just putting yourself out there because you never know who watching. Even if even if they're not engaging with your content, the analytics gonna tell. Um, so I got a gig and she was basically gonna hire me regardless. Like it was already, but we still had to hop on a call, and she just wanted to know if I could do the thing that she was asking. Like, am I capable? And I said, Yeah, of course. Absolutely. Never done it before. I never she wanted, she wanted to work with green screen. I never worked with green screen before. Not for real, like I had an idea, like I know, and so I had to call up my my one of my good friends or whatever, because he had the green screen and he had all the equipment for that. I just know that you gotta light it real well. Like, I know that it gotta be lit evenly across. And so after that deal ended up going through, it was just a matter of doing research now. How can I make this happen? And if she never came to me wanting that specific thing, I had no use to learn it for real. And so that was why I ended up learning and doing a deep dive on how to do that. And so, until you have a reason why you're not gonna. Am I boring you, Tay?

SPEAKER_01 28:35

Don't do that. Am I boring you? Nobody even saw what was going on.

SPEAKER_03 28:39

When you yawn, when you edit this, put the close-up on you so they can know what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

What time is it? All right, mark that.

SPEAKER_03 28:47

1350. She's saying when you edit it, Tay would add it. Yeah, I don't edit.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

Y'all know Tay don't edit.

SPEAKER_03 28:58

Tay do everything. Tay's a renaissance man. It's okay. It's the right year for it, too.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

I'm not gonna argue. I'm not gonna argue. And I'm glad nobody's here to be on your side about it, too.

SPEAKER_03 29:17

Man, shout out to Shamar.

SPEAKER_01 29:20

Yeah, shout out to Shamar. But yeah, I mean, yeah, I do a lot, but it's kind of the problem. I do a lot.

SPEAKER_03 29:28

That's why I asked you need a producer.

SPEAKER_01 29:32

We'll talk.

SPEAKER_03 29:33

Yeah, and that's how we started this off.

SPEAKER_01 29:35

Yeah. Listen, are y'all liking this chemistry here? Because I love the fact that you're not a yes woman. You're gonna challenge it. And then I'm gonna be seeing, like, Dom, I I don't know. Uh say what had happened. And then I'm gonna have to just go left, and then you'll be like, You didn't answer the question. I know I didn't, because I don't know how to answer the question. That was the point. That's the whole movie to the next subject. But no, no, no, no. We need to go back. No, we don't. We'll go back out off camera.

SPEAKER_03 30:08

You can't leave the open loop. Like the viewers want to know.

SPEAKER_01 30:11

To be continued.

SPEAKER_03 30:12

Yeah, I want to know.

SPEAKER_01 30:15

Man.

SPEAKER_03 30:16

Yeah, the people what they want.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Yeah. So, what do people want today, Dow?

SPEAKER_03 30:22

Oh, I don't know. Because I was like, it's crazy because I had this idea. I'm like, yo, when I come up in here, I'm going to ask Tay what is it that he wants his viewers to walk away with so we can kind of make sure that we touch on that and however we need to do so. And then we sat down and just started talking.

SPEAKER_01 30:42

You mean from today's episode?

SPEAKER_03 30:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:47

The biggest thing is just feeding into you because the way it was gonna go, we're gonna talk about starting over, we're gonna talk about keep going, the differences. But when you drop that, that whole gem of start from experience, I everything else that I had to talk about, conversation is over. I I can't say nothing. What am I supposed to say after that? But Dom, but I don't think no. And then it was going to elude to no matter what you think, it's not a new start. Just pick up from where you left off. But the episode is done because Dom already said start from experience.

SPEAKER_03 31:24

You start from experience.

SPEAKER_01 31:25

What am I supposed to say after that? I believe that's true, and that's the whole episode. So now we just here. Oh, I mean, I'm I'm kind of over-exaggerating. You know, but because again, some people don't know, like I said, where to quote unquote start with, keep going. But like you said, you said you just gotta do.

SPEAKER_02 31:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Again, that goes back to like we've been saying from the beginning, you just gotta press record. Yeah, for real. You know, pick up that paintbrush. Like, I want to get back into drawing, right? Unless I take that drawing pad that I have and a pencil or a pen and just start creating strokes to see what happens, I'm still sitting here. It's never gonna happen. You know.

SPEAKER_03 32:07

Why do you want to do that?

SPEAKER_01 32:08

What, get back to drawing? I just like drawing as a kid. I ain't gonna lie, I didn't try to draw. Like my drawing skills was immaculate.

SPEAKER_03 32:18

For real?

SPEAKER_01 32:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 32:19

So you got some right now?

SPEAKER_01 32:21

No, but like I even had my old stuff. Oh, okay. All my stuff was in a notebook, and I can't tell you what happened to that notebook. Like, I used to, I would write your name in a font, and um, like I know one I put somebody's name and had like Disney characters and like baggy jeans and reebox and Jordan's and all that stuff, and yeah, I can't find any of that stuff.

SPEAKER_03 32:48

And you won't be starting over.

SPEAKER_01 32:50

Okay, I won't be starting over. See, I give a take, because I don't know if I can draw a full circle like I used to.

SPEAKER_03 32:59

You'll be rusty, but you'll get back to it.

SPEAKER_01 33:01

Oh, it's definitely gonna be a lot of rust. A lot of rust. We're gonna need more than WD40 for them skills.

SPEAKER_03 33:08

But you know, okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:11

What?

SPEAKER_03 33:12

Okay, you kind of touched on something in my head, but are we sticking to are we freestyling? Is this gonna be rough for you to edit?

SPEAKER_01 33:18

Like trying to come off I'm not editing nothing, Dom. Whatever we're talking about, we're gonna talk about it.

SPEAKER_03 33:23

Okay, because all right, then how you gonna name it? You gonna figure out the name?

SPEAKER_01 33:29

We'll come up with that later, too.

SPEAKER_03 33:31

Okay, okay, cool, cool. All right, so this is wild. So um it sounds like I don't know if this is true, but you say you want to get back into you want to get back into your art because it's something that you did as a kid. And so my brain, I'm connecting all types of dots or whatever. So I'm thinking, oh, he wants to heal his inner child, but I don't know, I don't know if you're dealing with trauma.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

Like, no, no, so I have drawing pads, and I'm like, and I guess for the sake of like storyboarding, you know, to be able to draw it, and I don't want my storyboard to be stick figures, you know what I'm saying? But if it ends up being stick figures at this point, it is what it is. I know a lot of times I try to explain something, but nobody can visually see it, so I have to, in a sense, draw it.

SPEAKER_03 34:27

We got AI and stuff, yeah. So you want to do it because you want to do it though.

SPEAKER_01 34:32

Yeah, I mean, I got a drawing pad, I just don't want my little$2.39 to go to waste.

SPEAKER_03 34:37

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

It's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 34:39

I know. In this economy, yes, gas for the dollars. Yes. Uh it was that 10%, 5% is 5%.

SPEAKER_01 34:48

What?

SPEAKER_03 34:49

I don't think that's 5%. I mean of uh like of how much you just pay for gas on your book. You know how uh you ever watch everybody hit Chris? He'd be like, that's that's two cents worth of worth of light.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

Yeah, yeah, that's why I guess some of them them uh them sands from like that two dollars and thirty nine cents. I don't know if that notebook costs two dollars and thirty-nine cents. It probably cost me a dollar fifty. I don't know. But the paper that's in the okay. So I was about to say something. So I'll I'll say this. I'm not wanting to get back into drawing just for like um something else added to the list. It's just to be able to pick up a notebook and then just draw something and call it a day. Maybe I'll realize I don't want to draw no more. But you don't know until you do.

SPEAKER_03 35:39

It's just for you. Yeah. You know what? You should do that. I'm gonna tell you why. So okay, I'm trying to try to see how long we.

SPEAKER_01 35:49

I know that's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 35:49

We just hear it we just crazy.

SPEAKER_01 35:51

All right, I'm listening though.

SPEAKER_03 35:53

No, no, yeah, now I gotta yell. Hey, Tay just went up to go go get some water. He he closed the door. Oh, he's back. You ain't advertising nothing, huh?

SPEAKER_01 36:14

Nothing. Except yeah, I'm reaching out to them.

SPEAKER_03 36:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:20

And then, you know, these are sponsored.

SPEAKER_03 36:22

Oh, that's what's up.

SPEAKER_01 36:24

I thought I told you I ain't tell you that. So the mics, they reached out to me. It's like, hey, we want to send you a mic. Well, me being me. I said, oh, okay, cool. Well, since it's a podcast, I think it's more efficient to know how these work if I have one for my guests too. No problem, we'll send you two. What's the address? So, you know, they came in and we've been using them since November last year. November, December. I think they came in November, and we started using them in December.

SPEAKER_03 36:56

They sound good too.

SPEAKER_01 36:58

Yeah. I like, I mean, this microphone. Shout out to Mono for uh supplying these. But yeah, it's got USB connection, XLR, um, with USB. There's a whole app on the computer. And this lights up and it does a whole bunch of other things. There's a dock that you can put in your phone and use it wirelessly. You download their app and you go through all of that. So, yeah. That's why they're being advertised. We got a collaboration with them.

SPEAKER_03 37:31

Okay, it sounds like it sounds like you were just doing another ad.

SPEAKER_01 37:35

I kind of did. I kind of did. But yeah, I like the mics, and you know, other people uh talking about how much they like them too. The the sound quality is not a lot of um popping or the stretched, stretched out S. No hissing. Yes, and all those things.

SPEAKER_03 38:00

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:02

But if it is too close, it will pop. So I have to be mindful. What were you talking about?

SPEAKER_03 38:10

I was talking about you getting back into drawing, um, and I'm trying to figure out how how much I wanted to, how much I wanted to tell about my life. Um, I'll keep it concise. So uh, so um recently I was I I came to the conclusion, right? I do, I do like like I do some shadow work. I like to be aware of me as a person or whatever. And so I realized at some point that I stopped watching TV for real, maybe like in November, around that time frame. And when I say I start watching TV, I mean like I start watching like scripted stuff. I start watching movies for real or whatever. And and so I'm doing I'm doing an assessment of me, and I'm like, yo, because I used to just watch just just like mindless. That's like the only thing I did that was just mindless. And so now I'm reflecting back and I'm like, yo, I done, I done found myself in the middle of the trap. And so the only thing I'm doing is just like productivity stuff, right? So I'll train, I'll get my steps in, I'll cook or whatever, I go shopping, I do my laundry, you feel me? Every anytime I'm watching something, it's probably on YouTube and it's educational, right? Whether it's about business, finance, content, development, whatever. It's just like, and it was like I realized it was like it's nothing just to just be, just to exist. I'm listening to audiobooks. It's just like, and we don't find the time sometimes to just be, right? To just exist. Like it's always the next thing to be done. If you got a to-do list, you can mark something off and you can add something right there to fill a spot. Like it's always the next thing that has to get done for whatever it is that you're working towards or whatever. And so I think it's pretty cool. And I really think that you should strongly consider getting back into drawing for real, if not for no other reason. I don't know, if your life kind of mirrors that a little bit where you're just constantly on the go for things outside of yourself, and even the things that you end up doing for yourself is maintenance for yourself so you don't go crazy, so you can keep the household functioning properly.

SPEAKER_01 40:26

Because I'm very sane right now. Yeah, I'm I'm with you. I stopped watching TV high school. I realized, um, and it's kind of the same thing, like how you said I'm I'm watching more of um educational things, research, how to better myself, better my craft. I was watching your videos. So, and again. You said what? Shout out to me, shout out to you, you know. And like I said, I was watching your videos. I'm like, oh man, she got some, she kicking knowledge. I'm with this. Yeah, and then when I found out you was in shot, I was like, oh, I can contact her. Wait a minute, I can email her. Side note. And I'm like, I wonder what she's gonna say. So to dial back, when you were saying that you was nervous about coming up here, I was nervous about sending the email. And I think I said it in the first episode because I'm like, I I send emails. Sometimes I get a response, sometimes I don't. You know, but um come back for the uh forward, side note over.

SPEAKER_03 41:37

Um I'm about to go right back.

SPEAKER_01 41:40

What? Oh. So I I tended to I realized TV was a distraction. I'm one of those people where I'm looking at TV, you could be sitting right here. Let's say this is the TV, I could be watching TV. You'll say something, I won't hear you. I'm focused, and you can have a whole conversation with me and assume that I'm listening because the timing with what you say and me laughing at what's on the TV would sync, and I'd be like, Yeah, I uh uh and you'll think I'm and then it's like Tay, and I'm like, what? You hear anything I said? I'm like, I thought you was on the phone.

SPEAKER_03 42:26

Say used to go, you used to get in trouble at the crib, huh?

SPEAKER_01 42:28

All the time. Boy, I know you hear me. I'm like, no, I really didn't. So knowing TV, and I love watching movies, but watching TV, it just raised horse blindness on and and same thing with my ears. I only see and hear what's on the TV. So I dial back from watching TV shows because I'm like, I would rather sit here for a two-hour movie than watch something that's 30 minutes in on season three. Because my wife will tell you, we might watch all of season one. I might not come back for season, I might not even make it through season one. I might not because I know for me, watching TV puts me in that space. Just focus on what I'm watching, all the distractions. You know, I'm better off playing a video game.

SPEAKER_03 43:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 43:29

And I can hear you.

SPEAKER_03 43:31

Okay. Because I feel like there's a lot of things happening right now.

SPEAKER_01 43:34

There's always a lot of things happening.

SPEAKER_03 43:36

So this is you as a teenager, and you was just like, that's when you started dialing it back a little bit. Okay, cool, cool, cool. I can see that. I can see that. I can see that. Well, too much of anything, it's not a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 43:48

Right.

SPEAKER_03 43:49

And so when I say watching TV, I just mean like something mindless for a little bit, a little 42 minutes or whatever, something like that. Not that I'm finna waste my whole day away.

unknown 43:59

It

SPEAKER_03 44:00

Just oh no, not me. Okay, it was just a way to unwind. So I'm glad you was able to learn that about yourself.

SPEAKER_01 44:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:07

Right. And I think really what I was getting at is having some type of hobby or whatever. It's like even I'm in a garden, I'm playing stuff. I mean, I enjoy it, son and all of that. But it's still so I can live.

unknown 44:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:21

Right. Um, play your video games. It's it's mindless, right? It's just just so you can just tune out the outside world for like a specific set of time. You dig like this, it's always some personal growth that that that you're working on, I think, for a particular type of person, because others, they could just they're content with life, and that's cool. Nothing wrong with it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, it's archetype.

SPEAKER_01 44:44

Us. Not me. Right. You know, I'm I'm cool, but so do you have hobbies? Sure. I play video games. Um, mostly play with with my sons. Nice. Um, I be getting spanked sometimes because I do not know about these new games.

SPEAKER_03 45:05

Okay, you bond.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

You bond, it's bonding time. That's that's all it is. So if my son ever says, Yeah, I beat my dad in 2K, I'm a little rusty. Just give me a couple more games.

SPEAKER_03 45:15

He did.

SPEAKER_01 45:16

Yeah, if he beat me in Madden, so you know, but yeah, I I I play video games and I play with uh with my kids. Um uh I will hop on my bike and I'll just go ride. I call I'm calling it a hobby because I don't do it all the time. Um and then shoot, I mean, hobby or not, you know, watching a movie with the wife. It's just I don't have to worry about work. I'm not worried about editing this project, um, editing that project. Oh, I gotta edit. It's like, listen, that's gonna have to sit back, you know. Um I don't know. I think that's the majority of my quote unquote hobby space.

SPEAKER_03 46:09

Is that new for you being able to just um be present in a moment?

SPEAKER_01 46:14

What you mean?

SPEAKER_03 46:15

Like in the past, is that something that you found hard to do?

SPEAKER_01 46:22

Not really. As far as like spending time with my kids, no. It is what you call it, something difficult to do. No, it's never been difficult to spend time with them.

SPEAKER_03 46:35

I don't I don't mean spend time with them. I mean like to be able to spend time with them, be present and not thinking about the next thing that's on your list that you still gotta get to.

SPEAKER_01 46:44

Oh no, because I'm a creator, so my mind is always working. Like I could be sitting there playing that game and I have three creative ideas. Is that what you're referring to?

SPEAKER_03 46:52

Yes and no. Okay, if it's just creative ideas, that's one thing. I just mean like you still got things on your list, you still got an edit that you gotta do before the end of the night. You still got calls to make or messages to send out.

SPEAKER_01 47:05

When it comes to spending time with them, you've always just been present in that moment. I know I have to do it, but I'm not gonna bring it up. If that makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 47:15

Yeah, but are you thinking are you thinking about it? Are you thinking about the next thing?

SPEAKER_01 47:21

I that's a good question. Because I'm not sure. Okay. Because I I feel like my mind is always thinking about the next thing, even if that's not what the conversation is. And I I mean, maybe it's ADHD and you know, playing a part with, okay, what's next? You know, like um one of our clients, her guest came on, and she's um she deals with people with ADHD, and she has ADHD herself. And she's like, you know, this, I'm here and I'm present. She's saying, but in my mind, I'm thinking, well, I gotta pick the kids up from school. I gotta cook dinner. What am I gonna cook for dinner? You know what I did, you know, by this. Well, I told the husband to take that out. You know, it's like when she and I feel that's how my brain is working. That's why I'm like, I think I'm always thinking about the next thing. Like, I'm sitting here now, like, man, I wish I could get that apple. You know, get the apple, man. I'm not gonna eat the apple on the apple.

SPEAKER_03 48:22

You need the break, you want to take a break and you can eat the apple. No, well, get the apple later. Is it like an intrusive thought? Like, you gotta, you like you just have to have the apple.

SPEAKER_01 48:29

No, I'm just saying, like, I have an apple. I can go get the apple, it exists, it exists, but I'm present, if that makes sense. Yeah, you know, so I don't know, maybe it's just ADHD and filtering through it. The best way I know how.

SPEAKER_03 48:52

When would you diagnose?

SPEAKER_01 48:54

I wasn't.

SPEAKER_03 48:55

Huh.

SPEAKER_01 48:57

Uh legally.

SPEAKER_03 48:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 48:59

But the signs are there.

SPEAKER_03 49:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 49:02

It's not on paper.

SPEAKER_03 49:03

I only ask because I see like a lot of adults are now being diagnosed. And um, I think it just shows like the difference in the generations or whatever, and they just be like, uh, it makes sense. Everything makes sense now. Yeah. But like your parents, you're like, you are like, you know, it used to be a little special.

SPEAKER_01 49:24

Stop doing stuff. Yeah, you're a little hyperactive. Like why? Why are you shaking your leg like that? Why do you keep tapping?

SPEAKER_03 49:30

I felt hauled out.

SPEAKER_01 49:32

I wasn't sure if you were shaking your leg or not, but I know I have I have to control it because I'll I'll do it. And you know, I'll be over here like this. And next thing you know, is transferring.

SPEAKER_03 49:45

Is that the camera's over there vibrating like you good?

SPEAKER_01 49:48

Hey, sometimes move too fast. That table might move too because I didn't lock it.

SPEAKER_03 49:55

No, this is what's up. Have you done a uh a tour here on camera?

SPEAKER_01 50:00

Done a tour?

SPEAKER_03 50:01

Yeah. Like it's a content piece. I don't think so.

SPEAKER_01 50:07

For the podcast or for the studio?

SPEAKER_03 50:09

Both of them.

SPEAKER_01 50:10

Yeah, I've done them for the studio. Yeah, them videos is kind of old. I need to update them.

SPEAKER_03 50:17

Yeah. You know, another thing since we just talking, I guess. Um here. Yeah, whatever. So I was talking to one of my associates, um, who also shoots videos or whatever, he's usually the most reliable for, like, I'm gonna call them if I need extra hands or body or whatever. And I was saying, like, you know, one of the advantages that we have that I don't think we utilize enough is that you can grab up one of these cameras and just create content, right? And content that don't have to be perfect because you're an owner operator. You're not, you're not like a client who would have to hire you to come out and bring everything and do all this extra stuff. Like you could just do it and just the experiment. You feel me? It's like whatever, and they'll just go up and they could disappear into the ether, or it cannot disappear, or whatever. But you could just like why not have a BTS of you having all these cameras on one table. Like, that's cool as hell. And the lights are on, they're on wheels, so labor, you know what I'm saying? Mm-hmm. And it's not gonna cost you anything but a little time.

SPEAKER_01 51:28

Just a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 51:30

But then again, you are doing everything. So like if you need, you know, I'll hold it. I'll I'll help you to document, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 51:40

You're gonna take the Osmo.

SPEAKER_03 51:43

I mean, we could do that. We could we could probably increase your quality a little bit. Like you have access to resources. This is uh Yeah. Yeah. So don't use the Osmo. I mean, you can. I would, I wouldn't.

SPEAKER_01 51:56

I mean it didn't have to be perfect. No, I don't have to. Just throw it out there.

SPEAKER_03 52:01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:02

But at the same time, I mean, I guess it's with chatting. At the same time, like it could not, like, you could use the Osmo, the pocket or whatever. At the same time, it's like if this is your so you could do both. So one like that, but I'm thinking, I'm thinking this is your craft, this is what you have access to, this is all this is your positioning, this is how you're branding yourself. So why not use the highest of quality to sell yourself and to sell your space and to sell what you can do?

SPEAKER_01 52:33

Okay, I see what you what you mean. Yeah, yeah. For that, yeah. We're gonna upscale it. We're gonna use the best that we got. Unless it needs to be used somewhere else, but yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:50

Yeah, because I really feel like, man, like so I was I was uh I was watching you talk about lights holding you out from doing your short film.

SPEAKER_01 53:02

Crazy, right?

SPEAKER_03 53:03

Just a cop out. It's crazy. Because even if like, let's say these are the lights that you have access to and the studio is being rented out or whatever the case. You know people. You know people who you can always borrow from yeah, so you don't have to have this huge investment in owning everything yourself because you have people with access to different resources.

SPEAKER_01 53:33

You know, that's that's kind of what I've been quote unquote getting fusted about lately. What's that? Using my resources, and I guess when with me, I don't quote unquote filter that. It's just what do I have? What can I use? And I go with that, and I don't I can call Don. I can call the cora, I can call this person, that person. And I guess because part of like things that have taken place, you know, when you depend on people and they don't come through, it it sits. And I'm not saying that y'all won't, right? But I'm thinking from the beginning, everything I've ever tried to do, I've always tried to do it with the team. But the team isn't there. So now we have, I guess you can call it like a trauma block where I just don't even ask anybody, I just show up and do. And if I ain't got it, then yeah, I made it as an excuse. I mean, I could have got it done, but cop out, like you called it. I just made it as an excuse.

SPEAKER_03 54:45

I think so. I think because I'm sorry, okay.

SPEAKER_01 54:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 54:47

No, I was gonna say, like with stuff like that, like it's understandable, but at the same time, you can't put a specific experience on everybody.

SPEAKER_02 54:56

Right.

SPEAKER_03 54:56

And you gotta open yourself up and allow people to be there for you. Like even outside of this, obviously, like just in life, you gotta you gotta give people the space to be there for you. And if they can't be there for you, I think and at that point it determines. I mean, it determines it, it depends on how they go about it. Now, if you hit me up and I just don't narrow it back to you, it's like, yo, that's low-key kind of disrespectful, but I guess I know where to place you at now. You feel me? Like, I know where we stand, I understand our relationship a little better at that point. But you still gotta you still gotta let people be there for you.

SPEAKER_01 55:28

True. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I agree.

SPEAKER_03 55:34

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:35

Yeah, I I completely agree. Um I was gonna say something. I'm gonna leave it alone because he's not here.

SPEAKER_03 55:45

Um leave that man alone.

SPEAKER_01 55:47

I'm gonna leave him alone today. But it just goes to when you know who you can depend on, those are the people you go to, and you don't think about everybody else. And when you think about everybody else, from my experiences, like, well, they they might be busy, you know. And then another thing is I live all the way in Albemarle. So we talk, I gotta drive an hour to you to get a light, an hour plus to get a light, then drive an hour back. And I told you I'm gonna get it to you tomorrow. Now I gotta force myself to do this project.

SPEAKER_02 56:24

That's what's up.

SPEAKER_01 56:25

And then that is I'm tired already thinking about it. That's what's up, though. I mean, if that's what has to happen, then yes, you know, the studio is closer, and I tend not to grab the lights because sometimes we get people that literally knock on the door. Hey, what y'all do here? Hey, how much is it gonna cost if I do a video right now? Well, if I got one of these lights at the house, the way my mind is thinking, oh, it costs a big one light. Yeah. But use this one light, about to make it happen. You know, so I'm uh that's one thing that goes through my mind. You know, everything we got here, I just be like, nah, I'm not gonna take it home because I might be like, well, shoot, we ain't got nobody on the schedule. I'm not, I'm just not gonna go in tomorrow. But I don't realize Shamar got something going on and he'll call me, hey, where the light is. And I'm like, bruh, today's one of those days I didn't plan on opening my front door. So now I gotta get dressed for the public. Because I don't, yeah, I wear basketball shorts and things like that, but I now I have to look presentable to leave the house just to drop off a light. And by the time I do that, I might as well just stay.

SPEAKER_03 57:41

Yeah. So exactly.

SPEAKER_01 57:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 57:45

So do that.

SPEAKER_01 57:48

And that's what I do. Well, I mean, I don't take the stuff home and have to bring it back. But yeah.

SPEAKER_03 57:52

Um, it goes back to why. So if you say, yo, I gotta drive an hour to come pick the thing up and drive back an hour to the location of the shoe, and then I gotta drive another hour to drop the thing off, and then drive back an hour.

SPEAKER_01 58:04

No, hold on. I'm not saying it like it's a stressful moment. Because being a truck driver, and I was to me down the street. You know, now we're talking four, five, six hours. That's around the corner. You know, that's that's down a little bit further down the street. So driving usually isn't an issue. It's just thinking about it's the energy that I'm with you.

SPEAKER_03 58:28

I'm tracking. I'm tracking. I'm just saying, this is what I'm saying. I'm saying buy buy your own lightning. Or don't or don't shoot the project. You you understand what I'm saying? So it's like if you really want to do it, you're gonna find a way to get it done, and it's only an inconvenience for what a day or two, and then you get like this video is gonna live forever. And now you done you done made up with yourself because you did what you said that you was going to to do and you made it happen. It's like if you gotta stay up late one night in order to complete a project, you're not gonna have to stay. This isn't this is not your life, this is just a season. You dig so borrow the light, drive out an hour, and now don't don't expect me to bring it to you, right?

SPEAKER_01 59:11

Because that's me halfway or something.

SPEAKER_03 59:13

This is this is for you. You want this? Like it's for you.

SPEAKER_01 59:18

Listen, y'all, I'm done with Dime to that.

SPEAKER_03 59:20

I mean, I'm only halfway serious when I say that.

SPEAKER_01 59:23

Yeah, and and it makes sense because if I was borrowing or getting it from a store, they're not gonna meet me. Yeah, you know, and then you have to pay the rent. Yeah, and you just let me hold it, you know, there to me, there's a lot more value in it than renting it. Because you trust me enough to let me hold it. Number one. Number two, regardless of what I have going on or what I'm using it for, to an extent, you believe in the project. You believe in me enough to say, man, come get this like. Like, stop playing, come get this like.

SPEAKER_03 59:58

And if Tay don't bring the light back in time, then I know where to place him. I understand our relationship a little better now.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:03

She's gonna keep me to the curb.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:05

Yeah, it's like I trust you for what I trust you for.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:07

Like so, let me borrow the light again. No, I don't know, bro, because last time.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:13

I'm just gonna say no. I'm just gonna say I like I like to close loops. I don't like open loops. It gives me anxiety.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:22

That's understandable.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:23

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:24

I can agree.

unknown 1:00:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:25

And why why would I have you waiting on me because I'm debating and not know I'm gonna say no? And now you're you're low-key, you're not counting on me, but you're kind of counting on me, so you can't bust and move the way you can't make other arrangements.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:35

It's like we could just say no and just nah, bro, because you're unaccountable.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:40

See what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:41

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it might hurt, but you know, if if I were to be late, it's my fault. I can't be mad. Now, if I say I'm gonna be there at two, you know, and it's the next day, hey, I can't argue with you.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:55

I'm gonna have to, oh, he stole my shit. Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:59

So bring it back? Like, what's my answer in the phone? I don't like that. Is that my camera? No, that's your camera. I gotta fix that. Hold on.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:11

Is that the is that 29 minutes and and 20 and 59 seconds?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:15

No.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:20

That's crazy. Very professional. Very professional. How long we been sitting here? We ain't been talking about nothing. We ain't been here. We ain't talking about AI. And that's definitely pointing over there. We ain't we ain't talking about color folks. We ain't talking about like entrepreneurship and how that's our path towards agency. We ain't talking about really how we gotta keep our dollars circulating with each other. How we gotta build community for real. I'm looking kind of moisturized, okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:21

Oh, you? Yeah, look, let's let's talk about emptying off these SD cards.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:29

Hey, look.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:30

Because that thing showed told me I had over two hours.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:32

Hey, you lucky this wasn't a client shoot.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:35

Oh, if this was a client shoot, I definitely. So again, I got up late and normally I clear everything off the night before. When I got home, all I did was go upstairs. I took a shower and I went to bed. Still woke up late. Crazy. If this was a client shoot, that definitely would have been checked. See, that's why you need a uh producer.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:01

You need a producer.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:02

I don't know what happened to him today. Now let me stop. I know what he had to do. Hey. Um, but yeah. So what else you want to talk about? I mean, we already had an hour and a half recording. We're gonna have to come back for part three.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:14

We ain't gotta talk about nothing.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:16

I think we talked about enough. You got on me. You ain't got no notes. It's crazy. Like I said, you ended the episode so direct, and it was no work. Yeah, you just gotta do.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:34

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:35

You know, that's crazy. Uh experience. That's wild. We elaborated on it. I tried to make some out of it, but now we're we're in a space where I feel this conversation can and should resonate with somebody else. Because again, the biggest thing to take away from me, start where you are. Start with your uh with your experience, start with your knowledge, and don't be afraid to ask somebody for help and assistance. Am I missing anything?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:11

Oh no. I know I'm low-key restarting right. Matter of fact, yeah, yeah, this is what I wanted to say because you was uh you talk about my content on YouTube or whatever. And so I'm low-key, I don't want to say I'm starting over, but it's definitely a refresher that's happening right now. And so I ended up, I ended up just this is like just today and yesterday, because so I was debating in my head because my newer content, it's not been doing as well as my older content or whatever. So the older content was more for you, right? It's more for my peers or whatever. And I'm like, they're not hiring me, right? I don't have an offer for you all.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:49

Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:49

I work with clients, I work directly with I got to shake something else.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:52

I'm listening to that's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:54

You want me to be yelling again?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:57

No, no, oh, you do.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:01

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. All right, I I keep this brief. I keep it brief. So I was kind of debating on what to do since now, you know, I talk directly to the people that can hire me, right? Right to position myself in that way, and so I ended up making all of those videos private because I was contemplating starting a whole new channel. And so I just ended up making those old videos private, all of them, because it was kind of messing up with the alg the algorithm a little bit. Because if I got all these creators and videographers or whatever coming and they're engaging with the content, but I got all this newer content that's about video strategy specifically, it's like who is this content being pushed to? It's gonna be pushed, the newer content is gonna be pushed to folks that don't care about it. You think and so I'm like, all right, bet I'm just gonna make everything private.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:51

Well, I'm still intrigued. I mean, I'm still there.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:54

Yeah, love. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:55

Get what you're saying. Yeah, you know, and and that's like with um. The studio, I'm getting ready to focus more on businesses. You know, instead of just, and I'm not trying to sound funny when I say this, but regular people.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:11

All right. When you say the studio, you mean here?

SPEAKER_01 1:06:13

Yeah, Charlotte Podcast Studio.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:15

Okay, for podcast production? For video podcast production?

SPEAKER_01 1:06:18

Anything, not just podcasting, just events and podcasting, all things social media, um, their video presence. Okay. Okay. So I guess we kind of on the same page, but you use a more technical terms because you know Tate just be talking. Okay. You said video strategy. I'm like, no, they just need video. You know what I'm saying? No, you need it's a strategy. Yeah. You have to um put yourself out there. Some of these businesses, it a quick ad, you know, it could be all B-roll. With some captions over it. You know, it could be a talking head video. You know, we can do that for you here or on location. You know, and the the the whole everything on our Instagram is just quote unquote the client. Now we've had, you know, um lawyers come in here. We've had people come in here and do webinars. There's a lady that has done her um like a whole less video lesson plan. Okay. You know, we we have people that come in and do those things, but it's to me, it's time for us to actually push and promote that more.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:31

Okay. But I'm confused though. About so you were saying like y'all was you was doing both B2C and B2B.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:40

And so, but it sounds like everything you're talking about now is all B2B.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:45

That's my point.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:45

So what you when you say that you you you're focusing less on the consumers that you call regular people?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:51

That's the word of. But see, I told you more technical terms. What does that mean? I'm not saying that we're gonna focus less, but we're going to start getting into um speaking to more businesses as far as the video strategy with their brand and things like that. You know, they're looking for somewhere, you know, they might sit at a desk and turn on a webcam and talking to the microphone on the laptop. Well, we're here. You know, you come to us, it's more of a professional look, you know, whatever, whatever, all the technicalities and aesthetics, and we got you. Is that making sense?

SPEAKER_03 1:08:26

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:29

So were y'all promoting to uh consumers before?

SPEAKER_01 1:08:33

Yeah. Okay. That was the main thing. We just, hey, you want to start a podcast, this is what it doing. You know, but we do more than just podcasting.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:44

That's interesting. Because like I told you, I was watching that episode with you and Shamar or whatever, and I think I was talking a bit about niching down. You may have mentioned a bit, um, like I think like for for beginners or something. Yeah, I was talking a bit about niching, uh choosing a specific niche or whatever, and you said something about like I don't know why you brought up the beauty industry. Um, but I did, yeah. It was like if you do if you're in the beauty industry, then don't do uh hair and makeup and and this other thing. Instead, you could just pick one and then just go deeper and deeper in that one category. I said that.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:24

Yeah, I gotta go watch the episode.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:26

Yeah, so that's basically it. It sounds like what you're saying. It's like, yeah, we do we're still doing video podcast production, but now it's video podcast production for businesses. Next, it might be it might be like production and strategies for a specific industry and just keep giving deeper and deeper into the thing that you're doing. I think that's cool. Thanks. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For real.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:48

Thanks. Well, we're gonna have to uh do a part three. We're gonna have to come back. This is crazy. Like you said, we didn't talk about all of that, but I do feel, I mean, if honestly, if you really think about this open discussion, because that's what it was. Yes, what but I mean, I enjoyed it, yeah. Even though I'm I'm feeling like I got fussed at.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:15

I'm sitting here, I'm thinking about the editor. I'm thinking about like how they gonna be, I'm thinking about the the end viewer. It's like, what the hell y'all got going on?

SPEAKER_01 1:10:24

There's so much, yeah, there's so many things to pick up from this episode.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:29

I hope so, because you know it could just be me.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:32

It it is okay, cool, cool, cool. Because I'm I'm thinking about all of the things that we talked about, right? You know, from the beginning. Start over or keep going. Uh start from your experience.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:46

And that was like that wasn't even a beginning for real. Well, see what I'm saying? The beginning of the actual what was supposed to be. You see, there's a lot happening here today, Tay. Is there a thread line? Is there one theme? Is there a common theme that you can pull from this you think?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:01

It's just gonna be an open discussion with Don. Sorry, cool, cool, cool, cool. I mean, I I don't I don't have a set title for it now. I don't.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:15

Let me know if y'all want me to come back here.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:17

Yeah, if y'all want Don to come back, go ahead and put down there in the comments.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:21

Yeah, because I might not.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:22

You know, it's it's a look, you put it next time.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:25

We're gonna have to uh getting out here is crazy.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:28

Yeah, but it's fun though, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:30

Yeah, it's all love. It's like an hour to get out here. I was like, sheesh, yeah. No, it's all good though. Yeah, and I don't want to waste your time. Yeah, it's all love.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:40

I ain't tripping. I like our conversations. If y'all like our conversations, put that down in the comments below too. Um, Dom, you you want to close us out with any words of encouragement from this open discussion? I know I just threw that at you.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:57

Yeah, you did, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:57

But that's been this whole conversation, just kept questions thrown at me.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:00

Yeah, so he said, I know I got fussed at my bag. My bag. You said, which is you said, don't nobody want to be fussed at. Yeah, don't nobody want to be fussed. But sometimes it's needed, sometimes it's a necessity.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:12

Yeah, my fault.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:13

My fault. It's all love. You feel me?

SPEAKER_01 1:12:15

Yeah, because if it wasn't, I'd be like, well, that's it for the episode.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:18

Down, get out.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:19

But no.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:20

Um yeah, I think um, I think right now more than ever, we really just need to collaborate more. We need to come together, we need to support one another, and whatever that looks like to utilize our different strengths to help our brothers and our sisters for real. And so we all we're all not strong in the same things, but we can support. You feel me? It's like if you didn't do this, and I could talk to you about whatever it is, I can I can invest my knowledge and my resources into helping you to grow and serve whoever it is that you're serving. And I really think it's super important that we do that right now.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:59

I agree. Yeah, it's too many of us trying to do it on our own.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:04

Too many individuals.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:06

Yeah. Build a team, create a team, keep it moving. I mean, as bad as that sounds, keep it moving, but you know.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:13

Nah, but that ass though.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:14

You said the what?

SPEAKER_03 1:13:16

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:19

Keep it moving. Let's go. So listen, y'all. I don't even know how long this episode is right now, but I feel it was a very intriguing and eye-opening episode. So we done. Shout out to Hey yo. Shout out to Island Look Studio, Charlotte Podcast Studio, and Artbox Charlotte. I would like to thank us. Shout out to Dom for coming back in and dropping these gems again. I hope y'all picked up on what was because honestly, I feel like it wasn't just for me. I'm just quote unquote the target today.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:57

And uh I can't feel you feel targeted.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:01

I feel targeted just a little bit. Crazy.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:04

Crazy.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:05

But yeah, that's it for this episode. We will catch y'all in the next one. Peace.