Creatives Grab Coffee

Manny Izquierdo of Mi Media Productions in Miami returns to break down the camera rental scam targeting production companies and rental houses: stolen identities, a lookalike .net domain, forged insurance, and a Craigslist PA collecting the gear. He shares the red flags, the demand letter and reports to file, and how to protect your rentals, plus editing with Claude, an AI agent in Google Ads, and better leads.Full episode write-up, chapters, and transcript: https://www.creativesgrabcoffee.com/podcast/125-camera-rental-scams-ai-tools-ft-mi-media-productions/Chapters:0:00 Intro: Manny is back0:36 What's new at Mi Media Productions1:46 Gold Bond colors and a Red Bull hidden camera shoot3:38 100 deliverables in a month: keep it simple6:24 One hour with the talent at the Guitar Hotel7:47 Editing with AI: what worked and what crashed9:39 Cutting podcast reels with Claude14:16 Will editors who skip AI be out of work?14:46 In-house editing and a flood of new editors19:00 Letting an AI agent fix Google Ads25:05 Rebuilding a website with Claude27:04 Claude skills and keeping your context29:46 AI slop and customers who were never yours30:35 Fewer, better leads (and no music videos)32:45 PSA: the camera rental scam34:49 Stolen identities, a .net email, and the pickup PA39:42 How the spoofed domain works43:14 Background checks and two addresses45:24 Freeze your credit46:22 The payment that never bounced47:19 Late-night insurance and a fake workers' comp policy49:07 Should gear rentals take a deposit?50:16 Where the stolen gear goes59:01 Don't blast the PA1:00:24 Who should pick up camera gear1:02:03 Always carry insurance1:07:47 Getting the word out1:09:49 A documentary shot on three Angénieux zooms1:11:35 Wrap upGuest: Mi Media Productions https://mimediapro.com/Creatives Grab Coffee is produced by Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company. https://www.lapseproductions.com/

Michael Cerdeiros of Cerious Productions in Las Vegas on undercharging and learning to hold your price, running a lean team with a 55-person contractor network, building on repeat trade show clients, and using AI to build the portal, CRM and white balance app that replaced his software subscriptions.Full episode write-up, chapters, and transcript: https://www.creativesgrabcoffee.com/podcast/124-trade-shows-ai-tools-pricing-ft-cerious-productions/Chapters:0:00 Intro0:25 A 2007 YouTube show with his uncle2:34 From Staten Island to Las Vegas3:07 YouTube University and a year and a half in LA5:23 Starting Cerious Productions in 20156:35 Undercharging and learning to hold your price9:35 A lean team and a 55-person contractor network11:52 Repeat trade show clients as a steady base12:55 Quitting the day job in March 202014:47 Why Las Vegas is built for event content15:38 Competition in Las Vegas17:54 Next: a warehouse studio for brand commercials19:09 Rebuilding the website with AI20:26 The portal that replaced Frame.io and HubSpot22:37 Vimeo, Google Drive, and a branded subdomain25:55 Cutting subscriptions and the pressure on SaaS27:25 The security risk of building your own tools28:31 Kelvy, a white balance app for casino lighting31:31 Lovable, Rork, Claude, and Codex33:32 SEO, AEO, and standing out37:25 Your boss is gonna love us: selling the experience39:30 When retainers actually make sense44:06 The story behind the name CeriousGuest: Cerious Productions https://cerious.com/Creatives Grab Coffee is produced by Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company.

Doug Thomsen of BT Studio in San Francisco on building a video business that holds up in a crisis: keeping exactly one retainer client, earning referrals by going the extra mile, running a client review campaign instead of paying for SEO, a viral video that still sends links to his site, the limits of AI video, and the self-funded feature film Pride Jewel.Chapters:0:00 Intro0:29 From seventh-grade iMovie to agency life2:15 Starting BT Studio with Adam Behrmann3:10 Why the name sounds like a law firm3:50 When a partner leaves during COVID6:56 Keeping the business alive through the pandemic8:56 Pride Jewel, a self-funded feature film10:30 Two slow years, then three busy ones10:55 Crisis-proofing: one retainer, many clients, a buffer13:00 The next crisis and the AI question14:01 What AI video still can't do: refinement15:58 AI audio and when good enough is enough17:43 Referrals come from going the extra mile19:45 One retainer client, by design22:13 Why small retainers rarely pencil out25:48 Where the work comes from26:25 Skipping the SEO budget for a review campaign27:43 Getting clients to actually write the review29:35 Paying for Clutch and ProductionHub listings31:09 Dario's tip: log how every lead found you33:05 Mining customer conversations with AI34:03 The viral desk video that still builds links37:25 A lean team: one full-timer plus freelancers37:59 Living with an unpredictable pipeline38:58 Slow periods as creative fuel40:46 Living at home vs paying rent42:19 Going full time at 27: savings, debt, and a reel44:08 What's next: more commercial directing46:19 A new feature about a wildfire evacuation48:45 Finding a producer for the next film49:41 Film grants in Canada vs the US51:53 Nonprofit work: Hamilton Families and the SF Symphony52:57 Internal projects and a relaunched website55:41 FAQs, llms.txt, and getting found by AI59:45 Fewer one-day shoots, more start-to-finish projects1:01:04 What got you here won't get you there1:02:26 Where to find Doug and BT Studio1:04:26 Yes, he still does one-day shoots1:05:14 San Francisco, San Diego, or San Jose?Creatives Grab Coffee is produced by Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company.

Micah David of STUDiiO on running a Las Vegas video company at 21: learning the business side, a fixed workday over the grind, pricing from an hourly rate, selling social media retainers to restaurants and cafes, losing a Fiverr account, and role-playing cold calls with Claude.Chapters:0:00 Intro0:16 A fifth-grade YouTube bet that started it all2:57 Running a company at 213:55 From hobby videos to paid work6:38 Learning the business side9:12 The details of selling yourself10:49 Does being young cost you clients?14:59 One thing a day compounds16:14 Why the always-grinding mindset backfires21:16 A website built in a trade for video23:27 Claude, ChatGPT, and using more than one AI30:12 The Las Vegas video market32:16 Why social media retainers are hard to sell34:14 Pricing from an hourly rate behind the scenes37:47 Selling benefits, not features39:07 Restaurants and cafes as retainer clients41:00 Why retainers are harder with corporate clients45:00 Video company or marketing agency?48:51 Inbound leads vs cold calling52:49 Instant verification on Google Business55:43 The risk of relying on Google56:57 Losing a Fiverr account and owning your leads1:01:07 Role-playing sales calls with Claude1:03:49 AI-built call lists and finding decision makers1:06:06 Email and LinkedIn outreach is a volume game1:07:11 Training AI on your books, calls, and emails1:14:22 Why the next generation is ahead1:16:06 Ten thousand hours in the age of AI1:19:41 Where to find Micah and STUDiiOCreatives Grab Coffee is produced by Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company.

Kyler Beal of Minivan Productions on moving a production company from Virginia to San Diego with a city scoring system, a partner who fired himself from the day-to-day, slicing pie equity, quarterly profit sharing in four buckets, moving owners onto salary, why Minivan avoids retainers, and the grant funding behind its documentary work.Chapters:0:00 Intro0:31 Meet Kyler Beal and Minivan Productions1:47 Why Minivan moved from Virginia to San Diego3:20 From a bedroom office to a team of three5:35 A scoring system for picking a city6:38 Travel days and documentary work7:42 Team size and the San Diego studio8:52 The partner who fired himself11:48 Replacing a partner's many roles17:02 From creative to company leader19:17 Slicing pie equity after a partner steps back24:16 How Minivan sets its profit sharing24:56 Four buckets of quarterly profit sharing27:10 Why quarterly beats annual30:08 Moving the owners onto salary33:05 The fear of guaranteed payroll34:27 Salary and a lower tax bill37:28 Why Minivan avoids retainers41:01 The first retainer, by exception43:54 Retainers at agencies vs production companies46:50 What is next for Lapse48:37 Seventy percent commercial, thirty percent docs50:33 A grant-funded documentary series52:05 More funding than people think54:00 Business brain or creative brain?56:55 Do grant funders check the final film?59:07 Is most work out there mediocre?1:01:59 Gambling ads and AI content1:04:33 Filtering for client fit1:07:24 Lessons from non-creative industries1:11:30 The story behind the Minivan name1:15:20 Where to find Kyler and MinivanCreatives Grab Coffee is produced by Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company.

Carlos Foster and Stephen Alberts of San Diego's Blue Barn Creative on fourteen years of owner-led production, earning 70 percent repeat business without retainers, using AI to buy back human time, why testimonial clients now want the stumbles left in, and how they kept the company going after losing a founding partner.Chapters:0:00 Intro0:43 Meet Carlos Foster and Stephen Alberts of Blue Barn Creative2:40 2012 and the birth of the brand film3:45 First steps: an office and a glorified freelance outfit6:55 Early clients, cold calls, and wedding films9:17 Small jobs that grew into big brand relationships11:40 Be the helper, not the hero13:04 Moving beyond word of mouth17:09 Yelp, Google, and ChatGPT referrals20:41 Seventy percent return clients, no retainers22:24 Differentiating on relationships26:01 Owner-led as a brand position28:17 Why early competitors did not survive31:10 The Lapse parallel33:38 Using AI to get hours back38:26 When a client's AI invented sound bites39:55 Why people-driven work feels protected41:40 A reality check on generative AI45:55 Testimonials that keep the stumbles50:23 Authenticity, UGC, and coaching interviews55:25 Why Blue Barn runs the interview56:53 Leading clients instead of following them58:25 Losing a founding partner1:00:13 Partnership paperwork and owning your shares1:02:19 The week everything changed1:06:28 Visionaries and integrators1:11:47 Grief, restructuring, and leveling up1:14:13 Choosing to keep Blue Barn going1:17:52 The story behind the Blue Barn name1:21:40 Where to find Blue Barn CreativeGuest: https://bluebarncreative.com/Creatives Grab Coffee is produced by Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company.

Vlad Lapich of LV Productions on going from free promo videos to tech launch videos, rebuilding his website with AI, automating proposals, why cold email died, SEO vs Google Ads, scaling post production, and what to do when a client stops paying.Chapters:0:00 Intro0:38 From Belarus to San Francisco: photographer turned videographer2:06 Free promo videos and the Instagram DM that changed everything4:46 Wearing five hats at a startup, then going solo7:21 GPT-3 cold emails and the first big clients8:13 The team: freelance editors, animators, and DPs8:52 The bottleneck: scaling post without losing quality12:12 Junior prep, senior storytelling: the editing pipeline14:44 Paying editors: hourly vs per project, and picky clients17:30 Rebuilding the website in a week with Cursor22:03 AI for lead intake, proposals, and Video Galaxy27:41 Pricing on the website and the proposal tool30:04 Cold email is dead: 80 percent SEO, 20 percent referrals32:22 SEO takes years, and one Google update can undo it34:00 Why Google Ads did not work in San Francisco38:37 Weddings vs corporate at Lapse41:28 Networking for introverts42:11 Premiere vs DaVinci Resolve44:44 Animation: from 10K videos to offshore competition47:43 Goals for the rest of the year50:53 Claude as bookkeeper: margins, salary, and a missed invoice54:08 LLC vs corporation59:02 Clients who do not pay1:03:46 Invoicing: 50/50 deposits and net terms1:06:38 The story behind the name LV ProductionsCreatives Grab Coffee is produced by Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company.

Rob Arevalo of 17 Projects on launching a video company two months before COVID, marketing with no budget and then with real money, cold calling in New York, government RFPs, toning proposals down for corporate buyers, and why client retention drives growth.Chapters:0:00 Intro1:46 Meet Rob Arevalo and 17 Projects3:13 From the Air Force to launching during COVID6:35 Why keep going when the industry stopped8:13 Corporate clients and the easiest path in10:31 Client retention beats chasing new clients12:59 Systems that keep clients happy as you grow14:38 A two-person core with a deep freelance roster15:57 A thousand cold emails: marketing with no budget18:56 The marketing bets that took 17 Projects full time20:18 How Lapse grew: SEO over paid ads22:40 Evolving the marketing mix year to year24:03 Do mass cold emails still work?27:32 Cold calling in New York29:07 Timing, brand awareness, and staying on the radar32:08 Government contracts and RFPs38:38 What RFPs teach you about proposals39:32 Corporate proposals: make them boring44:24 Expanding to LA, Chicago, and Miami48:54 Competing in NYC: do your recon51:01 Why the name 17 ProjectsCreatives Grab Coffee is produced by Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company. (https://www.lapseproductions.com/).To learn more about the show, visit: https://www.creativesgrabcoffee.com/

Gabe Nazario, founder of Offbeat Creative in Jersey City, joins Dario and Kyrill for a candid, tactical conversation about the business of video in the New York metro. He built Offbeat on the side of producer and editor roles at Fox, Disney, and JP Morgan, then went full time once the profit matched his salary. In this episode: growing slowly and hiring deliberately, why a lean 1099 crew sometimes scares clients, treating AI consulting as an SEO play, the tools that speed up the work, chasing simple-deliverable retainers, and why in a market where everyone makes good videos, you win on trust and follow-up.Guest: Gabe Nazario, Offbeat Creative (https://www.offbeatcreative.co/)Chapters: 0:00 Intro 1:19 Meet Gabe Nazario and Offbeat Creative 2:07 From Fox, Disney, and JP Morgan to going solo 5:09 Making the leap from a corporate job 8:51 A lean core team plus 1099 crew 10:26 Why a small team spooks some clients 12:29 AI consulting as an SEO play 16:39 The AI tools Offbeat actually uses 28:32 Social media: phone-tier content and volume 33:08 Corporate and commercial: the bread and butter 35:00 Chasing retainers for a monthly pillow 42:30 Google reviews, SEO, and the 70/30 split 45:31 Take the one-off 46:59 Jersey City vs New York 49:41 Competition and winning on trust 53:14 The sale is closed on the hello again 1:01:42 The story behind the name OffbeatCreatives Grab Coffee is a podcast on the business of video production, hosted by Dario Nouri and Kyrill Lazarov and produced by Lapse Productions (https://www.lapseproductions.com/).

What happens when a sales guy, not a camera guy, builds a video production company?Rob Weiss started MultiVision Digital 15 years ago in New York City with no portfolio and no editing skills, and has since produced more than 1,700 videos. In this episode he sits down with Dario Nouri and Kyrill Lazarov to break down the system behind that run: batch producing so one shoot day becomes ten deliverables, selling clients on a video-first strategy instead of one-off projects, a trade show sales machine built on business cards and a script he has used for years, niching so hard into manufacturing that he launched a second website, and going chest-deep into AI without burning through the budget.In this episode:- Batch producing, and why you never make just one cookie- How to sell clients on a video-first strategy- Where clients really are on video adoption (a 1 to 10 scale)- The 14-FAQ-video story: aligning budget to goals- A trade show playbook built on "I just want to say hi"- Niching down until you need a second website- The YouTube Shorts epiphany and repurposing to TikTok- Using AI in real client workflows, and pricing it with contingency daysChapters:00:00 Intro: A Sales Guy Who Built a Video Company03:29 Batch Producing: Why You Never Make Just One Cookie05:23 Stop "Just Carving Out Snippets," Plan Your Reels08:41 Selling Clients on a Video-First Strategy11:19 Where Clients Really Are on Video (a 1 to 10 Scale)14:21 Aligning Budget to Goals + the 14-FAQ-Video Story17:34 A Softening Market and Smarter Client Questions20:38 Trade Shows, Business Cards & Planting Seeds24:05 The "I Just Want to Say Hi" Sales Approach29:01 Postcards, QR Codes & Email Sequencing33:57 Running Sales While Running a 5-Person Team40:09 Coming From Sales, Not the Camera43:25 Long-Term Freelancers and a Team Mentality47:21 Why Manufacturing Became the Niche49:55 A Separate "Video For Manufacturing" Website53:46 The YouTube Shorts Epiphany57:40 Going Chest-Deep Into AI Video1:04:07 Pricing AI Work With "Contingency Days"1:08:29 Where AI Video Editing Goes NextGuest: Rob Weiss, MultiVision Digital — https://multivisiondigital.comHosts: Dario Nouri and Kyrill Lazarov of Lapse Productions — https://www.lapseproductions.comCreatives Grab Coffee is a weekly podcast about the business of video production. If you are enjoying the show, follow and leave a review, it genuinely helps. Watch the full video episodes on YouTube and find every episode at https://www.creativesgrabcoffee.com