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Like we weren't working with like massive budgets.
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So it was just trying to figure out like how can we make something look like really polished and really well done on a shoestring budget and still make money.
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Because that's that's the whole crux of being a business owner is like there has to be profit at the end of the day, no matter how cool the product looks.
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Welcome back to Torch Talk, the show where we spotlight bold leaders growing businesses and communities with grit and purpose.
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Mike Myers is a marketing-driven business leader who has built his career around strategy, brand positioning, and driving growth.
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With a background rooted in marketing, Mike has a track record of helping businesses think differently about how they show up and compete.
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Having recently stepped into a new leadership role, he brings the same strategic lens to a broader operational and business context.
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Known for sharing bold perspectives, Mike isn't afraid to challenge conventional thinking, especially when it comes to leadership marketing and what it really takes to build a business that stands out.
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Welcome to Torch Talk Mike.
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It's so nice to have you here today.
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Thank you, and I appreciate you you having me on.
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Okay, so for um people listening, they may not know who you are.
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Tell us a little bit about um your journey, your your your career journey.
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How did you end up where you're at today?
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Talk tell us about Mike, all the things we should know.
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Okay.
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I'll try to keep it succinct, but uh yeah, I kind of went off to college, you know, a million years ago and thought I was gonna be a teacher, and then towards the very end of that career or you know, school career, I discovered photography, mo mostly videography.
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And um I I lived out in California at the time, and there's it's a land of plenty when it comes to video production, and so I just kind of I was like, I guess I'll just finish my bachelor's degree for the sake of finishing because I was the that far into it.
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But I had already dis decided like this is videography and photography is like the thing for me.
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And I really just jumped in like both feet.
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Like I got married later that year after I kind of discovered it.
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We didn't have any money, but my wife and I decided like, yeah, let's spend thousands of dollars on some camera gear.
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And I started shooting weddings, and luckily that that was a good time, it was like 2012, 20 yeah, 2012.
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And the wedding filmmaking industry was really taking off.
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And so I think I booked 40 weddings that first year that I was in business, and so yeah, I kind of we moved back to Ohio and then I kind of got introduced to the commercial corporate world and worked for an agency for a few years and then ventured out on my own in like 2016 and uh did that for 10 years, um pretty much almost 10 years exactly.
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Um and just due to some life circumstances and things like that, um I put a pause on that.
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I put a you know, maybe we're not gonna do this for a while, uh, or maybe not ever again.
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And I took a position um as a marketing director for a local business in Millersburg that um I'm obviously still doing a lot of like video and photo, but there's a lot of other things associated with that's a really big career shift.
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It is a really big career shift.
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I mean, even going from doing weddings to agency and like commercial creative, that's a pretty big shift, but you were still with using the same like skills.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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But going from running your own video agency to being a marketing director at a company, that's a because I did the opposite.
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So I was a marketing director at a company and then started my own agency.
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Right, right, right.
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Um yeah, it was huge.
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And like, yeah, I made some good choices and some bad choices.
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Like I I actually ended the wedding stuff December of 2019.
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Um, and I was like, I'm just gonna focus solely on commercial and corporate.
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And that was like a blessing in disguise because every wedding in the world was cancelled within four months, and um, and everybody needed had this big desire, or not even a desire, a need for video live streaming this, live streaming that during COVID and stuff like that.
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So um yeah, there's it was it was kind of just kind of shifting and ebbing and flowing, and like I said, like my it was not an easy decision by any means to kind of stop working for myself, you know.
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I had done it for 10 years and I would I guess I would position myself as like a quote unquote solopreneur.
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I was kind of I would hire contractors and things like that, but for the most part it was just me, and so I had full control over my schedule and things like that.
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So I knew like that was the end of that for for a while.
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So what are some of your favorite projects that you did during that time?
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You did different styles of videography, so talk us through like what types of video projects you would have done.
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Sure.
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I mean, I think it everything has kind of always led back, even back to the weddings, and up until now is just telling stories, and I think that's you know, to use the to combat a little bit with the like AI world, which I've embraced a little more than uh I thought I would originally, but uh that's kind of always been my position as like um just telling real authentic stories, and you can't fake that and you can't program that, and you have to just sit across from somebody with a camera or two and just ask real questions and you know get their real raw and raw answers.
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And I never really considered myself like a journalist uh until like a few years ago, and I'm like, I guess that's kind of like what I do, is like I really just kind of sit there and try to pull out all of the different things.
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So I think definitely telling stories, but then there were like other completely on the opposite side of that was like commercial grade.
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Some of the most fun projects that we did were like clients coming to us and being like, we want to do like a Super Bowl-esque commercial.
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Now they didn't have Super Bowl money, but it was like, well, let's try to figure out a way to like do something super creative, write a script, you know, hire a cinematographer, hire audio, hire all you know, a full crew, and like make this like as close to like what you would want to see, like better than local better than local TV commercials, but not quite like a you know, a million dollar, two million dollar ad.
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Yeah.
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And so we we got creative and and those were some really, really, really fun, very stressful shoots.
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There's a lot to coordinate when you're doing things like that.
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Yes, as we understand when there's talent involved, yeah.
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Uh you you really and and just things are so expensive in that world that you're like, we gotta make this work in a 10-hour day.
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Like we have to make this work.
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Welcome, like mini movie making.
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Yeah, it's like this has to be we have to like just and that was what I I enjoyed as like a producer, was like I enjoyed I enjoy the creative and I enjoy being behind a camera and shooting and editing and things like that, but I really embraced the producing aspect of like, all right, we gotta get on set at 5 a.m.
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We gotta get we have to be set up, talent needs to get there at 6, hair and makeup needs to be there at 6 15.
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Like just kind of like the analytical, like logistics of making it all work, and by 5 p.m., that's a wrap, and hopefully we pray that we got everything we need.
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There is nothing worse though than going back and looking at your footage and be like, oh, we missed it, right?
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Yeah, yeah.
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We just like, all right, let's figure out and edit, and that's the magic of editing is like how do we kind of I mean that's that is kind of script rewriting where it's like, well, we didn't get exactly what we thought we would get, so let's figure out a way to pivot and adapt.
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Make it work.
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Yeah.
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So yeah, that's those are some of my more they were very proud moments too, because it was like, like I said, like we weren't working with like massive budgets.
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So it was just trying to figure out like how can we make something look like really polished and really well done, but on a shoestring budget, and still make money, like because that's that's the whole crux of being a business owner.
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Is like, well, there has to be profit at the end of the day, no matter how cool a product looks.
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So are there is there anything that you wish business owners knew or you could tell them about um videography for how they should be implementing that into their marketing strategy?
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Like what's something you just wish you could have said to everybody all the time?
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I thought I was shouting it from the rooftops, but I guess I wasn't doing it loud enough.
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Uh I really just think I think, you know, the economy is always ebbs and flows, and it's a roller coaster, and people freak out, and there's tariffs and there's presidential elections and there's things like that, and people like sorry, people start kind of freaking out and like putting a pause on spending, and I always joke with people, which is not it's not really a joke, where it's like the first thing that people businesses seem to cut when like the economy's bad and things don't look good is marketing, and the first thing within marketing is video production because it just for some reason and like even even in weddings, like all right, we've got the caterer, we got the flowers, we got the cake, we got the venue, we got the photographer.
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Do we have enough money for video?
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Okay, and I feel like that's kind of always been the mantra for everyone where it's just like it's not a necessity, but and but I just don't understand how businesses can look at the analytics of like you know, 85, probably more now, percent of content that's consumed online is video.
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Well, I would say that perception has changed on the business side now because of that.
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Yeah, yeah.
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The difference and something that we kind of struggle with internally as my videography team sits behind us watching us is what we struggle with is the long form storytelling videos.
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Like the people are trained for short form and their attention span is short.
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And they're also trained for reading captions on a video, and that goes against every videographer who's an artist.
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Like that's your worst nightmare because you you want to tell a story very cinematically and like capture people.
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But social media has trained us to get something short, quick, fast, right, and they want to be able to read it while they're watching it.
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So that's the whole problem.
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But in general, I would say from talking with businesses, they understand video has to be a part of their strategy.
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Whether that means we're doing a long form video or short form video, that's up for debate.
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But it's really not an option anymore.
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Right.
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One of the things that I was very passionate and still am, uh, but really towards the end was like the strategy behind because really when people would come for video or we would start having conversations about video, it was like, well, so and so told me I should have video or or whatever.
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And and so I obviously we were still doing the production aspect of things, but I really wanted to start becoming like a strategy of like, okay, well, if you spend five thousand or ten thousand or crazy amount of money on a video, then what?
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Like, what are you gonna do with it?
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Like, are you gonna put it on YouTube?
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Are you gonna put it behind are you gonna put ad money behind it?
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Are you gonna put it on MCTV local?
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Are you gonna put it on Facebook?
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Is it gonna get 12 views?
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Like, do you know your audience?
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If and if you somehow like this magic potion works where it's like you just randomly put it out there, and then all of a sudden you have like 200% more inquiries in your website.
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Is your website and is your workflow even capable of handing handling that?
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So it really just like starting, and because I started in the agency realm of like web development and things like that, I could work backwards of like, well, your website doesn't even look like we we need things to match up a little bit.
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Right.
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Get your website, get your branding, get your logo.
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You know, if you don't have any of that stuff, let's not even talk about video yet.
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Why would I do a high quality video if your website doesn't look the same?
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They're not gonna have the same experience.
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Yeah, we have those conversations a lot with our clients too.
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And it goes beyond that, like we can make it all look good, but what if your people aren't good?
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So that's a whole different like they need to have the same experience with you in real life as what they're having through your website or through your videos.
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So I mean, yeah, and being in business long as long as I have been in this industry, I've learned to just cut ties with people that you don't necessarily see eye to eye on, or you know, you don't have to agree on everything, but there is that vetting process of like, well, I don't think I would want to make a video for you because I don't think I'd want to send people to like work with you, or you know, like you said, like so just that whole just just figuring out.
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But I think, yeah, I I do agree with the you know, obviously, and I and I we pivoted, I was I'm very like malleable and like can I I'm not above any AI was probably the it's been has probably been the hardest thing as a creative to kind of overcome, but it's very valuable in a lot of aspects.
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But I've always been like very flexible in like all right, now we pivot to editing vertically, or we add like that's that's a hard like when you're shooting cinematically for so long, uh, and then you're like ah, just throw everything out and just flip the camera sideways, and it was it was hard.
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And but I think like I've always been pretty flexible in that, but and just kind of educating.
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I think businesses are just this typical business owners and marketing managers and directors are very overwhelmed with what do I even do, especially with video, because it's like, well, do I make funny TikToks?
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Do I do I do like more serious like sit-down client testimonials?
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Do I do a brand story?
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Like I only have X amount of money, like or and especially time, especially when it comes to social.
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Like I don't have 20, 30, 40 hours a week just to focus on social media, like so.
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What do I do?
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What's the most important?
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And I think it's just all dependent on your own.
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How have you taken that background now and applied it to your role working within one company?
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And like I guess have you been able to implement some of those ideas and what does that look like?
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Like what's working for you now?
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Sure.
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I mean, it's funny because like going into like a marketing director role, like then you're overseeing every aspect of marketing.
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And so it it pains me to like not use video as much as I want to, and though I I'm very lucky with the skill set that I have as a as a marketing director, because I have background in web development and graphic design.
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I can do I can personally do all the things, but I just don't have the bandwidth or the time.
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And so it's like prioritizing like yeah, video, like getting all the all the things in my mind the menial tasks of like, all right, yeah, we gotta we gotta work with the SEO, we gotta do those things.
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I don't whatever, like we those are necessary things, but also like don't get me excited about it.
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And then focusing on like the things that actually people see.
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But I know like they're all intertwined and people are not gonna see that content unless the SEO and things like that are working how they should be.
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And if our website's not up to snuff and things like that.
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So but I I think I've been trying as I've kind of settled more into this role, like getting more into video.
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And I've seen some of the you got some good social media posts showing the personality out there, I think.
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Which is needed because I know the company, I've been around them enough to know that they didn't have a very good public presence.
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And so you're starting to get it out there.
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Yeah, and I think I think the biggest key with businesses is like especially service-based, like we are, is we people just want to talk about all the services they do.
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And no one I'm just learning, it's there's so much noise, like it doesn't even matter.
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Like, yeah, we do waterproofing and we do these things, and it's like no one really cares, I don't think.
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Um, but where I'm trying to lean in, which I've always tried to lean into with clients in the past, is just like who you are, the culture that you embody, who you are at the core, what's important to you, what are your core values, what's your mission?
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And so that's that's the type of content that I'm trying to lean in with anything that I do right now, or it's just like once you get people hooked with that, like wow, these even from like a a career standpoint, like people looking for a job, like wow, I really want to work for that company because they seem like they value their employees or whatever.
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We utilize social media and marketing in general as almost as much for recruiting as we do for clients, because everybody who's looking for a job is gonna I mean that's what they're doing first.
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They're gonna go do their homework and check us all out online and see, you know, what are we all about?
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So sometimes we're like, okay, our TikTok strategy is only for new employees.
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So that is not for clients.
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Right, right, right.
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Right.
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There's a mix there from a present standpoint.
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But yeah, service-based businesses, there's definitely a struggle.
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Everybody well, and in your industry, in you know, what you do, you don't it's competitive, but it's different.
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Like with roofing, there's a thousand roofers out there and they all want to say the same thing.
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So, really what makes them different is who they are, yeah.
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Um, from a people standpoint, and so if they can showcase that, that they then it can help them stand out in a competitive market.
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Yeah, and I'm learning a lot, I'm learning more and more that there are way more waterproofers, like basement waterproofers in Ohio than I thought there were.
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I'm like, ah, there's I don't know any when I started a year ago, and now it's like, oh, there's there's quite a few.
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But the positioning that I'm like the consistent thing that I'm seeing on all of their websites and things like that is just like there it's nameless, faceless.
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It's just like we are this waterproofing company, but they don't there's no owners, there's no pictures of people the people that work there, and so that's what I'm leaning into with what we do.
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It's like let's just show the show the people, show the guys working out in the field, show the people in the office.
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And yeah, I I would but bandwidth is just yeah, it's a real thing for anybody where it's just like I don't have the time.
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Sometimes I'm sitting at my desk for eight hours, and sometimes I'm I have time to go out and like you know, grab some phone clips or take my camera out or whatever.
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Let's talk a little bit.
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You mentioned AI.
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I saw a post you made recently.
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Yes.
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I follow you on LinkedIn and you said you made like 600 pages.
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Yeah.
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Or what or what?
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What was it?
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Yeah, so that's one of the like as a as a marketing director.
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So I've I I have this this catch 22 with AI because like as a creative, I you know, I I see AI art and even AI video and photo generation, and like obviously it's getting better and better every day.
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And but as like an artist who's like honed to craft, it's like you know, we all feel that pain a little bit.
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But and I understand there's there's various aspects.
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Like I watched first it hit AI voice replacement, like for voiceover artists, and even even towards the agency, like of like SEO and web development and things like that, it's like how do we how do we come?
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I don't envy that position right now because like how do we combat that or how do we leverage it to like benefit us?
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I was just curious about the strategy around that many pages because I I mean we so we utilize AI.
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Yeah, yeah.
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We talk about we were, you know, we offer SEO as a service here, right?
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And I was like, huh, that's pretty controversial.
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That's what I was thinking whenever I read your post, but I was like, I wonder why you would want that many pages.
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I mean, it makes sense, but like 600 seems like a whole lot, right?
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Going from like five pages, I don't know how many you have, but like that many.
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There's there is a strategy behind that, but I think every we're all trying to figure out AI.
00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:20.000
It's what's interesting about our community, you know, we're from a small mostly uh community, very conservative, service-based business hub, huge.
00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:25.839
And I don't know um how, you know, half of them are still doing things on paper.
00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:31.839
They're writing their estimates, they're doing their sales this way, they're not using CRMs, they're barely using the technology that's available to them now.
00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:35.920
How do these service-based businesses move from where they're at to the future?
00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:46.559
And I think we are trying to position ourselves as that partner so that they they're but at the same time, we're struggling with the same things you do, which is like, I don't want to see any more AI generated flyers.
00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:48.640
They all look the same, they're branded the same.
00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:52.799
Like I do think, I mean, at some point the AI is going to be better than that, right?
00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:56.480
So it'll actually be able to follow a brand guide and make things that are unique and different.
00:21:56.640 --> 00:22:02.400
Right now, they just look the same, but um, it feels A little bit, I keep telling people it feels like the Wild West.
00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:07.039
Like it feels like in 07 when the iPhone was introduced and then the whole world changed.
00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:09.200
Like we're on the cusp of something.
00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:15.119
And I don't know if we all know exactly what that looks like yet, specifically in marketing, which affects the job that we have.
00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:21.759
But if it can help the marketing director who's in a solo role have more support or do things more efficiently, right?
00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:24.960
Then um, you know, that's a great opportunity.
00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:25.279
Yeah.
00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:33.119
And then how do we utilize that as an agency partner so that we're able to help our clients maybe move into this century a little bit quicker?
00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:33.759
I don't know.
00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:36.160
We'll have to figure that out as we go through it.
00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:36.720
Yeah.
00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:37.200
Yeah.
00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:50.880
And yeah, like the the the amount of pages is like you said, it's like an obscene amount of, I mean, it was like what it's like drilled down to like if somebody searches like within a town of like it's like 3,000 people.
00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:57.039
Like I was just trying to be like, let's see like what works and kind of you know work backwards.
00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:04.880
But um, you know, real I was just really taking advantage of the technology to see like if and and like it's worth testing.
00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:07.119
Yeah, let's see if it works or if it doesn't.
00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:17.039
Yeah, and we flipped the script on like like historically, like the top three search keywords are like our name, which is like not what we want.
00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:29.200
Like we want like people like in a desperation of like, I've got water in my basement, like I'm gonna go to Google and search, you know, water in my basement or whatever, and find us.
00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:37.440
Like, and it's like that's I I I am noticing like we've actually we have flipped the script on that.
00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:41.039
Um, of like we're not it's not just our name that people are searching.
00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:45.039
Um, so that that that feels good, feels like we're moving in the right direction.
00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:53.440
But there's just there's so much, and like yeah, AI is yeah, I I'm I'm I keep going back and forth.
00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:59.279
I feel like I'm a ping pong ball because I'm like, it's great, it's the worst, it's great, it's the worst.
00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:07.359
Um I feel that I mean I'm in the field and I mean I feel the same way about social media, like everybody else is like, I'm taking a social media break.
00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:09.599
I'm like, I'm on 95 Facebook pages.
00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:11.039
Can I cut this from my life?
00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:11.759
Absolutely not.
00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:24.559
But part of me wants to throw my phone away and go live in the woods for a month, and part of me, the other part is like, well, this is how I make money, so that I don't have the option to like just check out and pretend like AI doesn't exist for a little bit.
00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:27.279
But um it's it's hard.
00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:30.400
Yeah, yeah, and I've come kind of full circle.
00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:59.279
Uh uh, you know, I would ashamedly say, like, I would used to be ashamed, but now I'm like as far as like video generation, like I've been messing around with it enough where it's like obviously it's not quite like up to snuff, but it is up to snuff enough where it's like for a customer or a business that's like we just don't have any money to do video.
00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:02.720
And that was that was the wall I hit for ten years.
00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:13.599
It's just like we've you know, we've got a little bit of money, and then it would it was always like uh like that's not even it's not even gonna scratch the surface with with what we could actually do.
00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:15.519
And so the conversation would end.
00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:22.640
So that that's kind of my I think that will save some video agencies and people offering videos of service.
00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:51.839
It's like, well, hey, we we don't we can do video, it's not gonna be like a real real technicians and real cameras and things like that, but maybe we can figure out a way where it's not like super cheesy, maybe it is super cheesy, it doesn't matter, um, and like figure out a solution for the the smaller budgets, or if you have a really great idea that you think is gonna like be great for the client, but they're like, Yeah, we just don't have that kind of money.
00:25:52.160 --> 00:26:01.279
Instead of like waiting, like when they do have the money, like let's try to figure out a solution where we could maybe do a hybrid or maybe it's all AI or something.
00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:02.319
I don't know.
00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:10.640
I'm I'm trying to be optimistic about it, and I've used it um in my current role, just like being silly and like messing around.
00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:14.400
What are you using for video editing, like AI editing?
00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:20.240
Um I I'm totally blanking on the service that I use for video generation.
00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:39.279
Uh yeah, I I'm not obviously because I have editing experience, I'll just I'll generate the clips, what I want, and then I'll pull it down into like premiere and then like edit, splice it together, and then do you know sound design or music, add all the different things.
00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:49.519
Um but yeah, it's crazy when you think about all the tools that exist out there, like what you could actually potentially make if you're not completely shut off to it.
00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:55.680
We had a team meeting recently and we're working through like how is AI gonna impact each of the services that we have.
00:26:55.839 --> 00:27:03.359
Um and really at the end of the day, most AI is implemented into almost every single tool.
00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:04.640
We just don't realize it's AI.
00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:10.240
Sometimes it just feels like a software update or it's so integrated that it's just a part of it.
00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:26.720
So I know um there's certain aspects of video editing where we're utilizing AI for like cutting or voiceovers or like things like that that used to be either very expensive or a lot more time um was needed to get that done on the social media side.
00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:34.000
I mean, like Canva has a bunch of AI tools, but I just don't I don't think of those as AI when they're tools integrated into something you're already using.
00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:34.480
Yeah.
00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:41.839
Um so I think that we after reviewing that as a team, we're actually utilizing it more than we even realize we're utilizing it.
00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:44.480
And maybe that is the same for other people as well.
00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:49.440
But it does feel like, again, like we're just kind of on the cusp with something different, something new.
00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:50.880
What does this look like?
00:27:51.200 --> 00:28:00.559
But you know, I think from a consumer standpoint, the real authentic things, the interacting with a real person is going to become more valuable.
00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:08.880
It's going to feel it's gonna really stand out if everybody ends up doing everything that is AI generated and it's doesn't feel as personalized.
00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.119
But then on then I talk myself right out of it, right?
00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:14.799
Like, so then I'm like, well, can you use AI to create a more personalized website experience?
00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:19.920
Like there's just so many questions with what it could look like and what is this, you know, what's the future?
00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:20.480
Yeah.
00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:25.920
Yeah, I mean, I think we've been using it, especially as videographers and filmmakers and photographers.
00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:40.799
AI has existed, and we have always accepted like even like silly things like image stabilization in cameras and things like that, that there is a variation of AI of the like, and then like I don't know, your editors can attest to this.
00:28:40.960 --> 00:29:00.880
The the greatest invention or you know, revolution in editing that happened for me like three or four years ago in Premiere was uh you whenever you would like you know, you'd buy like a three-minute royalty-free song, and then you'd have to like splice it, like you'd have to like manually edit it.
00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:13.599
Well, Premiere came out with like a tool where you could just like have AI, like you could just drag the song like to however long you wanted it, and it would re-configure the track.
00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:17.519
And I so like at that point I was like, this is the greatest thing.
00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:19.599
Like I would spend hours, yeah.
00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:33.920
So like I've I've been all in about a certain AI tools where it's like that that was like the greatest, like the most revolutionary day of my life, where it's like I used to spend hours like tweaking audio and music, and then all of a sudden it was just like easy.
00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:35.599
Now you don't have to worry about that.
00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:36.960
I was like, all right.
00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:56.319
So we've been embracing it for and as a photographer, like you know, editing photos and things like that, like the you know, some of the magic like blemish removal things and things like that is like you don't have to spend hours dodging and burning and Photoshop used to be everybody's friend.
00:29:57.119 --> 00:29:58.960
Well, yeah, and it was like really, really hard.
00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:08.240
It was like the entry barrier, like the barrier to like know it is like very like you really have to spend a ton of time.
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:13.680
So, you know, you know, I think there's goods and there's good and bad of all things.
00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:24.480
I think with photography being a lot more accessible and editing being a lot more accessible, there's obviously an influx of a lot more photographers, and so the market is like wonky and things like that.
00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:26.960
Supply and demand's a little bit out of balance right now.
00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:32.640
It is, it is so it's like you know, in and even with video, it's like I always joke.
00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:52.559
I still shoot weddings every now and then, and I always joke with like newer wedding videographers that are like younger, like they have like image stabilization and cameras, they've got like all of these really high-powered mirrorless cameras, and I started like I feel like the old the this old guy was like back in my day, but like I'm like, you guys have it so easy right now.
00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:56.960
Like you don't, but it's it still takes craft and like things like that.
00:30:57.039 --> 00:30:59.680
But I'm like, I just always I always joke.
00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:07.920
But technology is an amazing thing, and it's the way that it has developed in the last 10-15 years is absolutely insane.
00:31:08.880 --> 00:31:12.079
It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next 10 or 15 years.
00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:14.240
Let's so what do you see?
00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:17.359
Um how you've been in your new role now for like a year, you said?
00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:18.960
About almost a year, yeah.
00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:20.799
So, what what's coming up for you?
00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:23.440
What do you see over the next year or two, three?
00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:27.279
Um, like what's exciting or what are you looking forward to?
00:31:28.400 --> 00:31:29.119
I don't know.
00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:44.880
I think I think for this specific role that I'm in, it's I'm still in a learning period where it's like I knew nothing about anything that I could do other than the actual like marketing aspect.
00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:53.359
But just still learning every day of like, oh, that's a service that we offer, or that's a product that we have.
00:31:53.599 --> 00:32:02.240
Um and really just um because there's actually two companies um that I kind of oversee.
00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:05.680
Um there's just like a lot.
00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:23.359
Um, so I think what I'm looking forward to is kind of like spreading the love out a little bit and just trying to figure out like figure out what where I need to where I really need to hone my attention on, and then maybe bringing other people or vendors or contractors or whatnot.
00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:40.799
Um, but I I think there I you know it'll be interesting, I think, as I'm I'm always looking at like obviously the the economy and like where things are and then the housing market, and it feels like that's not slowing down at all.
00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:55.920
But then it could stop, and then if the houses aren't being built or you know money dries up or something like that, then people aren't gonna like be fixing their house as much as they are now or things like that.
00:32:56.079 --> 00:33:18.240
So I'm just kind of cool always keeping my finger on the pulse of like what's um obviously I'm not in charge of the sales aspect or thing or pursuing new work, um, but just like how we're reaching um potential customers and and really we have in the in the eco seal, they we have like two divisions.
00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:58.559
One's like new construction, which is working with home builders and like contractors, and then the other side is the homeowner, and so and the the other side is the homeowner where it's like uh you know, either there's water in my basement or whatever, and so really just kind of connecting with growing that aspect, growing the direct to consumer, because we've got a lot of really great relationships with builders and things like that, but trying to grow that like relationship, and and I think one of the things I'm passionate about is is the customer experience and that really directly correlates with marketing.
00:33:59.039 --> 00:34:39.760
And I think that's like you were saying, like a lot of like I think up until like a year or so ago, they were like we were still on paper, we were still printing, like them they told me the amount of paper they used to go through, and I was just like, man, we're saving some trees now, but like but yeah, a lot of businesses aren't they're just they don't have the systems, the CRMs, and then because they don't have those in place, the customer experience lacks a little bit where it's like we could be using all these tools like texting and right all of these things where it's like, hey, we're we're coming out to look at your house, don't forget, um, or whatever whatever whatever that is.
00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:59.280
So I think what I'm passionate about is kind of bridging the gap of like and that's just working with like our sales team and our you know our operations of like all right, so we get like an ink inquiry through the website or through whatever, then what happens?
00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:10.559
Like, and if it comes through the weekend, like does anybody respond to that, or is it like we wait till Monday, or so I it's just figuring out like all of those different things.
00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:17.599
So I think that's what I'm looking forward to kind of growing and some more cohesion, yeah, clarity.
00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:33.360
Yeah, just the whole experience and just like making it easier for sales guys to send proposals and it all working within one system of like and it's a lot easier to market a well-oiled machine than it is to market something that you know could be a little bit messy after the fact.
00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:39.599
Right, yeah, and and just even like random leads coming from and we're not tracking well or you know, whatever.
00:35:40.079 --> 00:35:56.719
It's like if we have a system where we know like X amount of customers came from here and X amount of customers came from there, let's now we know where to spend our money next year, or maybe we can pivot and direct our attention towards that.
00:35:57.119 --> 00:36:19.599
Um but yeah, there it is, it it it is interesting coming going from like video is my world, and I don't need to worry about mailers and I don't know, lead generation, sales teams, things like that where it's like just even those mediums where it's like now I'm like, oh yeah, that's a thing that people do.
00:36:19.760 --> 00:36:31.599
Oh yeah, that's like I I could just make videos all day and I would be happy, but yeah, there's there's things like oh yeah, we need to be updating our website and things like that consistently.
00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:42.400
And so yeah, that's kind of but using video more is we'll figure out a way to slide that in there, is definitely at the top of the list.
00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:42.880
Okay.
00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:43.920
So yeah.
00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:54.159
Um, well, I'm excited for you to be in the new role and see what um, you know, it's just always good to connect with another local marketing person and have a relationship there.
00:36:54.239 --> 00:36:54.960
So yeah.
00:36:55.199 --> 00:37:01.519
Um if somebody wanted to connect with you or learn more, tell us.
00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:03.920
I guess we haven't we've talked a lot about like that.
00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:05.360
You work for a service-based business.
00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:06.159
You mentioned the name.
00:37:06.239 --> 00:37:07.360
Tell us where where do you work?
00:37:07.599 --> 00:37:07.920
Sure.
00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:12.079
Uh I'm marketing director at EcoSeal Home Solutions.
00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:17.599
Um, and I still do like freelance video work and photo work.
00:37:17.920 --> 00:37:24.079
Um again, bandwidth and time is always less and less.
00:37:24.159 --> 00:37:32.559
But um, how is the best place to to connect with you through LinkedIn or is there any other Yeah, yeah, I think that's I I'm trying to utilize that more.
00:37:32.639 --> 00:37:44.159
I went to a social media marketing conference last week and those were the conversations and those were the like seminars that I like honed in on the most was how to use LinkedIn more.
00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:58.559
And I think it's become a kind of a Facebook uh sister uh where it's just like people are posting anything and everything, but also I think it's like I don't I it's crazy to me.
00:37:58.639 --> 00:38:06.239
I think they gave a statistic statistic of like how many people are actually like posting and utilizing LinkedIn that are on it.
00:38:06.320 --> 00:38:07.440
It's like two percent.
00:38:07.599 --> 00:38:08.559
Uh crazy.
00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:09.920
Like it's a very low number.
00:38:10.320 --> 00:38:13.280
And it's like, well, I think it's actually LinkedIn is actually high.
00:38:13.360 --> 00:38:27.840
I found this job and it wasn't even a job when I I just kind of posted into the ether like, hey, a year ago it was like I I'm I'm gonna be closing closing the doors on the business.
00:38:28.239 --> 00:38:30.000
And that I just shared that.
00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:39.840
I didn't even I wasn't even like fishing for jobs, I was just like, you know, this is kind of I was just kind of letting customers and other people in the world know.
00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:53.440
And uh somebody commented, somebody that I connected with, but I never never had actually met, and he's like, Hey, like my buddy owns this waterproofing, and I was just having a conversation with him last night about how they want to hire a marketing person.
00:38:53.760 --> 00:38:55.760
And I was like, send me his email.
00:38:56.079 --> 00:38:57.599
And then the rest of the month.
00:38:57.920 --> 00:39:20.960
A month yeah, a month later I was sitting down with them and going over contract, and so yeah, it's I think LinkedIn can be a powerful tool, especially because you're all there for like a a specific reason, and it's not just like Facebook or Instagram where it's like let's just gonna post anything and everything, but yeah, so long answer, but yeah, I think LinkedIn is probably the best.
00:39:21.119 --> 00:39:26.000
I'm there and probably posting about how much I love or hate AI.
00:39:26.719 --> 00:39:29.440
Depending on the day, depending on the day or hour.
00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:30.880
So yeah.
00:39:31.199 --> 00:39:31.920
We're right there with you.
00:39:32.079 --> 00:39:32.159
Yeah.
00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:36.400
We're just not allowed to say we don't like it publicly, only on a podcast.
00:39:36.639 --> 00:39:37.760
So Yeah.
00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:40.639
Yeah, I it's it's a love or hate.
00:39:40.719 --> 00:40:01.039
And I think I don't I think anybody would be crazy to not like be like cautious, but also like optimistic, cautiously optimistic of like what could be, what can be, um, but also not just throwing out the fact that we're humans and we have creativity and things like that.
00:40:01.199 --> 00:40:08.400
We we've leaned a little too hard into the like you said, the flyers and people were making logos, sorry, side trail.
00:40:08.480 --> 00:40:23.840
Somebody called me last week and they were like, Hey, I want I'm trying to it was a past customer that I had built a website for, and they're like, We we're changing our brand and we want to get a vehicle rep and we made the logo with AI, and they had no vector files or any of that stuff.
00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:26.880
And I was like, You're gonna have to hire a graphic designer.
00:40:27.199 --> 00:40:33.199
We we just um had somebody come out to us with a branding and they had created it a logo with AI.
00:40:33.360 --> 00:40:36.559
They did not have the expectation it was done, they were doing it for a concept, thank goodness.
00:40:36.800 --> 00:40:40.960
Okay, because we basically had to yeah, we have to rebuild it because there's they're not workable files.
00:40:41.119 --> 00:40:41.599
Yeah, yeah.
00:40:41.760 --> 00:40:46.880
Um like that's part of the problem with the AI generated things, is they're not editable.
00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:47.280
Right.
00:40:47.440 --> 00:40:49.760
Like you you can't just tweak it a little bit.
00:40:49.920 --> 00:41:04.639
You have to rebuild the whole thing from scratch if you want to change one element or give it 15 prompts to get it to make it the way that you want it, which is also then how much time did I just spend built doing this thing when I could have just, you know, I mean somebody and it goes, yeah.
00:41:04.880 --> 00:41:24.320
Sorry, I it goes back to the yeah, like before AI existed, it was like, you know, my my buddy is a graphic designer, phenomenal graphic designer, and it would always be like people just come like with the very specific thing that they wanted, and if they knew how to use Illustrator, then they would just do it themselves type of mentality.
00:41:24.480 --> 00:41:28.559
And it's like you are, you know, we are creative for a reason.
00:41:28.719 --> 00:41:32.079
Um you are hiring us for our creativity and things like that.
00:41:32.239 --> 00:41:40.079
So hopefully, hopefully that's not lost, and we can still exercise the creative bones in our bodies.
00:41:40.159 --> 00:41:41.519
So we'll see what happens.
00:41:41.679 --> 00:41:42.000
Yes.
00:41:42.239 --> 00:41:43.920
Thanks so much for joining me today, Mike.
00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:46.239
It was really good to just have a transparent conversation.
00:41:46.320 --> 00:41:47.760
We talked a little bit about our challenges.
00:41:47.840 --> 00:41:51.679
It'll be exciting to see what happens with you and what happens with EcoSeal over the next year.
00:41:51.920 --> 00:41:53.119
And we'll have to stay connected.
00:41:53.360 --> 00:41:53.679
For sure.
00:41:53.840 --> 00:41:54.559
Thank you for having me.
00:41:54.639 --> 00:41:55.199
I appreciate it.
00:41:55.360 --> 00:41:55.599
Yep.
00:41:55.679 --> 00:41:57.280
Thanks for tuning into Torch Talk.
00:41:57.360 --> 00:42:02.960
If today's story sparks something for you, share it with a colleague, community leader, or future change maker.
00:42:03.199 --> 00:42:08.000
Until next time, stay inspired, stay intentional, and keep your fire burning.
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Like we weren't working with like massive budgets.
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So it was just trying to figure out like how can we make something look like really polished and really well done on a shoestring budget and still make money.
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Because that's that's the whole crux of being a business owner is like there has to be profit at the end of the day, no matter how cool the product looks.
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Welcome back to Torch Talk, the show where we spotlight bold leaders growing businesses and communities with grit and purpose.
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Mike Myers is a marketing-driven business leader who has built his career around strategy, brand positioning, and driving growth.
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With a background rooted in marketing, Mike has a track record of helping businesses think differently about how they show up and compete.
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Having recently stepped into a new leadership role, he brings the same strategic lens to a broader operational and business context.
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Known for sharing bold perspectives, Mike isn't afraid to challenge conventional thinking, especially when it comes to leadership marketing and what it really takes to build a business that stands out.
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Welcome to Torch Talk Mike.
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It's so nice to have you here today.
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Thank you, and I appreciate you you having me on.
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Okay, so for um people listening, they may not know who you are.
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Tell us a little bit about um your journey, your your your career journey.
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How did you end up where you're at today?
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Talk tell us about Mike, all the things we should know.
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Okay.
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I'll try to keep it succinct, but uh yeah, I kind of went off to college, you know, a million years ago and thought I was gonna be a teacher, and then towards the very end of that career or you know, school career, I discovered photography, mo mostly videography.
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And um I I lived out in California at the time, and there's it's a land of plenty when it comes to video production, and so I just kind of I was like, I guess I'll just finish my bachelor's degree for the sake of finishing because I was the that far into it.
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But I had already dis decided like this is videography and photography is like the thing for me.
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And I really just jumped in like both feet.
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Like I got married later that year after I kind of discovered it.
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We didn't have any money, but my wife and I decided like, yeah, let's spend thousands of dollars on some camera gear.
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And I started shooting weddings, and luckily that that was a good time, it was like 2012, 20 yeah, 2012.
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And the wedding filmmaking industry was really taking off.
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And so I think I booked 40 weddings that first year that I was in business, and so yeah, I kind of we moved back to Ohio and then I kind of got introduced to the commercial corporate world and worked for an agency for a few years and then ventured out on my own in like 2016 and uh did that for 10 years, um pretty much almost 10 years exactly.
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Um and just due to some life circumstances and things like that, um I put a pause on that.
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I put a you know, maybe we're not gonna do this for a while, uh, or maybe not ever again.
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And I took a position um as a marketing director for a local business in Millersburg that um I'm obviously still doing a lot of like video and photo, but there's a lot of other things associated with that's a really big career shift.
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It is a really big career shift.
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I mean, even going from doing weddings to agency and like commercial creative, that's a pretty big shift, but you were still with using the same like skills.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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But going from running your own video agency to being a marketing director at a company, that's a because I did the opposite.
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So I was a marketing director at a company and then started my own agency.
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Right, right, right.
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Um yeah, it was huge.
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And like, yeah, I made some good choices and some bad choices.
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Like I I actually ended the wedding stuff December of 2019.
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Um, and I was like, I'm just gonna focus solely on commercial and corporate.
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And that was like a blessing in disguise because every wedding in the world was cancelled within four months, and um, and everybody needed had this big desire, or not even a desire, a need for video live streaming this, live streaming that during COVID and stuff like that.
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So um yeah, there's it was it was kind of just kind of shifting and ebbing and flowing, and like I said, like my it was not an easy decision by any means to kind of stop working for myself, you know.
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I had done it for 10 years and I would I guess I would position myself as like a quote unquote solopreneur.
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I was kind of I would hire contractors and things like that, but for the most part it was just me, and so I had full control over my schedule and things like that.
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So I knew like that was the end of that for for a while.
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So what are some of your favorite projects that you did during that time?
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You did different styles of videography, so talk us through like what types of video projects you would have done.
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Sure.
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I mean, I think it everything has kind of always led back, even back to the weddings, and up until now is just telling stories, and I think that's you know, to use the to combat a little bit with the like AI world, which I've embraced a little more than uh I thought I would originally, but uh that's kind of always been my position as like um just telling real authentic stories, and you can't fake that and you can't program that, and you have to just sit across from somebody with a camera or two and just ask real questions and you know get their real raw and raw answers.
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And I never really considered myself like a journalist uh until like a few years ago, and I'm like, I guess that's kind of like what I do, is like I really just kind of sit there and try to pull out all of the different things.
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So I think definitely telling stories, but then there were like other completely on the opposite side of that was like commercial grade.
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Some of the most fun projects that we did were like clients coming to us and being like, we want to do like a Super Bowl-esque commercial.
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Now they didn't have Super Bowl money, but it was like, well, let's try to figure out a way to like do something super creative, write a script, you know, hire a cinematographer, hire audio, hire all you know, a full crew, and like make this like as close to like what you would want to see, like better than local better than local TV commercials, but not quite like a you know, a million dollar, two million dollar ad.
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Yeah.
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And so we we got creative and and those were some really, really, really fun, very stressful shoots.
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There's a lot to coordinate when you're doing things like that.
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Yes, as we understand when there's talent involved, yeah.
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Uh you you really and and just things are so expensive in that world that you're like, we gotta make this work in a 10-hour day.
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Like we have to make this work.
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Welcome, like mini movie making.
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Yeah, it's like this has to be we have to like just and that was what I I enjoyed as like a producer, was like I enjoyed I enjoy the creative and I enjoy being behind a camera and shooting and editing and things like that, but I really embraced the producing aspect of like, all right, we gotta get on set at 5 a.m.
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We gotta get we have to be set up, talent needs to get there at 6, hair and makeup needs to be there at 6 15.
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Like just kind of like the analytical, like logistics of making it all work, and by 5 p.m., that's a wrap, and hopefully we pray that we got everything we need.
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There is nothing worse though than going back and looking at your footage and be like, oh, we missed it, right?
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Yeah, yeah.
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We just like, all right, let's figure out and edit, and that's the magic of editing is like how do we kind of I mean that's that is kind of script rewriting where it's like, well, we didn't get exactly what we thought we would get, so let's figure out a way to pivot and adapt.
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Make it work.
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Yeah.
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So yeah, that's those are some of my more they were very proud moments too, because it was like, like I said, like we weren't working with like massive budgets.
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So it was just trying to figure out like how can we make something look like really polished and really well done, but on a shoestring budget, and still make money, like because that's that's the whole crux of being a business owner.
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Is like, well, there has to be profit at the end of the day, no matter how cool a product looks.
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So are there is there anything that you wish business owners knew or you could tell them about um videography for how they should be implementing that into their marketing strategy?
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Like what's something you just wish you could have said to everybody all the time?
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I thought I was shouting it from the rooftops, but I guess I wasn't doing it loud enough.
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Uh I really just think I think, you know, the economy is always ebbs and flows, and it's a roller coaster, and people freak out, and there's tariffs and there's presidential elections and there's things like that, and people like sorry, people start kind of freaking out and like putting a pause on spending, and I always joke with people, which is not it's not really a joke, where it's like the first thing that people businesses seem to cut when like the economy's bad and things don't look good is marketing, and the first thing within marketing is video production because it just for some reason and like even even in weddings, like all right, we've got the caterer, we got the flowers, we got the cake, we got the venue, we got the photographer.
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Do we have enough money for video?
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Okay, and I feel like that's kind of always been the mantra for everyone where it's just like it's not a necessity, but and but I just don't understand how businesses can look at the analytics of like you know, 85, probably more now, percent of content that's consumed online is video.
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Well, I would say that perception has changed on the business side now because of that.
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Yeah, yeah.
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The difference and something that we kind of struggle with internally as my videography team sits behind us watching us is what we struggle with is the long form storytelling videos.
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Like the people are trained for short form and their attention span is short.
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And they're also trained for reading captions on a video, and that goes against every videographer who's an artist.
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Like that's your worst nightmare because you you want to tell a story very cinematically and like capture people.
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But social media has trained us to get something short, quick, fast, right, and they want to be able to read it while they're watching it.
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So that's the whole problem.
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But in general, I would say from talking with businesses, they understand video has to be a part of their strategy.
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Whether that means we're doing a long form video or short form video, that's up for debate.
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But it's really not an option anymore.
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Right.
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One of the things that I was very passionate and still am, uh, but really towards the end was like the strategy behind because really when people would come for video or we would start having conversations about video, it was like, well, so and so told me I should have video or or whatever.
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And and so I obviously we were still doing the production aspect of things, but I really wanted to start becoming like a strategy of like, okay, well, if you spend five thousand or ten thousand or crazy amount of money on a video, then what?
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Like, what are you gonna do with it?
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Like, are you gonna put it on YouTube?
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Are you gonna put it behind are you gonna put ad money behind it?
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Are you gonna put it on MCTV local?
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Are you gonna put it on Facebook?
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Is it gonna get 12 views?
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Like, do you know your audience?
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If and if you somehow like this magic potion works where it's like you just randomly put it out there, and then all of a sudden you have like 200% more inquiries in your website.
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Is your website and is your workflow even capable of handing handling that?
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So it really just like starting, and because I started in the agency realm of like web development and things like that, I could work backwards of like, well, your website doesn't even look like we we need things to match up a little bit.
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Right.
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Get your website, get your branding, get your logo.
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You know, if you don't have any of that stuff, let's not even talk about video yet.
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Why would I do a high quality video if your website doesn't look the same?
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They're not gonna have the same experience.
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Yeah, we have those conversations a lot with our clients too.
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And it goes beyond that, like we can make it all look good, but what if your people aren't good?
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So that's a whole different like they need to have the same experience with you in real life as what they're having through your website or through your videos.
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So I mean, yeah, and being in business long as long as I have been in this industry, I've learned to just cut ties with people that you don't necessarily see eye to eye on, or you know, you don't have to agree on everything, but there is that vetting process of like, well, I don't think I would want to make a video for you because I don't think I'd want to send people to like work with you, or you know, like you said, like so just that whole just just figuring out.
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But I think, yeah, I I do agree with the you know, obviously, and I and I we pivoted, I was I'm very like malleable and like can I I'm not above any AI was probably the it's been has probably been the hardest thing as a creative to kind of overcome, but it's very valuable in a lot of aspects.
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But I've always been like very flexible in like all right, now we pivot to editing vertically, or we add like that's that's a hard like when you're shooting cinematically for so long, uh, and then you're like ah, just throw everything out and just flip the camera sideways, and it was it was hard.
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And but I think like I've always been pretty flexible in that, but and just kind of educating.
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I think businesses are just this typical business owners and marketing managers and directors are very overwhelmed with what do I even do, especially with video, because it's like, well, do I make funny TikToks?
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Do I do I do like more serious like sit-down client testimonials?
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Do I do a brand story?
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Like I only have X amount of money, like or and especially time, especially when it comes to social.
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Like I don't have 20, 30, 40 hours a week just to focus on social media, like so.
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What do I do?
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What's the most important?
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And I think it's just all dependent on your own.
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How have you taken that background now and applied it to your role working within one company?
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And like I guess have you been able to implement some of those ideas and what does that look like?
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Like what's working for you now?
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Sure.
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I mean, it's funny because like going into like a marketing director role, like then you're overseeing every aspect of marketing.
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And so it it pains me to like not use video as much as I want to, and though I I'm very lucky with the skill set that I have as a as a marketing director, because I have background in web development and graphic design.
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I can do I can personally do all the things, but I just don't have the bandwidth or the time.
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And so it's like prioritizing like yeah, video, like getting all the all the things in my mind the menial tasks of like, all right, yeah, we gotta we gotta work with the SEO, we gotta do those things.
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I don't whatever, like we those are necessary things, but also like don't get me excited about it.
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And then focusing on like the things that actually people see.
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But I know like they're all intertwined and people are not gonna see that content unless the SEO and things like that are working how they should be.
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And if our website's not up to snuff and things like that.
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So but I I think I've been trying as I've kind of settled more into this role, like getting more into video.
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And I've seen some of the you got some good social media posts showing the personality out there, I think.
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Which is needed because I know the company, I've been around them enough to know that they didn't have a very good public presence.
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And so you're starting to get it out there.
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Yeah, and I think I think the biggest key with businesses is like especially service-based, like we are, is we people just want to talk about all the services they do.
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And no one I'm just learning, it's there's so much noise, like it doesn't even matter.
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Like, yeah, we do waterproofing and we do these things, and it's like no one really cares, I don't think.
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Um, but where I'm trying to lean in, which I've always tried to lean into with clients in the past, is just like who you are, the culture that you embody, who you are at the core, what's important to you, what are your core values, what's your mission?
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And so that's that's the type of content that I'm trying to lean in with anything that I do right now, or it's just like once you get people hooked with that, like wow, these even from like a a career standpoint, like people looking for a job, like wow, I really want to work for that company because they seem like they value their employees or whatever.
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We utilize social media and marketing in general as almost as much for recruiting as we do for clients, because everybody who's looking for a job is gonna I mean that's what they're doing first.
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They're gonna go do their homework and check us all out online and see, you know, what are we all about?
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So sometimes we're like, okay, our TikTok strategy is only for new employees.
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So that is not for clients.
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Right, right, right.
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Right.
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There's a mix there from a present standpoint.
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But yeah, service-based businesses, there's definitely a struggle.
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Everybody well, and in your industry, in you know, what you do, you don't it's competitive, but it's different.
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Like with roofing, there's a thousand roofers out there and they all want to say the same thing.
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So, really what makes them different is who they are, yeah.
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Um, from a people standpoint, and so if they can showcase that, that they then it can help them stand out in a competitive market.
00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:46.480
Yeah, and I'm learning a lot, I'm learning more and more that there are way more waterproofers, like basement waterproofers in Ohio than I thought there were.
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I'm like, ah, there's I don't know any when I started a year ago, and now it's like, oh, there's there's quite a few.
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But the positioning that I'm like the consistent thing that I'm seeing on all of their websites and things like that is just like there it's nameless, faceless.
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It's just like we are this waterproofing company, but they don't there's no owners, there's no pictures of people the people that work there, and so that's what I'm leaning into with what we do.
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It's like let's just show the show the people, show the guys working out in the field, show the people in the office.
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And yeah, I I would but bandwidth is just yeah, it's a real thing for anybody where it's just like I don't have the time.
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Sometimes I'm sitting at my desk for eight hours, and sometimes I'm I have time to go out and like you know, grab some phone clips or take my camera out or whatever.
00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:37.039
Let's talk a little bit.
00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:38.160
You mentioned AI.
00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:40.240
I saw a post you made recently.
00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:40.559
Yes.
00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:44.559
I follow you on LinkedIn and you said you made like 600 pages.
00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:45.119
Yeah.
00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:46.240
Or what or what?
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What was it?
00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:52.319
Yeah, so that's one of the like as a as a marketing director.
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So I've I I have this this catch 22 with AI because like as a creative, I you know, I I see AI art and even AI video and photo generation, and like obviously it's getting better and better every day.
00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:13.920
And but as like an artist who's like honed to craft, it's like you know, we all feel that pain a little bit.
00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:16.640
But and I understand there's there's various aspects.
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Like I watched first it hit AI voice replacement, like for voiceover artists, and even even towards the agency, like of like SEO and web development and things like that, it's like how do we how do we come?
00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:38.079
I don't envy that position right now because like how do we combat that or how do we leverage it to like benefit us?
00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:43.680
I was just curious about the strategy around that many pages because I I mean we so we utilize AI.
00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:44.160
Yeah, yeah.
00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:47.440
We talk about we were, you know, we offer SEO as a service here, right?
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And I was like, huh, that's pretty controversial.
00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:56.480
That's what I was thinking whenever I read your post, but I was like, I wonder why you would want that many pages.
00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:00.000
I mean, it makes sense, but like 600 seems like a whole lot, right?
00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:03.920
Going from like five pages, I don't know how many you have, but like that many.
00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:09.440
There's there is a strategy behind that, but I think every we're all trying to figure out AI.
00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:20.000
It's what's interesting about our community, you know, we're from a small mostly uh community, very conservative, service-based business hub, huge.
00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:25.839
And I don't know um how, you know, half of them are still doing things on paper.
00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:31.839
They're writing their estimates, they're doing their sales this way, they're not using CRMs, they're barely using the technology that's available to them now.
00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:35.920
How do these service-based businesses move from where they're at to the future?
00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:46.559
And I think we are trying to position ourselves as that partner so that they they're but at the same time, we're struggling with the same things you do, which is like, I don't want to see any more AI generated flyers.
00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:48.640
They all look the same, they're branded the same.
00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:52.799
Like I do think, I mean, at some point the AI is going to be better than that, right?
00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:56.480
So it'll actually be able to follow a brand guide and make things that are unique and different.
00:21:56.640 --> 00:22:02.400
Right now, they just look the same, but um, it feels A little bit, I keep telling people it feels like the Wild West.
00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:07.039
Like it feels like in 07 when the iPhone was introduced and then the whole world changed.
00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:09.200
Like we're on the cusp of something.
00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:15.119
And I don't know if we all know exactly what that looks like yet, specifically in marketing, which affects the job that we have.
00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:21.759
But if it can help the marketing director who's in a solo role have more support or do things more efficiently, right?
00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:24.960
Then um, you know, that's a great opportunity.
00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:25.279
Yeah.
00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:33.119
And then how do we utilize that as an agency partner so that we're able to help our clients maybe move into this century a little bit quicker?
00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:33.759
I don't know.
00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:36.160
We'll have to figure that out as we go through it.
00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:36.720
Yeah.
00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:37.200
Yeah.
00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:50.880
And yeah, like the the the amount of pages is like you said, it's like an obscene amount of, I mean, it was like what it's like drilled down to like if somebody searches like within a town of like it's like 3,000 people.
00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:57.039
Like I was just trying to be like, let's see like what works and kind of you know work backwards.
00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:04.880
But um, you know, real I was just really taking advantage of the technology to see like if and and like it's worth testing.
00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:07.119
Yeah, let's see if it works or if it doesn't.
00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:17.039
Yeah, and we flipped the script on like like historically, like the top three search keywords are like our name, which is like not what we want.
00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:29.200
Like we want like people like in a desperation of like, I've got water in my basement, like I'm gonna go to Google and search, you know, water in my basement or whatever, and find us.
00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:37.440
Like, and it's like that's I I I am noticing like we've actually we have flipped the script on that.
00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:41.039
Um, of like we're not it's not just our name that people are searching.
00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:45.039
Um, so that that that feels good, feels like we're moving in the right direction.
00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:53.440
But there's just there's so much, and like yeah, AI is yeah, I I'm I'm I keep going back and forth.
00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:59.279
I feel like I'm a ping pong ball because I'm like, it's great, it's the worst, it's great, it's the worst.
00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:07.359
Um I feel that I mean I'm in the field and I mean I feel the same way about social media, like everybody else is like, I'm taking a social media break.
00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:09.599
I'm like, I'm on 95 Facebook pages.
00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:11.039
Can I cut this from my life?
00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:11.759
Absolutely not.
00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:24.559
But part of me wants to throw my phone away and go live in the woods for a month, and part of me, the other part is like, well, this is how I make money, so that I don't have the option to like just check out and pretend like AI doesn't exist for a little bit.
00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:27.279
But um it's it's hard.
00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:30.400
Yeah, yeah, and I've come kind of full circle.
00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:59.279
Uh uh, you know, I would ashamedly say, like, I would used to be ashamed, but now I'm like as far as like video generation, like I've been messing around with it enough where it's like obviously it's not quite like up to snuff, but it is up to snuff enough where it's like for a customer or a business that's like we just don't have any money to do video.
00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:02.720
And that was that was the wall I hit for ten years.
00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:13.599
It's just like we've you know, we've got a little bit of money, and then it would it was always like uh like that's not even it's not even gonna scratch the surface with with what we could actually do.
00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:15.519
And so the conversation would end.
00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:22.640
So that that's kind of my I think that will save some video agencies and people offering videos of service.
00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:51.839
It's like, well, hey, we we don't we can do video, it's not gonna be like a real real technicians and real cameras and things like that, but maybe we can figure out a way where it's not like super cheesy, maybe it is super cheesy, it doesn't matter, um, and like figure out a solution for the the smaller budgets, or if you have a really great idea that you think is gonna like be great for the client, but they're like, Yeah, we just don't have that kind of money.
00:25:52.160 --> 00:26:01.279
Instead of like waiting, like when they do have the money, like let's try to figure out a solution where we could maybe do a hybrid or maybe it's all AI or something.
00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:02.319
I don't know.
00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:10.640
I'm I'm trying to be optimistic about it, and I've used it um in my current role, just like being silly and like messing around.
00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:14.400
What are you using for video editing, like AI editing?
00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:20.240
Um I I'm totally blanking on the service that I use for video generation.
00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:39.279
Uh yeah, I I'm not obviously because I have editing experience, I'll just I'll generate the clips, what I want, and then I'll pull it down into like premiere and then like edit, splice it together, and then do you know sound design or music, add all the different things.
00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:49.519
Um but yeah, it's crazy when you think about all the tools that exist out there, like what you could actually potentially make if you're not completely shut off to it.
00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:55.680
We had a team meeting recently and we're working through like how is AI gonna impact each of the services that we have.
00:26:55.839 --> 00:27:03.359
Um and really at the end of the day, most AI is implemented into almost every single tool.
00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:04.640
We just don't realize it's AI.
00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:10.240
Sometimes it just feels like a software update or it's so integrated that it's just a part of it.
00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:26.720
So I know um there's certain aspects of video editing where we're utilizing AI for like cutting or voiceovers or like things like that that used to be either very expensive or a lot more time um was needed to get that done on the social media side.
00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:34.000
I mean, like Canva has a bunch of AI tools, but I just don't I don't think of those as AI when they're tools integrated into something you're already using.
00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:34.480
Yeah.
00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:41.839
Um so I think that we after reviewing that as a team, we're actually utilizing it more than we even realize we're utilizing it.
00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:44.480
And maybe that is the same for other people as well.
00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:49.440
But it does feel like, again, like we're just kind of on the cusp with something different, something new.
00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:50.880
What does this look like?
00:27:51.200 --> 00:28:00.559
But you know, I think from a consumer standpoint, the real authentic things, the interacting with a real person is going to become more valuable.
00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:08.880
It's going to feel it's gonna really stand out if everybody ends up doing everything that is AI generated and it's doesn't feel as personalized.
00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.119
But then on then I talk myself right out of it, right?
00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:14.799
Like, so then I'm like, well, can you use AI to create a more personalized website experience?
00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:19.920
Like there's just so many questions with what it could look like and what is this, you know, what's the future?
00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:20.480
Yeah.
00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:25.920
Yeah, I mean, I think we've been using it, especially as videographers and filmmakers and photographers.
00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:40.799
AI has existed, and we have always accepted like even like silly things like image stabilization in cameras and things like that, that there is a variation of AI of the like, and then like I don't know, your editors can attest to this.
00:28:40.960 --> 00:29:00.880
The the greatest invention or you know, revolution in editing that happened for me like three or four years ago in Premiere was uh you whenever you would like you know, you'd buy like a three-minute royalty-free song, and then you'd have to like splice it, like you'd have to like manually edit it.
00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:13.599
Well, Premiere came out with like a tool where you could just like have AI, like you could just drag the song like to however long you wanted it, and it would re-configure the track.
00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:17.519
And I so like at that point I was like, this is the greatest thing.
00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:19.599
Like I would spend hours, yeah.
00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:33.920
So like I've I've been all in about a certain AI tools where it's like that that was like the greatest, like the most revolutionary day of my life, where it's like I used to spend hours like tweaking audio and music, and then all of a sudden it was just like easy.
00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:35.599
Now you don't have to worry about that.
00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:36.960
I was like, all right.
00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:56.319
So we've been embracing it for and as a photographer, like you know, editing photos and things like that, like the you know, some of the magic like blemish removal things and things like that is like you don't have to spend hours dodging and burning and Photoshop used to be everybody's friend.
00:29:57.119 --> 00:29:58.960
Well, yeah, and it was like really, really hard.
00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:08.240
It was like the entry barrier, like the barrier to like know it is like very like you really have to spend a ton of time.
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:13.680
So, you know, you know, I think there's goods and there's good and bad of all things.
00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:24.480
I think with photography being a lot more accessible and editing being a lot more accessible, there's obviously an influx of a lot more photographers, and so the market is like wonky and things like that.
00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:26.960
Supply and demand's a little bit out of balance right now.
00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:32.640
It is, it is so it's like you know, in and even with video, it's like I always joke.
00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:52.559
I still shoot weddings every now and then, and I always joke with like newer wedding videographers that are like younger, like they have like image stabilization and cameras, they've got like all of these really high-powered mirrorless cameras, and I started like I feel like the old the this old guy was like back in my day, but like I'm like, you guys have it so easy right now.
00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:56.960
Like you don't, but it's it still takes craft and like things like that.
00:30:57.039 --> 00:30:59.680
But I'm like, I just always I always joke.
00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:07.920
But technology is an amazing thing, and it's the way that it has developed in the last 10-15 years is absolutely insane.
00:31:08.880 --> 00:31:12.079
It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next 10 or 15 years.
00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:14.240
Let's so what do you see?
00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:17.359
Um how you've been in your new role now for like a year, you said?
00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:18.960
About almost a year, yeah.
00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:20.799
So, what what's coming up for you?
00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:23.440
What do you see over the next year or two, three?
00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:27.279
Um, like what's exciting or what are you looking forward to?
00:31:28.400 --> 00:31:29.119
I don't know.
00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:44.880
I think I think for this specific role that I'm in, it's I'm still in a learning period where it's like I knew nothing about anything that I could do other than the actual like marketing aspect.
00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:53.359
But just still learning every day of like, oh, that's a service that we offer, or that's a product that we have.
00:31:53.599 --> 00:32:02.240
Um and really just um because there's actually two companies um that I kind of oversee.
00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:05.680
Um there's just like a lot.
00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:23.359
Um, so I think what I'm looking forward to is kind of like spreading the love out a little bit and just trying to figure out like figure out what where I need to where I really need to hone my attention on, and then maybe bringing other people or vendors or contractors or whatnot.
00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:40.799
Um, but I I think there I you know it'll be interesting, I think, as I'm I'm always looking at like obviously the the economy and like where things are and then the housing market, and it feels like that's not slowing down at all.
00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:55.920
But then it could stop, and then if the houses aren't being built or you know money dries up or something like that, then people aren't gonna like be fixing their house as much as they are now or things like that.
00:32:56.079 --> 00:33:18.240
So I'm just kind of cool always keeping my finger on the pulse of like what's um obviously I'm not in charge of the sales aspect or thing or pursuing new work, um, but just like how we're reaching um potential customers and and really we have in the in the eco seal, they we have like two divisions.
00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:58.559
One's like new construction, which is working with home builders and like contractors, and then the other side is the homeowner, and so and the the other side is the homeowner where it's like uh you know, either there's water in my basement or whatever, and so really just kind of connecting with growing that aspect, growing the direct to consumer, because we've got a lot of really great relationships with builders and things like that, but trying to grow that like relationship, and and I think one of the things I'm passionate about is is the customer experience and that really directly correlates with marketing.
00:33:59.039 --> 00:34:39.760
And I think that's like you were saying, like a lot of like I think up until like a year or so ago, they were like we were still on paper, we were still printing, like them they told me the amount of paper they used to go through, and I was just like, man, we're saving some trees now, but like but yeah, a lot of businesses aren't they're just they don't have the systems, the CRMs, and then because they don't have those in place, the customer experience lacks a little bit where it's like we could be using all these tools like texting and right all of these things where it's like, hey, we're we're coming out to look at your house, don't forget, um, or whatever whatever whatever that is.
00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:59.280
So I think what I'm passionate about is kind of bridging the gap of like and that's just working with like our sales team and our you know our operations of like all right, so we get like an ink inquiry through the website or through whatever, then what happens?
00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:10.559
Like, and if it comes through the weekend, like does anybody respond to that, or is it like we wait till Monday, or so I it's just figuring out like all of those different things.
00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:17.599
So I think that's what I'm looking forward to kind of growing and some more cohesion, yeah, clarity.
00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:33.360
Yeah, just the whole experience and just like making it easier for sales guys to send proposals and it all working within one system of like and it's a lot easier to market a well-oiled machine than it is to market something that you know could be a little bit messy after the fact.
00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:39.599
Right, yeah, and and just even like random leads coming from and we're not tracking well or you know, whatever.
00:35:40.079 --> 00:35:56.719
It's like if we have a system where we know like X amount of customers came from here and X amount of customers came from there, let's now we know where to spend our money next year, or maybe we can pivot and direct our attention towards that.
00:35:57.119 --> 00:36:19.599
Um but yeah, there it is, it it it is interesting coming going from like video is my world, and I don't need to worry about mailers and I don't know, lead generation, sales teams, things like that where it's like just even those mediums where it's like now I'm like, oh yeah, that's a thing that people do.
00:36:19.760 --> 00:36:31.599
Oh yeah, that's like I I could just make videos all day and I would be happy, but yeah, there's there's things like oh yeah, we need to be updating our website and things like that consistently.
00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:42.400
And so yeah, that's kind of but using video more is we'll figure out a way to slide that in there, is definitely at the top of the list.
00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:42.880
Okay.
00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:43.920
So yeah.
00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:54.159
Um, well, I'm excited for you to be in the new role and see what um, you know, it's just always good to connect with another local marketing person and have a relationship there.
00:36:54.239 --> 00:36:54.960
So yeah.
00:36:55.199 --> 00:37:01.519
Um if somebody wanted to connect with you or learn more, tell us.
00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:03.920
I guess we haven't we've talked a lot about like that.
00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:05.360
You work for a service-based business.
00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:06.159
You mentioned the name.
00:37:06.239 --> 00:37:07.360
Tell us where where do you work?
00:37:07.599 --> 00:37:07.920
Sure.
00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:12.079
Uh I'm marketing director at EcoSeal Home Solutions.
00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:17.599
Um, and I still do like freelance video work and photo work.
00:37:17.920 --> 00:37:24.079
Um again, bandwidth and time is always less and less.
00:37:24.159 --> 00:37:32.559
But um, how is the best place to to connect with you through LinkedIn or is there any other Yeah, yeah, I think that's I I'm trying to utilize that more.
00:37:32.639 --> 00:37:44.159
I went to a social media marketing conference last week and those were the conversations and those were the like seminars that I like honed in on the most was how to use LinkedIn more.
00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:58.559
And I think it's become a kind of a Facebook uh sister uh where it's just like people are posting anything and everything, but also I think it's like I don't I it's crazy to me.
00:37:58.639 --> 00:38:06.239
I think they gave a statistic statistic of like how many people are actually like posting and utilizing LinkedIn that are on it.
00:38:06.320 --> 00:38:07.440
It's like two percent.
00:38:07.599 --> 00:38:08.559
Uh crazy.
00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:09.920
Like it's a very low number.
00:38:10.320 --> 00:38:13.280
And it's like, well, I think it's actually LinkedIn is actually high.
00:38:13.360 --> 00:38:27.840
I found this job and it wasn't even a job when I I just kind of posted into the ether like, hey, a year ago it was like I I'm I'm gonna be closing closing the doors on the business.
00:38:28.239 --> 00:38:30.000
And that I just shared that.
00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:39.840
I didn't even I wasn't even like fishing for jobs, I was just like, you know, this is kind of I was just kind of letting customers and other people in the world know.
00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:53.440
And uh somebody commented, somebody that I connected with, but I never never had actually met, and he's like, Hey, like my buddy owns this waterproofing, and I was just having a conversation with him last night about how they want to hire a marketing person.
00:38:53.760 --> 00:38:55.760
And I was like, send me his email.
00:38:56.079 --> 00:38:57.599
And then the rest of the month.
00:38:57.920 --> 00:39:20.960
A month yeah, a month later I was sitting down with them and going over contract, and so yeah, it's I think LinkedIn can be a powerful tool, especially because you're all there for like a a specific reason, and it's not just like Facebook or Instagram where it's like let's just gonna post anything and everything, but yeah, so long answer, but yeah, I think LinkedIn is probably the best.
00:39:21.119 --> 00:39:26.000
I'm there and probably posting about how much I love or hate AI.
00:39:26.719 --> 00:39:29.440
Depending on the day, depending on the day or hour.
00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:30.880
So yeah.
00:39:31.199 --> 00:39:31.920
We're right there with you.
00:39:32.079 --> 00:39:32.159
Yeah.
00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:36.400
We're just not allowed to say we don't like it publicly, only on a podcast.
00:39:36.639 --> 00:39:37.760
So Yeah.
00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:40.639
Yeah, I it's it's a love or hate.
00:39:40.719 --> 00:40:01.039
And I think I don't I think anybody would be crazy to not like be like cautious, but also like optimistic, cautiously optimistic of like what could be, what can be, um, but also not just throwing out the fact that we're humans and we have creativity and things like that.
00:40:01.199 --> 00:40:08.400
We we've leaned a little too hard into the like you said, the flyers and people were making logos, sorry, side trail.
00:40:08.480 --> 00:40:23.840
Somebody called me last week and they were like, Hey, I want I'm trying to it was a past customer that I had built a website for, and they're like, We we're changing our brand and we want to get a vehicle rep and we made the logo with AI, and they had no vector files or any of that stuff.
00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:26.880
And I was like, You're gonna have to hire a graphic designer.
00:40:27.199 --> 00:40:33.199
We we just um had somebody come out to us with a branding and they had created it a logo with AI.
00:40:33.360 --> 00:40:36.559
They did not have the expectation it was done, they were doing it for a concept, thank goodness.
00:40:36.800 --> 00:40:40.960
Okay, because we basically had to yeah, we have to rebuild it because there's they're not workable files.
00:40:41.119 --> 00:40:41.599
Yeah, yeah.
00:40:41.760 --> 00:40:46.880
Um like that's part of the problem with the AI generated things, is they're not editable.
00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:47.280
Right.
00:40:47.440 --> 00:40:49.760
Like you you can't just tweak it a little bit.
00:40:49.920 --> 00:41:04.639
You have to rebuild the whole thing from scratch if you want to change one element or give it 15 prompts to get it to make it the way that you want it, which is also then how much time did I just spend built doing this thing when I could have just, you know, I mean somebody and it goes, yeah.
00:41:04.880 --> 00:41:24.320
Sorry, I it goes back to the yeah, like before AI existed, it was like, you know, my my buddy is a graphic designer, phenomenal graphic designer, and it would always be like people just come like with the very specific thing that they wanted, and if they knew how to use Illustrator, then they would just do it themselves type of mentality.
00:41:24.480 --> 00:41:28.559
And it's like you are, you know, we are creative for a reason.
00:41:28.719 --> 00:41:32.079
Um you are hiring us for our creativity and things like that.
00:41:32.239 --> 00:41:40.079
So hopefully, hopefully that's not lost, and we can still exercise the creative bones in our bodies.
00:41:40.159 --> 00:41:41.519
So we'll see what happens.
00:41:41.679 --> 00:41:42.000
Yes.
00:41:42.239 --> 00:41:43.920
Thanks so much for joining me today, Mike.
00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:46.239
It was really good to just have a transparent conversation.
00:41:46.320 --> 00:41:47.760
We talked a little bit about our challenges.
00:41:47.840 --> 00:41:51.679
It'll be exciting to see what happens with you and what happens with EcoSeal over the next year.
00:41:51.920 --> 00:41:53.119
And we'll have to stay connected.
00:41:53.360 --> 00:41:53.679
For sure.
00:41:53.840 --> 00:41:54.559
Thank you for having me.
00:41:54.639 --> 00:41:55.199
I appreciate it.
00:41:55.360 --> 00:41:55.599
Yep.
00:41:55.679 --> 00:41:57.280
Thanks for tuning into Torch Talk.
00:41:57.360 --> 00:42:02.960
If today's story sparks something for you, share it with a colleague, community leader, or future change maker.
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Until next time, stay inspired, stay intentional, and keep your fire burning.
