When we go into business, we often do it with preconceived notions of how things should be done. Today’s guest, Kevin Weaver is a business leader and filmmaker, who didn’t mean to start a business, but by consistently doing the next thing that made sense, he ended up with one! Kevin’s passion for filmmaking led him to build and become the CEO of Blueline, a creative production studio specializing in video and photography. By putting heart into everything he creates, Kevin has produced and edited award-winning feature-length narrative and documentary films. For the last decade, he has worked with brands such as REI, Rakuten, Outside TV, CBS, and the Big Ten Network, helping them craft messages that inspire, inform, and endear them to their audiences. Today he joins us to discuss the challenges of being both a creative and a business person. He explains the profound revelation he had that he could be both a filmmaker and a CEO, and how he negotiates when to work in the business and when to work on the business. Tuning in you’ll hear how Kevin scaled his team, how coaching has helped him, what productivity hacks he has discovered along the way, and how he found the creativity in running a business. To find out how to have fun in business, break the rules, and design your own process, tune in today!
Key Points From This Episode:
– An introduction to Kevin Weaver and his career.
– Why the heart is the common element and focus in everything that Kevin does.
– How Kevin keeps his heart plugged into his work as a creative and as a business person.
– The struggles of negotiating when to work in the business and when to work on the business.
– The value of just doing the next thing that makes sense.
– How Kevin scaled his team over the years.
– How coaching helped Kevin realize he needed to scale back on the services he offered.
– How Kevin found the creativity in running a business.
– The powerful revelation Kevin had that he could be both a filmmaker and a business owner.
– How Kevin’s reaction to the challenges he faced in business has changed with experience.
– The productivity hacks that Kevin has tried and which of them have worked.
– What Kevin’s company is going through right now and how he’s learning more about the development side of filmmaking.
– The value of admitting when you don’t know something and asking questions.
– Kevin’s mantra for personal and business growth.
– Thoughts on tracking numbers and why it’s not always helpful.
– Kevin’s favorite personal growth books.
– Why it’s okay to break the rules and design your own process.
Tweetables:
“When you love what you do it can be easy to get confused about work-life balance.” — Kevin Weaver [0:05:49]
“I thought I had to be one or the other. I thought I had to be a business owner or a filmmaker and I realized that I could do both. That was freeing for me. I realized that I didn’t have to be something I wasn’t.” — Kevin Weaver [0:07:50]
“Rather than trying to be more productive, I try to be less distracted.” — Kevin Weaver [0:35:26]
“That’s why I started the business because I didn’t want to follow the rules necessarily, I just wanted to be able to go on my own trajectory.” — Kevin Weaver [0:51:49]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Indiana University Cinematic Arts Program
EP 29: Change Your Life with this Assessment
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