Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Walker.
Hi Justin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
When I was just 19 years old, I started filming videos of cars on my iPhone with the intention to make car reviews for YouTube as I have a strong passion for cars. Shortly after starting this process, I started to fall in love with the actual filming and editing process.
I was actually filming a friend’s car when I stumbled upon my first video client. While filming a car with my iPhone and phone gimbal he saw me making the video and asked “how much do you charge for something like that?” I informed him I was just filming content for free to have something to upload to YouTube.
He ended up being a car salesman and requested me to come to do some filming with him at his dealership for me to have more content and for him to use to sell cars. In this process, Both the sales manager and VP of the dealership liked the content I was producing and asked if they could hire me to make content for them on a weekly basis.
Going from “Doing it for fun” and somehow obtaining a paying client to produce content for this dealership at 19 years old was a wake-up call for me and my future. It was at this moment I decided to drop the YouTube car review channel idea and focus my time and effort on developing my skills as a videographer.
I began watching YouTube videos, purchasing training courses, collaborating with already established videographers, purchasing professional gear, anything that would further improve my skills and allow me to begin producing professional-grade videos.
2 years later, all of the practicing and training finally began to pay off as the number of clients had grown and I was obtaining somewhat of a steady income from my production company, but I kept running into walls with numerous clients due to one simple issue.
I would first produce content for these clients which would be designed in a way to reach the goals they were wanting the content to achieve (recruitment, sales, etc.), however, they had no idea how to properly market the content I had made for them and simply post them everywhere expecting it to just “work”. This led to the client assuming it was at the fault for my producing poor content and would discontinue my services.
This issue further inspired me to learn the ends and outs of social media marketing. The idea was to not only produce content for my clients but to also take my content and market it to their ideal clients and get results by doing so. This business shift is fundamentally what set my business up for success.
Three years after introducing the marketing side to my production business, not only have I grown my company to a 6 figure income for myself, but it continues to grow even today. If you would have told me back in 2017, “5 years from now you’ll own a 6-figure business that will have you traveling the world” I would have thought you were crazy!
The message to pull away from this story of how I started my video production company is that you should find something you are deeply passionate about and stick with it. I never intended on making the first dollar with my videos 5 years ago, it was just something I enjoyed doing. So whether it be photography, graphic design, art, etc. Don’t give up on your passion.
Because you never know where it may take you one day!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been numerous times over the last 5 years that have forced me to adapt and change my business structure in order for me to be where I am today.
For the most part, the growth has been smooth, but in order to obtain that growth, it has required countless hours a day in and day out.
Dedication to my business and always being willing to learn new things have been major factors in how I have gotten to where I am today.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a Creative Director at my content creation/marketing company. I develop social media content for commercial clients designed to reach their goals (recruitment, sales, brand awareness, etc.) and market it to strategically targeted audiences. I am best known for the videos I make that have been seen by millions.
I personally specialize in videography and social media marketing. I am proud to say that I have built this business from the ground up all by myself. Every dollar invested into my business came from my own pocket, the years of training and tuning my craft, the ability to adapt to the current market, and continuously learning from others to better improve my abilities.
The one thing that sets me apart from others in my field is that I genuinely care about the success of my clients. They have never been “just a paycheck” to me. If something I do for one of my clients does not meet their expectations or does not achieve the goals they wanted it keeps me up at night.
No one can come close to the dedication I have to my client’s success because, in my line of work, I only succeed when my clients succeed.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory was the first time I figured out how to use a camera.
I have countless videotapes of me when I was little recording myself doing performances, news reports, dances, stunts, or anything else my ridiculous imagination could come up with.
Contact Info:
- Email: jwalkproductions7531@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JwalkProductions1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc67qXEfURA_hYAxJWbUwWA/videos
