We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Suzan Elizabeth Georges a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Suzan Elizabeth, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Starting my own business was (and is) a daunting task, especially coming directly out of college. When I compare myself to my peers, people who are either putting their creative aspirations on hold or people who were always pursuing a STEM career, it is easy to ask myself, “Am I doing the right thing?” Some days, I come home from a networking event, exhausted and empty handed but with no income from the day. Then I look over at my friends who work retail, and they’ve made at least $300 with their shift today. It’s those moments that I really have to focus on the end goal.
I have to remind myself that I can’t make clients if I worked a 9-5. That my portfolio stays dormant if I prioritized making cash at a retail position. I have to remind myself that if I wasn’t out here shaking hands and handing out business cards, I’d never be able to say that I do what I want to do.

That’s the reality of it- a “regular job” is not what I want. I’d rather be building a studio from the ground up than work retail. I’d rather film for 18 hours than work a 9-5 in a cubicle. I’d rather be editing in a coffee shop than force myself to work in a different career.

And some days, I land a client. Some days I deposit a check in my bank account that help pays for the next month. Some days, my peers compare themselves to me and say, “I want to be like you.” It’s those days that make it worth it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was first hypnotized by filmmaking when I was 12. I started writing, shooting, editing and posting little videos and skits in middle school. Everyone around me found it endearing, but ultimately figured I’d grow out of it. I did too, at one point, think I’d grow out of it.

Suddenly I was 18, and had to pick a college to go to. What would I study? Where would I go? When it came down to the wire, I realized I hadn’t grown out of it. I was still hypnotized.

So I went to school to get a film degree. I started working on class projects, meeting and working with peers. When it was time to graduate, I felt ready to immerse myself in the industry.

I graduated May 13th, 2023. A few days later, the Writers Strike happened. Then the SAG Strike joined them. The industry I was so ready to join was shut down. So I turned to freelance. I needed clients, references, experience. It was then that I started to really come into my brand, my studio.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

NETWORKING. Go to Networking events. Familiarize yourself with local Chambers of Commerce- they are there to help connect businesses! Shake hands, leave business cards and flyers at coffee shops, join Facebook groups. Never underestimate the value of word-of-mouth.

It’s easy to slip into the thinking that its you versus the world, but that’s not true! The World is waiting for you to join them.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Non-creatives and creatives alike, grew up in a society that values non-creatives. It’s easier to follow a system when the system wants you to go in a corporate or medical direction. Non-creatives thrive in this system, not just because its easy but because they don’t see the appeal in creative jobs.

I want Non-creatives to realize that Creatives who do not go into the creative fields they yearn to, suffer. Not everyone finds the system fun, or fulfilling the way Non-creatives do.

That is why Creatives go against the grain, against the system. We cannot fathom having to fall in line. We’d rather struggle to enjoy ourselves than follow the system and be miserable. When this argument comes up, most Non-creatives get defensive. They aren’t miserable being non-creative, so why do Creatives make such a big deal?

We make it a big deal because the system our society relies on works for you, but not for us.

With all of this controversy of increased us of AI in creative fields, Creatives are scared in a way Non-Creatives aren’t. Some Non-Creatives blame Creatives for choosing an “unstable” job in the first place, but that’s because the “stable” job sounded appealing to Non-Creatives in the first place.

When you acquaint yourself to a Creative, understand that it’s who they are, a creative. Understand that you are a Non-Creative. It may seem like a waste of effort and more work to be a Creative, but that’s only because the system discourages us.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.symcathstudios.net
• Instagram: @symcathstudios
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzan-elizabeth-georges-824a86249/