Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabe Roy

Gabe, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I was living in Halifax, NS when I launched my video production business, Zest Media Productions. It was September 2019, a week after my 24th birthday. Just two months earlier, I had parted ways with the two previous businesses I had co-founded – a digital PR agency, and a sports & entertainment agency (now a multi-media production company).

This transition period was easily one of the most challenging times of my life. In the two years prior, I had poured my blood, sweat and tears into both of these businesses. With both, we had reached what I would call a sink or swim stage – requiring everyone on the team to be all in or all out. After some self-reflection, I came to recognize that my passion wasn’t there in the same way it was for the rest of the team and it wouldn’t be fair for me to continue on if I wasn’t all in.

After the dust settled, I was left with a few business connections, a very supportive spouse, and my camera. I didn’t have the luxury of taking a break and got to work immediately. Within a few weeks, I had a name for my new business, a logo, a website and had incorporated the company. I was ready for the next chapter as a video production company owner.

In the ways I found it thrilling to punch above our weight in my earlier pursuits, I maintained that notion with Zest. I didn’t let the fact that I had no money, portfolio or clients discourage me. I used what was available to start building. I offered free services to anyone willing to collaborate. I spent my days filming and my nights editing – obsessively dedicated to honing my skills.

Slowly, but surely, I started to land clients and build a reputation. Within a year, I had bootstrapped the business into a 6-figure operation. My little one-man business saw success through 2020 and 2021, and in 2022, my spouse and I relocated to Vancouver.

I knew restarting again wouldn’t be easy, but I was ready for the challenge and opportunity that came with being in a bigger market. My past experiences also gave me the insights needed to make the transition easier. In my first year in Vancouver, I accomplished some major career goals, including: producing/directing an independent documentary, producing/directing a comedy special and creating a community-focused short documentary series on local artists.

In Vancouver, I’ve been blessed to take on several incredible clients and work alongside some talented, local professionals to bring various brand storytelling projects to life. I get a tremendous amount of joy out of my job, and love helping brands and owners grow their businesses with my services.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

No, It has certainly not been a smooth road.

As with building any business, there are many ups and downs that come with the territory. Some of the major challenges have been:

BUILDING A NETWORK

Building a network of not just clientele, but reliable, skilled contractors to help execute client projects has been a challenge. Having moved from Halifax to Vancouver in 2022 meant I had to go through this process twice.

MARKET POSITIONING

What I offer isn’t unique. How I offer it – on the other hand – is. With a service-focused business, I believe that is the key differentiator – identifying how you can deliver a service in a way that’s unique or better than the competition. Aligning my business with unique service offerings and client experience has taken a lot of effort through trial and error.

FINANCIAL

Camera gear isn’t cheap, nor are the editing programs, hard drives for storage space, and other miscellaneous costs needed to start a video production production. In the beginning, I decided to start small and move slowly. Rather than take out a loan or seek private investment, I opted to bootstrap my company with what little money I had. As client projects started to trickle in, I would re-invest some of the profits into upgrading my arsenal of gear. This allowed me to deliver higher quality products, thus driving the rates of my services higher. I would repeat this cycle.

This approach is obviously slower, but made me appreciate what I had at each stage. It also allowed me to be more intentional with how I fine tuned my kit, processes and decide what was a worthwhile investment.

As you know, we’re big fans of Zest Media Productions. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?

Zest Media Productions is a video production company based in Vancouver, BC. The goal of my business is to help clients humanize their brands and connect with their unique audiences on a deeper level through impactful video storytelling. We help our clients effectively spread their messages using compelling, strategic online video content that works to educate, entertain and inspire.

Any big plans?

Video production is a broad field and comes in many different forms. Some companies focus on music videos, some on corporate work, some on TV shows and others specialize in commercial work or education. Since relocating to Vancouver, I’ve taken on many forms of productions – including all of the ones I just mentioned. My goal is to narrow down my offering and establish a network of clients who trust my business to do specifically that.

Where my passion lies, and where I believe I can provide the most value, is in short-form branded documentaries. I truly love telling inspiring, human stories. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve got goosebumps while interviewing someone who’s trusted me enough as a director to be vulnerable on camera. I’m very curious by nature, and the honesty and creative flexibility that short-form documentaries offer is exciting.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.madebyzest.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madebyzest
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MadeByZest/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtpap7kP6CDJ6ONJ0_6C3gw