We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maejor E.L.. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maejor below.

Maejor, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

Never work for free! Advice that would instigate my then over inflated sense of value. I had just finished my degree, my internship was ending, and an offer for full time employment had been made. I declined. Cubicle life didn’t seem all that appealing. Maybe it’s cliché, but I was going to start a business. Unfortunately, the only work I had to display at this point, was derived entirely from my coursework, and the above mentioned internship; which meant the work was either amateur at best, or unethical for me to use. Even still, I was all ego. Right about now, you might find yourself asking, “but aren’t you supposed to have a high sense of value?” Well, let me explain.

Being skilled in motion design and video production afforded me an unlimited amount of shameless self-promotion. My only limitation was time and ability. I must have created dozens of static and animated fliers to bring brand awareness. The expectation was that customers would see my promo, and practically trample one another for a piece of the action. My approach was met with CRICKETS! What went wrong? What was missing? Dreams of working with top names in entertainment began to play out like a nightmare. Nearly a year had elapsed before I was humbled enough to change my attitude, and then it finally hit me. I was going about this all wrong. Maybe my target audience evaded my marketing advances because all I did was sell sell sell. If I’m being honest, I absolutely hate being sold to. Why should I expect such a tactic to work on others?

Instead of being the salesman no one wants, I became a humble contributor to one of my favorite up-and-coming social media stars. I genuinely enjoyed his content, but I absolutely hated his animated outro. So I fixed it. Without ever having spoken to him, I just… fixed it. 100% FREE. I should mention that back then, this guy was already on his way. He had a massive following. I sent my interpretation of his video outro via DM, and I wrote the following:

“I really love your content. I’m a motion designer working to get my name out there. If you can use this, it’s yours. Just don’t mention I did it for free.” It took a couple weeks, but he did see it and he expressed his gratitude. To date, that intro has been viewed several million times. So many great opportunities have come from that single faithful transaction. That year, I made a little over $50K as a self-employed motion designer and video editor, and all because I was humble enough to work for free.

Maejor, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

DESIGNED BY MAEJOR is a multimedia company out of the Metro Atlanta Area. We are an intimate circle of talented creatives and we provide varying fields of access to our clients. We deliver digital media solutions. From video production to dynamic graphic overlays, and eye catching animation, DESIGNED BY MAEJOR is a transformative experience. Our growing client list consists of some incredible entertainers, social media influencers, small businesses, and more.

We absolutely love working out of Metro Atlanta, although being part virtual office makes it possible for us to provide services to clients from all over. Partnering with organizations like yours allows us to become one of the finest and most trusted media companies in the world. Together, we are possible.

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Let’s Get Creative,

~Maejor

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Advertising often feels like a full-time job within itself. Starting out, I remember running ads on social media, and attending networking events. I even went as far as putting flyers on people’s cars in busy parking lots. The latter I do not recommend! People would call, but only to tell me off. Here’s me hoping I can save you a little time, and embarrassment. Just do great work! That’s it. In my experience, “word of mouth” has the best conversion rates. Think about it. Which is more likely to get you to try a new restaurant; seeing an advert, or your best friend ranting about their experience at said eatery? People talk, and when people talk to people they know, those people tend to trust the people doing the talking. Let that sink in…

Have you ever had to pivot?

Early on in my career, I must have offered services for every technical skill in my arsenal. Flyers, banners, websites, t-shirts, page layout, motion design, you name it. My thinking was, “The more services offered, the more money made.” As it would turn out, the opposite was more my reality. More services offered, somehow translated into less money made, and a lot more stress. I couldn’t find my groove as a creator because I hadn’t chosen a niche. I was spreading myself thin, and as a result, my finances were likened to that of an endangered species. Potential clients had difficulty interpreting my brand. I could barely interpret my brand, so it made sense. Armed with a different understanding, I made the decision to eliminate every service that I didn’t hold a passion for. Now, things are looking up, but only because I’ve got my niche down.

Contact Info:

• Website: designedbymaejor.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/designedbymaejor/
• Facebook: facebook.com/designedbymaejor/
• Twitter: twitter.com/designedbymaej
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yODpLeDNO_PaPvUuUS4hQ/videos
• Other: Client Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSezUpDRBDH30WnOP_HWEcnwUw-AlVUIhoT8yic95whrGosjgA/viewform

Image Credits
Bella N. Love