Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Arestia Rosenberg. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Arestia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

When I set out to make my first documentary that wasn’t for a brand or studio and was all down to me, I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. Would I have enough money? Be able to find the right partners? Get the right shots? I got some great advice from my friend, previous collaborator and Academy Award Nominated filmmaker Josh Seftel: “Just start seeing if you can do it and you’ll find you’ll be in the middle of doing it if you can.” So I did – I just started. Bit by bit, things came together. A local filmmaker hooked me up with his DP and equipment. I had met someone while traveling who had local fixer experience who was available. Another former colleague Jay Heyman signed up to produce and come with me. And my friend, a very talented editor who worked on American Experience, said he’d edit. I raised some money from countless friends and supporters whose small donations added up big and before I knew it, I found myself on a plane to Cambodia to tell a story I was so passionate about.

While this is one example, the idea of simply starting seems to be a challenge for so many people. We get caught up in wondering if we’ll fail and fear others will judge us. We want everything to be perfect before realizing it. But the only way to get things done is to simply do.

I’ve built an entire career and reputation out of the ability to get things done. My clients come to me now because they’ve been struggling to get things done. They have a vision, they have ideas, and yet they can’t seem to get things off the ground. A colleague recently described me as a content quarterback – someone leading the overall strategy that can lead you to victory. That’s what I do. I help you get clear on your goals, figure out what content to make, and lead the execution. I also do that with my ghostwriting clients. How many people out there have a book idea and yet the blank page stops them? As a ghostwriter, I take my clients step-by-step through each phase and get their book realized, fully formed or not when they come to me, in a matter of months.

Just start. Things get clearer as you go.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I came up in major motion pictures, first as a Hollywood assistant at Columbia Pictures and Happy Madison and eventually moving up to produce EPK/Behind-the-Scenes material on major motion pictures. I also was an associate producer for various Animal Planet shows and developed a bunch of docuseries. This experience landed me at Hill Holliday Advertising Agency where I found myself in the content department, a newly minted department that was developed years before you even heard the word content. They hired me to produce short documentaries for brands and I created some beautiful films with wonderful partners. After that, I was the Creative Director of Brand Stategy at The Daily Beast before going freelance and joining the second group of Remote Year participants where I traveled to one new country a month with 70 other people while working and growing my business. Over the past 7 years, my clients have included agencies, startups, production companies, and thought leaders.

I say I’m my client’s equal parts strategic and creative thinking partner that can actually help them produce the work. This lately is mostly in:

– Ghostwriting: helping to write that book you’ve always wanted with my hand-holding and proven process
– Content strategy and production: developing a concise vision and plan to make the right content and find the right partners
– Brand voice: how do you talk about what you want to talk about? taglines, descriptions, the works – get a defined style and language

Basically, all things storytelling for your business needs.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I mainly wish I had formed an S Corp sooner. I was trying to keep things simple in my business, but I really could have saved thousands if I had just done it sooner. The thing that got me over the edge was Collective, which is a business that helps making S Corps easy for small business owners like me. They help me with my books, expenses, and payroll with their very easy to use platform and wonderful customer service. It’s not the sexiest thing, but important (shameless plug: if you’re thinking about using Collective, use my code ArestiaRosenberg and get one month from, a $300 value).

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I first decided to go out on my own, I was incredibly scared. I wasn’t unhappy at my job at all. In fact, I had spent a decade grinding and working my ass off to build my career and I thought, Am I just throwing that all away? But I had the opportunity to travel while working with Remote Year and something in my gut said I had to do it, I had to try. When my mother asked me, “What are you so scared of?” I really thought about and said, “That I’ll fail, run out of money, have to come home, and sleep on your couch.” She said, “Ok, so you come here and sleep on my couch until you figure out your next move.” That made me realize two things: 1. I am incredibly lucky to have a safety net. Most people can’t afford to take risk without it. 2. That sometimes if you just name the fear, it goes away. It did for me. I had to trust that if I left, the ground would come up and meet me because I knew in my gut I was making the right choice. And it did.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.arestiarosenberg.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arestia/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/arestiaR