Meet Valissa Tate

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Sed ut perspiciatis unde.

We recently connected with Valissa Tate and have shared our conversation below.

Valissa, appreciate you joining us today. Everyone has crazy stuff happen to them, but often small business owners and creatives, artists and others who are doing something off the beaten path are often hit with things (positive or negative) that are so out there, so unpredictable and unexpected. Can you share a crazy story from your journey?

Where I’m at today kinda almost happened overnight. It all started with covid. When I received the unemployment funds I already had a job lined up as the only videographer. I knew this was my chance to show what I got. I worked 100 hours a week and was paid close to nothing. Neithertheless I knew it would be worth it and preservered. Right after a friend pointed me to a gig I should apply for. They wanted particularly a drone pilot. I was hired and that’s when I shot for the Virgin Hotel’s Celebrity Binge Watch Party. After that the same client wanted to hire me again to shoot NFL players playing basketball for a cause as well as a poetry event. He lost the funding, but humbly asked if I could still shoot. I knew I could help him out, support a friend at the poetry event, possibly make some connections within the NFL and have great footage to add to my demoreel. I had a good feeling about my decision without really expecting anything of it. During this time period I’m in school and working everyday. I was very tired, but im an ambitious woman. Fast forward to May. It was my finals week for class. My former client had asked me to respond within a few hours to go on a national tour around the country for 39 days. My blood was pumping with excitement, but I was also incredibly anxious. I wanted to make sure my job was taken care of as well as my family. It was my finals week too. I was taking japanese at the time too, so I already had so much anxiety on my mind. I told my former client no. I am ambitious, but I like to think thoroughly. Enspecially with an offer like that! Enspecially as a (at the time) 20 year old woman! I told my family and friends. Everyone told me I was crazy. Even my work. Seemed like everyone was supportive and will do just fine on their own, so I took the opportunity. This was my first time traveling on a plane by myself. It was also the first time I got to visit Los Angeles. Previously I’ve only traveled Colorado and New York. In result of my decision, I traveled I believe it was 32 cities. I’ve got to work with Hill Harper, who is an award winning actor that launched TheBlackWallStreet Digital Wallet and Najah Roberts, who is a very important crypto expert. She is the Founder of CryptoBlockchainPlug; A brick & morter cryptorexchange company. I also got to privately interview with EarnYourLeisure. I attended the Miami Bitcoin Conferance as well as the 2021 Tulsa Oklahoma Economic Empowerment Day Conferance. There are also other important figures who i have worked with and/or they have shown support such as Cjthesmartguy who is an accountant that specializes in crypto. He created a podcast that breaks down the whole experience of the tour in 2021. You can find him on all platforms by, “cjthesmartguy”. I also met with Lamar Wilson a couple of times. He is a software engineer and is one of the founders of Black Bitcoin Billionaires. It is an original Clubhouse group. They have a very organized format to educate people of all kinds about cryptocurrency. Anyways, so throughout the whole journey traveling with Najah,cj,Ron the bodyguard, kweisi Gharreau my former client and a few people who popped in and out along the way we were educating people about cryptocurrency. Particularly Bitcoin. Najah would break down the whole history of bitcoin and why it is important. Cj would often talk about the legal aspects of it. We would also have a performance done by an artist before our speech. It was a very educational period of time for me. As a person who has always hated math and talking numbers…. im finding myself addicted to learning more about it along with other aspects of life now. The University of North Texas sign says, “Only The Educated Are Free”. -Epictetus

We will be going on tour again this year from May 29th-July 14th. Check TheDFRTour Website to see when we stop in your city. The instagram is @thedfrtour to recieve updates.

Valissa, 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?

In highschool I took classes in video productions. It was very diverse. It ranged from football, commercial to movie productions. I am continuing my education at the University of North Texas currently; However this does not make my work any less. Afterall, we are students for life enspecially with technology ever evolving.

After highschool I sought to rely on making my own connections rather than rely on the school and my degree. In result, I have developed experience in wedding, travel, sports and special events. My demoreel is on my instagram if you would like to check it out.

I also offer specialty drone services. Learning about the drone skills in the beginning involved flying around kids, through trees, over waters, around buildings and houses. The sky is the limit with my drone services.

What I am most proud of is probably that I have stayed true to my values throughout my journey. Regarding my work Howeved; I am proud of my ability to incorporate consistent movement in my work through my drone, my camera & gimbal. Being able to control both a drone and a gimbal simultaneously is something I’ve developed a skill for. Movement is my natural state of being. When you check out my demoreel you will see my usage of movement.

For my brand I want my clients to feel their videos felt true to themselves and their brand. For their videos to feel raw and authentic, but creative.

Coming from a painting background I believe in attention to detail, creativity and aesthetic importance.

The motto for my brand is, “limited attention calls for powerful communication”. This motto was inspired by my ADHD background and the understanding that the world we live in today is increasingly over saturated by technology.

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I choose this question because I realize that there’s a LOT of people who do not know what being a creative is like. I get questions pretty often and am happy to help and inspire non-creatives and people who are looking to explore this industry. There’s a lot that goes into being a creative. A videographer, a painter, a drone pilot, etc. One of them is resiliency. This industry is critical and art is subjective. The popularity of a person’s work does not define their skill, but rather indicate that other factors were involved such as connections, marketing, style and preference. Secondly, skill and technology is forever evolving. We are students for life. Enjoy the journey and you can learn as you experience. Third, art takes TIME. Compare Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki and Disney. Hayao Miyazaki is known to retire multiple times. Animal Crossing, a very successful and popular video game has came out with their first game in 2001. Their latest game, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” which came out March, 2020 sold a good 37.62 copies. The owner puts his employees health first over a dedicated launch date and has made his team equal in gender, so that the game appeases everybody. Back to Hayao Miyazaki. He has only made only 22 feature feature films and has a net income of 1.42 billion (reported 2011) with 182 employees (reported 2021). Disney has produced 148 movies minimum and has a net income of 1.995 billion (reported 2021) with 190,000 employees (reported 2021). I love my Disney movies, but studio ghibli managed to stay timeless, produce quality over quantity, avoid artistic burnout and remain timeless. Also having compatible teammates is also important with excellent communication, best interests in mind and great motivation.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When covid-19 first occurred, I lost my job at LifeTouch Studios. I had another job lined up though that summer where I received housing and food and a paycheck. I was able to max out unemployment when it was at its max and I used that unemployment to finally invest in my camera, drone, gimbal, batteries, etc. I knew this was my moment to show what I got and I was right. Whenever I recieve payment from a client or I recieve a scholarship. I like to use a portion of that to fund my career/business and help support myself overall. I don’t want to rely on school to get into my career because this career relies on connections & experience the most. A degree is the bonus points and opens extra doors. Im not disencouraging education, but just saying that this career is not the same as becoming a doctor or lawyer. Go the path you think is best and do your very best! Education can also be apart of the experience you need personally aside from a degree to get to where you need/want to be. Knowledge is power. Just use it wisely and have a plan for the financial aspects of it….

Also, there’s no rush, but its worth looking into taxes, assets, NFTs and scholarships, grants or competitions to recieve money. Knowledge is power.