We recently connected with Andy Kelemen and have shared our conversation below.

Andy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I wish I had known not to be afraid to take creative risks early on in my career – vs waiting for a later date to take big swings. As freelancers, we’re always searching for that next paying job. But what happens when you blink, and years have gone by, and you haven’t done any wonderful projects for you, that make you feel fulfilled? So while it’s important to take various steps as a freelancer in making a living, you also need to make time for your personal projects that make you happy.

That being said, sometimes you take jobs strictly for the paycheck. There’s the saying one for the meal one for the reel, and I really believe that’s true. I feel like I’ve been able to – at times – make a living as a freelancer by taking less-than-stellar jobs because they pay well. Don’t be afraid to take on those jobs. There’s nothing wrong with doing a job for money, even if it’s below your creative threshold.

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’m a freelance commercial director, and run a boutique production company called Dessert Before Dinner. We specialize in comedic spots and branded content. But as of late I’ve gotten heavily into UGC creation, both in sourcing other creators, and in being on camera myself. You have to adapt!

I love coming up with creative video solutions to various briefs and RFPs regarding interesting topics, products, and brands. Before this I was a commercial editor for many years as well.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

To stay positive in the face of adversity! On a lot of film sets and commercial sets, there’s sometimes an unnecessary level of anxiety. I hate that! No job is that important, unless you’re saving lives. So I try to always keep things upbeat and positive. Morale is infectious. If you keep a good attitude, where you’re always looking to solve problems inclusively, while staying the course, it will resonate with your team. And also – get excited! Excitement is infectious too! If you lead with positive reinforcement, that trickles down.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

Yes – because in the freelance world, you always have to adapt! For a while, I was strictly doing commercials for CTV and social media, but UGC has opened up a whole new revenue stream for myself and my business. Not only do I offer this up to others as on camera talent, but I source other UGC creators for various brands. What’s been great is – if we’re creating a commercial that’s more traditional, I can sometimes upsell a client into buying some UGC which can be made with the same crew using the same set, just new talent. You always have to adapt.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dessertbeforedinnercreative.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dessertbeforedinnercreative/
• Other: https://www.andykelemen.com/ugc