We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caleb Clark a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Caleb, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?

The first job I ever booked was a disaster! I was hired to film a tutorial video for a hair stylist. Being my first job, I, of course, didn’t charge enough and actually went out of pocket to pick up some rentals (lesson #1: include rental expenses in your invoices). Overall, the shoot went relatively well. We filmed for around 3 hours with multiple different angles.

Once we got into post-production, the project started to fall apart. I hadn’t written up a contract for this project or laid out any details/restrictions regarding what types of post-production services I offered (lesson #2: always write up a basic contract at minimum). We went through revision after revision for over a month trying to make this tutorial match the clients’ initial vision. I was asked for different angles, if I could remove some dirt from the talent’s shirt, if I could make shots wider, and so on (lesson #3: always discuss expectations from clients and ask for examples).

After a month and a half of going back and forth, the client gave up on the project and requested a refund. Not having a contract, there was no refund policy – so the client got all of their money back. I ended that first project having spent money rather than earning it (lesson #4: create a refund policy NOW).

It was a spectacular failure, but we took all of the lessons learned and applied them moving forward. We have not had a client ask for a refund since ( over 3 years). Nowadays, if you contact Exit Right Productions, LLC for a project, you’ll receive a detailed contract, an invoice breaking down your exact services, multiple phone calls, and emails to set expectations and to keep you updated on the progress of your project.

Caleb, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Caleb Clark, and I am the owner of Exit Right Productions, LLC. We are a photo & video production company located in Atlanta, GA and service all over the East Coast. We specialize in lifestyle and documentary style productions. If you look at our website (www.exitrightproductions.com), you will see that we have started to invest a lot of our time into capturing and documenting weddings.

We provide some of the highest quality wedding photography and videography in Atlanta with prices that anyone can afford. It is our belief that cost should not prohibit someone from having a professional capture their special day. We have a great selection of packages, but also offer the option to customize your own package to make sure your specific needs are met.

We commit ourselves 100% to each and every project. Here’s an extreme example: this past March we had a shoot with one our favorite clients (Shoutout Melissa J & Co!). The evening before our shoot, I dislocated my shoulder and had to go to the ER to have it fixed. I checked out of the hospital close to midnight, called one of my contractors that we work with a lot (shoutout John!) to get him on the shoot, and met him and the client on set the next morning. All that to say, we know how important your investment is to you and we will always respect that.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Our main goal at Exit Right Productions, LLC is to provide high quality video and photo services at rates that are accessible to a large population. Justifiably, the costs of content and media are very high, but our focus is bringing a flexibility to our pricing that can allow anyone to get started. In the ideal situation, we grow alongside our clients. As you start to reap the rewards from your investment, we begin to reap the rewards from our investment in you!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

For our business, advertising has made all of the difference. The market for creatives is so saturated, so you have to try new things to stand out.

Marketing has been a crucial part of growing our clientele over the last year. It helps us get in front of the right clients who are ready to book our services. While we made a substantial investment in our marketing at the end of last year, we have seen an even more substantial return on that investment.

If you’re a smaller business (or side hustle) and you don’t have the time to dedicate towards organically growing your audience/clientele, it is well worth it to invest in advertising.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.exitrightproductions.com
• Instagram: @exitrightproductions
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/exitrightproductions
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@exitrightproductions

Image Credits
BTS photos from John Zwyssig