We were lucky to catch up with Carlos Bustos recently and have shared our conversation below.
Carlos, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I believe that being consistent, a great work ethic, being passionate about what you do, and to never stop learning are major factors and the key to being successful.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
Hello there! My name is Carlos Bustos, I currently reside in Indianapolis and I run a video production company called Lido Video.
I started to become interested in the production of TV shows and movies a few years into college. I was able to find a media club at my college and so I started to attend their weekly meetings and eventually joined a group with the members to produce a music video for a local artist. Having a blast being part of the production, I knew that video production is what I would love to be able to do.
It wasn’t until I met another videographer, that I learned you can make money and have fun filming music videos. And so in the summer of 2018 I bought my first camera, Canon Rebel t5i, and started to learn how to film and edit videos.
I first started off helping said videographer with his video projects: Music videos, events, weddings, etc. and then with enough experience I ventured unto my own and started handling my own video projects and clientele.
At first I used my full name as my business name. Then I officially rebranded to “Lido Video” on January 1, 2022. With the goal to build a bigger company and work with other businesses for their video needs.
At the moment, Lido Video offers video production and post production (editing). Types of videos we have created are: Promotional, Recap, Interviews, Drone Footage, Testimonials, Weddings, and more!
We provide quality videos at a fair price for our clients. Many of our clients become repeat clients because of the customer service, attention to detail, and quality of service they receive.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Yes it did. Creating videos was my side hustle from the Summer of 2018 – Summer of 2020. Back then, I was working either at internships, or part time jobs, while also creating videos and being a videographer as a side hustle.
When Covid hit on March of 2020, I lost my part time job at the time which was as a barback at a restaurant. I also lost some videography opportunities and had no positive outlook if I was going to be able find work again as a videographer.
So I then picked up a full time job at a Amazon warehouse. About 2 months in, the world started to slowly open back up, and I was starting to get reached out for to film weddings and other small video gigs. During June or July of 2020 I felt busy enough with videography work that I left Amazon and never looked back! I took as many videography jobs I could get and took the time to keep learning how to film better and edit better. I also started to invest in better video gear. Now, I am at my second full year as a videographer and it looks like I will double my sales this year (2022) compared to last year (2021).
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
First of, I knew it was very important to have a very solid website. And so I have spent alot of time and money to have a page where it would be easy to convert and grab the attention to new potential clients.
I get most of my leads from the form I have on my website. They come from all over whether its Google, Thumbtack, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: LidoVideo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lidovideollc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lidovideo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-bustos/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBBt3yAVbfG3a4TZG_zj_kA