We were lucky to catch up with Cynthia Newman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Cynthia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?
Most see success simply as making more money than you spend. Some see success as titles, awards, or diplomas. As for me, I see success as freedom. Having enough money not to have to check your account before grocery shopping, but also having enough time to maintain quality relationships. I see success as having choices. To choose how you spend the day, which doctors to see, and what work to do. I believe success isn’t one big thing. It’s being able to fire a client who treats you badly and having the freedom to take a walk in the middle of the day. It’s not only about putting dollars in the bank account, but also making each moment count. Success is earning a living and loving life. I believe that each individual has different needs to become successful.
Before I started my video editing company, I was working various media freelance work. I did a lot of ghost writing and draft editing. From the money I earned with that and a borrowed mini-mac computer, I was able to move into video editing. The mini-mac would overheat so I’d have to fan it with a post card every time I exported a video, but my clients loved my work and my upbeat personality! I needed bravery, tenacity, and a little help to get on the road to success.
I was able to build a reputation on a freelance platform and raise my rates. That’s when clients started coming to me instead of me sending out dozens of proposals a week. I picked up several consistent clients and was able to build a robust PC (with 11 built-in fans!) That really changed the game. I subscribed to a content library, hired an accountant, and built my own website so I could work smarter, not harder. I needed resources and skills to continue down the road to success and each achievement along the way is its own success.
I did all this without compromising my integrity, lying, or taking advantage of my clients. Sometimes this cost me money, but that didn’t bother me. Some months are harder than others and that’s alright too. It wouldn’t be true success if I had to stand on other people to get there.
With how fast everything changes in media, with AI, new software, and trends changing by the second, it is so easy to feel inadequate. I quite often do. Sometimes I underestimate a project, miss a deadline, and hate myself for it. When that happens, I remind myself that I was able to build this company because my clients LIKE my work. The road is bumpy and sometimes I make mistakes, but I always dust myself off and move forward striving to be the best I can be. This is the hardest part of owning a business for me, because I care deeply about delighting my clients, and when I disappoint them, I am devastated. Success won’t come without some failure and failure won’t stop me from succeeding next time. From failure, I learn, grow, and find a renewed determination to live up to my personal motto, “Never cease to amaze.”
For me to be successful, I need to have freedom to choose how I run my business, freedom from worry about financial insecurity, and the freedom to take time to enjoy my life with my loved ones.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Cynthia Newman and I own Mighty Pen Productions, a video editing company.
I have a degree in Film Production and that degree came with massive debt. I graduated in December of 2011, and it took six months to find a job that paid me $15.50 an hour in South Florida. I struggled, quit, moved, found a new job, came back, and six months after I got a new job, I was laid off. Last one in, first one to go. It took another six months to find a new job. I was hired in January 2016 and again laid off that December. The owner was going through a divorce and the business was failing, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. After the best financial year of my life at that point, I was again jobless. That’s when I tried freelance.
My freelancing journey began in January of 2017 and to my delight, people really liked me and my work. They liked working with me and they thought my rates were fair. Milestone after milestone I was able to build a reputation and then a business. It’s been tough and terrifying, but ultimately extremely rewarding. Having control over my schedule and who I work with has changed my life forever.
I recently figured out that I’m “neurodivergent.” It’s not officially diagnosed but it is pretty obvious to anyone who knows me. Part of being neurodivergent is facing a lot of challenges that “neurotypical” people don’t face. Many of these involve interpersonal interaction, schedules, and the skills it takes to run a business. It also makes keeping a regular job needlessly stressful and overwhelming. Some weeks are just hard and I occasionally fall flat on my face. With some networking and a lot of trial and error, I figured out something simple, but profound that changed the way I do business. Many people are neurodivergent and some of them need a video editor like me who not only understands the way they think, but can also help when they are having a tough week.
There is a study that shows that neurodivergent people gravitate towards other neurodivergent people and neurotypical people gravitate towards other neurotypical people. That makes sense. It’s easier to work with someone who thinks in similar ways as you. I started marketing differently. I changed my motto to, “Take back your free time.” I’m talking to those who have great content but get bogged down in the tediousness of the editing process. I’m here to rescue them from their headache, to make their lives easier, and hopefully to restore some work-life balance. Because I can understand my clients in ways others can’t and because I choose to operate my company with a semi-casual, sweet demeanor, I stand out from my peers, and even though more women than ever are in the tech side of the film industry, I still think being a woman entrepreneur helps me stand out even more.
At the risk of sounding controversial, many women are treated with condescension in the professional world, and we end up spending extra time explaining ourselves, our reasoning and our work to male counterparts who don’t ask that of other men. It is such a relief to work with someone who believes in you rather than questions you. In addition to helping them take back their free time, I validate my clients by believing in them and using my specialized skills to help them turn their hard work into consumable content and success.
Storytelling is my passion and my art! I try not to take for granted that I get to make money doing something I enjoy and for people I enjoy working with. I used to think my personality held me back, but now I believe it is just as important as the technical skills I bring to each project. Anyone can learn editing, but not everyone enjoys this kind of work. So, what really sets me apart from everyone else is simply: me.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Something to understand about video editing is that for most types of videos, the better editor you are, the less the audience notices the skills. The flow is smooth. The color matches from shot to shot, scene to scene. The music enhances your emotions without overpowering the story. There are no moments of friction that take you out of the content. I fix so many problems that no one, not even my clients, know about. It is so much easier to spot a bad editor than a good editor. How do you market that? Simple answer: I don’t. Well, not anymore.
I used to showcase my work with the sentiment of, “See how good my other clients’ videos looks? I can make yours look good too.” However, now I market the experience.
“Take back your free time,” is the company motto and, “Never cease to amaze is my personal motto.” My goal for every project is to take as much of the stress out of the content creation process for my client as I can. I am polite, pleasant, kind, flexible, and even silly (if I do say so myself.) I want my clients to be able to focus on the creativity of their project and be proud of showcasing their videos. I genuinely believe in my clients and am excited for their success! Marketing an experience that solves problems and relieves stress is exactly the pivot I needed from a “look-at-me” approach to a “this-is-how-I-can-help-you” approach and it’s made all the difference.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The best source of new clients for me has been networking/word-of-mouth. Even the freelance platform I use relies as much on client feedback to get new work as it does on the quality of the videos I edit.
Providing quality service and products in a way that relieves stress for my clients is something worth talking about and apparently my clients do! Each and every one of my clients are talented and amazing people and I enjoy working with them. We provide one another with great feedback on the platform and they tell their friends about me. Some share my business cards. One of them sings my praises to his customers when he’s at conventions selling his goods. Even this interview came from a college friend I love collaborating with introducing me.
Furthermore, their success is my success! The more their audiences like the videos, the more work my clients will have for me. The more my clients like working with me, the more they suggest me to their peers. All I have to do is earnestly continue to do my best.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mightypenpro.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MightyPenProductions
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-newman
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mightypen
