We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dominik Espey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dominik below.

Dominik, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Life is all about taking risks. I know, you’ve probably heard that from your best friend at a party trying to get you to do something dumb. Although it would make for a great story, there’s most likely better risks you can take.

This story isn’t going to be just about me and my risks, it’s also going to be about how I view risks and how you can use them to better your life. I will also be touching on my company, High Exposure Media, what it’s like being a creative, and what drives my creative journey.

In general, people need to take more risks. Risks that will better your life, teach you something, allow you to experience the world from a different view. A lot of what drives society today is comfort, a type of convenience. Unfortunately, convenience is crippling us and ruining our chances of taking new risks that ultimately project us into a better quality of life. Now, when I say ‘risk’, I don’t mean jumping off a 30 foot bridge into a river or taking out a $50,000 loan to get a new car, I’m talking  about a planned risk. To me, a risk is not like gambling or a guessing game, but instead, it’s a strategic way to create a better quality of life.

I’m telling you this and talking about risks because that’s what I believe more people should be doing. Since creating my company, The High Exposure Brand LLC, I’ve taken multiple risks, one of which is betting on myself. Gaining my first client, shooting my first wedding, investing in my first website, it’s all a risk. To be completely transparent with you, doing anything for a ‘first’ is actually a risk. At the beginning, you might not succeed, and that’s okay, because we’re always learning. Even if you took the risk and failed, you still succeeded in two things, improving yourself and learning. From attending college, to registering my LLC, to gaining my first client, it was a risk. All of my clients & customers have taken a risk betting that my company will have a positive impact on their business, so why shouldn’t I take risks too?

There are key principles you need to have to take calculated risks, they are; Fairness, Integrity, Honesty, Human Dignity, Service, Quality or Excellence, Potential, Growth, Patience, Nurturance, and Encouragement. If you use these principles in daily life and whenever you are taking a risk or calculating your next one, you will not fail. Principles are not practices, you cannot just practice a few of these principles and then forget about them. I can’t tell you how many negative thoughts I’ve had or times I wanted to give up. I thought things like “I’m not good enough”, “I don’t know how to run a business”, “I can’t do all this work”, “Why am I not doing better?”, “What’s wrong with me?”. When I have those thoughts, I ask myself is that really how I feel or am I letting deep negative habits control how I feel? These 4 habits are like kryptonite to calculated risks, they are; Procrastination, Impatience, Criticalness, and Selfishness. If you can completely remove these deep embedded habits and follow the principles I stated above, you will have success in taking risks and overall a better quality of life. I hope this helps you to achieve your next goal and take calculated risks.

Dominik, 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?

My name is Dominik Espey. I run a Media Company in St. Louis, Missouri called The High Exposure Brand. We’re a new company trying to provide videography paired with high exposure marketing & advertising to small businesses in the US. My company is based on two main businesses, a film production company and a networking company. Right now we are in the first stages of building the foundation for our production company.

I didn’t just wake up one day and say “let’s go start a business!”. Having a business has been something I’ve dreamed of for a long time, since I was in middle school. During my years at St. Louis Community College I took an advertising course. That one class really stood out to me and ever since then I wanted to do something in the advertising world. I knew I didn’t want to just do business, working in a company. I wanted to create something. That’s when I leaned into film production. At first, I couldn’t grasp the film production world, nothing seemed to work for me or be my fit. The one thing I did know, I liked taking pictures and videos. Truth was, I wasn’t applying myself or going “as hard” as I could have been. Once I started applying myself more, I looked at every little project like it was a gig for a client or a research project. I would see where my weakness was, I’d go to my professors and ask them what I could shoot or focus on to get better results. After giving up almost 5 different times at Webster, I decided to stick it out and just try my best. That was the best decision I made. I was able to stick it out and make the Dean’s list 3 times, win 2 Film Production Awards, and graduate with Honors. Because I decided to take a risk and go against my anxiety and insecurities, I was able to succeed and in May of 2022 I received a Bachelors in Film & Television Production.

Moving on from College, that’s when I decided to start my own brand. My company, The High Exposure Brand LLC, offers full production services to help market and advertise your business or event to the world. What makes us different from the competition is exclusivity. High Exposure Media will always offer videography & photography services, but we are in the process of creating a networking group dedicated to improving your business. We know how busy it can get being a business owner, that’s why we want to lift the stress and handle your advertising & marketing. As one of our clients, we will always advertise your business for free through our website. For the clients we put on retainers, we go deeper into advertising & marketing on our website allowing for more engagement and funneling. That’s why our Slogan is “Giving your company the exposure it needs while keeping your mind at ease”

High Exposure Media has worked with many small businesses in the St. Louis area. Helping create others’ dreams come true is what we want to be a part of. We don’t only work with small businesses though, we are currently working on a project for Ronald McDonald House Charities subsidiary, The Red Shoe Society. The project includes 2 videos and 1 promo. I would say that’s one of our biggest achievements so far, working with Ronald McDonald House Charities.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative, to me, is the process and product. I also can’t forget about networking and meeting new people, that’s a favorite too. One of the main things that motivates me is trying new shots, taking on new projects, and achieving our clients exact vision. Just like the art industry, the media industry is about trying new things and going outside the box. When you achieve that new gimbal move, nail that drone shot, or time the perfect picture it’s rewarding because you get instant feedback and results. A lot of the time we can’t wait to show clients the cinematography, lighting, or final product. I always have to remind myself, the joy and excitement is in the process and journey. One of the best parts about all of this is seeing the expression on our clients face and knowing that we created this ourselves. It’s truly one and a million.

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

The particular goal and mission driving my creative journey is helping others. Whether that be a client or employee, we just want to see you improve and help you grow. There’s no need for envy, jealousy, or competition. It’s not always about the money or getting the biggest project, it’s about how we are going to help this client and benefit them. In terms of an employee, we like to think it’s not about where you are now, but where you’re going and the person you want to be shaped into.

We recently did a grand opening shoot for a small business in St. Louis. The project was to showcase the business and then also re-create the experience of the grand opening. What I loved about this project was the whole family came together to help one person’s dream come true. For a temporary moment, High Exposure Media felt what it was like to be a part of someone else’s passion and dream.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highexposuremedia_/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HIGHEXPOSUREMEDIA
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HighExposureMedia/featured
• Other: We are creating a new website that is more user friendly and custom to our clients & customer demographic

Image Credits
Photographer: Dominik Espey, Owner of High Exposure Media