Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elisheba Perry. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Elisheba, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I’ve always wanted to pursue a career that matters.

I grew up with a voracious appetite for stories. I could read for days on end but films in particular drew my attention. After graduating from film school (and surviving a recession,) I landed a job creating video content for a church. I got to tell stories that mattered and I felt appreciated, challenged and fulfilled… for a while. But after several years I began to wonder if perhaps I had more to offer to the world. I had the opportunity to edit a documentary film and the love of story and the filmmaking process began to seep back into my soul. Two weeks before I quit my church job, I traveled with the documentary to its inaugural film festival and had a chance encounter with a business coach. He took one look at my first feeble attempt at a business card and asked “can I give you some honest critique?” After eagerly accepting, he explained that the picture on my business card didn’t look like me. I had chosen a serious selfie that I thought might incline future clients to take me seriously, but it was in stark contrast to the first impression most people get from me: a joyful person, manifested by a smile and the resulting dimples the size of small craters on my face. That joy was completely missing. Also missing was a description of what I do. “Being an Editor/ Storytelling doesn’t really tell me anything about you,” he said. He tasked me with distilling my mission into 5 words or less. I left that encounter feeling both empowered and overwhelmed. To refine my mission meant I had to define it first. What exactly did I hope to do when I left my comfortable yet confining church job? I reached for pictures first, as refining that seemed an easier task. The professional headshots that I had were good, but said nothing of my passion, so I started scrolling through the photos on my phone. I stopped when I found a photo that someone had taken of me only a few weeks prior. I had recently gone on a mission trip to Greece and our trip leader had taken a photo of me while on a day trip to the Parthenon. There I was, holding a camera, smiling with those crater dimples, obviously on the other side of the world. That picture held everything: joy, method and evidence of how far I was willing to go. I was no longer satisfied telling stories that would change a few, but stories that could change the world. And I wasn’t just passively looking for them, I was actively chasing them. That was my photo and my mission.

Elisheba Perry: Chasing World Changing Stories

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

I started into film through photography and I started into photography through desperation. As a sixth grader, I felt as though I was terrible at everything. Academics didn’t come easy for me and so I went searching for an area I could compete in, even if winning came simply through lack of competition. An art teacher introduced me to black and white photography and I entered a school competition with only two other entries. That year, I came in first place and took home the most meaningful blue ribbon I have ever received. Because of that blue ribbon, I spent the next 6 years taking pictures of everything I saw. I took a few good ones, but I took A LOT of bad ones. Looking back at those photos (that my mom so patiently had developed) I realize that there was nothing innate about my photographic ability. It was something I developed over time because someone validated me and I enjoyed putting in the work. There’s a quote by Ira Glass that explains this process so well. He talks about the gap between a creatives’ ambition and their present reality. “It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.” One facet of creativity that I’ve found I return to again and again is the process of creating something from nothing. Some creatives love to play in a big sandbox. The more resources and options they have, the more phenomenal their creations. I’ve found that I work better with fewer options. I create best when my sandbox is nearly empty and all the toys are gone. But because I enjoy this process, I do it again and again and I’ve become an expert at crafting stories from minimal resources. Looking back, I can see this in all of my content over the years and I see it now in my business. This is the Paperclip Challenge applied to business. As my business grows, I anticipate that the scope of my stories and the resources I have available will grow. But it’s the volume of work that I have crafted in the scarce sandbox that is bridging the gap between my ambitions and my reality.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

This is a great question and still a bit of #goals for me. I was listening to a business owner talk about this recently in the context of complementary cookies or ice cream to customers waiting in a physical store. This seemed like such a good idea but since all of my work is done remotely and digitally, I had to find some other way to connect with clients. The one physical item that I often share with clients is a harddrive. I’m currently looking for small, locally produced items that I can send back with hard drives at the end of a project as a way of saying thank you to my clients.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I’ve always been a bit of a creative loner. I prefer to think in quiet spaces away from people. However, I’ve found that some of my best work has come from being in community with other creatives. We feed on each other’s ideas and make them better. Recently I’ve been intentional about connecting with other filmmakers who are in a similar life and career stage. I’ve been so encouraged by meeting up with them regularly and we’ve challenged each other to do more than I think any of us would have done alone. It reminds me of the african proverb “If you want to run fast, run alone. If you want to run far, run together.” I spent most of my early career running alone. I’m learning to run together.

Contact Info:

• Website: elishebaperry.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eli_of_sheba/
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/elishebaperry
• Youtube: @ElishebaPerry