We were lucky to catch up with Elizabeth Colunga recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. Looking back on your career, have you ever worked with a great leader or boss? We’d love to hear about the experience and what you think made them such a great leader.
My first in-house video production job was on a marketing team. My boss, Sarah gave me the most creative freedom I’ve had of any superior. She let me come up with ideas for videos, run with them, and allowed me to edit it properly to tell a story. She gave me an amazing gift of creative freedom. Her trust gave me confidence and really let me flex my creativity muscle.
Elizabeth, 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?
I was inspired by early Wes Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson in high school, so I went directly into film school after graduating. I spent a lot of time in front of the camera but later recognized that I liked being behind the camera. Since then, I have created projects for clients, including promotional, educational, social media, even broadcasting events! That said, however, I do still explore my own side projects. My preference is documentary! There are just too many stories out there that have yet to be told.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I was working as an administrative assistant/data entry employee at a local toll road and there was this undeniable fire within me that told me to stop everything and go full-time filmmaking. So, I started slow. I volunteered and picked up gigs everywhere I could so that I could build my video portfolio. Within weeks, I quit the office job and was hired full-time as a video producer and editor for an in-house marketing team. I still have side hustles that I love to do for clients as well as passion projects I live out when I’m done with my 9-5.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
YES! The Arena and Mindshift podcast by Erwin McManus and Lewis Howes’ School of Greatness podcast both bring on people that are highly sought after in their craft, including legends like Kobe Bryant! Both Howes and McManus pick the mind of the most skilled men and women of our time and allow the audience to take a different approach to creativity. All the while, both podcasts continue to remind the audience that everything is possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elizabethcolunga.com
- Instagram: Elizabeth_colunga
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethcolunga/
- Youtube: @elizabethcolunga
Image Credits
Julie Bishop Sarah Trimble Saz Williams