We were lucky to catch up with Eugene Wilson V recently and have shared our conversation below.

Eugene, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. So, we’d appreciate if you could open up about your growth story and the nitty, gritty details that went into scaling up.

First, starting a business in general is not hard. Starting a good business and consistently seeing your vision through is the hard part. There were many trials to get to where I am today and I still have a long way to go. When people ask for advice on finding success in the film industry or as an entrepreneur in general, the truth is that you either have the ‘it’ factor or you don’t.

The ‘it’ factor is not being complacent, having huge goals that sometimes you only understand, having the ability to sort through the discouraging events in life, and always pushing forward. The ‘it’ factor is important because this allows you to always keep your head and mind on the swivel to seize opportunities. This doesn’t mean using people with wrong intentions. because without great relationships you can’t have success as most projects are client-facing and require a team.

I went to Michigan State University for music and the program was very competitive. I practiced my percussion instruments 8-10 hours a day 5-6 days a week. When I decided to transition from writing music for video to recording video, I took my same work ethic and applied it to a new creative talent. My wife and I married young right after undergraduate college and she continued her education for a Masters’s degree. We stayed on campus with a meal plan and lived rent-free for 2 years. At 20 years old I understood that I had a skill, a business idea, and I had access to cameras, musicians, friends for actors, and could do free music videos or commercials for products, professors, local businesses, and bands. I knew that the 3-4 years on campus could give me a jumpstart that many had access to, but didn’t take advantage of.

After I had my first few profitable years the key question became growth. Like most people, I thought about how can I not worry about finding clients month to month. There were a few ways I was able to scale.

1. Growing a team of like-minded members.

I am great with business, and I am a great Cinematographer. Was I a ‘do it all’ individual in the beginning where I’m producing, directing, doing the cinematography, editing, and effects? Absolutely. What I realized is that it’s not about being great at all of the positions. It’s about having a specialized role but understanding the process enough to hire the right people. For example, I am great at Directing and doing cinematography for commercials, but I am most passionate about cinematography. So, I found a couple of directors, that lacked exposure like myself, had similar goals, and were just as great or better as a Director, but also passionate about Directing and script writing.

2. Investing
Most people look toward Paid advertising which can work but can be very expensive and a waste if it isn’t done properly. I think money is well invested in portfolio building and collaborations. Start local then expand. All free work isn’t bad business and many times setting up meetings with potential customers could be enough. Some you offer a service and some you just show interest in their product/service. Doing this for a year allows you to be known as ‘the business ‘ locally and in nearby cities.

The issue is that most people expect to make thousands of dollars immediately. Eliminate that mindset. Focus on collaboration for 1 year and watch how many people know you and respect your work.

It’s a process, but as you go on throughout that year many people will call you back and ask “How much would it cost to do it again”, some places will pay you anyways, and other times business owners and producers will recommend you to others.

3. Offer More Than One Service. (Secretly or Publicly)

I have a pretty diverse background, so I was able to make an income doing private music lessons and trading stocks in the stock market which I ended up creating a separate company at www.5thinvestments.com

Being great at multiple things can be great because you can use it to fund personal projects, fund advertising, or invest in gear. I would do my secondary services solely by word of mouth so bystanders understood film production comes first. Now, in the beginning, I had another secondary service that supported my main service which included offering advertising/branding which acted as a bundle package with video/photo. The takeaway here is that there are many steps and unknown factors that will need to be adjusted.

Still to this day I work, save, invest, and collaborate, and that has helped me develop 5th Investments, a stock market newsletter, 5th Media a film agency, and also continued to work on my personal brand as a Freelance Cinematographer.

Eugene, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Cinematographer and entrepreneur and I have been working as a freelancer for nearly a decade. I started my film production company in my dorm room at Michigan State shortly after transitioning from studying music to film. Through various college connections, I built a name for myself to start freelancing full-time.

I manage the day-to-day of 5th Media, I freelance independently as a Cinematographer for many talented film/marketing agencies, and also run a stock market newsletter that has educated people on navigating the stock market.

The great thing about being multi-talented is that you can create, delegate, and focus on your passion. As of now, I understand I have much room for growth, but I am proud of the healthy work environment I’ve surrounded myself with.

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

Early in my career, I didn’t understand how effective free work could be ‘if’ you have a plan. Many people get started in a business and immediately want to get paid for everything. In the film industry, it’s not always that fluid. If you are doing free work to do it and never hear back from the client then of course that is the wrong approach. but if I am doing a film, music video, or commercial for free and my intent is to use the project as part of a pitch to a larger client, then you have a win-win situation.

Once I adjusted my thinking from ‘I’m not getting paid for this project” to “How can I use this free project or outreach strategy to get paid” my business began to grow.

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

In life, I want to be free mentally and financially to just have fun doing what I love. The money in the film doesn’t drive me, and. the money from other businesses/investments won’t affect my drive. There is nothing like watching a movie or commercial you filmed and seeing other viewers find joy. The only way to travel the world filming projects being unfazed by who did or didn’t hire me, what client gave me a good or bad review etc… is to have made enough money, invested properly, and maintain healthy relationships throughout the process.

The peace of mind that can be attained is my motivation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.genewilsonv.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genewilsonv/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/genewilsonv
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZiRp2j2lh9ebAxq_Yfy9fw
• Other: secondary business – 5th Investments