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

Joyce and Ray, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

From Ray:

Our backgrounds out of college were in mechanical engineering (Joyce) and finance (Ray). After 4 years of working in those fields, Joyce and I decided on our honeymoon that neither of us absolutely loved what we were doing. At that very moment we decided to quit our jobs and pursue a new career in filmmaking.

Joyce and I love telling stories; especially stories that give a voice to people who are doing extraordinary things for the planet, their communities, and for social good. But at the time we had no idea how to operate a camera (pre mobile video era!) let alone how to edit one. And Youtube was still in its early stages. So we self-taught ourselves everything from what few resources were out there.

We took all the money we had originally saved to buy a house in order to purchase equipment, attend expensive in-person workshops, and fly ourselves around the country to offer free assistance to filmmakers and directors that we respected at the time. Obviously, this was a huge risk with no guarantee that anyone would ever pay us to be filmmakers and there was no clear path of what an actual career in this field could look like.

Fast forward 15 years later and we currently run Only Today, a commercial video production studio with 11 full-time staff, a roster of Fortune 500 clients, and a close network of over 200 filmmakers around the world that support our projects.

While we take pride in the creative work we produce for our clients, we know the harder part is building a sustainable business model around video production that can pay us competitive wages, provide for our staff and their families, and build long-term relationships with our clients. Some of our largest clients have stuck with us for over a decade and we don’t take that trust for granted!

Joyce and Ray, 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?

Only Today is a 10-time Emmy Award-winning video production company driven by the belief that well-told stories have the power to spark curiosity, shift perspective, and inspire action. As directors, producers, cinematographers, writers, and editors, we are united by our passion for creating authentic stories that amplify good in the world.

We are based in the Pacific Northwest but have traveled to and produced films in over 40 different countries. Only Today is proud to have a roster of clients that range from non-profits to Fortune 500 brands such as Apple, CBS Sports, Meta, Brooks Running, One Medical, and more.

Our work is fueled by a deep love for people — and we are honored to be entrusted with sharing their stories. Each project is an opportunity to capture the essence of human connection, challenge the status quo, and leave a lasting impact on those who experience it – on both sides of the camera.

Over the years, Only Today has had the distinct honor of receiving 10 Emmys for our team’s work in sports, commercials, documentaries, and television. Most recently, our collaboration with CBS Sports on the opening tease for Super Bowl LVIII garnered multiple Emmy wins.

As a Certified B Corporation™ and a Certified Minority Business Enterprise, we are committed to making a positive impact by the choices we make on and off a production set. Our women-led, minority-owned company is proud to be part of a global movement of businesses dedicated to social and environmental excellence. Our stories aim to inspire action and spark conversations that lead to a better, more compassionate world.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Although we’re in video production, it’s the education outside of the creative field that has allowed us to flourish both as business owners and filmmakers. These are 3 resources and strategies that we believe will level up any aspiring creative:

Join a business network such as Entrepreneur’s Network, Business Network International, or a local mastermind group. The idea isn’t to network for sales but to engage with and learn from other business owners, CEOs, and entrepreneurs in various industries.

Learn the financials of running your business by reading Simple Numbers by Greg Crabtree, Once we understood the numbers behind your business, we were able to make better and faster decisions that moved our business towards long-term profitability and success.

Learn how to structure your business by reading Traction by Gino Wickman. Whether you’re a solopreneur or manage a team of 100, learning how to implement a clear system to operate your business will save your health, family, and sanity (for you and your clients!).

Obviously, you don’t have to adopt any of these specific systems to be successful but we all have the same 24 hours in a day and I’ve seen founders and CEOs run businesses 10x our size but with a fraction of the effort and time commitment. They have incredible systems and teams in place.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

We learned early on that no matter how great a filmmaker or storyteller we were, that talent had minimal bearing on how successful we could be at running a sustainable business.

Early on in our journey, we were a commercial shoot with a talented director and producer. The final result was not only a great video that everyone was proud of, it also went on to win numerous industry awards. But what shocked us the most was overhearing our client saying they would never want to work with that director ever again; despite all the commercial success we experienced together.

Apparently, the director was a terrible communicator and also disrespectful to the crew, actors, and clients themselves. His approach was that the quality of the final product justified the lousy process and experience it took to create it.

From that moment on, I vowed to never prioritize the outcome of our creative work over the people and systems it’ll take to create that work. That meant being better at communicating, treating everyone with respect (regardless of their role), and always acting with integrity.

As a result of that commitment, we have an incredible roster of clients who not only continue to work with us year after year across hundreds of projects but are also our biggest fans, advocates, and dear friends. We did no marketing during the first 8 years of running Only Today and managed to grow our business 15x just from referrals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.onlytoday.tv
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlytodaytv
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/onlytoday/

Image Credits

Noah Porter