We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Larry Elyea a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Larry, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share a customer success story with us?
I make short films and ads for companies. My style is more lifestyle and storytelling than straight corporate sales. In 2014, I started working on all the online, television, and cable content for Liftedtrucks.com. A good friend, my best friend, Mike Halland, is the Marketing Director there. He brought me on to help him with the task. Together we came up with the idea to sell these trucks by showing the end user how much fun it is to own one. Getting outdoors, pulling boats, camping, off-roading. So we made about 200+ commercials, to show how much fun it is to own a custom truck. No pushy sales pitches. Just gorgeous footage of trucks kicking butt in the wild. Every scenario a real truck user would use a truck. From work, to play, to family, we showed it all, in a true to life sense. When I came on they had one store. Selling about 100 trucks per month. Now they have 8 stores, across 3 states, and sell nearly 800 trucks a month. Of course, this success is not entirely due to our work…as the owners are pure geniuses. But I like to think Mike and I, have a part in the success with our campaigns and relentless pursuit in showing the truck, SUV, Jeep, lifestyle to the masses. And in a unique way that the normal automobile industry has not done. In fact, now we notice others trying to copy our work, including major multi-million dollar brands. Mike and I have won 6 Telly Awards for commercials we produced for LiftedTrucks.com, and it really is nice to get national recognition for our work. Its also REALLY nice, to have a company that supports your vision, and allows you to see it through. This is key, because if LiftedTrucks.com didn’t let us do our thing, I would not be talking to you about this right now;)
Larry, 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?
So I started Mind’s Eye Digital Recording Studio in 1993. At the recording studio, I got to record hundreds of local artists, and a bunch of national talent. Including Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Disturbed, Sevendust, Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Jimmy Eat World, Digital Summer, Etc. In 2014 I started doing video production as well. This included commercials, music videos, online content, wedding films, really anywhere I could get creative and get experience. I like to help clients look at their needs from a different point of view, not necessarily from the status quo. Sometimes that’s all people know. But usually that is not where the magic lives. It lives somewhere in the slightly uncharted territories. I am most proud of always striving for what the client wants, not what I want. Their happiness is the most important thing to me. I can give them advice on how I would do it, but in the end it is their choice. Then the task is to execute that choice as diligently, and proficiently as I can. Because of this approach, I have been nominated for a Grammy Award in recording, and won 6 Telly Awards for commercials and short films.
Another thing I am proud of, is that the journey for knowledge never ends. I try and learn something new everyday. You are NEVER at the top of the field and done learning. If you decide that, your dead. I think every entrepreneur that provides a service should think that way.
The experience of being in the studio for so long, made me great at it, but it limits your life experiences. Now with making commercials and film, I have another creative outlet, that has other benefits. It gets me out of the studio into the world. I’ve been to Brazil working on a film about a UFC fighter, I’ve been to Hawaii to shoot a music video. I’ve been literally everywhere in the state of Arizona making commercials. The two artforms go hand in hand and I feel like I am absolutely blessed to have found both of them.
Have you ever had to pivot?
So this part of my story is about how I got into filmmaking. In 2009 the studio was in dire straights. The financial collapse had taken its toll on my client base and people were just not recording as much. More and more people were recording at home, and less and less young people were picking up instruments and forming bands and recording. The writing was on the wall, but this is all I knew, I had no plan “B”. Then one of my friends, a filmmaker, Matty Steincamp of Mango Skies Films, came into the studio to mix a movie soundtrack. I had ALWAYS been interested in filmmaking, I just thought the cost of entry was way too high. His movie looked fantastic, gorgeous. I asked, ” What did you shoot it on?”. He said, “This camera right here.” He pointed at a $2000 Canon 6d. I could not believe it. The film industry i knew, shot film. Camera and lens packages that cost millions. And here, he had made this amazing film, with a $2000 camera. It blew my mind. And at that moment, I decided to pivot, and add filmmaking to my list of services I offered. I put myself through Youtube.com film school for about a year. 4-5 hours every night after work, I studied and learned. Basically had zero life, other than work, and learn at night for about a year. Then I sold some of the studio equipment that was not being used as much, and reinvested into purchasing cameras, lenses, lighting, etc. Matty was nice enough to bring me on several of his projects, for work. I learned a lot from him. I think finding a quality mentor is huge when you pivot. That, and preparation, take your time, think everything through, and execute.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
So I was on a podcast recently, and the hosts, who were in my field, said, ” You know Larry, I have never heard anyone say a bad word about you. Your reputation is solid.” It got me thinking about it, and I came up with this. I treat every client, as if they are my last client. If I lose them, I go under. This attitude, keeps me always trying to succeed for the client. To go above and beyond for them. If you are constantly doing that, your reputation with always be in good standing. Just being passionate about your work, loving what you do, and coming through in a clutch, goes a long way to building your reputation and keeping it in good standing within your industry.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mindseyedigitalproductions.com
- Instagram: mindseyedigitalproductions
- Facebook: facebook.com/mindseyedigital
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-elyea-588aa657/
- Other: vimeo.com/larryelyea
Image Credits
Larry Elyea, Gonzo