We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matthew Schmitt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Matthew, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
I started making movies when I was in elementary school. Still creating short films, I worked multiple jobs in high school to afford to go to college. After saving a substantial amount of money, I ended being accepted and attending Columbia College Chicago. After a semester, I ran out of money and was not able to continue, so I came home to finish the rest of my education at the community college.
While attending college I created a television series called “Suburban Times” it aired on public access as well as broadcasted on KPLR channel 11 back in 2002. I worked with a group of young adults creating this show. We shot and aired this show for a couple of years but after years progressed we all got older and a lot of us started to graduate and start families, so the show ended up disbanding.
I was at the moment in my life where I was having to focus on a career job. With the skills, I learned from creating short films, I started making corporate videos for local companies. In 2008, I was networking with local filmmakers and musicians, and I noticed there was not a viable platform where they could communicate and meet. I also noticed St. Louis seems to be tribal with small cliques. To break down the barriers and bring artists together I hosted an event in October of 2008 called “Artist United” 1500 artists attended and that is where the name came from.
The road has been a struggle. It has changed me. When I first started pursuing my filmmaking career in 2002, I was a naive kid. I had no wisdom or experience but like most young adults I meet today, I thought I knew everything. I did not understand the role of a leader or what it takes to lead people.
Only in time working with corporate clients did I learn the importance of customer service. How to professionally handle yourself, talk to people, and most importantly how your word is important. Always do what you say you will.
Matthew, 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 was very fortunate to be able to pick up skills easily. I would not ever say I am a master at any of them. There are always things you can learn and with the media, it is always changing.
Working on projects, sometimes I did not have someone to help me with certain things, so I would have to teach myself certain skills to complete a project. I feel I have a good grasp of storytelling. Which with the show I host helps me ask the right questions to my guests to build a story for the audience.
I enjoy hearing other artist stories and struggles because as an artist I can relate to them.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
“Consistency” It is not a sprint to the finish, it is a marathon run. Any great stone is created over pressure and time. Do not worry about the rush to your goals, pace yourself and perfect your craft during the journey.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I had to reset many times in my career. Stepping back sometimes is a better move then going forward. There are only so many hours in a day and as I found myself spread out working on many projects. I had to stop other projects to put my full energy into a single lane.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artistunitednetwork/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistunited2020
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_JVNNcLjFLhuHj8Vbq9Now
Image Credits
A.G. Shaw – Metro Photainment