We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mike Ladisa a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mike, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

In simple terms, to be successful, you have to do the work. Grind. Put in the hours. Invest time and/or resources in yourself. If you don’t invest in yourself, no one else will.
Success in broader terms, for me, and my business, is a few things:
– I treat my clients like friends. It’s a business relationship, but we are all working together to achieve the same goal, whether that is to produce a TV show, commercial, corporate video, or broadcast news. Everyone wants to put out the best product possible, efficiently, safely, and in a timely manor. As long as I can be profitable for me, I try to overdeliver and undercharge.
– My business is only as good as the team I have. I hire good people, who are experts at what they do. I treat my employees as friends as well, because again, we are all working to achieve the same goal, why not do that with a team you respect, and enjoy being around?
– Look at the money coming in, and going out, often. I personally look at these numbers 5-10 times a month. Don’t spend more than you’re making.
– Show up early

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I received a film and television degree in 1994, from The University of Wisconsin. After that, I worked in local news for 5 years. Turning 3 stories and live shots a day teaches you to be pretty fast and efficient. I decided to start my own company, bought a camera and a few lights, then started working on building clients. Currently, we service several hundred clients throughout the world, out of Orlando, FL. We provide production services for television shows, commercials, feature films, corporate videos, and broadcast news. Some of our clients include Warner Bros, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, Home Depot, Walt Disney World, Lexus Racing, Universal Studios, and National Geographic.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Two things helped me build my reputation –
We have the most current equipment. As soon as a new camera comes out, it’s ordered.
We have a great team that works hard.

Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?

My business generates income 4 ways:
– I personally go out on shoots as Director of Photography
– We rent equipment to other production companies
– We provide production crew to other production companies
– We rent our studio spaces out

Contact Info:

• Website: https://keylightcinema.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keylight_film_studios/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KeylightCinemaStudios?checkpoint_src=any
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/cbd246
• Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/keylightcinema