We were lucky to catch up with Nick Paranjape recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nick, thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

First, you have to define success. Success means different things to different people. For me, success means making money. Not gonna lie. But it goes deeper than that. Success means feeling good about what you’re doing and making a difference in someone’s life through video storytelling. Sharing people’s stories has always been my passion. I love to see what makes people “go”, what motivates them, what obstacles they’ve overcome.

My belief has always been if you work hard, be positive, surround yourself with positive people and most importantly, you’re passionate about what you do, you will be successful. Working hard and being positive are two major attributes, in my opinion, you*must* possess to be successful.

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 started my career in television after graduating from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) with a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism. I began my career in TV as a sports anchor and reporter. I did that for the first 12 years of my career and then made the switch to anchoring and reporting news for the final 8-9 years. So, I have more than 20 years of television news experience as an award-winning anchor & reporter in five different markets including Nashville. In 2013, my contract at Fox 17 in Nashville was not renewed as the morning anchor. That’s when I decided it was time for a career change. I landed with Ascension Saint Thomas in 2014 as the Manager of Media Relations and Brand Journalism. I led a team of Emmy and Telly Award-winning brand journalists. We focused on patient, physician and health stories as well as executive messaging for internal and external purposes. From the ground up, we elevated the brand using video storytelling by creating two consumer-friendly websites and putting those videos on all social media channels and YouTube producing 25-30 videos a month. Our social media presence increased by 60%. Our goal was to bring out the human side of healthcare.

However, in July 2017, I lost my job due to company layoffs.

My passion and my strength is to tell stories. I enjoy sharing people’s stories; what motives them, why they do what they do. People fascinate me.

That’s behind the inspiration of creating my own video storytelling business. I started my business in September of 2017. As owner and creative director, my goal with Video Story Productions is to share a client’s story the way they want it told. We create video stories for corporations, non-profits and entrepreneurs. The videos explain what makes a business standout, what makes it unique. The videos are used on social media, websites, email marketing and seminar/events/trade shows. We have a variety of clients as we help bring their story to life with passion, emotion and information.

What I’m most proud of is changing careers, not jobs, but careers three times in five years. Not the way I planned it and it certainly wasn’t easy, but I persevered through by those two major attributes I mentioned earlier… working hard and being positive.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of getting new clients is word of mouth. No doubt about it. It’s the most effective and flattering way to get new business.

I’m also a firm believer in using the resources in front of you and that’s social media. Without social media, I have a hard time believing my business would be successful. I use all of my social media channels i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. But the one I recommend for business owners is without a doubt, LinkedIn. I have gotten some really good clients and inquiries through LinkedIn. It’s all business. No birthdays, no family pics… just business. I love it!

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

I had an advantage when I started my own business. Actually, I had two advantages. The first, I was on local TV doing the morning news for five years. Name recognition is huge and really helped get my foot in the door with prospective clients.

The second advantage, the four years I spent in corporate communications at Ascension Saint Thomas. Those four years in healthcare living in the Nashville area which is considered the “healthcare capital of the world” really helped me meet lots of influential people… lots of movers and shakers. So, when I launched Video Story Productions in 2017, I immediately reached out to my healthcare contacts and that got me going for sure.

Then, you got to produce. Getting in the door is one thing. Getting them as clients is totally different. Maintaining a good relationship and working hard for them pays off.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.VideoStoryProductions.com
• Instagram: @VideoStoryProductions
• Facebook: Video Story Productions
• Linkedin: @NickParanjape
• Twitter: @nickparanjape
• Youtube: Video Story Productions

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