We were lucky to catch up with Ryan Mills recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ryan, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?
I’ve started multiple businesses but we’ll focus on my current one, “Four-M”. I always wish I had started my businesses earlier, but of course the knowledge and resources all come later via trial-and-error. I started my business out of necessity as being an LLC had more benefits than a contractor at the time. Had I started my business sooner, I would have had more time to reap those benefits and create workflows and practices around that type of operation.
Looking back, I would have liked to focus more on research and development before launching my business. Although you may have a great idea and experience in a particular field, you really need to spend months in the trenches creating risk registers and contingencies so that your business is fail-proof. You should create and revise your business-plan multiple times before you think it is sustainable in a multitude of economical climates. Think of off-the-wall scenarios like “What if my business doesn’t yield revenue for 6 months” and create plans around those extremities so that when something like COVID happens, you’ll be ready or at least mentally prepared.
When it comes to the experience itself, as I mentioned… It’s a ton of trial-and-error. But these lessons are priceless so I wouldn’t necessarily change much. Remember, success is in the eye of the beholder. Creating milestones and benchmarks for YOUR business is more valuable than matching your competitors.
Ryan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
When I use the phrase Jack-of-All-Trades, people forget its proceedings which is “An Ace-of-Many”. I’ve always been a bit of a Swiss-Army-Knife, toggling between sales, marketing and service. I’ve done Human Resources for 1000+ employees, managed sales teams and have been a Director of Marketing; all these roles have sharpened my skillset to where it’s at now. Over the past 15-20 years I’ve drifted back towards my passion which is in media – specifically music & video.
Currently, I have the privilege of holding the title of “Executive Producer” at a creative video production house. This allows me to be remain creative, dial-up my marketing knowledge and lean into the charismatic people-person I naturally am. If there’s any take-away I want to leave people with, it’s that I am a connector of people! As an Executive producer, it’s more important to put the right people, in the right place at the right time and I embrace facilitating such opportunities.
I love being a consultant and helpmate to those looking to create amazing content or manage personnel, and “Four-M” allows me to do just that. I’ve built a business that offers media creation, management and marketing all under one roof. This turn-key streamlined approach is what attracts clients to me and I hope to further my services as I scale.
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
They’re here to stay! I am and advocate for free enterprise and can see how owning rights, to an asset can be truly beneficial. Like any new method, there will be hang-ups and grey areas to balance, but I love the fact that artists can now create and display their works the way they want to on their own platforms – in their own way and allow the market to dictate its true worth.
There’s a ton of untapped potential here and I genuinely believe we are pioneering something truly amazing.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
NETWORKING – Based on the roles I’ve taken on and where my business is now, being front-facing is paramount in our my industry. You have to shake-hands, kiss babies, run for mayor.. all that jazz! But seriously, I enjoy getting out and meeting people in-person. Once we were restricted with COVID, I began to realize just how imperative this aspect of business development truly is. I think we all got ZOOMed-Out a bit so it’s been great to get back to my roots of rubbing elbows with strangers who turn become collaborators and eventually friends.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mills-media.com
- Instagram: @writemoment
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanemills
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/rowlbertos
- Other: https://www.rowlbertos.com/work
Image Credits
Jennifer Rubin, Stormie Kadar, Stacy Keck, Rob Knauf, Jackie Lynn, Sean Horton, Ryan Mills