We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sam Kiste. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sam below.

Sam, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Have I been able to earn a living from my creative work? I have.

Basically since the beginning of starting my business in 2016, I’ve been able to make a living and support my family with the money that my business has brought in.

I have always been a very determined person and have always strived to work hard until what I want comes to fruition. I have been creating videos since before I was 10 years old and have always thoroughly enjoyed it. I had classes in High School dedicated to videography & went to Grand Valley State University and graduated with a Bachelors in Film/Video. It’s always what I’ve wanted to do, so I made it my mission to be able to do it full time and earn a living.

Just like anything, there were bumps in the road, but overall it has been a smooth process starting my business with one camera and a dream, to now working with over 200 clients every single year and living that dream.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Sam Kiste and I am the owner of SJK Productions, a full service video and photo production company. I founded the company in 2016 and have since grown the company to working with hundreds of clients and creating thousands of incredible videos for my clients. 50% of our business comes from wedding videography and the other 50% comes from our commercial video and photo.

There are a few things that set me apart from my competitors. First off, I’ve structured my company to not go after the “big” clients and focus more on the small/medium sized businesses. With these smaller clients, there are much less expenses and more money in the companies pockets. We love helping our clients grow their businesses with the use of our years of video and photo experience.

Another thing that sets me apart from other similar business owners is that I’m very business savvy. Not all, but most creatives are just that… Creatives. They can create an incredible finished product for the clients but don’t have the knowledge and expertise to book the jobs and continue the client relationship after the project is done. I’ve worked hard since I founded SJK Productions to build my knowledge and understanding of not only how to grow my videography skills but also my business skills.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think the thing that helped build our reputation in our area is our communication skills. We strive to have incredible communication skills whether is be responding to emails quickly, answering all calls and texts and always being upfront no matter what the question is. Clients appreciate honesty and we’re always honest how we do business and are honest about what would be best for our clients.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I think it all comes down to just being a nice person. Creating a quality experience for anyone you come in contact with goes an extremely long way. In the creative industry, if someone is happy with the work that is provided, they’ll be more than happy to share your name down the road. At this point, more than half of our new work comes in from referrals.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sjkvideoproductions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sjkproductionsweddings/

Image Credits
Dominic Krupp