We recently connected with Taylor Widmann and have shared our conversation below.

Taylor, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us 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?

Earning a full time living from creative work is not only possible, but has no ceiling on how far you can take it. The risks are higher, the stakes feel higher (but working for one person can actually be less stable) but you have so many more experiences and learn so quickly in the freelance world that your growth is accelerated. After a few years, you can command a much higher rate and have the confidence to ask for it. That said, the journey is long! I am about 10 years in, and am constantly making mistakes, trying and failing, and getting better.

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 am a professional creative specializing in post production, and have been hell bent on doing this for a living since I first touched a camera in 7th grade. What started as making skate videos and silly commercials really hasn’t changed that much, I just bring that same passion and creative spirit to client work. The main difference has been going from shooting on VHS tapes to 8K Red files. I started my first editing business in high school, went to film school, took a job as a transcriber at a reality TV company, and worked my way up to lead editor of the development department over 6 years. In 2018 I started my own individual editing business and went full time freelance. Last year I added a full time employee, and am currently launching a post production agency called Ghost Post.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Yes! I just took a class called ‘How To Work Less’ by Rich Webster and it was all the things I intuitively knew but had never had the words and data to back up. I’m definitely guilty of worshipping at the altar of hard work. Hard work is still important, but learning how to 80/20 my clients, use deep work to maximize my time, and strengthen my onboarding process has completely revolutionized my business. Being a freelance creative is a very specific and very challenging business, so I have found other people in the same phase of life and we try to meet weekly to share tips, encourage each other, and celebrate our wins.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Be yourself! For me, that means not doing social media AT ALL. Crazy for a media company right? My entire business is built on word of mouth, maniacal retention, and over delivering. Clients keep me for years because once they give me a task, they know I’m on it and the work will be world class. I don’t use Instagram, I don’t use slack, you won’t find me following the latest trends on Tik Tok. I have a good friend who crushes social media and gets all his work that way, and that works for him! Being true to yourself resonates with people, so my advice is to just follow your light and and never ever stop.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ghostposthouse.com/
• Other: https://f.io/HhbEZpzu