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

Wesley, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Overall I would definitely say that I’m much happier as a business owner than I was working primarily for somebody else. I really enjoy the freedom that it brings to my daily life. As much as I do miss sometimes the stability and routine of a normal day job, I definitely think that running my own business has pushed me to grow much faster at my current stage of life. Going into my sophomore year of college, I was very unsure of what my financial future looked like. There were months where I would do really well for myself and other months that were dry and sometimes completely empty. It was extremely nerve-wracking to go through that, but I think through finding the light in the end of the tunnel I was able to figure it out as I went. Going into that upcoming year, I bought a few online courses and through the connections that has brought, I’ve been able to sustain myself independently for the last year or so. I think a huge thing that a lot of people aren’t taught growing up is how to manage money and set yourself up or your business for financial success so you can enjoy your life outside of your business and not be stuck in it 24/7.

Wesley, 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?

Hey! I’m Wes, a Twin-Cities-Based Director of Photography/Drone Operator/Business Owner who enjoys self-improvement and implementing it into my work. I got into filmmaking when I dropped a math class in high school for a video production class. I fell in love with the idea of telling a story and impacting people in a positive way. I believe that we all have multiple stories to tell to the world and that if we all can listen to our stories, we’ll gain something from anyone willing to share. I think what sets me apart from a lot of filmmakers is that I tend to stay patient with many people, allowing new ideas and changes to be made for the betterment of the project. I believe that no matter how important your role may seem, we are all human beings with input that should be heard instead of neglected. I think what I’m most proud of thus far in running this business is just how many people I’ve been able to connect with over the years that otherwise would have never happened. If there was one thing that I’d want potential clients to know about me is that I’m here to be more than just a vendor. When you work with me, I’m your business partner, not just your video guy. I treat your brand as if it were my own and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When it came to funding my business, I kind of built my way up with equipment by buying, borrowing, and selling. I started with photography actually and borrowed a relative’s old DSLR camera to take portraits. With the money I saved up, I eventually purchased a hybrid photo video camera. From there, I got more work, bought a better laptop, and continued that process until I didn’t need any major upgrades. I think my biggest takeaway in that process is that when it comes to video, gear sometimes matters, but if it’s for one specific job, either borrow it from someone you’ve connected with or rent it out unless you rent it more than three times.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Rather recently, I actually completely cut off my main source of clientele (wedding filmmaking). As I’m looking to scale and work with more businesses rather than individuals one time, I decided to cut off the wedding filmmaking niche entirely. The reason in doing so is because although weddings are a great entry point to build initial capital for your video business, they can get repetitive creatively and also have a market cap. If you want to scale, you have to take on more weddings. There’s not many people who will pay more than a couple thousand dollars for a wedding video. Focusing more on BTB (Business to Business) projects has allowed me to become strategic content partners with businesses all across the midwest.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wespvisuals.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wespapp/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesley-papp-2588361b6/?msgControlName=reply_to_sender&msgConversationId=2-YzA1ZGZhNTctMDMyYy00N2E4LTg3MTctY2Y2MWY4MDE5NGFjXzAxMw%3D%3D&msgOverlay=true

Image Credits
Rhianna Hajduch, Keagan Weiss, McKenzie Hamlin and Irvin Segura