We were lucky to catch up with Zhenya Townley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Zhenya , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

As freelance creatives, we are all simply just trying to survive. If I had the chance to start over in my freelance career and perhaps knowing what I know now, I would have made sure that I had enough people in my corner to support me on the business side of things. Creatively, I never lacked the support. Financially, however – that was a tough one. Knowing how to operate myself as a business is still tough for me. I wish to God that I had just stuck to my guns and fought more for better rates. I undersold myself so much a few years ago and now it’s still something I am trying to recover from. Imposter syndrome is real.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Since as far back as I can remember, I have always been drawn to the creative side of living. Films, music, art, and even down to the design of the toys I played with intrigued me more than anything else kids my age were doing. I remember being enamored as a kid by historical documentaries than cartoons. I knew that I thought differently than my siblings.

We all hear the “ever since I got my first camera” stories but here I am thinking back to the first time I got a point and shoot camera for Christmas as a child. It changed my life. That was when I start becoming a documentary nerd. And it is who I am now through and through. I am a documentary filmmaker and while I’d like to say that that is what I do full-time, in today’s gig economy, I also have owned the title of director of photography for a variety of projects ranging from corporate work to short films.

In between DP stints, I also take on camera operator and assistant roles. I am never far from the camera, I always say. I enjoy it all and the range of tasks required in filmmaking. I always have been one to wear many hats and while it may not be suitable for some, I thrive in that environment. There is no greater creative relationship that makes me happy than starting and ending a project. The project I am currently on has allowed me to wear multiple hats – producer, director, dp and editor – shot and edited over 150 deliverables within a month’s timeline. A proud achievement, for sure. And while this was a project for one of my corporate clients, it has given me the experience needed for feature filmmaking, project managing and producing.

I am still starting out. I have heard time and time again that when people watch my work they get a sense of my style. That makes me happy. However, as I am growing I want to go beyond that.

One thing I need to get better at is figuring out how to share my work.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

My side hustle did indeed turn into a full-time creative business. Freelance has its joys but it also has its tough battles. Like it’s commonly stated: “When it’s good it’s good. But when it’s bad…it’s bad.” This has been a common theme this year and last as a freelancer.

As far as scale, I know that I am growing in my creative relationship with money. I started out taking jobs for $150 for hours long shoots and I am just now wrapping a project where I was given a $80K budget. And while the only way to go is up, it’s just me as a freelancer running the show.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is being apart of projects that make someone’s eyes well up with tears, or make their hearts sing with joy or sorrow. Emotional experience that come from watching or hearing something that an artist or creative did will last a lot longer than the immediate gratification that might come from money.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zgtownley.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zgtownley/
• Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/zhenyagtownley