Episode Details

Who am I to think I can start a business?

If I did start a business, what would I even sell? Or teach? Or do?

And do I need a ton of money to start something?

What if I don’t want to change my whole life and give up on my career...but I still want to develop a ‘side hustle’? Is it possible to do both?

These are all incredibly common questions for anyone who’s been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. As the pandemic continues to plod along and we continue to wonder when work will return, it’s become very common for people to come to the realization “Maybe it’s time I rely less on other people’s projects and I start creating my own income sources.”

In today’s Optimizer community Q&A we welcome special guest Misha Tenebaum, the CEO and Founder of EditStock and EditMentor. As a former assistant editor in scripted television, Misha is no stranger to balancing long hours working for others while trying to get his own ideas off the ground. He struggled at first building his business while balancing it with a demanding career, and it took him years to become an “overnight success story.” But it’s no accident that Misha is now the industry-leader in providing educational content for aspiring editors. There are certain key decisions Misha made that kept him moving forwards, and more importantly there are certain mindsets that ensured Misha would follow through with his business ideas to make the full-time transition from technician to entrepreneur.

If you’re interested in using your time wisely, you could do a lot worse than listening to Misha and our coaching & mentorship community talk about what it takes to start your own business….even during a global pandemic.

Want to Hear More Episodes Like This One?

» Click here to subscribe and never miss another episode

Here's What You'll Learn:

• How do we generate some form of income during this pandemic?
• Misha describes the humble beginnings of EditStock and what it took for him to overcome fear of failure.
• Why ideas in themselves aren’t valuable. And how to think about sharing your idea with people so that you get useful feedback that can shape your idea into a winner.
• How to think about pricing what you offer and avoid making false comparisons with other businesses.
• Why all of us creative professionals are ‘businesses’ and why we could all benefit from adopting an entrepreneurial mindset.
• Key Point: “Fail as fast as possible.”
• Misha’s transition from editor on a network show to doing EditStock full time.
• Debby’ returns for another short ‘hotseat” where we talk about the lack of structure of starting a new business from scratch, working with your strengths, and how to deal with overwhelm.
• How to get better feedback and get more of it.
• Misha’s “goal setting trick” and breaking down big ideas into manageable steps.

Useful Resources Mentioned:

[FiP] Ep90: Creating a Kick-Ass Demo Reel with Misha Tenenbaum

EditStock.com

EditMentor.com

How to Provide Value & Get Paid What You’re Worth | Community Q&A with Monica Daniel

When Are We Going Back to Work? And How Can We Earn Inc