Looking back at how far I have come in this industry there are highs and lows. Many people only highlight their wins and never their losses. I have made many mistakes in my career and just wanted to show you some of them so you don’t make the same mistakes if you decide to get into the industry.
Waiting!
My biggest mistake was waiting. The perfect time to start is right now because there is never a perfect time! You can do it part time. You can make one video a month. You can make one video only, just get started. I started producing around 2007 (Am I really that old?) Prior to taking the leap of faith, I thought about producing my own material for years. What held me back was fear. I was afraid of being found out. Afraid of being fired from my vanilla job. Afraid of what people would think about me. The regret of not trying something that could make you happy will hurt way more than the fear of trying.
Content:
This is the second biggest mistake. Not shooting the content that I wanted to shoot in the beginning. I have stated in previous posts I always wanted to produce erotic mixed wrestling content. In the beginning it was difficult to find models willing to do topless, erotic, mixed sex wrestling. I made the crucial mistake of changing my content to a milder style of wrestling that was mostly fem/fem. No eroticism, no sex wrestling, no nudity. This was done to try to create content right away. It ended up typecasting my material and made it more difficult for me to transition to the content that I love which is the erotic fantasy mixed wrestling that I produce now.
Mentoring/Asking for help:
Not reaching out to an established producer for advice. There are lots of producers that are willing to help out newbies. Most will give free advice/mentoring. You should tip them for their time, consider it paying a consultant. I could have avoided a few beginner mistakes as well as made some connections in the industry.
Being a producer is hard work and many producers subcontract work to others. Editing, writing clip descriptions, social media managers, etc. Don’t think that you have to do everything by yourself. Hire some help. Sometimes you can do it in a barter system. You like to edit? Trade editing for clip description, or trade some free clips or a free custom to a fan for some work for you.
Getting and Not getting a location:
I rented out several locations early in my career and I really never should have. I was paying $400/month for space in a photography studio and someone’s guest cottage.
The benefits were that I could set up my mat space to shoot and could store my equipment. What I came to realize was that I was only using the space once or twice a month. Two shoots a month in a hotel would cost ~$200 maybe $300 for somewhere really nice. I still would have saved at least $100/month. Plus there were many months that I didn’t shoot at all. Very stupid move.
Now that I shoot often (this month I have 6 shoots so far) having a studio space would be helpful. I can spend $600/month on locations. I can’t find a studio space that is affordable in this economy or allows adult type content to be produced, but I’m still looking.
Hopefully you won’t make these same mistakes in your producer journey.
