Archive for Inspirational
Is Your Marketing Message Clear?
Posted by: | CommentsNew England Multimedia has been around for over 10 years now, providing web design for small- and medium-sized businesses, churches, and nonprofits. Over time we began doing a lot more, including on-hold marketing, photography, multimedia projects, audio recording and editing, and anything else that fit under the umbrella term of “multimedia.” It just happened that we became a true “multimedia” company, so we changed our name to fit.
We found a way to clarify our marketing message and make our dreams come true at the same time.
But for a business, the message can get murky when you’re able to do anything and everything. You need to focus your vision, simplify your message, choose a path. That’s been hard for us. People still ask us, “What do you do?” and I have to think for a minute, “What does this person NEED?” before answering.
Back in 2008, Scott began getting requests from several web clients for video production services. Most people I know would’ve just passed that kind of work onto someone else, but not Scott — he saw a new venture, a new challenge, and in true Scott Quillin fashion, he began immersing himself in learning video, and then dreaming of starting New England HD, a full-service video production company doing true HD video. He even snatched up the domain name right away, when the idea was just a seed. (Yes, we own a LOT of domain names — don’t you?)
I’m the one with both feet on the ground, while he’s the dreamer and visionary, so he had a lot of work to do to get me on board with this whole video thing. Why couldn’t we just use the handheld video camera we had? But after explaining all the advantages of the investment he was proposing, and making me a few promises, I agreed — provided we stuck with New England Multimedia and didn’t start a new business right away. I wanted to see results first. We invested into a Sony Ex3 HD Cam and accessories, and New England Multimedia officially became a video production company as well as a web design business.
The message got murkier.
While Scott wasn’t happy about that (he really wanted New England HD), he started doing some corporate video projects right away. The first big project, the one that said to me, “We can do this!” was for the Consumer Electronics Association. (He landed that project while waiting in line for coffee in Wakefield, RI — that’s a story I’ll tell someday!)
We headed up to New Hampshire so Scott could practice, shoot some video to feature his music, and introduce ourselves to local businesses. But while we were there we caught a greater vision: doing corporate video all across America so we can travel the country in an RV. Because of that single trip to New Hampshire, Scott and I began to formulate a plan that will ultimately lead to my greatest dream coming true — seeing America in an RV! So over the last year and half, while we’ve been making a living doing web design, Scott’s been sharpening his skills shooting corporate, live event, and artistic video, studying lighting and videography, and brainstorming with me behind the scenes about our Dream Project — the final details to be revealed when the time is right.
Today, on our 19th wedding anniversary, the cornerstone is laid. New England HD has been born, and Scott’s two-year dream of starting a full service HD video production company has come to fruition. The marketing message there is clear as day: “True HD video for web video, corporate events, seminars, sales and marketing, promotions. We’re creative, fun and affordable unless you sleep in your car.”
Hey — we know “affordable” is subjective.
Scott’s going to be doing all the social media for New England HD, and you’re going to love him. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook, and get to know the adventurous, exciting guy I’ve been in love with for 23 years. I promise you’ll learn a lot from him about video and a whole lot more, and he’ll make it fun at the same time.
Happy Anniversary, Scott! Here’s to another 19 years!
What Happened To Your Dreams?
Posted by: | Comments“Leaders must ask themselves whether they want survival, success, or significance. The best leaders desire significance….If you had anything you wanted — unlimited time, unlimited money, unlimited information, unlimited staff…, what would you do? Your answer to that question is your dream. Acting on your dream adds significance to your life.” John C. Maxwell, “Developing the Leaders Around You”
Saturday night, Scott and I went to Luke’s Inn in Warren, RI for a 20-year reunion of the band Enforcer, a metal band Scott was in when we were young, and life was stretched out before us in an endless path of dreams to pursue. Enforcer had big dreams, enough great songs for an album, and the connections to open up for some major acts back in the late 80’s, including Fate’s Warning and Vicious Rumors.
Dave Pimentel, Enforcer’s drummer, was a machinist by day back in 1990. He ended up moving to LA, where he started Spaun Drum Company. Ten years ago Dave married Lizann Warner, a singer who Saturday night told me a fascinating story – a story about how a change in perspective changed her life.
Do you need to look at your dream life differently?
Liz told me that like most struggling musicians with a dream, she had spent years working “day jobs” to pay the bills while pursuing a music career at night. But a day came when she realized that by seeing her “day job” as so important, she was treating her singing as if it were a hobby rather than a career. Her dreams were getting buried by the expectations of others (e.g., “until you ‘make it,’ you need a day job”). Liz decided to change her perspective and begin putting all her time into pursuing paying gigs. Restaurants, nursing homes, bands – whatever work she could get singing, she’d take it!
Her focus became making a living singing, and if a big break came, great – but if not, she was still going to be a professional singer.
Her change of focus: She wasn’t going to be a cashier hoping to become a professional singer.
Since she changed the way she saw herself, Liz has gone on to enjoy moderate success, singing tracks for video games (including on Guitar Hero 3), karaoke demos, and commercials, as well as gigging with bands (including a Heart tribute band called Dog ‘n’ Butterfly), singing at nursing homes, and entertaining at restaurants. She’s not financially wealthy, but she makes enough to pay the bills and have money left over. She’s better off now than she was working what she calls her “dead end day jobs,” and she’s getting a lot of exposure.
Lizann Warner as Barbra Streisand, singing “People Who Need People.”
Liz’s wealth lies in doing what she knows she was born to do, and she’s not allowing others’ expectations to discourage her or distract her. She keeps her eyes and ears open for new opportunities, and seizes them as they come. She had no qualms about asking us to check out her videos on our Smart phones right there at the restaurant. She graciously took requests for vocal impersonations (you should hear her sing Alanis Morrisette and Cyndi Lauper!), singing out loud, even though she was hoarse. While she’s busy working (and working at keeping her calendar booked), Liz is creating a Las Vegas show with a partner, to pitch to investors. And now, because he heard Lizann’s astounding gift for imitating vocalists, Scott has asked her to work with him on some songs he wants to pitch to a well-known artist.
Liz is my new hero. She’s added significance to her life. She’s doing what she loves rather than slaving away at a job that has nothing to do with her gifts, and is pursuing bigger dreams all the time.
So — What dreams are you setting aside and treating as hobbies while you work your “day job”? Are you limiting your opportunities by refusing to take jobs you consider “beneath you” financially or professionally because they’re not exactly what you want? Or do you have a “success story” like Lizann’s?
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia, an internet marketing team specializing in web design, True HD Video production and Wordpress blogging/social media consultation. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
Perfectionism: A Blessing and a Curse
Posted by: | CommentsSince last summer, after shooting video of the Blue Angels at the RI National Guard Air Show, Scott and I had been looking forward to this year’s Air Show at Quonset Point in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
The Blue Angels, from the Rhode Island National Guard Air Show 2009
If you can’t see the video, click: The Blue Angels.
This year, though, the cloud cover was heavy, it was humid out, and the performances we wanted to catch were taking place when the sun was high in the sky. Eh. Not the best conditions for shooting video that we’d already told people we’d be posting on our website. I’d even passed out business cards!
Rhode Island Quonset Air Show 2010: F-18 Hornet, Sean Tucker, and Thunderbirds
If you can’t see the video, click: Rhode Island Quonset Air Show 2010.
Being perfectionist about our work can be a blessing because we take pride in what we do, we give it our all, and our clients get the benefit of that. But it’s also what’s kept us, in the past, from doing the things we love — for me, writing professionally, and for Scott, publishing his music. Nothing is ever good enough, ready enough, right enough for us. Well, I don’t want to live like that anymore, and neither does Scott. We’ve decided to jump off the cliff together every now and then and say, “The hell with it. Let’s just go for it!”
What's Keeping You From Pursuing Your Dreams?
To fight his own perfectionism, Scott has been writing/recording and uploading a new song every night since January 1st, 2010, almost every one an improv with no overdubs or rewrites. That takes courage, but he decided “The hell with it” and started putting himself out there, naked, every night for critique. He figures it’ll prove that he’s prolific and can handle custom music projects needing fast turnaround, like films, videos, and video games.
I’m learning to let go of my own mile-high standards and trust that everything will work out if I just get started and then keep moving. I finally started the not-anonymous blog Love Covers All after a year of mulling it over, even though I still cringe every time I hit “publish” (and I’m cringing even telling you about it). Because I have a terrible tendency to procrastinate like crazy on projects that require attention to detail — I want everything to be perfect — I have a list a mile long of all the things I “need” to do to this website, and another list of ways to optimize our internet marketing.
Rather than be paralyzed, though, every day I take a step forward. I have a Dream to catch, and New England Multimedia is paying for my ticket.
How about you? Has perfectionism been a blessing or a curse for you?
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
My Dream Life Is Starting This Month!
Posted by: | CommentsScott and I work hard — really hard. We’ve invested long days, weeks and months of nose-to-the-grindstone work because we have bigger dreams than just working to pay the bills. Our dream is to travel all over this beautiful country, filming the places we’ve longed to see “in real life.” The stunning HD videos we’ll be creating will be accompanied by Scott’s music, setting the mood for virtual trips for those who may never get to see those places, like my 97-year-old friend Rose.
What are you dreaming of?
This summer, we’re starting locally in our beautiful “Jewel by the Sea” Rhode Island, then heading out to the rest of New England from there, with plans for a foliage shoot in New Hampshire in the fall. I can’t wait to climb Mt. Washington! Should we take the train up or drive?
I’ll be blogging as we travel (wait’ll you see the blog we have planned!), talking about the people we meet, the little corners we find, and the joys of traveling together as a couple who’ve been together for over 20 years and are still crazy about each other.
Travel, video, music, and writing.
That’s our dream life.
What’s yours?
At New England Multimedia, we’re big on helping people find their gifts and make a living, or at least a nice side-income, doing what they love. If you have a hobby or passion that others would be interested in, you can read and write well, and you have an internet connection, blogging and social media can provide the vehicle to the creative life you’ve longed for.
We want to make that happen for you.
This month, Scott and I are offering an incredible deal for 10 people who want to try their hand at blogging and social media.
Are you ready?
When Pursuing Dreams Means Sacrifice — For A Season
Posted by: | Comments“Hard work is the key to success, so work diligently on any project you undertake. If you truly want to be successful, be prepared to give up your leisure time and work past 5 PM and on weekends. Also, have faith in yourself. If you come up with a new idea that you believe in, don’t allow other people to discourage you from pursuing it.” ~Charles Lazarus
I posted this quote on Scott Quillin’s Facebook Page (for his music), and two of our friends took issue with it, believing that family life would suffer if they gave up their leisure time. They’re right, of course — but there’s a reason I posted the quote.
What's Keeping You From Pursuing Your Dreams?
What Mr. Lazarus is talking about is the work ethic required to pursue your dreams, your calling, your passions. Many Americans have become so disposed to working 9-5, 40 hours a week, enslaved to someone else’s dream (their boss’s), their own dreams fall by the wayside. Some of us are content with that life, but others dream of something more.
America is still the one place where a man with a dream and little more can make his dreams come true — but pursuing dreams will always come at a sacrifice, at least for a season.
I believe with all my heart that every one of us is born with gifts, talents, and passions that must be developed and nurtured, and then pursued, if we are to become all that God has for us in this lifetime. There are seasons in our lives when doors open, when we have time and opportunity to pursue our dreams, if we would be willing to make sacrifices for a season.
Sadly, many of us spend our lives working for someone else’s dream, while bemoaning our inability to do anything to make our own dreams come true — which is why the lottery is where so many of us put our misplaced hope.
If your goal is to get out of the career rut you’re in, and you have to go back to school, you’re not going to have much “leisure time,” if any. If you want to start your own business, you’re going to work 15-16 hour days until the business is off the ground, and that can take a few years. Missionaries and their families don’t work 9-5 with weekends off — I’m thinking of the Carews at the Providence Rescue Mission. Pastors don’t work 9-5 with weekends off, either. The needs of the ministry are great. Our military families are separated from their loved ones for long seasons, so they can protect our families. The kids on American Idol were talking last night about not having time for family or friends right now because of the demands of being a contestant on American Idol.
Scott has always made time for his immediate family — Christa & I — while working from early morning until late at night. That’s how he’s managed to accomplish so much and change so many lives while running his own business, New England Multimedia — because his day has never been over at 5 pm, and it’s never begun at 9 am. Scott’s work ethic is what gives him the freedom to drop everything to rush to someone’s side, to sleep late because he was up in the middle of the night with someone who’s hurting or needs to talk, to change his schedule to accommodate a need someone has.
This summer he and I will be traveling all over New England shooting HD video for a project we’re working on that will feature his music. If Scott didn’t have the work ethic he does, none of those things would be possible, because he’d be a slave to someone else’s dream, schedule, and goals.
A couple of other real life examples that inspire me:
Scott’s sister was stuck in a career that was going nowhere — she’d hit the ceiling. While working full-time during the day, she went to school full-time at night for 18 months. She actually had to pencil in when she would go do laundry, she was so busy! You couldn’t get her off that schedule, because she only had so much time during the week for errands. Family life? That suffered, but she knew it was for a season.
My father was a young military officer commanding an army troop. He wanted to get his Master’s degree in aeronautical engineering, so while working much more than 40 hours a week, he also commuted from Ft Benning, GA to Auburn University for classes and worked into the wee hours while working toward his Master’s, which he secured. Family life? That suffered, but again for a season. We supported my father in the pursuit of his goal, and he planted in us the seeds of hard work and sacrifice.
A restaurant I used to work in years ago started out as a tiny little bare-bones pizza shop in Wakefield. The two guys who owned it were brothers with families, and they had bigger dreams. To get through a difficult time financially at the beginning of their endeavor, they served breakfast, which required them getting to the restaurant before dawn and staying until well after midnight. During the first years, their families visited them at the restaurant and helped. Today, they’re Bob & Timmy’s Wood-Grilled Pizza, with two restaurants.
Another restaurant I worked at was in Wickford: The Seaport Tavern. The two guys who owned it were friends who’d met in their positions as chef and head waiter at the Biltmore in Providence. They had a dream of something more. Efendi, the waiter, was an immigrant from Turkey, newly married, with a young baby girl, and he wanted better for her. He and the chef got to the restaurant in the wee hours, and stayed until well after midnight. Efendi’s wife worked as a travel agent during those difficult first few years, and when she wasn’t at work, she’d bring the baby to the restaurant to visit and to help. Today, Efendi Atma owns Efendi’s Mediterranean Grill in Cranston, a successful restaurant.
I’d love to hear stories like this that inspire you. Even better, perhaps your story will be one that inspires others! What are you doing to make your dreams come true? What sacrifices are you having to make for a season?
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
Wonder Woman vs. Free Spirit (Day Two of Teardown & Rebuild)
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Trying to be Wonder Woman
I got a lot done on our new website/blog yesterday. At least I got the super-important stuff up.
I’m about to go in and start building the sub-pages for each of the areas of expertise New England Multimedia offers our clients: web development, Wordpress blog setup, social media training, video production, audio and music production, and on-hold marketing. Going to put up a few case studies, too.
Gosh, I’m glad we killed our website so I can do this myself, and leave Scott to the really technical work. How did he do all this alone?
I’m so busy. Too busy, really — but I know it’s only for a season. The indomitable (like that word?) Free Spirit in me is screaming for release, but I have to keep her in line for a while longer. My Wonder Woman fights with Free Spirit all the time, and it can get pretty nasty. They need to compromise, or things fall apart around here. When Wonder Woman runs the show, my relationships suffer. When Free Spirit runs the show, taxes don’t get paid.
The only way I can manage any semblance of normalcy is by using a schedule.
How do you manage the crazy seasons in your life? Do you just go with the flow and let the chips fall where they may? Live by strict to-do lists and time mapping? Hire servants? Hide under a rock?
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
Day One of Teardown & Rebuild: Worlds Collide
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Don't you love 3:30 a.m. technical issues?
I was up until the wee hours of 3:30 am this morning, contact lenses drying to my eyeballs, the dog heaving huge sighs next to me as she tried to sleep. I wanted to finish the new design for New England Multimedia before anyone else saw it, to at least get the basics up so we didn’t miss a beat, and surprise Scott — the founder & technical/creative director for New England Multimedia — with everything I’ve learned the last 4 months.
Suddenly, the entire widget interface disappeared from the back end of the blog. What the — ??
I tried everything I could think of (which isn’t a whole lot at 3:30 am), then poked around in the support forums for iThemes Flexx to see if anyone else was having the same issue.
And then I gave up and went to bed, thankful that I had gotten up everything I really needed to before the interface decided to pull a vanishing act on me.
Fortunately for New England Multimedia — and for me — Scott is one of those bright-eyed-bushy-tailed-morning-people with mad creative problem-solving skills who isn’t intimidated by technical issues. He sees them as fun (OK, maybe not FUN) challenges. But after spending half the day yesterday working on totally unrelated website issues for two paying clients, having me toss him a huge new distraction on a busy Wednesday morning wasn’t what he’d expected.
Turns out the latest version of Wordpress is clashing with the theme I chose, and at 3:30 in the morning those two worlds collided. While waiting for the theme developer to get back to us, Scott found a workaround, then played in the back-end a bit and he taught me a few cool things I would never have learned if not for the issues I ran into at 3:30 this morning. I’m sure there’s a cool quote in there somewhere.
Whether at work or play, Scott’s creativity has always been his strength, no matter what he comes up against. After 22 years, his mind continues to surprise and fascinate me. I wonder what it’s like to think like he does? I imagine it must be challenging to talk to people who don’t.
Be sure to check out the cool new widget — over there to the right of your screen — with our YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Blog all integrated into one cool spot. Isn’t that fun? I found that in my travels through the internet last night while doing a Google search on widget issues.
Hoo-ah!
I need to go get some food. Nothing but coffee so far today.
Grace and peace to all of you today.
~Michelle
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
