May 28, 2025 • 27 mins
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In this episode of MarketPulse: Pros and Pioneers, we welcome John Vlach, known to many as “John the Video Guy.” With a career spanning nearly a decade at Rock the House, where he led creative services, John has transitioned into freelance video production, YouTube content creation, and mentorship. His mission? To inspire the next generation of creators by turning their passion for video into sustainable careers.
John shares his unconventional journey, from attending trade school instead of college to building a successful freelance business. He reflects on the evolution of video production, the impact of AI tools, and the unique opportunities and challenges of navigating today’s saturated creative market.
You’ll hear insights on how John built a personal brand that resonates, the importance of networking in 2025, and why teaching through YouTube has transformed his approach to business. Whether you’re a creative, entrepreneur, or aspiring video editor, John’s story is packed with practical advice and inspiration.
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Show Links
Website: https://www.johnthevideoguy.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/johnthevideoguy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnvlach
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Paul (00:00):
Good afternoon, welcome back to MarketPulse Pros and
Pioneers, where this week I'mjoined by the fantastic John
Vlach.
Right, so for the audiences outthere, there John is widely
known as, and I like this,"Johnthe video guy".
It's like Ronseal does what itsays on the tin, I like it.
So John's a freelance videoeditor, content creator, and
educator with a mission toinspire the next generation of
(00:22):
creators.
After nearly nine years at Rockthe House, where he led creative
services and built dynamic mediacampaigns, John launched his own
brand to teach video productionthrough YouTube and live events.
With accolades such as Rockstarof the Month and Employee of the
Year, John blends technicalexpertise with a passion for
mentorship Showing aspiringvideo creators how to turn their
(00:44):
passions into sustainablecareers.
That's a really interesting takeon video because most people I
know are only ever interested ineither creating, editing, or
helping people get it out thereand you kind of play across all
three but with a view to helpingthe next generation as well,
right?
John (01:02):
Yeah, I think for me the reason I'm really big into
education is I didn't go tocollege Actually, I went to
trade school and a lot of when Ifirst started, I, went online
looked up tutorials, it was alot of like diving into the
software and trying to figure itout.
I always like, when I findsomething, share it with people,
if it can help me, it canprobably help other people.
(01:22):
So that's my mission.
Paul (01:24):
I like that, I like that.
So talk us through those earlydays then, John, if you would.
Why did you decide that tradeschool was the route for you?
John (01:31):
Yeah, I think for me, I really wanted to see if I liked
it first and if it could be asustainable career.
For me where I grew up, I, inhigh school, the last two years
of my schooling and junior andsenior year of high school,
before I graduated, they offeredlike this vocational school
where you could go essentiallyto high school half the day, but
then you can go to this otherschool and learn the technical
(01:53):
about the trades.
And there's a lot of differenttrades to learn from.
I had to actually fill out alist like engineering, because I
was thinking about going intolike CAD and like architecture.
Becoming an architect, but thenmedia was at the top of the list
because I was like, that'd beinteresting cause, I had a
passion for it.
I love, playing with videos,graphics on my home computer.
And I wanted to see if that wasa possible career.
(02:15):
So I decided to go that way.
In those two years, I reallyexperimented, learned a lot.
And one of the big things inthat was that there were guest
speakers that would come backand share their experiences.
And like throughout high school,I was like wondering do I need
to go to college?
Because a lot of it you canlearn online.
Some companies really hold thatdegree to a high standard.
(02:36):
Some people just care about theportfolio and it is very much
like.
What is more important, gettingthe college experience or
getting the, real worldexperience.
So that's why I didn't go tocollege.
And I was fortunate to intern atthe place that you mentioned,
Rock the House, where theyoffered me an internship in my
final, like few months of highschool.
And upon graduating, theyoffered me a part time job.
(02:58):
And I just took it and ran withit from there.
Paul (03:00):
Well I guess there's a lot of people out there and I think
the same challenge is true herein the UK.
There's a lot of focus put onacademia and university
placements here and degrees andthings like that.
And whilst I'm a big believerthat those things have their
place in the world, it showcasesa different skill set to what
(03:21):
most people assume, right?
So like for me, a degree is acase of I can go away and
research things myself andanswer things in a complex and
organised manner, and I'm keento learn and I can do X, Y and
Z.
However I've said to my son, Idon't care whether you've got a
university or not.
As long as you're doingsomething you're passionate
about, you could actuallyprobably save yourself a hefty
(03:42):
amount of lawn that you'd haveto pay back, earn money in the
meantime, and be three or fouryears ahead of your peers in
real world experience by thetime you're finished doing, to
the same time as they'vefinished university, right?
John (03:56):
Yeah, exactly.
And I saw it firsthand too,because I didn't go to college.
Four years later, all the peoplethat went to college are now
entering in the workforce whereI already had a lot of that
experience.
Especially at Rock the House, Ibecame a manager.
So I was seeing college studentscome into the workplace and
start interning and workingthere.
And there's that difference thatkind of I don't know how to
(04:16):
describe it.
It's more.
I feel like for me, I have moreof a grit, I wasn't afraid to
dive into the software, takesome risks, break something
before, get my hands dirty withvideo and creating stuff, where
I think college, it's great, Ithink, to get the degree for
structured learning, but toreally You know, dive deep in
(04:37):
creativity.
I think it lacks a lot in thatarea,
Paul (04:41):
How have How have you seen Video change since, obviously,
you started working with it,like, you know, early days at
home and messed about with videoat home.
Like, what would you say havebeen the big developments in
video between then and now?
So, it's been a lot, right?
Let's be fair, I mean, it'sessentially the same medium, but
(05:01):
it's changed dramatically.
So, what's your view on that?
John (05:04):
Yeah.
It's interesting because I gotasked this question a few times
before, and it is such a bigdifference because when I first
learned video, we weren't, wedidn't have access to a lot of
the AI tools, a lot of the,Shortcuts and different
extensions that make editingvideos or creating videos a lot
easy.
You almost had to figure it outas you went, a lot of my first
(05:26):
projects when I was, at home waslike, try to make something
explode or how to do an effector something and trying to
figure that out.
You really had to experiment alot.
And I think the way video hasevolved is a lot of things are
already given to you.
If you want like an explosion oran effect or to auto edit
something for you, you can justclick a button and it
(05:47):
automatically does that.
So I think the difference whenit comes to video production,
there's a lot of time savingtools today which is great.
But the drawback of that is weforget how to create something
from scratch or maybe.
If a problem arises, how totroubleshoot and know how to
work the software really throughand through to get like a
(06:08):
specific result.
It's almost like the carindustry, it's like being a
mechanic where you know, likeall the ins and outs of the car,
but then you have a computerthat can diagnose and just, spit
out okay, it's, this is theproblem.
You know what I mean?
It's
Paul (06:22):
if one day your laptop's not working, right?
You still need to be able todiagnose the car.
John (06:26):
Yep, exactly.
It's what if the AI featuredoesn't work and it doesn't auto
edit your video for you, whatare you going to do?
Paul (06:33):
it happens, I can tell you, it happens.
So why then leave that careerthat you had at Rock the House
and set out on your own?
What was the turning point foryou that made you just kind of
realise that now's the time?
John (06:47):
Yeah, I think for me what I came to realize, especially
during the pandemic is, youcould be the best of the best in
your career in a position as anemployee, but at the end of the
day, I saw a lot of my friends,a lot of coworkers get laid off.
And the reason I wanted to goout on my own eventually,
Whether it's through YouTubecontent creation or starting my
own freelance video productioncompany was to try to build
(07:10):
something for myself where, Ihave something that I own that
isn't reliant, that I don't haveto worry about getting laid off
or.
Something happening in themarket that I can build and
have.
And that's why I really leanedinto that, especially coming out
of the pandemic, I was like,okay, let's start a YouTube
channel.
Let's try to create some passiveincome just as a safety net, I'm
(07:31):
in.
And eventually it grew and I gotto a place where I felt
comfortable enough to leave.
And when I look back at my timeat Rock the House, I think I
pretty much done everything.
I started as an intern, grew toa full time employee.
I've been there for nine years,became a manager, started to
lead different teams inmarketing and creative services.
Other video editors are comingin.
(07:52):
And I felt like I maxed out thatposition there just as an
employee.
And I feel like becoming anentrepreneur, that was like the
natural next step and toevolving my career.
So that's why I took that leap.
Paul (08:04):
You needed to stretch into the next learnings, right?
Like, and I resonate with that,I resonate.
You've got to keep, if you'renot learning, you're downhill.
Because you need to be growing,you need to be figuring out
whatever's next, whatever thatmight take.
I think it takes a brave personto start their own business.
I've been, I wouldn't say I wasbrave, maybe stupid at the time.
(08:25):
But I look at other people and Ijust think, do you know what?
Like, hats off.
Genuine credit.
You've left a stable career thatyou've probably enjoyed, to be
fair.
You know, you don't staysomewhere nine years if you
don't have, you know, moments ofenjoyment there.
But then to go off and do yourown thing and then make a
success of it is, you know,that's, that's an achievement.
(08:45):
It's incredible.
What made you Focus so much onthe teaching side of things,
cause nearly all of your contentout there on YouTube is a, is a
how to guide.
And what I like about it isit's, it's usually more detailed
and more specific than a lot ofthe guides that I see out there.
Here's how you create a videowith Adobe Premiere and it's
just like a really sped upversion that doesn't really
(09:06):
teach you anything.
And yours tends to be all,here's how you use this bit to
do this thing here.
And I like that because it'sreally, or I can take that
lesson and apply it over here orover there.
And I, you know, I can referback to it when I need to.
What, what led you down thatteaching path?
John (09:23):
Yeah.
I think honestly, it stems backfrom my early, upbringing of
learning video, finding, tryingto figure things out on my own.
I feel like there is so muchcontent out there.
Like you said, that's justhere's how to do this.
But.
A lot of my content, especiallymy earlier content, is like, how
to do something very specific inthe software.
And I think there is a big gapwhere, there's not a lot of
(09:44):
tutorials going over specificthings like that.
And for me, I always like justsharing other people and not
only to share for other people,but sometimes it's for myself,
to be honest, because like I'llmake a video three years ago and
I haven't touched that effect ina while and I'll be like, how do
I do that?
And I go and rewatch my ownvideo to see how to do
something.
Because that happens from timeto time, you might do something
(10:06):
in video editing that you mightnot do, once in a while you have
to come back and learn it again.
But.
It's like a scientific journal,essentially, that's how I see it
where I can use it.
Other people can use it.
If you find value in it, it'sout there, it's public
information that people can useto, using their own projects.
Paul (10:22):
You've touched on something there with regards to
YouTube that I think a lot ofbusiness owners on LinkedIn
really struggle to understand.
And that's the differencebetween creating video content
and releasing it on your socialprofiles, LinkedIn especially.
And creating content andreleasing it on YouTube, is that
YouTube is permanent, like, it'sa search engine with content
(10:44):
behind it, and once I'vereleased something on there, you
know, I've released content forclients, and two years on
they're still getting 30 hits aday on a particular video,
they've never had to update itor change anything, it's just,
it's timeless.
So if you want to create contentthat your clients will find over
and over, or your potentialclients or, you know, people who
(11:04):
work with you can consume overand over again, it needs to go
on YouTube because it's socialmedia, it's gone in what, 48, 72
hours, maybe a week if you'relucky.
John (11:13):
Yeah, exactly.
YouTube's evergreen, especiallyif it's searchable, you can type
in something and it just popsup.
There's different techniques,obviously, you can learn to try
to, get better in ranking whenit comes to search related
content.
But yeah, at the end of the day,it's always going to be up there
with LinkedIn and a lot of theother social media platforms.
It's just, it might be up therefor a week or so, and then it
(11:35):
disappears in the feed.
Paul (11:36):
So your mission is to inspire others through video and
design.
So do you want to kind of talkus through how that mission
drives your business decisionsand maybe client relationships?
John (11:47):
Sure, so I think for me my mission really comes down to
just finding people I reallylike to work with.
And I'm very fortunate that.
A lot of people that I work withare referrals.
They're people that I met,several years ago throughout my
career journey.
And they realize, oh, you're,freelance now.
And they reach out because, Ijust enjoy working with them.
And it's really nice to make abusiness centered around
(12:07):
relationships and just enjoyingthe work, enjoying the people
that you work with.
I think that's probably the mostimportant aspect, is just really
enjoying the work and the peoplethat you're working with.
And that's really my businessgoal is just to find other
people I like working withpeople that have strong stories,
missions and just seeing how Ican help them advance their
(12:27):
mission when it comes to videocontent.
Paul (12:30):
I love talking to people who have a vision for their
business other than, I need tofind more clients.
And I think that, you know, itkind of leads into my next
question, which is around kindof saturated markets.
So there's a lot of freelancecreators out there probably now
more than ever.
So, as someone who, is in thatsituation, who is a freelance,
(12:50):
who, you know, you market yourown expertise as a way of
demonstrating your capabilitiesand authority in the area.
What advice would you have forother creators who are trying to
differentiate themselves in, ina very saturated market?
John (13:05):
Yeah, I think it is very tough and it's gonna sound
cliche, but my best advice isprobably to just be yourself and
try to find what makes you.
Unique.
For example, like me as acreator on YouTube, there's a
lot of people that watch mycontent just because they just
like how I explain things, whenyou compare like my channel or
my content to a lot of otherPremiere Pro channels, there's
(13:27):
some, reasons people like mycontent when they, subscribe and
watch my videos, but I think,that's something you can't just
create right away.
It just happens over time, and Ithink you just have to be
yourself, create content that'smost comfortable for you.
And that viewership and audiencewill grow.
The worst thing you could do asa content creator is try to be
someone you're not, and tryingto mimic and, copycat other
(13:50):
people.
I guess you can start that way,but I think eventually you have
to find your own voice, andfind, your own position in the
market.
Really lean into yourspecialties, as a video editor,
I have my specialties I editdifferently than other people if
there's a specialty, if you're afreelance video editor, or maybe
creator, if there's a certainmarket or specialty, lean into
(14:12):
that, and you'll probably findsuccess between that and then
also being yourself, I wouldsay.
Paul (14:17):
The biggest danger I see is if you're creating content
that mimics others or perhapsit's what you think people want
to see as opposed to what youwant to create.
You'll burn out quite quicklyand stop wanting to do it and
that's why I see that quite alot with people is, you know
what, I've done this for fourmonths I need to take a break, I
need to take time off.
Why?
I can create content 11 monthsof the year personally, I can,
(14:40):
you know, sometimes I have tostop myself creating content
because there's just so muchthat's in there that I just need
to get it out and it's, it'sreally, it's quite cathartic to
create the content but otherpeople, I see them and they're
like, So what is it that you'recreating content about?
Well, I think the audience wantto hear about this, so I'm
making that like, no, no.
If you're not passionate aboutit, you're not gonna, you're not
(15:01):
gonna take that to the nextlevel.
What do you think the biggestchallenges you've faced when
creating your personal brandwere, and how do you think that
compares with the challengesthat people have today?
Yeah
John (15:13):
that's a good question.
I think when building a personalbrand, I think it, it almost
comes back to trying to findyour own voice because I
remember it's interesting whenyou're a content creator and you
go back and you watch yourearlier videos, it's wow, like
what was I doing back then?
I was so awkward and I wastrying to be someone else or I
saw another creator and I waslike, just like the mannerisms
(15:34):
and like the way you approachthe content, it just, You can
see it, and I think over timejust trying to be yourself, like
I said earlier, but, I thinkthat's probably the biggest
struggle is trying to becomfortable on camera, being
yourself, delivering contentthat you're passionate about,
like you said, because, you haveto pick a topic and something
that, you're passionate about,otherwise, you go in it for a
(15:55):
few years, you're gonnaeventually burn out because
you're not into it, you don'tfeel like making videos and
content.
So that's a very importantaspect there but yeah, I would
say, find something you'repassionate about.
For me, it was video editingteaching other people it's not
only good for other people, butit's good for me as well because
I can look back on that contentbut yeah, I think that's
probably the biggest thing.
Paul (16:16):
And then you mentioned that a lot of your work comes
from referrals and word ofmouth.
Is there anything that you canrecommend to other people out
there?
Cause I mean, that's, I think,near bound as a lot of people
are calling it these days.
It's the in phrase for it,right?
Like it's good old networking,as far as I'm concerned.
It's probably more important in2025 than it ever has been and I
(16:36):
think the world's only gettingsmaller thanks to COVID partly,
you know, I'm not saying thateverything that came out of
COVID was a bad thing, but whatare the, what are some of the
tactics and strategies that youuse to kind of help get that
extra 10 percent out of, youknow, the word of mouth and
referrals?
How do you make it easy forpeople to work, to refer people
in to you?
John (16:55):
Yeah I can definitely speak to this, especially being
a content creator.
I think it's, it can really begreat for your business because
you position yourself as aindustry expert.
You know what I mean?
So when people watch my content,they're like, oh, this guy video
edits, they see all my videos.
It's proof of work.
It's not like I'm just thisrandom video editor trying to
(17:16):
get a gig or a job.
It's, I have, they can see theexperience, they can see the
videos and it makes those leadsvery warm, because by the time
they reach out to me, they'vealready watched a few of my
videos, they've gotten to knowme, they've gotten to probably
like me, they probably wouldn'treach out if they didn't like me
at that point, but it makesthose leads very warm, where
they're already in a position tobe like, yeah I saw your videos,
(17:37):
you're an expert, I have thisissue, or I have this video I
want to make, how can you help,and all you have to do on your
end is be like, how can I helpyou today?
It's very easy sales transtransition to, to close that
possible possible client.
So I think making content isgold for businesses because you,
it makes lead generation veryeasy when it comes to referrals,
(17:58):
essentially content creation islike a referral machine because
people get, you, they see thecontent that you're creating and
they get to know, like you trustyou.
And then they reach out, if theyneed a video.
So it's definitely verybeneficial for referrals.
And when it comes to outside ofcontent creation, we talked
about it a little bit before,over the nine years working at a
(18:19):
business, you may, I made somany connections, just keeping
in contact with a lot of thosepeople is very beneficial
because you never know someone,might get married, they might
reach out and, want a weddingvideographer, or, someone might
have a client looking for avideo.
So it's very beneficial justkeeping in contact.
And communication with all thosepeople.
And LinkedIn is a great way todo that.
I got a lot of referrals onLinkedIn this past year.
Paul (18:42):
So.
It sounds, and I know the truthof this, like a lot of what
you've said there links tohaving a strong strategy behind
your content in the first placeand not just kind of creating
things because you can createthem but creating them to a
specific end goal.
What's your advice to people onthe balance between having that
strategy and actually gettingthings out there?
(19:04):
Because I know a lot of peoplethat will procrastinate until
the end of time because theyneed a strategy.
I mean, I never actually releaseanything, and likewise I know
people that release things buthave no strategy whatsoever.
John (19:16):
I think it's it's not yeah.
I think it's important to havethe strategy, but I think the
good, a good rule of thumb is tohave the strategy first.
To know who your target audienceis, or your buyer whoever you're
trying to reach to, and justcome up with a list of
questions, problems that theymight have.
And then you can just makevideos based on that, to be
honest.
(19:36):
Small nuggets, small videos thatslowly solve people's problems
can be a great way to, focus onyour target audience.
It makes content creation a loteasier when your possible client
that might have problems thatyou can solve for them.
So for me, since I'm a videoeditor, I know other video
editors struggle with differentthings in the software, so I'll
make videos about, how to solvethat.
(19:56):
So it makes content creationeasy, and also the experience
factor of I'm, day after day I'min the editing software, so if I
run across something that popsup, I'm like, oh, that would
make a good video.
So I think, if you're in aposition like that, where you
live and breathe the content, itmakes it easier to make content,
essentially.
Paul (20:15):
You almost find an inspiration from the everyday
things that you do that mostpeople would probably just brush
over, right?
Like, right, so I've fixed thatproblem, now I'm going to move
on.
And your thought process jumpsto, whoa, hang on, I just fixed
a problem.
Fine, but actually, if I've comeacross that problem, how many
other people are dealing withthat?
And actually nobody's making anycontent about that to help fix
(20:37):
the problem.
And I think that, that branchesout no matter what business
you're in.
I think that is true.
I think that's incredibly trueand I think that's really,
really important for people toget their head around.
Aside from the fact that everyvideo that people watch, it's
kind of like having a person satbehind someone going, this guy's
an expert.
And, like, that's what it does.
People don't think about that atthe time.
(20:59):
They just watch your video and,right, great.
I know my son's got expertMinecraft creators that he
watches on YouTube, right?
It's the same thing, if I askhim, he knows who he would go to
to help him with a Minecraftbuild, right?
And all he does is sit and watchthem building videos.
What's next for you this yearthen?
What's your big focus in 2025?
John (21:19):
Yeah, I think the big focus for me is to continue
making content that I enjoymaking, helping people, but also
really lean into people'sstories.
I think, this past year I alittle fatigued with tutorial
content.
So what I did is I relaunched mypodcast.
It's called the post showpodcast where I interview other
video editors and I just lovetalking to people listen to
(21:42):
other people's stories andreally go off of that.
I think, there's a need,especially in today's, economy,
in today's world, just realconversations with people,
people listening to the storiesand the, the struggles, the
triumphs, of a creator'sjourney.
And that's what I really want todo is focus on the conversation.
So I restart my podcast, makingmore real content, I would say,
(22:04):
focus more on my personality,more.
Story, like I said, but that,and from a content creation
perspective, that's my goal thisyear.
And then from a businessstandpoint, I would say,
continue working with people Ienjoy, I think at the end of the
day, when I think of scaling abusiness, I'm not really in it
to, make like millions andmillions of dollars.
(22:24):
I just want to live a simple,happy life, make videos, work
with people I enjoy.
And really that's my goal at theend of the day.
Paul (22:31):
Life's too short to have bad clients.
I agree.
John (22:35):
Yes.
Paul (22:35):
And I think we're aligned on so many things and that's why
I refocused season 2 of thispodcast on marketers and
business owners stories becausein season one we focused a lot
on marketing tips and and ideasand things that people were
doing wrong things that peoplewere doing right that's all fine
and great and there's the placefor that but what underpins it
(22:58):
all is people care far moreabout the story of the person
who we're talking to why they dowhat they do and the irony is
that people don't realize howintrinsic that is to the
marketing it's like your storyyou Leads to your why.
Why you do what you do.
And it's not for money, it's notfor status, it's not power, it's
none of those things.
(23:19):
It's the little things that getyou up at 5 in the morning,
crazy excited to do somethingfor work.
That's, that's what the why isall about.
But that why is what powers yourmarketing and your sales.
So if you don't understand thatwhy, you, you will struggle for
sales and revenue because youcan't articulate what it is
that's unique about you incomparison to your nearest
(23:41):
competitor.
So I love that, that kind offinal point from you around, you
know, that, that story telling.
It's the thing that unites us ashumans.
We've been doing it forthousands and thousands of
years.
Why have we lost the ability totell stories all of a sudden?
John, if people want to reachout, they want to know more
about you how can they, how canthey listen to your podcast?
How can they find you?
(24:02):
What's the best way to contactyou?
John (24:04):
Sure, absolutely.
So you can visit me atjohnthevideoguy.
com on my website.
You can go, there's a fewdifferent tabs.
There's the learn tab.
If you want to watch my tutorialcontent, there's Premiere Pro
After Effects tutorials.
And there's also the podcasttab.
If you want to take a listen tosome of the guests I've had on
recently, I just launched seasontwo.
New episodes come out everyother week.
Yeah, I've been really enjoyingit.
(24:25):
It's really, like you said, itreignited my spark and like
creativity and got me back into,content creation.
Paul (24:32):
Nice.
And when I post this onLinkedIn, everybody take note,
John does not need helprepurposing his videos or
editing them.
All the people that jump on myshort notes and tell me how bad
my SEO is and how they make myshorts really interesting and
viral, we don't care.
Thank you very much, but nothanks.
John, it's been a genuinepleasure.
Thanks very much for comingalong today.
(24:53):
And I look forward to seeing theepisode drop.
John (24:56):
Thank you for having me, Paul.
Good afternoon, welcome back to MarketPulse Pros and
Pioneers, where this week I'mjoined by the fantastic John
Vlach.
Right, so for the audiences outthere, there John is widely
known as, and I like this,"Johnthe video guy".
It's like Ronseal does what itsays on the tin, I like it.
So John's a freelance videoeditor, content creator, and
educator with a mission toinspire the next generation of
(00:22):
creators.
After nearly nine years at Rockthe House, where he led creative
services and built dynamic mediacampaigns, John launched his own
brand to teach video productionthrough YouTube and live events.
With accolades such as Rockstarof the Month and Employee of the
Year, John blends technicalexpertise with a passion for
mentorship Showing aspiringvideo creators how to turn their
(00:44):
passions into sustainablecareers.
That's a really interesting takeon video because most people I
know are only ever interested ineither creating, editing, or
helping people get it out thereand you kind of play across all
three but with a view to helpingthe next generation as well,
right?
John (01:02):
Yeah, I think for me the reason I'm really big into
education is I didn't go tocollege Actually, I went to
trade school and a lot of when Ifirst started, I, went online
looked up tutorials, it was alot of like diving into the
software and trying to figure itout.
I always like, when I findsomething, share it with people,
if it can help me, it canprobably help other people.
(01:22):
So that's my mission.
Paul (01:24):
I like that, I like that.
So talk us through those earlydays then, John, if you would.
Why did you decide that tradeschool was the route for you?
John (01:31):
Yeah, I think for me, I really wanted to see if I liked
it first and if it could be asustainable career.
For me where I grew up, I, inhigh school, the last two years
of my schooling and junior andsenior year of high school,
before I graduated, they offeredlike this vocational school
where you could go essentiallyto high school half the day, but
then you can go to this otherschool and learn the technical
(01:53):
about the trades.
And there's a lot of differenttrades to learn from.
I had to actually fill out alist like engineering, because I
was thinking about going intolike CAD and like architecture.
Becoming an architect, but thenmedia was at the top of the list
because I was like, that'd beinteresting cause, I had a
passion for it.
I love, playing with videos,graphics on my home computer.
And I wanted to see if that wasa possible career.
(02:15):
So I decided to go that way.
In those two years, I reallyexperimented, learned a lot.
And one of the big things inthat was that there were guest
speakers that would come backand share their experiences.
And like throughout high school,I was like wondering do I need
to go to college?
Because a lot of it you canlearn online.
Some companies really hold thatdegree to a high standard.
(02:36):
Some people just care about theportfolio and it is very much
like.
What is more important, gettingthe college experience or
getting the, real worldexperience.
So that's why I didn't go tocollege.
And I was fortunate to intern atthe place that you mentioned,
Rock the House, where theyoffered me an internship in my
final, like few months of highschool.
And upon graduating, theyoffered me a part time job.
(02:58):
And I just took it and ran withit from there.
Paul (03:00):
Well I guess there's a lot of people out there and I think
the same challenge is true herein the UK.
There's a lot of focus put onacademia and university
placements here and degrees andthings like that.
And whilst I'm a big believerthat those things have their
place in the world, it showcasesa different skill set to what
(03:21):
most people assume, right?
So like for me, a degree is acase of I can go away and
research things myself andanswer things in a complex and
organised manner, and I'm keento learn and I can do X, Y and
Z.
However I've said to my son, Idon't care whether you've got a
university or not.
As long as you're doingsomething you're passionate
about, you could actuallyprobably save yourself a hefty
(03:42):
amount of lawn that you'd haveto pay back, earn money in the
meantime, and be three or fouryears ahead of your peers in
real world experience by thetime you're finished doing, to
the same time as they'vefinished university, right?
John (03:56):
Yeah, exactly.
And I saw it firsthand too,because I didn't go to college.
Four years later, all the peoplethat went to college are now
entering in the workforce whereI already had a lot of that
experience.
Especially at Rock the House, Ibecame a manager.
So I was seeing college studentscome into the workplace and
start interning and workingthere.
And there's that difference thatkind of I don't know how to
(04:16):
describe it.
It's more.
I feel like for me, I have moreof a grit, I wasn't afraid to
dive into the software, takesome risks, break something
before, get my hands dirty withvideo and creating stuff, where
I think college, it's great, Ithink, to get the degree for
structured learning, but toreally You know, dive deep in
(04:37):
creativity.
I think it lacks a lot in thatarea,
Paul (04:41):
How have How have you seen Video change since, obviously,
you started working with it,like, you know, early days at
home and messed about with videoat home.
Like, what would you say havebeen the big developments in
video between then and now?
So, it's been a lot, right?
Let's be fair, I mean, it'sessentially the same medium, but
(05:01):
it's changed dramatically.
So, what's your view on that?
John (05:04):
Yeah.
It's interesting because I gotasked this question a few times
before, and it is such a bigdifference because when I first
learned video, we weren't, wedidn't have access to a lot of
the AI tools, a lot of the,Shortcuts and different
extensions that make editingvideos or creating videos a lot
easy.
You almost had to figure it outas you went, a lot of my first
(05:26):
projects when I was, at home waslike, try to make something
explode or how to do an effector something and trying to
figure that out.
You really had to experiment alot.
And I think the way video hasevolved is a lot of things are
already given to you.
If you want like an explosion oran effect or to auto edit
something for you, you can justclick a button and it
(05:47):
automatically does that.
So I think the difference whenit comes to video production,
there's a lot of time savingtools today which is great.
But the drawback of that is weforget how to create something
from scratch or maybe.
If a problem arises, how totroubleshoot and know how to
work the software really throughand through to get like a
(06:08):
specific result.
It's almost like the carindustry, it's like being a
mechanic where you know, likeall the ins and outs of the car,
but then you have a computerthat can diagnose and just, spit
out okay, it's, this is theproblem.
You know what I mean?
It's
Paul (06:22):
if one day your laptop's not working, right?
You still need to be able todiagnose the car.
John (06:26):
Yep, exactly.
It's what if the AI featuredoesn't work and it doesn't auto
edit your video for you, whatare you going to do?
Paul (06:33):
it happens, I can tell you, it happens.
So why then leave that careerthat you had at Rock the House
and set out on your own?
What was the turning point foryou that made you just kind of
realise that now's the time?
John (06:47):
Yeah, I think for me what I came to realize, especially
during the pandemic is, youcould be the best of the best in
your career in a position as anemployee, but at the end of the
day, I saw a lot of my friends,a lot of coworkers get laid off.
And the reason I wanted to goout on my own eventually,
Whether it's through YouTubecontent creation or starting my
own freelance video productioncompany was to try to build
(07:10):
something for myself where, Ihave something that I own that
isn't reliant, that I don't haveto worry about getting laid off
or.
Something happening in themarket that I can build and
have.
And that's why I really leanedinto that, especially coming out
of the pandemic, I was like,okay, let's start a YouTube
channel.
Let's try to create some passiveincome just as a safety net, I'm
(07:31):
in.
And eventually it grew and I gotto a place where I felt
comfortable enough to leave.
And when I look back at my timeat Rock the House, I think I
pretty much done everything.
I started as an intern, grew toa full time employee.
I've been there for nine years,became a manager, started to
lead different teams inmarketing and creative services.
Other video editors are comingin.
(07:52):
And I felt like I maxed out thatposition there just as an
employee.
And I feel like becoming anentrepreneur, that was like the
natural next step and toevolving my career.
So that's why I took that leap.
Paul (08:04):
You needed to stretch into the next learnings, right?
Like, and I resonate with that,I resonate.
You've got to keep, if you'renot learning, you're downhill.
Because you need to be growing,you need to be figuring out
whatever's next, whatever thatmight take.
I think it takes a brave personto start their own business.
I've been, I wouldn't say I wasbrave, maybe stupid at the time.
(08:25):
But I look at other people and Ijust think, do you know what?
Like, hats off.
Genuine credit.
You've left a stable career thatyou've probably enjoyed, to be
fair.
You know, you don't staysomewhere nine years if you
don't have, you know, moments ofenjoyment there.
But then to go off and do yourown thing and then make a
success of it is, you know,that's, that's an achievement.
(08:45):
It's incredible.
What made you Focus so much onthe teaching side of things,
cause nearly all of your contentout there on YouTube is a, is a
how to guide.
And what I like about it isit's, it's usually more detailed
and more specific than a lot ofthe guides that I see out there.
Here's how you create a videowith Adobe Premiere and it's
just like a really sped upversion that doesn't really
(09:06):
teach you anything.
And yours tends to be all,here's how you use this bit to
do this thing here.
And I like that because it'sreally, or I can take that
lesson and apply it over here orover there.
And I, you know, I can referback to it when I need to.
What, what led you down thatteaching path?
John (09:23):
Yeah.
I think honestly, it stems backfrom my early, upbringing of
learning video, finding, tryingto figure things out on my own.
I feel like there is so muchcontent out there.
Like you said, that's justhere's how to do this.
But.
A lot of my content, especiallymy earlier content, is like, how
to do something very specific inthe software.
And I think there is a big gapwhere, there's not a lot of
(09:44):
tutorials going over specificthings like that.
And for me, I always like justsharing other people and not
only to share for other people,but sometimes it's for myself,
to be honest, because like I'llmake a video three years ago and
I haven't touched that effect ina while and I'll be like, how do
I do that?
And I go and rewatch my ownvideo to see how to do
something.
Because that happens from timeto time, you might do something
(10:06):
in video editing that you mightnot do, once in a while you have
to come back and learn it again.
But.
It's like a scientific journal,essentially, that's how I see it
where I can use it.
Other people can use it.
If you find value in it, it'sout there, it's public
information that people can useto, using their own projects.
Paul (10:22):
You've touched on something there with regards to
YouTube that I think a lot ofbusiness owners on LinkedIn
really struggle to understand.
And that's the differencebetween creating video content
and releasing it on your socialprofiles, LinkedIn especially.
And creating content andreleasing it on YouTube, is that
YouTube is permanent, like, it'sa search engine with content
(10:44):
behind it, and once I'vereleased something on there, you
know, I've released content forclients, and two years on
they're still getting 30 hits aday on a particular video,
they've never had to update itor change anything, it's just,
it's timeless.
So if you want to create contentthat your clients will find over
and over, or your potentialclients or, you know, people who
(11:04):
work with you can consume overand over again, it needs to go
on YouTube because it's socialmedia, it's gone in what, 48, 72
hours, maybe a week if you'relucky.
John (11:13):
Yeah, exactly.
YouTube's evergreen, especiallyif it's searchable, you can type
in something and it just popsup.
There's different techniques,obviously, you can learn to try
to, get better in ranking whenit comes to search related
content.
But yeah, at the end of the day,it's always going to be up there
with LinkedIn and a lot of theother social media platforms.
It's just, it might be up therefor a week or so, and then it
(11:35):
disappears in the feed.
Paul (11:36):
So your mission is to inspire others through video and
design.
So do you want to kind of talkus through how that mission
drives your business decisionsand maybe client relationships?
John (11:47):
Sure, so I think for me my mission really comes down to
just finding people I reallylike to work with.
And I'm very fortunate that.
A lot of people that I work withare referrals.
They're people that I met,several years ago throughout my
career journey.
And they realize, oh, you're,freelance now.
And they reach out because, Ijust enjoy working with them.
And it's really nice to make abusiness centered around
(12:07):
relationships and just enjoyingthe work, enjoying the people
that you work with.
I think that's probably the mostimportant aspect, is just really
enjoying the work and the peoplethat you're working with.
And that's really my businessgoal is just to find other
people I like working withpeople that have strong stories,
missions and just seeing how Ican help them advance their
(12:27):
mission when it comes to videocontent.
Paul (12:30):
I love talking to people who have a vision for their
business other than, I need tofind more clients.
And I think that, you know, itkind of leads into my next
question, which is around kindof saturated markets.
So there's a lot of freelancecreators out there probably now
more than ever.
So, as someone who, is in thatsituation, who is a freelance,
(12:50):
who, you know, you market yourown expertise as a way of
demonstrating your capabilitiesand authority in the area.
What advice would you have forother creators who are trying to
differentiate themselves in, ina very saturated market?
John (13:05):
Yeah, I think it is very tough and it's gonna sound
cliche, but my best advice isprobably to just be yourself and
try to find what makes you.
Unique.
For example, like me as acreator on YouTube, there's a
lot of people that watch mycontent just because they just
like how I explain things, whenyou compare like my channel or
my content to a lot of otherPremiere Pro channels, there's
(13:27):
some, reasons people like mycontent when they, subscribe and
watch my videos, but I think,that's something you can't just
create right away.
It just happens over time, and Ithink you just have to be
yourself, create content that'smost comfortable for you.
And that viewership and audiencewill grow.
The worst thing you could do asa content creator is try to be
someone you're not, and tryingto mimic and, copycat other
(13:50):
people.
I guess you can start that way,but I think eventually you have
to find your own voice, andfind, your own position in the
market.
Really lean into yourspecialties, as a video editor,
I have my specialties I editdifferently than other people if
there's a specialty, if you're afreelance video editor, or maybe
creator, if there's a certainmarket or specialty, lean into
(14:12):
that, and you'll probably findsuccess between that and then
also being yourself, I wouldsay.
Paul (14:17):
The biggest danger I see is if you're creating content
that mimics others or perhapsit's what you think people want
to see as opposed to what youwant to create.
You'll burn out quite quicklyand stop wanting to do it and
that's why I see that quite alot with people is, you know
what, I've done this for fourmonths I need to take a break, I
need to take time off.
Why?
I can create content 11 monthsof the year personally, I can,
(14:40):
you know, sometimes I have tostop myself creating content
because there's just so muchthat's in there that I just need
to get it out and it's, it'sreally, it's quite cathartic to
create the content but otherpeople, I see them and they're
like, So what is it that you'recreating content about?
Well, I think the audience wantto hear about this, so I'm
making that like, no, no.
If you're not passionate aboutit, you're not gonna, you're not
(15:01):
gonna take that to the nextlevel.
What do you think the biggestchallenges you've faced when
creating your personal brandwere, and how do you think that
compares with the challengesthat people have today?
Yeah
John (15:13):
that's a good question.
I think when building a personalbrand, I think it, it almost
comes back to trying to findyour own voice because I
remember it's interesting whenyou're a content creator and you
go back and you watch yourearlier videos, it's wow, like
what was I doing back then?
I was so awkward and I wastrying to be someone else or I
saw another creator and I waslike, just like the mannerisms
(15:34):
and like the way you approachthe content, it just, You can
see it, and I think over timejust trying to be yourself, like
I said earlier, but, I thinkthat's probably the biggest
struggle is trying to becomfortable on camera, being
yourself, delivering contentthat you're passionate about,
like you said, because, you haveto pick a topic and something
that, you're passionate about,otherwise, you go in it for a
(15:55):
few years, you're gonnaeventually burn out because
you're not into it, you don'tfeel like making videos and
content.
So that's a very importantaspect there but yeah, I would
say, find something you'repassionate about.
For me, it was video editingteaching other people it's not
only good for other people, butit's good for me as well because
I can look back on that contentbut yeah, I think that's
probably the biggest thing.
Paul (16:16):
And then you mentioned that a lot of your work comes
from referrals and word ofmouth.
Is there anything that you canrecommend to other people out
there?
Cause I mean, that's, I think,near bound as a lot of people
are calling it these days.
It's the in phrase for it,right?
Like it's good old networking,as far as I'm concerned.
It's probably more important in2025 than it ever has been and I
(16:36):
think the world's only gettingsmaller thanks to COVID partly,
you know, I'm not saying thateverything that came out of
COVID was a bad thing, but whatare the, what are some of the
tactics and strategies that youuse to kind of help get that
extra 10 percent out of, youknow, the word of mouth and
referrals?
How do you make it easy forpeople to work, to refer people
in to you?
John (16:55):
Yeah I can definitely speak to this, especially being
a content creator.
I think it's, it can really begreat for your business because
you position yourself as aindustry expert.
You know what I mean?
So when people watch my content,they're like, oh, this guy video
edits, they see all my videos.
It's proof of work.
It's not like I'm just thisrandom video editor trying to
(17:16):
get a gig or a job.
It's, I have, they can see theexperience, they can see the
videos and it makes those leadsvery warm, because by the time
they reach out to me, they'vealready watched a few of my
videos, they've gotten to knowme, they've gotten to probably
like me, they probably wouldn'treach out if they didn't like me
at that point, but it makesthose leads very warm, where
they're already in a position tobe like, yeah I saw your videos,
(17:37):
you're an expert, I have thisissue, or I have this video I
want to make, how can you help,and all you have to do on your
end is be like, how can I helpyou today?
It's very easy sales transtransition to, to close that
possible possible client.
So I think making content isgold for businesses because you,
it makes lead generation veryeasy when it comes to referrals,
(17:58):
essentially content creation islike a referral machine because
people get, you, they see thecontent that you're creating and
they get to know, like you trustyou.
And then they reach out, if theyneed a video.
So it's definitely verybeneficial for referrals.
And when it comes to outside ofcontent creation, we talked
about it a little bit before,over the nine years working at a
(18:19):
business, you may, I made somany connections, just keeping
in contact with a lot of thosepeople is very beneficial
because you never know someone,might get married, they might
reach out and, want a weddingvideographer, or, someone might
have a client looking for avideo.
So it's very beneficial justkeeping in contact.
And communication with all thosepeople.
And LinkedIn is a great way todo that.
I got a lot of referrals onLinkedIn this past year.
Paul (18:42):
So.
It sounds, and I know the truthof this, like a lot of what
you've said there links tohaving a strong strategy behind
your content in the first placeand not just kind of creating
things because you can createthem but creating them to a
specific end goal.
What's your advice to people onthe balance between having that
strategy and actually gettingthings out there?
(19:04):
Because I know a lot of peoplethat will procrastinate until
the end of time because theyneed a strategy.
I mean, I never actually releaseanything, and likewise I know
people that release things buthave no strategy whatsoever.
John (19:16):
I think it's it's not yeah.
I think it's important to havethe strategy, but I think the
good, a good rule of thumb is tohave the strategy first.
To know who your target audienceis, or your buyer whoever you're
trying to reach to, and justcome up with a list of
questions, problems that theymight have.
And then you can just makevideos based on that, to be
honest.
(19:36):
Small nuggets, small videos thatslowly solve people's problems
can be a great way to, focus onyour target audience.
It makes content creation a loteasier when your possible client
that might have problems thatyou can solve for them.
So for me, since I'm a videoeditor, I know other video
editors struggle with differentthings in the software, so I'll
make videos about, how to solvethat.
(19:56):
So it makes content creationeasy, and also the experience
factor of I'm, day after day I'min the editing software, so if I
run across something that popsup, I'm like, oh, that would
make a good video.
So I think, if you're in aposition like that, where you
live and breathe the content, itmakes it easier to make content,
essentially.
Paul (20:15):
You almost find an inspiration from the everyday
things that you do that mostpeople would probably just brush
over, right?
Like, right, so I've fixed thatproblem, now I'm going to move
on.
And your thought process jumpsto, whoa, hang on, I just fixed
a problem.
Fine, but actually, if I've comeacross that problem, how many
other people are dealing withthat?
And actually nobody's making anycontent about that to help fix
(20:37):
the problem.
And I think that, that branchesout no matter what business
you're in.
I think that is true.
I think that's incredibly trueand I think that's really,
really important for people toget their head around.
Aside from the fact that everyvideo that people watch, it's
kind of like having a person satbehind someone going, this guy's
an expert.
And, like, that's what it does.
People don't think about that atthe time.
(20:59):
They just watch your video and,right, great.
I know my son's got expertMinecraft creators that he
watches on YouTube, right?
It's the same thing, if I askhim, he knows who he would go to
to help him with a Minecraftbuild, right?
And all he does is sit and watchthem building videos.
What's next for you this yearthen?
What's your big focus in 2025?
John (21:19):
Yeah, I think the big focus for me is to continue
making content that I enjoymaking, helping people, but also
really lean into people'sstories.
I think, this past year I alittle fatigued with tutorial
content.
So what I did is I relaunched mypodcast.
It's called the post showpodcast where I interview other
video editors and I just lovetalking to people listen to
(21:42):
other people's stories andreally go off of that.
I think, there's a need,especially in today's, economy,
in today's world, just realconversations with people,
people listening to the storiesand the, the struggles, the
triumphs, of a creator'sjourney.
And that's what I really want todo is focus on the conversation.
So I restart my podcast, makingmore real content, I would say,
(22:04):
focus more on my personality,more.
Story, like I said, but that,and from a content creation
perspective, that's my goal thisyear.
And then from a businessstandpoint, I would say,
continue working with people Ienjoy, I think at the end of the
day, when I think of scaling abusiness, I'm not really in it
to, make like millions andmillions of dollars.
(22:24):
I just want to live a simple,happy life, make videos, work
with people I enjoy.
And really that's my goal at theend of the day.
Paul (22:31):
Life's too short to have bad clients.
I agree.
John (22:35):
Yes.
Paul (22:35):
And I think we're aligned on so many things and that's why
I refocused season 2 of thispodcast on marketers and
business owners stories becausein season one we focused a lot
on marketing tips and and ideasand things that people were
doing wrong things that peoplewere doing right that's all fine
and great and there's the placefor that but what underpins it
(22:58):
all is people care far moreabout the story of the person
who we're talking to why they dowhat they do and the irony is
that people don't realize howintrinsic that is to the
marketing it's like your storyyou Leads to your why.
Why you do what you do.
And it's not for money, it's notfor status, it's not power, it's
none of those things.
(23:19):
It's the little things that getyou up at 5 in the morning,
crazy excited to do somethingfor work.
That's, that's what the why isall about.
But that why is what powers yourmarketing and your sales.
So if you don't understand thatwhy, you, you will struggle for
sales and revenue because youcan't articulate what it is
that's unique about you incomparison to your nearest
(23:41):
competitor.
So I love that, that kind offinal point from you around, you
know, that, that story telling.
It's the thing that unites us ashumans.
We've been doing it forthousands and thousands of
years.
Why have we lost the ability totell stories all of a sudden?
John, if people want to reachout, they want to know more
about you how can they, how canthey listen to your podcast?
How can they find you?
(24:02):
What's the best way to contactyou?
John (24:04):
Sure, absolutely.
So you can visit me atjohnthevideoguy.
com on my website.
You can go, there's a fewdifferent tabs.
There's the learn tab.
If you want to watch my tutorialcontent, there's Premiere Pro
After Effects tutorials.
And there's also the podcasttab.
If you want to take a listen tosome of the guests I've had on
recently, I just launched seasontwo.
New episodes come out everyother week.
Yeah, I've been really enjoyingit.
(24:25):
It's really, like you said, itreignited my spark and like
creativity and got me back into,content creation.
Paul (24:32):
Nice.
And when I post this onLinkedIn, everybody take note,
John does not need helprepurposing his videos or
editing them.
All the people that jump on myshort notes and tell me how bad
my SEO is and how they make myshorts really interesting and
viral, we don't care.
Thank you very much, but nothanks.
John, it's been a genuinepleasure.
Thanks very much for comingalong today.
(24:53):
And I look forward to seeing theepisode drop.
John (24:56):
Thank you for having me, Paul.
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