Year 3 of my video production business, I hit a wall.

I was bringing in ~$300K in revenue.
I had momentum, solid clients, and a few regular contractors.
But things… leveled off.

And I realized something:
You can’t keep everything the same and expect different results.

Here’s what a plateau taught me:

1. Plateaus require decisions

Do I stay where I am and enjoy the stability? Or do I make the changes required to grow?

You really have to ask yourself whether you want to grow more or not.

There’s nothing wrong with being content at a certain level. A lot of people will view it as “complacency” but if it’s healthy and you’re doing what you love with the balance you want, I view it as “contentment.”

But if you do want to grow beyond the point of plateau, you can’t keep doing things the same and expect to grow more.

You need to consider:

How much more do I want to grow?
What will growth look like?
What will growth require?
Am I ready for this?
Do I want this?

2. Growth often means letting go

I had to step back from editing.
From doing everything myself.
From saying yes to low-margin work.

My business took off and became successful within the first 18 months because I did everything really well by myself.

But MY effort only goes so far.

I knew it was time to let go of some control in order to go further.

I hired a full-time project manager. I let him communicate with clients—emails, calls, texts, proposals, etc.

At first I was scared… what if he doesn’t talk like me? What if he doesn’t market the brand the way I do? What if he says something wrong to a client?

There were a lot of “what ifs” …

But the more I embraced the “letting go” the more we were able to grow.

Of course, growth didn’t happen within the first month of hiring Tyler (project manager). It took 12 months to see us hit $420K the next year ($120K in revenue growth) and to see how much clients were loving Tyler’s involvement.

But at this point I could see it… by letting go of some control we were actually doing more and the ship wasn’t sinking.

3. Pricing had to change

Our project minimums were too low.
Raising prices was uncomfortable… but necessary.
Growth is expensive—you have to price to support it.

The more I took a hard look at the financials of my business, the more I realized we weren’t charging enough.

So… project minimums had to come up.

We had to communicate this more to clients. “Hey, so sorry, our minimum is now $3,000.”

That wasn’t comfortable for me, if I’m being honest.

For the first few years of my business I was such a people pleaser, but it wasn’t helping us.

For some of you, raising prices is never going to be comfortable but it’s essential if you want to grow or work fewer projects. Either way, prices have to come up.

And then after pricing, I had to understand that growth is expensive. In order to grow, it requires more overhead.

Not irresponsible overhead… like a huge office or a staff of 10 people.

But renting a modest office and paying people good wages… it was going to be more expensive for me.

If you’re at a plateau make sure you’re aware of that—are you ready for growth to cost you something?

If not, then don’t sweat it.

But if you are wanting to push past the plateau, then it’s time to understand what it will cost you and if you can handle it.

4. Strategic investment is the way forward

Hiring. Branding. New offerings.
When you’ve done the math and built the foundation, you have to back yourself and your vision.

Don’t initiate growth if you can’t back your own vision.

That may be tough to understand where you currently are, but it’s something I’ve wrestled with in the last six months.

There have been low points where I’m overwhelmed… cashflow, people management, clients, project issues…

And if I can’t back myself and my vision, then what’s the point?

Take time to make strategic decisions and strategic investments, and then back it up.

Here are the things I’ve made strategic investments in:

Acquiring a book of business from another company with clients we already know how to help
Hiring two new people to help facilitate growth: salesperson and a producer
An accessible and aesthetic office space (it’s a modest size but clients enjoy visiting)
Wages. Sounds funny, but investing in good wages retains good people.

If you’re at a plateau right now, you’re not alone and you’re not broken.
You’re just at a crossroads. The next level won’t look like the last one.

That’s exactly why I offer Creator Clarity Calls—
1:1 coaching for videographers and photographers who’ve found some success, but want to break through to the next chapter.

Whether that means pricing changes, a hiring shift, or launching a new offer…
Let’s figure it out together.

[Book a Creator Clarity Call here]

You bring the ambition, I’ll help you build the roadmap.

—Trent

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