Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in content creation but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Julin Jean, CEO of FOXFORCE Media, located in Orange County, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a marketing agency specializing in creative YouTube series for brands. Our customers are small business owners, brands, and solopreneurs.
Tell us about yourself
I grew up on a U-shaped street, and there weren't many kids or any to play with. Luckily for me, at the end of the block, there was a video rental store called Grumpy's Video in Pasadena, Texas. I think it was about 50 cents to rent a movie, and so almost every other day, I would rent a new movie. I think there was one point where I had seen almost every video that they had. When I got into high school, I was really interested in foreign films. I just wanted to see what other countries considered good films, and naturally, from there, I got into theater and received a scholarship to be in theater in college. Theater didn't work out for me because my heart was in the film business, and I found myself in a place where I had to choose.
I started acting in commercials, television, and independent films. I progressed into screenwriting and songwriting and found myself in LA starting a producing career. After I had early success, I decided the best thing for me was to start my own business. We started making music videos just to see the workflow and how we would come up with creative concepts and deliver them. Our first big video win was getting mentioned in Dance Magazine. Then our next video had tons of press, and we felt we had a winning strategy for creating memorable and shareable media.
At another job of mine, I created eight videos that had a collective view count of 250 million on YouTube. I started studying YouTube as a way to help brands create engaging media and build communities organically. Lots of trial and error later, usually with our own channel, we've come up with the perfect strategy. Since it's not only about creating the perfect video strategy but the overall content strategy, including PR, that's what we offer now. We have packages for solopreneurs all the way up to big brands. Perfect for just starting out or rebranding. It's a six-month commitment because it takes time to develop, create, and distribute, but the rewards are evergreen. Some of the clients went from nobody knowing who they were to end up in the Rolling Stones.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is creating a unique company that offers amazing benefits for clients. It took us five years of developing and fine-tuning to get to this point. We also love that our content has been mentioned in over 100 press articles, including US Today and my hometown newspaper, The Houston Chronicle.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
As a creative business owner, the hardest thing is managing daily operations instead of just creating all day and coming up with new ideas, aka the fun stuff versus the boring stuff.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Start ASAP and figure it out as you go.
- Love your clients and help them grow.
- Always be taking business courses.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.foxforcemedia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foxforce.media/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foxforce.media/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/foxforcemedia
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foxforce/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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