Lights, Camera, Action: The Hidden ROI Of Pro Video | Jimmy Owens

Jimmy Owens, Founder & CEO of Design Tunnel in Oklahoma City, has spent over 14 years helping businesses transform their brand through strategic, high-quality video production. In this episode, he explains why video isn’t just a tool—it’s a clarity accelerator that forces you to define your message, tighten your focus, and show up professionally.

You’ll learn:

• Why most DIY videos fall flat—and what separates them from intentional content
• The production process every business owner should know (script to screen)
• What it really costs to build a studio setup ($1,500–$10,000—and why)
• How Jimmy’s team creates custom podcast sets with 13 studio designs
• Why AI can’t replace the human touch in brand storytelling

Later in the episode, Jimmy opens up about a major turning point in his life: getting sober. That decision didn’t just change his personal life—it reshaped his leadership, mindset, and capacity to grow a business with purpose. His take on “healthy pressure” and why he wishes he would’ve gotten serious sooner is a wake-up call for entrepreneurs running on fumes.

If you're ready to elevate your content—and yourself—this conversation delivers both strategy and heart.

Jimmy Owens: Founder & CEO of Design Tunnel

Website: https://www.designtunnel.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designtunnel/

Video Production: https://www.designtunnel.com/our-work/

Video Podcast: https://www.designtunnel.com/podcast/

#SmallBusinessPivots #BusinessPodcast #BOSS #BusinessOwnershipSimplified #MichaelDMorrison #JimmyOwens #DesignTunnel #VideoMarketing #OklahomaCity #EntrepreneurMindset #ProfessionalBranding #PodcastProduction #SmallBusinessGrowth #StorytellingStrategy #ContentCreation #BusinessOwnerTips #FromDIYtoPro #Sobriety

Chapters

• 0:00 Meet Jimmy Owens of Design Tunnel
• 1:50 Why Video Matters for Businesses
• 4:20 Professional Video vs. Smartphone Content
• 9:05 Business Evolution and Getting Serious
• 16:35 Leadership and Team Building Insights
• 19:20 Business Pivots in Video Production
• 25:05 The Professional Videography Process
• 30:30 Studio Equipment and AI Impact

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

All right, welcome to another Small Business, pivots. We always have special guests from around the world, but this one's almost just down the street, right in the city where our headquarters are, of BOSS Design Tunnel, jimmy Owens, here in Oklahoma City. Welcome to the show.

Speaker 2: 0:17

Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

Speaker 1: 0:18

Well, tell us a little bit about your business before we get started.

Speaker 2: 0:21

Sure, well, march of 2025 was 14 years in business. We do video production, training videos, and the last three years we've been starting to do podcasts for people.

Speaker 1: 0:34

Well, before we introduce the show, how do you think we're going to help people today?

Speaker 2: 0:39

I think we're going to answer a lot of good questions when it comes to video, so I'm going to leave it open-ended, but maybe all the questions you should ask the videographer or company that you're working with, I'll let you take it from there.

Speaker 1: 0:53

Fantastic. Well, let's introduce the show and we'll be right back. Welcome to Small Business Pivots, a podcast produced for small business owners. I'm your host, Michael Morrison, founder and CEO of BOSS, where we make business ownership simplified for success. Our business is helping yours grow. Boss offers business loans with business coaching support. Apply in minutes and get approved and funded in as little as 24 to 48 hours at businessownershipsimplifiedcom. All right, welcome back to Small Business Pivots. Jimmy, you've been in business for 14 years in video, which was well before the TikTok days, but today everybody says you got to have video. Can you explain why we need video today?

Speaker 2: 1:50

I think it's one of the most versatile pieces of content. I'm going to go back. We've done a lot of print design over the years and I think when people used to get a brochure created, I feel like the video that we're creating today, it's kind of like a digital brochure, right. It just kind of really makes you focus on what you really want to put in that thing, because once it goes to print, there's no one doing it. That's what video is nowadays. It's just a really good piece of content that can be used on all different platforms and it makes you focus on what your message is. What should we put in it? So I think I think it's great because it makes everyone focus and like actually like put some value to what they're putting out there, versus just like a bunch of random content, right.

Speaker 1: 2:34

Being a videographer, I'm sure you all do video for your company. How do you use it in your company?

Speaker 2: 2:41

We do a lot of behind the scenes. We've also created some commercials for ourselves testimonials.

Speaker 1: 2:50

Everybody says you got to have video, but what I see people doing with their video is they spend so much time on it, but it doesn't seem like they really have direction. Can you help us with some insights on when people come to you for video, how do they use it? Is it social media? Is it for TV? What do they use it for?

Speaker 2: 3:12

Everybody's in a different part in that journey that you're talking about. It's just, yeah, everybody has a different reason and I think usually when people come to us they're past that point of I want to create a bunch of content, like maybe they've tried that themselves, or they try to buy equipment, or if I hired a videographer and it didn't work out, or for all kinds of reasons. But usually they're coming to us when they want the quality and they want, they want to do it right the first time, or they want to do it right because they've already tried to do it.

Speaker 1: 3:46

Everybody's got, you know, a camera on their phone and I would think that that's probably a competitor right now, but can you share the difference of using your phone versus a studio like yourself?

Speaker 2: 4:02

Yeah, well, content's content, but the main difference is being able to control, like, exposures. So there's three things in a camera that we're always looking at and shutter speed, um ISO and um F stop, and so all these things allow us to like, get the shot that we want, like. If you're like, hey, I want a blurry background, like what I have right now, well then you went like a lower aperture. I know I'm speaking some jargon, but there's ways to get that look. And so if you look at a lot of people's cell phone videos, almost everything, even GoPro, almost everything is always in focus the whole environment.

Speaker 2: 4:45

So there's just ways, there's just different ways to control these cameras. And then you know, some of these people that are listening to this podcast today are like well, I can. Also, you can buy an app and you can control those things through a third-party app on your actual cell phone, right? So you can still get those same looks, but just the image quality. Image quality, sensor size uh, how, how well will it shoot low light, because not everyone's hauling around lights and doing those kinds of things. So just depends, it depends on the look that you're wanting to get and can you achieve it with what you have and you know who's running the camera right like you have to.

Speaker 2: 5:20

Even if you're going to download those apps, you still have to do the research. And even today I had one of my staff come in today help me set this, help me set up a podcast set that we've done many, many times. Because it's hard to film yourself. It's not, it's not as fun to film yourself. You know, you have no guidance, there's all kinds of things going there, but these cameras that they have on, you know, the iPhones and Androids and stuff do a really good job at photographs, at video, the difference is like knowing what it's doing and why it's doing it. Like if you don't know those things, then you're just guessing. You can't reproduce the same thing over and over, and so me and my team take a lot of pride in being able to reproduce the same thing over and over for a client or being able to achieve a look or a vision that they have.

Speaker 1: 6:15

What percentage would you guesstimate? This is probably a subjective answer, but I see people spending so much time trying to create a viral video, trying to figure out the right lighting and get those apps and create that emotion that you're talking about versus. Just come to you. You already know how to do it. What percentage of time do you think that saves a business owner?

Speaker 2: 6:39

I don't even know where to start with that question because it's going to save them a lot of time, because we help other people with their podcast spaces and stuff like that and some testimonials that we've received is that you know they would have never like some of these podcasts since that we've helped set up and then train their staff. They would never be able to look that way, like their staff doesn't really understand the ins and outs of those three things in that camera the shutter speed, the f-stop and the iso and so like. That's like the very basic thing that you need to understand instead of just hitting auto. So hit auto, that means that your colors and everything's going to be, it's going to look good, but like, depending on where you're at, it's always going to change and like, like if your lighting changes, then your auto settings will change inside your iPhone or your camera and you're never going to achieve that consistent look.

Speaker 1: 7:32

How long have you done photo and video?

Speaker 2: 7:35

About 12 years in on photo and video. Yeah, and so the In industry for over 20. So I started out as a graphic designer.

Speaker 1: 7:46

So is there creativity in the photo process as well and video process? Yeah, oh yeah.

Speaker 2: 7:53

Yeah, uh, layout, it's not just taking your phone and I mean there's.

Speaker 1: 7:57

there's a lot of things that go into. It is what you're saying, Certainly.

Speaker 2: 8:01

Yeah, the, you know the amount of light that you want to put on a subject, if they're overexposed, if they're not exposed enough. I mean there's so many different. Once you get it, you get it, but you know. Go to go back to your question how much wasted time you know or you know would be wasted I I think that if you, if you hired someone like us or found someone here, local, to educate you and your staff on something, you would be like years ahead of where you would be, if you just would have done it yourself.

Speaker 1: 8:34

Yeah, I always say don't be your own accountant unless you know how to do accounting. All right. So videography is kind of the same thing. Yeah, we have these tools, these resources, but why spend or waste I would say waste the time trying to figure it out and the lighting and everything? I want to go to your business side of Design Tunnel. So when you started Design Tunnel 14 years ago, if there was something you wish you would have done different in the early stages, what do you think that would have been?

Speaker 2: 9:05

I wish I would have got serious sooner.

Speaker 1: 9:09

Boom.

Speaker 2: 9:10

Yeah, yeah, serious sooner. Yeah, yeah, more serious, sooner yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:15

Every year I I feel like I'm getting more serious and I'm like why wasn't I this serious last year? You know? And here I am getting in my later years last year.

Speaker 2: 9:25

You know, and here I am getting in my later years, well, I, I, I think for me, like I mean, I didn't end up, I didn't plan on having staff and having a location and you know any of the stuff behind me. I didn't plan on this. And so if I would have had a plan and got serious and you don't know what, you don't know Right, but, um, you know, sometimes I say that you know we made it this far. You know our prayer. You know we're very lucky, but today we're being very intentional. You know I don't want to be so intentional that it's not fun and so intentional that it's not fun to work here. So you have to juggle those things. Like we can get serious on some of the things behind the scenes so we can really make a good plan, but it still needs to be fun.

Speaker 1: 10:08

You've really been evolving in the last five plus years. What would you say contributes to that?

Speaker 2: 10:17

I'm just going to get to it. One of the biggest things that changed in my life is I got clean and sober and I'm not going to make a podcast about that but me realizing something that I always knew that was holding me back. And having to face that and then working on that and working a program and getting some help with that has changed the way that I function at home, function in my business, function in my life, and that's been the biggest change in my life that has projected us to where we're at today. And when you started, I work on that daily, work on that daily and it's just a. You know, it's a. What we're at today is a byproduct of that.

Speaker 2: 11:01

You know I wasn't trying to get to where we're at today. I think I was trying to, but I didn't realize how much of these other things were holding me back. You know I wasn't trying to get to where we're at today. I think I was trying to, but I didn't realize how much of these other things were holding me back. You know, we're all born with that human condition where we like to struggle, or some of us do some of this. You know my type of personality I like to struggle. I like to work and, uh, you know you don't have to struggle and work on the same things. You can actually like make progress. Imagine that.

Speaker 1: 11:23

Yeah yeah, Focus yeah. So you you've kind of, you've kind of got design tunnel 2.0, if you will, in the last five years. So, going down that journey, since you did have more focus, what were some of the things that you feel has really helped you move the needle in your business?

Speaker 2: 11:45

coming from that fresh start, had to be willing to look at myself first I know I already said that, but that was the number one thing and then being able to ask people for help.

Speaker 2: 11:59

So, asking people for help whenever it's like something that I don't know a lot about. You know, over the years, I always knew I was the problem, but I was never ready to hire a business coach, right, Because I like to struggle, and so, and I had, you know, I was spending money on other things, I wasn't gonna be able to stay focused, I couldn't, you know, juggle all these things, and I knew I would never, um, be able to achieve anything with a business coach until I got serious. And so, uh, once I got serious, uh, I think, I think it was a year in, you know, on that journey of sobriety, that I finally was able, I was willing to pay someone to help me. And then, that's when I called you yeah, so Michael Morrison is my business coach. But, um, you know, and I, you know, one of the things that you said on that phone call was, you know, are you willing to change the things that you can? And I was like, yes, I am.

Speaker 1: 13:10

Yes, I think it was uh cause, cause you'd already and I hate using this term for you speaking for you, but some people would say I hit rock bottom, so I knew I had to, you know get help on my rock bottom.

Speaker 2: 13:25

It's going to be an X-rated show here. No well, I had to get help on myself, yeah.

Speaker 1: 13:31

But then what would you say, helped you get serious once you worked on yourself? I mean, what was that trigger? Because there's a lot of business owners that when we say because you know, I say it all the time you got to get serious first and they're like well, I am serious, I started a business. Well, no, what does that really mean? What does it mean to you?

Speaker 2: 13:57

To me it's, I mean, like today we still don't have like health insurance for our employees. Right Today we're still renting our location. I think it's just like looking at like revenue. Revenue is really what I'm after, I'm looking, I'm really ready for, I'm looking for stability, like we live so many years month to month, whatever you want to call it, without, without getting to the weeds too far. But, um, those things like being able I know I can't do this on my own right. I know that, um, I mesh well with people and staff and there's and we do a really good job as a team and I don't.

Speaker 2: 14:32

I don't think that all videographers are all like smaller videographers can do that. So we're bigger than just an independent videographer team, like an independent videographer, but we're not as big as an agency. Do I want to be as big as an agency? No, but I want the revenue stability of an agency, right, of an agency, right. So I think, in order for me to get serious, I have to say I want to achieve these things and then I have to keep these things going. And if I don't have these things going and we're not achieving them, then how are we going to get there? Well, I'm serious about achieving those things today.

Speaker 1: 15:10

You have a team. What would you say are some of the insights? Well, the craziest thing is we've always had a team.

Speaker 2: 15:17

I've always had a team. I've had a team for like probably like 14 years in business. 12 of those years I've had someone helping me, because I knew that in order for me to go get more, in order for me to do things, I have to offload things and let them do what they're good at. So today we do it totally different. We're about systems and processes and creating all these things.

Speaker 1: 15:41

The team you have. You've evolved as a company. You've evolved as a person and a leader. What would you say are some of the areas of business that you've become a better leader? You're listening to Small Business Pivots. This podcast is produced by my company, Boss. Our business is helping yours grow. Boss offers business loans with business coaching support. Apply in minutes and get approved and funded in as little as 24 to 48 hours at businessownershipsimplifiedcom. If you're enjoying this podcast, don't forget to hit the subscribe button and share it as well. Now let's get back to our special guest the team you have. You've evolved as a company. You've evolved as a person and a leader. What would you say are some of the areas of business that you've become a better leader with your team? Because not everybody. Once they hire employees, they know what to do with them right, so you've evolved over time. What would you say are some things you've learned that have been beneficial to building your team?

Speaker 2: 16:48

One of the things that I used to. Really, I'm not like an in-your-face kind of person. I a very like I would say I'm a really soft sale, and even my hardest sale is still not hard, you know, still soft. But one thing that I didn't I wanted people to be here. If they want to be here, right, you can leave if you want to leave. If you don't want to be on the team and you don't like it, then you, then you can leave, like, like I didn't want to have any kool-aid to drink. I think this is the best way I can put. I didn't want to have any kool-aid to drink. I didn't want to force you to drink the kool-aid. You know, design tunnel to be like, oh, design tunnel, yeah, you know, yeah, and uh, today I would say that we have some kool-aid and we want you to drink it yeah what's what's in?

Speaker 2: 17:34

we want you to drink our Kool-Aid.

Speaker 1: 17:37

What's in the?

Speaker 2: 17:37

Kool-Aid Um, it's transparency, you know. I think transparency on our team like if something's bothering you work or personal you know we're trying to keep that personal stuff outside the door when you show up. But if it's something personal and you want to talk about it, hit one of us up you. It has something to do with a project that we can make things smoother around here, then let's talk about it. Being able to not just be a yes person, but to be able to problem solve and figure things out. If you can't do that, you're not going to make it here.

Speaker 2: 18:11

I've told people when we're having interviews that my job is to make sure that my job is to make you want to not work here, because whenever you work here on our team, it's probably going to be the hardest you've ever worked at. A job Like we're just not a place to collect, a check and leave. Everybody plays a really vital role in the success and if you just sit back and you do your job, that's going to be really helpful. But if you sit back and you do your job, that's going to be really helpful. But if you sit back and you do more than expected, it's very it's. We notice it. It's easy to notice that around here and then you know, being able for all of us to build off of that is a contagious thing this the show's name is small business pivots and you've mentioned marketing, graphic design video podcast.

Speaker 1: 18:58

How did you transition into those pivots and know that it was a good thing to try or attempt or adapt, evolve however you want to look at it, because so many business owners stay stuck and yet you just keep moving. How hard is that? What was the process you went through to say, okay, I'm going to do this.

Speaker 2: 19:20

Yeah, uh, well, that's the end of the show. I don't know, um, uh, it's. It's an interesting process because I was, uh, you know, I got an advertising BA from OU and uh, and I was just, I just love marketing products and services and and through like ad copy and layout, I realized that I could take these like one-liner ideas that I had and I could turn it into a visual, something that people could actually see, and they'd be like, oh, that's cool, you know. So I started out graphic design, like employed as a graphic designer for three years and then I think you know, just like any employee, you get all you want is more money, right. Or you have a side hustle, if, like, you're kind of programmed that way, and so I was the side hustle guy and then I was the guy that always wanted to race. So how do you get that race? Well, you side hustle, right. You learn what you can at work. You get paid to learn. One of my favorite terms that say is let's get paid to learn if we don't know it.

Speaker 2: 20:20

So, graphic design, I just wanted to learn animation work. So I just kind of I wanted to do that. I dabbled in web design because I thought it was cool. It was. It was back whenever they said print design was going to die. And do you remember that? Yes, I do.

Speaker 1: 20:39

Owning a printing company.

Speaker 2: 20:39

Yes, we heard that every day, yeah, print's going to die, and I was like, well, I'm going to do some web stuff. And so you know, I was, I was just trying these things. And then, you know, like doing freelance projects on the side, working at different places, listening to these things Um, I come to find out that there was I could get paid more doing some of these things that people couldn't do, and so that's that's kind of really what I've always based some of our things off of, like what we're trying and what we're doing, and so, um, like, I never wanted to do um logo design for anybody, because no one would you know ever. I always say someone had a nephew's, a nephew's nephew, that could do their logo, you know, and didn't want it. So those were. I was just talking to the wrong people. However, those were the people I was talking to at the time or had found out about me. So, zero budget.

Speaker 2: 21:29

And I used to actually own a website called vector graphic design, comm, where I used to get paid more to recreate people's logo and vector format than I would if I would have designed it. Really, wow, yeah, so, um, that's kind of an interesting topic, but, um, so I knew I didn't want to do, like logos. Uh, graphic design is actually why I put my job and I went out and I was like I want to be a graphic designer out of my house and, uh, you know what behind me now, that's what, that's what got me here. Yeah, apparently, I, I, I work hard. Um, you know, I think we just kind of like try to keep up with the times and test the market. So I think the goal is to, you know, let's not do something that everybody thinks that they can do. That's it. So if you think that you already got someone to design your logo logo, cool, well, call us whenever it's designed, and we want to make sure it's in vector format, and then we'll take it from there, you know. So let us, let us help you do things that you can't do.

Speaker 2: 22:31

And I found that very true when it came to the animation side of things. You know, um, animation people couldn't do, and so I got into the animation side, cause I was really I used to love those, you know, catalog, serial TV commercials and stuff, and that's that's what animation was to me, um, and so you know the advertising kind of background and those kinds of things. So I learned animation and you know not, people today. I mean, they they can film themselves, like you said, but they can't do it. Well, it's hard to film yourself, you know it's. Uh well, you might, you might film yourself, but then do you want to? You know, can you do the edit? Can you master the audio? Are you wanting music? Do you need branded? You know animation audio. Are you wanting music? Do the branded? You know animation graphics to go along with your show or your commercial? So there's like all these little things that, depending on the project, that they can't do.

Speaker 1: 23:27

Yeah, so just finding out the things, yeah, they can't do I read something the other day, kind of put it in perspective of every company is marketing a product or service. So in other words, every company is a marketing company. You just don't know how to do it, you know. So market your product, but go find somebody to do it better or professionally. Yeah, yeah, what does? What does the process look like for using a videographer? Because it seems like there's a lot of them and you mentioned we're not like the small ones, and so I consider the small ones like the one person, couple of cameras in their truck or back, you know backseat, and then you have your boutiques and then you have companies like yours. Yours is very professional, so, kind of, what's the process look like?

Speaker 2: 24:20

I think the one-off videographer, I think also is they have a full-time job probably. I just want to put that out there. They probably have a full-time job. They may not be as available all the time, right, so I just want to put that out there. I love all you guys. I'm just saying there's a difference.

Speaker 1: 24:38

Well, there's a difference in business coaches too. Some have owned a business, but most haven't, you know. So it's similar. We still love you. Have you owned a business? I've won and lost at a lot of them, more losses than wins. But that's why I'm coaching I want to make sure you don't lose.

Speaker 2: 24:57

Yeah, we don't have to struggle anymore. Michael, that's right, it's all over. Yeah, we don't have to struggle. Um, our process is, uh, you know, it's like what kind of video are you wanting to create? Yeah, so it was like like if it was a TV commercial, okay, who's writing the script? Do you need help with that or do you already? You know? So we'll sit down, we'll have that meeting, we'll figure out. They have a script.

Speaker 2: 25:21

Usually that involves, you know, is it a 15 second and a 30 second? And then you know what, what in any video, it doesn't matter what it is. I would say, what would we call success of this video? Right, is it a monetary? Is it saving you time? Is it educating people? You know, is it, you know, a lead gen piece Like, what is the expectations of this videos?

Speaker 2: 25:48

As long as it's not a therapy, warm fuzzy video, we're good. But as long as we have an expectation defined, um, so write the script, figure out who's involved. Uh, you know, are there any graphics or anything like that that need to be created? And, uh, usually we're creating some type of branded video template for that, uh, that video to go in that then is used on all videos that they use going forward. So it's like a one-time investment, um, and then you know who are the decision makers, you know what's it take to get this approved. Where is it going, you know, is the message, is the messaging right, or do we need to make a couple different versions to test out the messaging? Then it's schedule, shoot days and edits, master audio, sound effects, color grade, all the good stuff.

Speaker 1: 26:42

On the podcasting for those not watching this on YouTube. You've got a nice studio behind you, so you do videography and podcasting. What? What does your studio? What can it do? Like if someone comes to you that they wouldn't be able to do if they didn't have access to a studio. So we're talking about the difference between a traveling videographer versus someone that has a studio and travels. What's what? What can they do differently?

Speaker 2: 27:12

Well, once upon a time we used to not let anyone use our space at all. Right, we were just using it ourself. But when we started picking up the podcast side of things and testing the waters on that, we have different options. So you can just rent our space, use our microphones, bring your own camera, or, it doesn't matter, you can rent, rent the space yourself. We could film for you. Um, and we have about currently about 13 different like set looks. So like different color backdrops, uh, you know white microphones, black microphones, all kinds of stuff like that to kind of just support whatever kind of vibe that you're going for, um, all the way to a custom background. So we have some custom backgrounds of a really cool way that we do those. You could do anything here yourself, your marketing team, or we can do it for you.

Speaker 1: 28:02

So you go the extra mile for those companies that are large enough to spend the money or the budget that they need to. You also help people set up their studio correct, that's correct, yeah, what, uh, on average would you say to get quality equipment and get the training? What would you say the average time and dollar amount is to have their studio and I know it varies on size and guests and all that but just average I would say I would probably like to break it down into equipment purchase and then, uh, wait like uh man hours or something, if that's okay.

Speaker 2: 28:42

So, like, um, for you like two microphones, two camera or one camera, depending on the cameras that you're gonna, I think you could get started with the podcast somewhere around like 1500 to 10 grand. It's a huge. It's a huge um, it's a huge window there, because the types of cameras that you're that you could film with and like I mean so $1,500 to $10,000 for a podcast setup and then on the like what we would charge to help you with that could range anywhere from like $2,000 to $10,000, be anywhere in between. In there, I think the most that we've charged so far to help set up and do things is about five. So that's like training like you got, helping you get all the equipment, setting up the equipment and then training your staff on how to use the equipment on the equipment.

Speaker 1: 29:40

How often does that evolve, because I know like technology just keeps getting better and better and better. Is it the same in the video space?

Speaker 2: 29:51

100, 100. Yeah, I mean, like this camera that we're using today, that I'm using today, it's like a four thousand dollar. Actually it's 4200, you know, after tax, and that's not including the two thousand dollar lens, right, wow, um, and, but I mean should look good guys.

Speaker 1: 30:09

It looks fantastic. You're looking dapper, my friend.

Speaker 2: 30:14

I mean, how does it compare against other podcasts that you've had? Like you know how many podcasts have you done and you know, does this, does this look good? Right, yeah.

Speaker 1: 30:25

AI is a big thing at the time of this recording. Is it affecting your business at all? I would say yes.

Speaker 2: 30:34

Yes, it is. I mean, there's so many things that you can do with AI. You know, we talk about AI here as being like it could be really helpful. Sometimes you can't reproduce the same thing with it, right? So, depending on what you're trying to do, that's my biggest. That's my biggest thing with ai and like branding. You know, like branding, um, and like having consistency, is that we want the consistency. So, I mean, there's things that we use ai on, you know, at our office, um, but when it comes to like filming and doing those things, I think you know, just like today, joe came in to help with the lighting like this isn't anything I would want ai to to manage for me today. Yeah, right, I would think that you would probably want to talk with the person.

Speaker 2: 31:21

Um, you know, there's definitely some really cool stuff that you can do out there with cameras and ai. Um, I don't know how to use all of those things. As you know, I think social media makes it all look really easy and you know, I've been, I've went down some of those rabbit holes too. I'm like, okay, we're going to try to do this, and then it's like that's not going to be consistent. Who is going to use it. That we know. I don't think we should do this. You know it looks cool, like the people online did it. You know, and maybe they're after views and likes, we're after revenue. There's a difference.

Speaker 1: 31:59

Yeah, there is. It's called professionalism, and so, having owned a printing company in the past, you used to crack me up, because you may or may not remember this, and some of our listeners may not be old enough to remember this, but what was your perception of someone that handed you a business card that looked like it was printed off their home printer had the little perforation on the sides Remember those? Versus someone?

Speaker 1: 32:22

that gives you a nice square business card. Solid print front and back, colors on both sides. Yeah, yeah, you know I go back and forth on business cards. Solid print front and back, colors on both sides. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 32:32

Yeah, um, you know I go back and forth on business cards Like I still like them for many reasons. Whenever I get them, when I network, I'll put them in my pocket and then they stay next to my sink. Yeah, um, at home and I put them in my pocket until I do something with them. Um, I like the digital side too. People are like I guarantee you people on the show will be like I only use digital. That's another way it can be forgotten a little easier. Sometimes I take the business card so I can wash them in my pocket. Basically Be reminded that I need to reach out and schedule a meeting.

Speaker 1: 33:11

Can't wash a digital one, true, but you can forget about them. You can forget about it. Yeah, we can go down that rabbit hole for a second, because I will share that. Every time I get one, it's like I never remember the app they were using, so I can never find that information. Or, you know, I've got a Android and they've got an Apple and iPhone. Well, their contact cards don't work on an Android, and you know, so there's some some problems there. Business card is a nice handoff.

Speaker 2: 33:43

Yeah, and there's still some really nasty business cards out there.

Speaker 1: 33:48

Yeah, so it's the same thing as video. I'm assuming that you can go do this yourself, just like you used to be able to print business cards at home. But you can tell, and it really is all about that first impression, and so that's really what you. You raise the level of that impression. What's the best place to follow? You engage with you.

Speaker 2: 34:11

LinkedIn Design Tun you. Linkedin Design Tunnels on LinkedIn. So my person, jimmy Owens. And then Instagram, instagram really active on Instagram for the company.

Speaker 1: 34:22

And I'm sure you have a lot of samples of your work all over the place. Yes, sir, yeah Well, I always leave with one question If you were in a room of business owners different industries, different years of business what's one thing applicable for all of them? It could be an insight, a book, a quote, or just something you've learned that you absolutely have to know this.

Speaker 2: 34:49

You know, something that I recently have realized is that I need healthy pressure in order to hit goals. And so let's say that if I do push-ups in the morning, for some reason, after like my bike ride, I'll do some push-ups. For some reason, if I don't have on this weighted jacket, 10 pushups feels like just enough, but for some reason, when I have on this weighted 20 pound jacket, I'm going to hit 15. So I think healthy pressure and the right form and the right part of your life is what you need in order to have that purpose, in order to like make you achieve those goals. So that's where I'm at today.

Speaker 1: 35:36

Fantastic. Well, you've been a blessing to many and a wealth of information. I appreciate you and wish you continued success. Thanks, michael. I appreciate you so much, my pleasure. Thank you for listening to Small Business Pivots. This podcast is created and produced by my company, boss. Our business is growing. Yours. Boss, offers flexible business loans with business coaching support. Apply in minutes and get approved and funded in as little as 24 to 48 hours at businessownershipsimplifiedcom. If you're enjoying this podcast, don't forget to hit the subscribe button and share it as well. If you need help growing your business, email me at michael at michaeldmorrisoncom. We'll see you next time on Small Business Pivots.