Creatives Grab Coffee - #112 Expanding to Multiple Cities & Potential Career Change (ft. Tone Films)

Episode Date: February 11, 2026

In this conversation, Andrei from Tone Films shares his journey of starting a videography business during the pandemic, the challenges he faced, and the strategies he employed to grow his company. He discusses the importance of SEO, building a reliable team of videographers, and the creative processes involved in producing high-quality content. Andrei also reflects on his aspirations for the future, including a potential transition into accounting and the importance of work-life balance. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The Birth of Tone Films 03:08 Learning the Videography Trade 05:43 Expanding the Business 09:03 Building a Reliable Team 12:09 The Importance of SEO 14:56 Vetting Videographers 17:47 Editing and Delivery Process 21:00 Creative Projects and Pre-Production 23:48 Communication and Client Relations 27:09 Future Aspirations and Career Transition 46:43 Reflecting on Life and Happiness 49:06 Balancing Work and Personal Life 51:37 Daily Routines and Time Management 54:03 Exploring Career Paths and Future Aspirations 57:06 The Challenges of Live Production 01:00:08 Building a Business and Future Ventures 01:03:41 Outro🎙️ About Our GuestAndrei ToneFounder & Creative Director — Tone Films🎧 Hosts:Dario Nouri & Kyrill Lazarov — Lapse Productions, Torontohttps://www.lapseproductions.com🎙️ About Creatives Grab Coffee:Creatives Grab Coffee explores the business of video production, featuring candid conversations with studio owners and filmmakers around the world on scaling, creativity, and industry evolution.👇 Follow & Subscribe:Website – https://creativesgrabcoffee.comInstagram – https://instagram.com/creativesgrabcoffeeLinkedIn – https://linkedin.com/company/lapseproductionsSPONSORS:Canada Film Equipment: www.CanadaFilmEquipment.comAudio Process: www.Audioprocess.ca#CreativesGrabCoffee #videographyhacks #videography #videographer #videoproduction #businesspodcast #videoproductionpodcast #lapseproductions #videomarketing #videoproductioncompany #videoproductionservices

Hello and welcome to the show. Today we have Andre from Tone Films. Andre, welcome. Thank you. Thanks for the invite. Okay, so let's just start with the history lesson. Tell us a little bit about you and how you started your company. Yeah, so, well, thanks for having me on this podcast. It's pretty cool. The way I started Tone Films was, well, I started Tone Films back in Tone Films back in 2020 and this was right during COVID time and that's when a lot of people were just getting out of business you know that's when I saw an opportunity to get in the business and I started right after I graduated with my master's in finance from Liberty University and I was deciding if I should go

to New York City to find a job in finance you know on Wall Street or for if I should just do something else, find a job somewhere else, you know, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I got my bachelor's or just any other places where I had more connections. And, you know, I prayed, and then I felt led to just, you know, go to New Orleans where my brother lived. And I spent that summer of 2020 in New Orleans. And, you know, this is during the pandemic.

It's in 2020. and I'd really need to make some money and then the only thing that I could think of at that time was to become an Uber driver and that's how I started my venture as a videographer so to say I became an Uber driver and I made some money over that summer I think I saved up about $8,000 or so and my brother Benjamin in New Orleans he said hey man he was already doing videography at that time I think he started in 2017 And I was doing videography before 2020 as well. I think it was a vlogger. So I was just vlogging some videos.

I was getting some track on YouTube. Not a whole lot, but just a little bit to keep me, you know, motivated to push through and then pursue this videography trend. And he said, my brother said, hey, man, I'm doing videography. Do you just want to, you know, start your own company? And then, you know, he was pretty successful. He was still very successful. And I said, yeah, sure.

So he pretty much showed me the ropes on what does it take and what does it mean to be a videographer or to start up a video production company. And that's what I did. That summer of 2020, I created an LLC and got a website. I launched my business tone films on the knot. So I started as a wedding videographer. And that's how I started. Even that summer, I remember I had a first client in, I think in a month and a half or so after I launched a company. I already had a contract signed and I was out there filming.

So that's how I started tone films. I started back in 2020 in New Orleans and then I relocated. So what does it take to become a videographer? Like he showed you the ropes and what it takes to become one. What did you teach you early on? What was the question again? Like you said your cousin over there was teaching you the ropes and what it takes to become a videographer and a business owner. Like what were some of the early things he was teaching you?

Pretty much everything because I had no idea of what does it take to have a company. What does it take to run a business? And some of the first things that he showed me were first of all, you know, I needed to have a website. I needed to have a name with the company. And I needed to make sales. I needed to find people to, you know, pay me for my services. You know, because you may be, that's what I tell my clients right now.

I tell them all the time, you may be having the best product in the world. But if people don't know about you, it's like your product is nonexistent. So my brother told me, I said, you're now learning. You may not, you're offering a good product, but you need to market yourself. So he said, get yourself a website so that you show people your portfolio and then and then sign up on the knot, which was a place, you know, to get weddings from or potential clients from. And that's pretty much it. That's, these were some of the most important things that he taught me. So you kind of stumbled into video.

It wasn't like necessarily, you'd always had a huge passion for video. You wanted to move into it as a career. Like how did I mean you kind of went over the details of how you kind of jumped into it, but what kind of kept you going in video after that? Because that wasn't the original plan for you, right? You basically showed you how to start a company and video just happened to be the product that you were selling, right? So what kind of kept you going from there? Yes, that's a very good question. What kept me there was the fact that.

I mean, I became passionate about it. I was also doing some videography beforehand, but I was in front of the camera. I was the vlogger, but now this time I was behind the camera, creating the content for other people. I just got passionate about it. I guess that's the reason I got passionate about getting those cool shots, putting them together, and then creating some amazing videos.

And I remember I moved to Tulsa that summer. my brother told me he said hey man we have the same last name his company was called tone weddings and tone productions my company was called tone films you know we shared a same last name and he said hey i don't want people to confuse your startup brand with my brand and he's been doing it for a while he said just uh he said i'm going to start you i'm going to help you start the company but just uh you know if you want to move somewhere else other cities so that there's a clear distinction between the two companies that'll be great so I moved back to Tulsa Oklahoma where I got my bachelor's degree and I had a lot more

connections there I knew more people so I knew I could make I could probably sign a couple of contracts into the videography world and and just start right there and that's that's how I continued the journey and and I realized you know the pay was really good in the videography I guess that's like another factor that kept me in. The pay was really good. You know, I was doing decent job and I was getting more clients. And then, you know, as an entrepreneur, we all, we see this need.

And then we try to fulfill the need, right? That's what entrepreneurship is about. And I saw this need of reliable videographers who deliver quality work. and I saw a lot of it, there was a gap of reliable videographers who delivered, you know, high quality work. I mean, there were some of them, you know, and then the ones who do this, they're very successful. But a big majority of these videographers out there, you know, majority of them are freelancers. And they don't run themselves as a company because they're freelancers. And then that's when I realized that there's got to be a company out there that is reliable.

they reply to emails on time, they reply to phone, they respond to phone calls, to text messages. They are reliable. If someone has an event coming up, they need to find a company that they can count on. And not only that, but also deliver high quality services, you know, high standards. And I made some research, and I was like, man, there's no such a thing. I remember one time I called a couple of my competitors in Tulsa area. And some of them were not even, I mean, the number was wrong. You know, when you call a number and then it just says you, the number is not in service anymore.

I mean, how can you list a company like that and then not even being in business? I mean, I guess it happens, but that's something that kept me going. The fact that I realized that there's a big need for reliable companies out there that deliver high quality standard footage. and then videos, they said, I got to be that guy. And then the more I did it, the better the company was performing, and the finances were skyrocketing. And then, yeah, so that was the driving factor of it. So take us through, like, you know, you started the company already.

You're doing good work and everything to right now. Like what's that journey been like? Like, how big is your company? Like, where do you guys operate out of? Yes, yes. So I started in the summer of 2020. And then soon after that, in August or September, I moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma soon after I started the company.

And that's where I not only launched my company on The Nod as doing weddings, but also I listed my company on Google. I realized a lot of people searched for local videographers on Google. And that was in Tulsa. Oklahoma and then I realized that if I want to get more clients, I need to find a way to rank high on Google. Google search. So I had to train myself on what does it take and what does it mean to rank high on Google, such as if someone were to type in on Google, Tulsa videographers or certain keywords like local video production company in Tulsa or Tulsa

a video production company. I had to learn the algorithm, Google's algorithm on what makes a company rank high on Google, right? So I learned that SEO and shortly I think probably it was a matter of months, maybe one or two months. My company was ranking number one or number two in Tulsa, Oklahoma and I only had, you know, 10, 15, 20 reviews, not a whole lot. And then I said, well, okay, I'm number one in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but then I sell in more leads. if I want to do this full time, I need to have more clients. And soon after that, I realized that I needed to launch my company in other cities. And after Tulsa, I said, well, the closest big city from Tulsa is Oklahoma City.

And then I launched a second location in Oklahoma City. And then I did the exact same thing. I optimized the company to become the number one in Google search. and when people in Oklahoma City would type in Oklahoma City or OKC video production company or OKC videographers, tone films would pop up the number one or number two, you know, up their top three on the Google search under the maps section. And I said, okay, well, what if I want to make more money and then what if I want to help more people or just expand more? And then I said the only option is to just, you know, launch another location. And I launched another location and that was Dallas because it was kind of like a triangle.

You have Tulsa, you have Oklahoma City and then Dallas. Dallas was also a big city. And I said, well, it's pretty competitive to be the number one in Dallas, right? Because it's a big market. I mean, it's a big city that a lot of companies out here. But I said it's not impossible. I did it in Tulsa. I did in Oklahoma City.

I may as well do it in Dallas as well. And I moved the location from Tulsa. to Dallas because I had more Google reviews in Tulsa. So when I moved it to Dallas, I think the location had over 100 reviews by that point, like 150 or 130 or something like that. And then shortly after that, I think it was a matter of like three to four or five months. I kept on asking people for Google reviews. And, you know, I learned the SEO route. And then the company was ranking number one in Dallas.

And right now we're still, you know, top three video. production companies in Dallas. We're the same number one, so you know, Oklahoma City, same in Tulsa. And I said, okay, what's next? You know, I got Dallas, Tulsa, Oklahoma City. I said, I mean, there are more cities out there. And I said, Nashville is a pretty cool city.

I mean, I may as well just, I want to travel to Nashville. It's a city of music. Everyone goes on Broadway. I want to check it out. And that's exactly what I did. I went there one time and I love the city, I connected with some people, and I opened a fourth location in Oklahoma City. And I did the exact, I mean, I followed the same blueprint, you know, start the location,

optimize, SEO optimized the location, rank high on Google, get clients, move on to the next location, and then make sure all these locations, you know, keep staying up top on Google search. And, you know, so I had this four locations, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Nashville. And I kept on opening more and more locations. And now we are in 2026. So about six years later, the company operates in over 20 cities. And, you know, including New York City, Miami,

a couple of locations here in the Dallas area because I reside in Dallas. So anything surrounding Dallas is pretty much we have a location there. We have two locations in Dallas. We have one in Frisco, which is a suburb of... We have two, actually, in Frisco. Frisco is a suburb of Dallas. We have one in Plano, one in Fort Worth, Texas, one in McKinney, one in Waco, one in Austin, Texas. We plan on expanding to San...

What's that? Not San Francisco. Some like other cities here in the Texas area, like Houston. So, yeah, I mean, we... We're also in California, Los Angeles. So that was the idea. So if I could do it in like three, four cities, I can do it in as many cities as I want.

And, you know, the sky is the limit. So that's where we operate in over 20 cities right now. So when you talk about locations, you know, just for people to understand our listeners, you're talking about basically that's kind of where you virtually operate and then you have connections and people within those cities that you can reach out to to help fulfill client demands and needs? Or is it like you actually have some physical employees that work in some of these cities?

Yes, that's a very good question. I'm sure a lot of people are wondering about this. So we have local videographers. So we partner with local videographers. So we have, because, you know, every time, I mean, I get emails asking, hey can I work for tone films I'm a freelancer I'm a videographer what are the requirements and how can we work for so we vet a lot of these videographers and we have interviews with them and then we add them on our roster on our database so every

time we have an event let's say in Nashville I have a team of maybe three to four videographers that I can count on they have the equipment that we're using which is Sony equipment we're very strict on the equipment list so all the videographers that we work with, they need to have Sony gear. If they have black magic, nothing against it. It's just I don't work with people who operate black magic or Panasonic or I don't know what other brands are out there. I just like to have a certain look and then Sony is the look that has it and then Canon as well. Canon for photography, Sony for videography or vice versa. They're good, you know, Sony and Canon. So we vet all of these

videographers. Make sure they have the equipment that we use. and we operate the Lutz and all the camera settings and in the style and that's that's pretty much it you know so when clients come up to us and they ask us hey do you operate in Nashville I'm like that's how first of all that's how you found us we do operate in Nashville because that's how you found that as Nashville video production company but then I tell them yes we operate in Nashville so we have a team of videographers there and then depending on the project if it's a you know most multiple six-figure project, you know, then I'll most likely be there or if it's, you know,

over like $50,000 project and I'll be there, I'll be there, I'll find myself there, I'll be there with the team, we're going to film together and I'll make sure, you know, the deliverables are on the spot. So it depends on the project. Most of the times I just work with the videographers on site. They're like main shooters, so to say. So they have the equipment. They also have people skills, which is, uh, with, which is a very unique skill for a videographer. You know, a lot of videographers, they're artists. They're more inclined into having that creative eye.

They see the shot. They film it. A lot of them, they're good at that. And we have some people like this, you know, they're very niche oriented into their cameras and gear and then look and not so much on the people skills. Whereas that's where I see the big need is having an entrepreneur and a business person who understands both the vision.

video production world and in the business world where you have, you know, this transaction in between good customer service and then the deliverables of the assets of the footage. And that's where I collaborate with great videographers. They know what they're doing on site and I connect them with the client. So it's just, it's a win-win. You know, the videographers, they need a business person to help them get the leads and so forth. So, yes, we do have a location and then we work with videographers on site. They're vetted videographers, so to say.

Curious about your, hold on a second, Carol. I'm curious about your vetting process with these videographers, like, because you seem to have, like, a ton of locations. Like, do you do like a test shoot with them at times? Like, just to see how, because, you know, someone can be really good in an interview setting, but then in a real life setting, they might be different. So do you, like, test them out on a project? first just to see how they are and if so like how do you do that because if you're in a different location do you like fly out for a project just to see and then add them on or yes that's a sometimes

i mean sometimes i do fly and then i meet them in person and i work with them on a project um i used to do this in the very beginning i would have you know like dinner with them or lunch or sit down and then talk and then see how we vibe together but then now i learned that you know a call like this, a FaceTime call where you have a conversation. It's also another way to get to know someone. And not only that, but also their style of filming, because you can tell about the person by the way their footage looks or the way their videos look.

You know, that's the way I get the sense of, okay, this is who they are, because their work represents them as people, right? So if they have high standards, good standards, excellent video, I mean, they will have excellent videos up there. The style will be according to our style as well. So, yeah, I mean, I had a filming event in Nashville not too long ago and then I used a videographer I've never used before. And yeah, it turned out pretty good. Good.

He did it very well with the client. And same in, we had an event in Las Vegas. We don't have a location there, but one of our clients was in Las Vegas. And then I made some research, and I found someone who was using, you know, Sony FX6 and FX3s. And I said that that's awesome. That's the exact same equipment we use here, FX3s and sixes. And then the girl did a fantastic job. I saw her portfolio.

And yeah, so sometimes I meet up with them in person. That's ideal, you know, to have a gig that pays, you know, a lot. I mean, a lot. point where I can also fly there and then we're also profitable and then spend time with them. It's a two-person filming event. So that's ideal. But if that doesn't happen, it's okay. You know, I can, there's another way to event them. Have you had any, like, situations happen? I don't, not really, no. And I don't think, I really, I really had to think about it. Knock on wood. Knock on wood. But no, I didn't. I really had to think about it. But no, I didn't have, like, any, any bad experiences.

though. I'm a bit curious though with all these different people that you're going to be working with. Yes, they have roughly a good style that's relatively similar to tone. How do you consolidate the actual delivery process of content to clients? Like because there's, you're operating in 20 cities. You might have 20 projects on the go. Do you have like a like a roster of editors as well who are essentially creating the content or are you specifically looking for videographers that can shoot it? and also edit the content to deliver for you. But yes, that's such a good question.

So I'll walk you through the process. When I firstly started tone films, the one thing that I realized is that I will not be editing any of these videos. I just don't have the time to learn editing. And I outsourced editing from the very beginning. And I found a really good editor. My brother told me about his editor and then fast forward, you know, six years, I still work with the same editor that I started. And then he has a team of editors.

So I'm working with him and then he does most of the edits or the editing. And then if he has too many videos to edit, he will pass on to some of his team members. But I just keep in touch with one main editor. And then I say, hey, we have this, you know, five or ten videos. They need to be delivered on this date. This is the deadline. I need to have them ready. So I just work with one editor.

And I've been working with him for the last six years. And it's been going very, very well. It's very fortunate to have someone who essentially, well, you say he's one editor, but he has a team of people that he also trusts, right? So he's kind of done the hard work for you in that sense where he has like a group of people that he can rely on so that if you have an influx of work, it'll always be taken care of. So that's that's awesome. Yeah, it really is. And then that's the way I see in the videography industry.

There's got to be multiple people. And then all of us working together, we deliver a fantastic product. but we all have our strengths and weaknesses you know my strength is to connect with the clients is to do SEO to do like market to bring in clients that's my strength you know keeping in touch with the clients signing the contracts not editing I mean if you ask me to edit something or you know edit any videos I can do basic edits you know the cuts and then shortening the videos probably add some like lower thirds they'll take me a lot of time to actually put some like cool lower thirds there you know but it's just i know basic editing

i that those are my skills into editing but then uh in terms of branding and then adding more locations SEO connecting with the client on the phone signing contracts emails i mean that's that's my strength and i very much enjoy doing that same with like filming i do enjoy filming i think i have that creative i and very often I'm out there and then I film events I connect with the client and I go and then film But then if I really want to have an expert I know there are some like expert people out there in terms of camera settings And then make lenses the choice of lenses or all of this everything that goes into like the in-depth videography There are some experts out there that I would rather partner with them you know pay them

however much you know they want they feel comfortable comfortable. So they're happy. I'm happy because I bring the client in. The editor is happy to. So, you know, everyone on the team does something. And but together, you know, we run as a company. Is that a, you're talking about the pre-production side in terms of. So I guess if you have a more creative project that requires a lot of prep and planning and creative direction and things like that, because you, you work in a wide range of wide. range of projects. How do you go about that process? Because it's one thing to hire, like say, a videographer for an event, right? Those are very straightforward types of, you know, projects to kind of sign on and execute on. But how do you go about a more creative type process where you need to bring in a lot more people on the pre-production side? Those, yeah, those take a lot more time of preparation. So that's something that I'm, as the company, we're transitioning to more of this type of projects.

They're more complex. They're also more lucrative. So I have a small creative team that we all, you know, keep in touch and then we present the details. And then, you know, the pre-production is a process between us in-house coming up with the details. and then the vision, the creative eye, and then sending that to the client for review and then edits. So, but we do have someone in house here. It's mostly on the editor's side.

He's more like the director of, or he has that creative eye. And then I keep in touch with him and he tells me, hey, yeah, we're going to go because he does all the post-production. So if we film in a certain way, it's going to help him and then his team to do the post-production. So I guess it begins with the end in mind. It begins with the end in mind. In mind, yeah. You got it.

I got it. That's why I think it was Steve Kavre was talking about this yet. Beginning with the end in mind. So yeah, that's a very interesting process. We look at how do we want the final product to be, and then we plan the shots, then the models, the voiceover, and all of that. So it's a big process.

But what I realized that what a lot of clients are looking for is great communication. That's one of the biggest skills that, I mean, I do want to say some majority of videographers or entrepreneurs, business owners, they have that. When they have good communication, and then they're punctual.

That communicates the spirit of excellence. And that's what a lot of some of these big corporations or companies like Tabasco or KFC or Paramount or Yellowstone, Disney, Walmart, all of this big corporations, when I work with them, they expect me to reply to their emails within hours. You know, if I reply to their emails, you know, 12 hours later or 24 hours, that's late. because, you know, if I text you something or if I email you something, I need an answer as soon as possible because it's a chain of decisions. I get an answer from you and then I need to ask someone else and someone else and someone else. And if I reply to that emails five hours later and then finally they get an approval from their end, you know, five or six hours later, or they don't get the approval, they have some questions. That's going to add, you know, more hours onto the process.

So communication is like one of the excellent traits that I guess sets us apart, you know, in this process. How big is your team right now? It's you and who else? So we work with everyone on our team is a contractor. So in terms of videographers, goodness, I don't know, 40, 50. they're all, you know, contractors. So every time we have an event, reach out to them, and then they work on that.

And then I have someone who does the SEO, and the same, they're all contractors, and then someone who works in marketing for the company, and then the editor, and then his team. So probably around 80 people. It's just you who's permanent. There's no salaried employees or anything like that. Exactly.

Everyone is just contracting. based. Everyone is contract based. Yes, there's no full-time employees. Yes. And the majority of the work, go ahead. I was going to ask, like, do you foresee yourself, like converting some of the contractors to full-time or part-time employees, or do you think it just makes sense to keep it as status quo? Possibly somewhere down the road. Maybe the marketing person or the executive assistant maybe I'm going to transition her into like a full-time position but then I say that now but then thinking about I would rather hire someone with a limited amount of hours but then being an expert in their field and then instead of having her do several

things I'd rather have you know the marketing person just do marketing so I guess if the company it grows to the point of, you know, it grows more. I guess, yes, it will make sense to bring more employees and then have them full-time each one into their area of expertise, such as, you know, marketing one person or sales, another person, you know, full-time. But right now, even though we're like in 20 cities, we're not at the point where we have like full-time employees. So maybe, yes, I'll say in the future, definitely, yes. If I'm still, going to be doing videography. So maybe that's one of the reasons why you're not dipping into that.

It's like, do you foresee yourself continuing this for a long time, or do you see yourself transitioning into something else? Yes, that's a long term. I see myself transitioning to something else. I mean, I love videography. I've done it for six years. But one of my other passions are accounting. I know they're kind of like opposite because you have the creative eye and then you

have the analytical part of the brain. I'm very passionate about numbers and then accounting. It's fascinating to me. And I've been studying for the CPA exam for the last two months now, almost every day. And it's just amazing to understand this taxation part, TCP. That's what I'm studying right now for that part. And it's so, I love it, man.

I'm really passionate about the taxation part. of accounting and then just accounting in general. It's such a beautiful world. So long term, I don't know, I may transition into accounting, starting, I mean, I've already started an accounting firm. So that's, that's a second company that I'm running on the side. It's very low key, very low key, but once I pass the CPA exam, hopefully by the end of this year, then,

because there are four exams. So once I pass all of these four exams for to become a certified public accountant, I foresee that I may transition into accounting and owning a CPA firm, and then I will most likely be doing the same thing, you know, have several locations all across the states. And that's, it's easier to scale an accounting firm, because all you got to do is just hire accountants. and then you're more CPAs and then you partner that CPA with the client or a group of

clients and it's about profit margins here so it's just the way the company's CPA for me a favor stop stop tapping the the mic on the MacBook oh you can hear that yeah yeah is it is it better now yeah just stop touching stop touching the laptop stop touching stuff Anyways, you're saying it's easier to scale up because I guess you just got to hire human calculators instead of like people that are creative and, you know. Well, either that. Yes, but I mean, you can also tap into like the AI industry and then see how AI is going to transform. I mean, AI is coming into the videography world right now pretty heavily. And I'm not saying that will eliminate a lot of videographers, but in terms of editing, I mean, that will simplify a lot of things.

make editing much easier on the editors side. It's hard to say that AI will completely eliminate editors or videographers because there are companies out there. I mean, you have conferences or live productions and, you know, that's something that I want to tap into, you know, live productions and, you know, it's just, it's a completely different side of videography where you have, you know, the audio and visual team. This is something more complex that I believe, you know, comes with more years of experience, you'll learn more about videography and that's something that we want to transition into. But then, yes, with the accounting world, it's also something that I'm very passionate about, you know, and I think at the end of the day, it's doing something that is

fully remote and you're also deeply passionate about. And if I, you know, genuinely think about this for me would be accounting. I'm very passionate about analyzing a company's numbers, so to say being a doctor for the company, seeing what's right, what needs to be fixed, what expenses are out there that need to be cut, or what are some ways where a company can improve their sales and income. So I may still be doing videography on the side or hire someone to run the company and then still be there in the background or just fully, you know, sell the company. It sounds essentially like you want to continue doing what you're doing, but just changing the product and service essentially in terms of what you want to do because what you just described

is exactly what you're doing with tone films, but with accounting as the service in mind specifically. So you've essentially turned tone films as like the testing ground to see kind of like how you want to go about things and then now you're thinking about switching over to the other industry yes yeah that's that's that's that's right and the way i actually started tone films was i mean think of this i have a master's in finance for someone with the masters in finance to go into videography it's there's got to be a question mark there why and how did this person land on videography with the master's in finance. And I applied for over 3,500 jobs before I actually landed on an accounting job at the end of 2020. So all throughout 2020, starting with March,

right when COVID hit. I was about to graduate in May and I was looking for jobs. I was like, okay, February is approaching. I need to apply for jobs. So I started applying for jobs beginning with February. And then I went through a lot of interviews with a lot of companies. Some of them were not a good fit for me. I was not interested in them. Some other companies, they didn't have that. They didn't think I had the qualifications or the skills or the experience for a recent graduate. I mean, who graduates from college with years of experience? You know, that's pretty rare. So, but I mean, it's understandable. Everyone, like when I hire people right now, I hire people with experience and then some people have different expectations. And the same we have, you know, as business

owners, we have our preferences. So yeah, that was an opportunity for me that I wanted to take over, you know, the videography, starting a video production company. And I've done it for six years. And I very much enjoy what I'm doing. It's just I really haven't had the time to sit down and then think, what do I really want to do in life? Like, what do I really love? What am I passionate about? because at that time, I just needed to have a job to make some money and something that was also, you know, decently passionate about. And videography was the thing. I mean, my brother had the blueprint. He said, do this and you will make money. And I remember my first filming event was a wedding because I was signed up on the knot. And then I charged this lady, I think her name was Nikia. And I charged her $550 for one hour.

of filming and I remembered I remember I was talking with my brother and I was so happy and I said hey man I just made five hundred fifty dollars and that's so much money because I remember that was like my paycheck because I was a I was a student worker I was making seven and twenty five dollars an hour and for me five hundred and fifty dollars that was a lot of money and he was like dude you're gonna be making so much more money 550 it's it's nothing and and I remember I signed this contract this is you know the summer of 2020 like a month or a month and a half into me starting the company I didn't even know what a wedding was made out of like what were the components of a of a ceremony because I mean who goes to you go to weddings just you know we go to weddings because people or friends invite us to go there and then we may have gone to you know five or six 10 10 weddings or so by but For me, I might have gone to maybe three or four weddings my whole life at that point because I was also coming from Romania, which their weddings are a bit different. So anyway, long story short, signed a contract to film this wedding and then I didn't have the equipment.

I didn't know anything about weddings, but I knew I got the lead and now I had to figure out how was I going to do it. So I hired this videographer, my brother recommended, and I paid him $100 or like $150 for that one hour of filming. And the client, she only wanted to have the raw footage. And I profited about $400 off of my first kid, you know, out of $5.50. And I remember that was so, it was stressful because I didn't know a whole lot about how to run anything at that point. Now looking back, it sounds and it looks very simple. It's just one hour of filming, easy to film in and out. But back then, I didn't even know. I didn't have a gimbal. I didn't have a camera. I didn't have a drone. I didn't know about any of this. And so, yeah, it was a great experience. But that opened my eyes and it made me understand that the sky is pretty much the limit.

I mean, people are willing to pay a lot more money for per hour than $7.25 if I'm an owner of the company, you know. And I said, okay, let me start with that. So that's what got me into videography then, helping people. But now that I have the chance to sit down and then reflect on life. I'm like, man, I could do accounting for a long period of time and then consult with people, analyze. their businesses, finances, and, you know, that's, that, that, that was a, I, I, I bumped into this reflective question such as, what am I really passionate about in life? What do I really love doing, you know, and, and it's kind of odd, because you don't really hear people talking about being passionate about being a CPA or accounting, you know, but for me, for some reason, it really is, yeah, coming from video too. Yeah, coming from video too, yeah. I mean, there's a big component like being a,

a production company owner where you do run your own numbers. Like I do a lot of our bookkeeping. So I am always keeping track of the numbers and everything. So I can see how like it. Like you've got to like it and you do end up liking it because it's obviously money and who doesn't like money. And when you see it in the positive it's a good feeling. So I can kind of see how like you could eventually like, if you already have a passion for going into it, you can make the switch eventually because I mean, it is part of the job description anyhow, right? But yeah, a lot of people usually they want to, I mean, I think I guess at the end of their career, they'll want to sell the company and then go do something else.

Like they finally make their short films or work on their docs. But you're instead, you're thinking of a whole career switch. And I guess like it works because you're still young and you kind of got into this field accidentally anyhow, right? So. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly, that's how I'm thinking is I'm still young, I can switch careers and then still have another long-term career. And then another thing that is happening is I'm also pursuing a PhD program.

So I'm in a PhD program in leadership studies. And I even talk with, you know, when I talk with my friends, I tell them we have a limited time. And that's what's going to set us apart from our generation. or from our peers is the way we develop and then the way we invest in our time on a daily basis because we all have the same amount of time in in a day you know 12 hours 14 hours however many hours we want to put into the day and then the way we are effective and efficient with our time is going to set us apart is going to help us you know make more progress in life or or just be at the same same levels at the same level and and I had friends asking me Andre, why do you want to get for a PhD program? And then besides the fact that I'm passionate about education

and then learning more, becoming a better person, a simple reason is that, you know, time goes by anyway. Why not get another degree? And not only that, but why not learn more on life, on a certain topic that you're passionate about? because inevitably we will have to fill out that time with something. It can be watching the TV, playing tennis or whatever hobbies we want to do, watching some YouTube videos, you know, Mr. Bees just came out with his shows, you know,

or whatever, you know, we will have to feel out that time with something. And then by adding a degree or being intentional with something, it will fill out the time with that specific thing. And later on, three, four years down the road, you're going to have a PhD, or you're going to have a master's degree, or you're going to become a CPA. So that's the strategy that I implemented recently was to work up in the morning, like 455 in the morning,

right before 5 o'clock. And I've been doing this for the last almost two months now. So it's been going very well. I mean, I've had ups and downs. I almost skipped probably, two days. I'm counting the days I'm actually waking up because I want to see the progress and how consistent I am. And the goal is to do it all, you know, through 2026 and then see how consistent and discipline I can be, you know, with waking up in the morning and then draw the

line at the end of 2026. We're already down with January. And then draw the line at the end of 2026 and then see, okay, I was pretty consistent with this. What have I accomplished? Is it worth to add another year? Let's say 2027 of this. habits and then see where the projection of my life where am I going to be and then the question is if I keep doing this you know where is my life going to be in like three years you know two years three years how different is my life going to be is it going to be much different is it worth is it not worth doing it and so yeah I like you know to take some time especially on a weekend on a Sunday afternoon when I'm done with everything I usually try to take one day off and then do no work but I

to take maybe a couple of a one hour or 30 to 40 minutes and then just sit down and then reflect on life and see where am I in life right now on this age I finished my master's I have a family just pretty much reflect on life and then see where I am things that I have accomplished if I'm happy I'm not happy and then not only that but then but then picture myself at the age of 70 or 80 and be like, okay, I'm 80 years old now. I tell myself that I'm that age. And then I picture myself then and then ask myself, did I live a happy life?

Did I live a satisfied and fulfilled life? And if the answer is yes, that's amazing. That means I'm doing something wrong or something right. But if I, if the answer is no, that means there might be some things that I may need to tweak in my life because I don't want to live a life later on to regret on doing something that I wasn't supposed to be doing or not doing something that I was supposed to be doing. So on enough, you know, me once a month, every two months, every couple of months,

I sit down and I reflect on life and then ask myself, am I working too much? You know, so there's like questions that we probably all ask. And then how do I optimize my time to the point of living alive fully satisfied and then happy. And, and, you know, these are topics that I can go and then talk about, you know, forever. But these are, these are some things that helped me optimize my time throughout the day and not throughout, not only throughout the day, but throughout my weeks, the months.

I'm very organized and proactive, effective and efficient with the time to the point where I can draw the line at the end of the day and say, I'm happy. I've done fun stuff today. As a matter of fact, I'm going snowboarding at the end of this week for a couple of days with my dad. And it's something, you know, to relax

and enjoy, just, you know, enjoy life. And then, yeah, so oh my gosh, I'm not sure if I answered your question. I don't even remember what I asked on that. Yeah, we got into a very, very deep discussion about life and turned into David Goggins. You're the end over there.

Oh my gosh. Do you have like a family that you're also balancing with this business at the same time? Or is it just you right now? So right now is just me. That's why you're able to work six days a week. I'm like 455 doesn't. No, for me it was the fact that he said he was working six days a week. I'm like, yeah, he's definitely single.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Saturdays are, working on Saturdays is a tough one. I mean, we have shoots on weekends sometimes. But not every week. But not every week. No, I do. I do work six days a week. But I also make time.

So the way my schedule is structured is that I work from, you know, let's say, five o'clock in the morning. I have a routine for about two to three hours. And then I work until 1 p.m. And then I'm pretty much done after one from 1 p.m. until evening. I just do whatever is fun, whatever is relaxing, like reading a book, working out, hanging out with friends. And that's my day. It's five until one-ish after lunch. Once I'm done with lunch, I may just wrap up with like one or two other emails.

And then my inbox is it's clean, it's clear. And then until the evening, I can just, you know, do fun stuff. But for me, for me, what works the best is, is that morning time, you know, five until probably 10 or 11. That's deep focus. And once I'm done with that, you know, which is, it can be energy draining. Once I'm done with that, then I can carry on with the day. And then I need to tell myself that I'm not going to be doing work past one o'clock.

Otherwise, I'm a workahole. I love working, you know, and then past one o'clock, I would still want to do some work. and then sometimes I get emails and I reply to their emails, but that's not like intense work, you know. So I plan, you know, the rest of the day according. Like I work out for like two, two and a half hours. I just take my time and go through the sauna, you know, just play tennis. He's single.

Yeah, I have the time. Yeah, I have the time. I was going out. No, the question is also when you go to sleep because if you have to be up at five. That's what I wanted to ask. Like, what type is it going to sleep? Nine. That's it. That's right. So nine o'clock, nine o'clock is the line. Yeah, I'm in bed by nine o'clock. Now, if it's a weekend on a Friday night and I'm going out with some friends, I can still

go to sleep, you know, like 11 o'clock. That's rare, you know, probably 10, 30, 11 at the latest. But still have to, I know that I have to wake up before five o'clock. I know that and I will do it. But yeah, I mean, I guess it's life, if you're if you're not married, are you guys married or? He's married. I'm married. He's basically married. He's basically married. The eyes of the government in the eyes of the government here we're married.

Okay. Yeah, that takes, I guess, I mean, that takes a lot of time, you know, and then it's responsibility. You know, I was dating someone not too long ago, you know, in their relationship. It's responsibility to just plan dates and make it. it's just it's it's it's different yeah yeah don't do it i can stay stay single as long as you can until you make your millions yeah one day yeah maybe one day that's going to happen but until then your schedule your schedule will shift you know whatever their work schedule is that's your work schedule i mean yeah we visit this in in like i don't know five 10 years and see he's still able to

Yeah. 5.m. 9.m. Bed time. I can't do it. I can't do it anymore. Five o'clock. Three hours at the gym. That sounds like a dream. Dude, three hours at the gym. That was good times back in the day. I remember. Yeah. I remember those times. Like 5 to 8. No one's bugging you. You just go out there. You're hanging out. Pretty much. Yeah. That's pretty much me. Man. I work out in the middle of the day. Like 2 p.m. I'm there just by myself. Not a lot of people. It's, it is really

nights yeah I'm sure I go now at uh I go now at three just because like if I stay I work from homes if I stay here too long I start to get like a headache so I need to like it's good to separate it it's good to separate it sometimes midday if it's like a work from home day go in the middle of the day to the gym for like an hour break it up a little bit and then come back and continue working a little bit later in the day you know it just it just makes things easier yeah it brings the day yeah okay that's a good uh yeah I think we've reached the climax of the episode with the whole discussion. So I think let's just cut it off here because

we're at the one hour mark. But yeah, Andre, it's great to have you on. I'm curious to see how your career path unfolds. Like switching over careers like that is, but you're very analytical. So I can see why it makes sense for someone like you. But yeah, we'll be keeping an eye on your career with great interest. Great interest. Great interest. We will watch your career with great interest. As Palpatine would say. Yeah, you know, on one hand, but then on the other hand,

I really enjoy this big and then complex projects, such as live productions. I had the chance to, I'm volunteering at the church here in Dallas. It's called Watermore Church. And, I mean, they host about, I guess, 4,000 people per. service and they have you know several services per Sunday and yes and then and then I serve in the media department I get to see you know their the whole production where they have you know different sound boards and then they have all of these

TV screens where they and they have a switcher you know just the whole production which is so much it's so much bigger than just holding an FX3 in your hand on a gimbal and they're just filming around you know there's just there's so many elements that go into this and for me it's see that's fascinating it's something that uh that stirs up my interest i would like to tv like live tv yeah live tv but see that's a one setup you know you do it in a one setting and then that's it you're done but then how about doing it for a for a stadium of like 20 30 000 people, you know, you have a whole production there with maybe, you know, 50 videographers, you know, just like larger-scale productions. That's something that I'm interested. And it's not

necessarily about the money. Oh, they're going to pay, you know, whatever X amount of money. It's more about doing it and then doing it well, making it look professional and nice. So that's something, it's a it's a big challenge that that's that that that stirs up my interest that I would I would love to to do you know so I'm debating it if I should just go more into maybe five or six contracts a year that are bigger productions you know instead of doing all of these like smaller events so I'm in a transition period definitely accounting I love accounting that for sure you know but I'm also looking at tapping into this industry as well. Have you guys done any of these like live productions or what are your thoughts on it?

No, we're we're we're scared of them. No. See that's what I'm saying. A lot of us gives me anxiety. It gives me anxiety thinking about having to make sure to do anything live like that. It's just with fit like I we've done live productions with one or two people and even those it's like you can never be 100% certain on how things are going to go right? And then the more people you start adding in, the more elements of where things could potentially go wrong happen, at the very least on those types of live events that are broadcast to thousands and thousands of people. Yeah, I agree. I mean, I don't want to say I'm scared, but it's something that I would

love to learn more about it and then master that skill of saying, production, 20,000 people, I got you. I know exactly what you're talking about. It's going to be smooth, easy. That's what I do on a daily basis, you know. I love this back and forth here. Like corporate. I got that.

Then to accounting. Then all of a sudden, yeah, live streaming events. Like, oh my God. You definitely, you have a lot of thinking to do. That's for sure, as you were saying. He's got too much time in the day. That's the problem. I guess I have too much time.

I'm not married man. Anyone that spends more than 30 minutes at the gym has too much time in their hands. Yeah, you got to be efficient. You know, get that hit workout in and that's it. Oh, man. I'm at the gym. I have a notebook. I write down, you know, my progress.

He's got his journal. I have my journal, yeah. I have a whole life for myself. Yeah. In like three years, Dario, we'll talk to him again. And he's going to be like, yeah, I got a lovely wife now. so now my days are at the farmer's markets, you know, the weekends are this. It's like, when did you go to the gym?

Like, what do you mean, Jim? I don't, I don't. He's single now, so he has time to think about other things he wants to do, careers to explore. Once he gets a girl, that's it. That extra time is trying to figure out what to do during that week with your girl. Don't even get to start. Not even to mention kids, what it'll be when kids start rolling around too. It's like, you thought you had less time before?

Oh, yeah. wait so how long have you guys been in a relationship for like married for it uh i've been with my uh wife for nine years now and we've been married for two almost so congratulations yeah nine and then two that's that's pretty long time yeah that's good yeah i've been with my girl uh six years wow around the time you started tone films is he started with his girlfriend yeah that's when i started my other business That's a full-time job of its own. Oh, yeah.

Yeah, that's the second business, you know. Dang. Technically, technically the third business. Oh, my goodness. We joke that they're the second wives, you know, like Dario and I are like the first. You know, so we are. Because you guys spend a lot of time together, right? You edit, you work together.

You have the company. You brought the company together too. Yeah. Yeah. You don't mean too many people with that guy on the other end. Yeah. So how many episodes? You won't leave me alone. He keeps calling.

Well, what, like 112 now, right? Yeah, this one's 112. Oh, wow. That's a lot. Yeah. Yeah. So that's this even of itself, you know, is like something that takes a lot of time to produce. I mean, like in the beginning, it took a lot longer because we had to edit everything manually. But thankfully now with Riverside, it's become very useful for our approach.

and it's taken a lot of the time out. I'll be posting this one tomorrow. So today's February 9th. So I'll be posting this one, February 10th. That's one thing we're doing different this year, is like trying to pump them out. Posting quicker. Yeah, a lot sooner.

So if I record them one day, I try to get them out the next day. Yeah, that's cool, man. Yeah, I cannot wait to rewatch this and laugh of what we just talked about. Let's send it off here, though. And then we can still. chat afterwards just so we don't bore our audiences all those hundred of them that listen to this

work yeah but yeah anyways Andre great to have you on if you guys want to check out Andre's website it's tonefilms.com and his socials are at tone films I'm guessing oh no at tone dot films yeah that's the Instagram yeah and if you guys need your bookkeeping done or tax season is right around the corner. Use code André for 10% off. 10% off. If you sign up now with his company in the future. Tone numbers or tone accounting. It's actually called atomic accounting. Oh, you already started it? The company. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He said it. It's already. Oh, my bad. I thought you were still studying for it.

Yeah. Well, I'm studying for the CPA, but we already started the company. It's an accounting firm we're top three in Tulsa Oklahoma so we're we're there a time maybe some video video production companies might also need your services so that's a good place yeah yeah yeah if there's any yeah any production companies and and Tulsa area reach out to Andre what was the website for this I don't have a it's just like a Facebook page for that but if they if they search Atomic Accounting in Tulsa they will I don't find the information there Is it atomic with a C or with a K?

Just regular C. Okay. I always feel like whenever they do like words like that, they always put a K instead of like to say. Or if they want to be fancy, they put a Q-U-E Atomic. Oh, there you go. No, I kept it simple. Yeah, I kept it simple there.

But the logo, I worked on that logo a lot. And I'm really happy that logo turned out very, very well. So nice. Well, best of luck in that venture as well. And thanks again, Andre, for joining us on the show. Ah, man. Well, thanks for having me. Thanks for listening to this episode of Creatives Grab Coffee.

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