The Importance Of Being Authentic

I was having dinner at a conference this week and was discussing some of the things I do as a camera operator for national speakers when filming them either performing keynotes or holding a workshop, and one of my clients happened to be at the table to give some excellent feedback on how I’m able to keep them calm before the filming begins and how much that really meant to them as they were preparing to to give their presentations. Another speaker who had worked with me before chimed in and agreed that she too had observed the same type of treatment when I was working with her and it really spoke to the others at the table who had never worked with me before, and were now interested.

This story is important to me because I’ve spent a lot of my time as a black business owner having to compete with my non-minority competitors who’ve had bigger budgets, better equipment, a bigger staff, and in the end we’d all put out the same quality product. As I’ve started to develop a more personal relationship with my clients over the past year, I don’t worry as much about competition as I used to, because all the money in the world couldn’t buy the type of testimonial I received at the table that night. That person that helped these speakers prepare and give their best performances for the camera was authentically who I am. And I wonder how many times in the past that I’ve put the authentic being aside to appear to be someone that I’m not. I can’t call it, and I don’t focus on the past too much, I just know that moving forward my best service I can give is one that my competition can’t. Even with all of the shiny toys and the big crews and the hefty investments behind some of them, my best marketing ploy has been just to be my authentic self. You can’t really put a price on that.

Enjoy some shots from the conference: