Jack Hand: There Is a Large Talent Pool as Film and TV Is a Growing Industry in Scotland

Jack Hand of Steadyhand Productions.

Where in Scotland are you located?

Glasgow

Tell us about yourself?

I graduated from Stirling University in 2019 with a 2:1 in Film & media. During my time at University I had the chance to work on many exciting projects including producing a documentary called Sisters in Song which went on to win broadcast story of the year at the student journalism awards.

Once graduating I worked as a freelancer and runner on some high budget productions including the Will Ferrel movie “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.” Although I enjoyed the process of working on the set of big productions I found my passions are more closely aligned with working with clients directly.

In 2020 I co-founded Steadyhand Productions, a video production company helping businesses create video strategy that will attract new customers and drive conversions.

What lessons has being an entrepreneur taught you?

Being an entrepreneur has taught me that you can do anything that you put your mind to, as cliche as that sounds!

It’s all about small improvements each day and trying to be better than you were yesterday by consistently learning.

Another thing I’ve learned is it’s best not to rely purely on motivation but rather to be disciplined and set manageable goals.

When you feel motivated you wake up early, exercise, eat healthy and work hard – it’s a great feeling!

But when the motivation runs out the only thing that will get you to work through your ever growing to-do list is discipline.

If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

Make sure to spend time learning, reading and working on personal development. Make it part of your daily routine to spend at least 20 minutes a day reading something of value each day.

A lot of entrepreneurs find it difficult to balance their work and personal lives. How have you found that?

I found it quite difficult when first starting out but I feel now I have quite a good routine and manage to switch off (for the most part) after finishing work for the day.

My partner works a traditional 9-5 so I try to work to this schedule as much as I can.

I do feel guilty taking holidays through the week and I don’t like leaving the rest of my team to work when I’m away, especially when we’re busy.

I feel I need to check in with my business parter for updates on how projects are going. I’m not sure if that ever goes away.

What is the inspiration behind your business?

We want to help businesses make better videos that will actually see results and helps them achieve their goals. Be that increasing sales, generating new client leads or spreading awareness of their brand.

What do you think is your magic sauce? What sets you apart from the competitors?

Our clients goals became our goals.

We take the time learn all about our client’s business, research their target audience and create a video strategy that will generate customer leads and drive convergence. We offer our clients full video marketing packages which are guaranteed to give them ROI.

How have you found sales so far? Do you have any lessons you could pass on to other founders in the same market as you just starting out?

We’ve only been going for a few years and of course like any business starting out we’ve had a lot of ups and downs with there being quiet months and busy months.

However, over the last year we have had a steady flow of work coming in which has also given us the opportunity to expand our team.

Previously all of our work has come from referrals and returning clients but now we have optimised our website SEO we are getting a lot of inquires directly through google searches.

This has greatly helped generate a steady flow of work. My advice to anyone starting out in this industry would be to work at building lasting relationships with your customers.

Spend the time to get to know them and their business and really figure out how you can help them with your service. The majority of our work still comes from returning customers.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced so far in your business, and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge so far was getting our first paying clients. We did a lot of work for free or very cheaply to build up a portfolio and then used that work to market ourselves to new paying clients.

Most of the money that we generated in the first year went back into the business to buy equipment and software so we had very little money to live on. I’d say that was the biggest challenge we have faced so far as a business and business owners.

What do you consider are the main strengths of operating your business in Scotland?

The living standards in Scotland is generally very good and personally I love living in Scotland.

Most areas of Scotland you don’t need to travel far to get to the countryside and I think that’s great for your mental health.

We’ve also found there is a large talent pool as Film and TV is a growing industry in Scotland.

What if any are weaknesses of operating your business within Scotland?

For some reason in Scotland there are a lot of limiting beliefs which maybe comes from a lack of confidence. It took me a while to get over the fear of failing and learn to take risks.

It’s much worse to never take the risk and stay where you are which can be a very Scottish thing to do.

What do you want to accomplish in the next 5 years with your business?

There is a very long list of everything we what to accomplish over the next five years but to put it simply we aim to become the top rated corporate video production company in Scotland.

How has Brexit impacted your business (if at all)?

It’s hard to gauge how much BREXIT has impacted our business as we work mainly with UK based industries. However I have no doubt we have been indirectly impacted in some way.

And finally, if people want to get involved and learn more about your business, how should they do that?

You can check out our website to learn more about our business or if you would like to work with us feel free to get in touch via email or schedule in a call with us, we’d love to hear from you!

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