1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,600 Whenever you look great on camera, people will look at you 2 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:04,680 differently. It's more about authority, 3 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:10,960 positioning and confidence. You don't need to be a pure 4 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:12,840 expert on anything in order to start. 5 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:15,160 That's the most common mistakes you've seen across the board. 6 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:18,720 Most people think that you need just a better camera to make it 7 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,840 look epic, but the reality is lighting is way more important 8 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:24,280 than the device that you're using. 9 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,200 I've created studios in literally any space, including 10 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:30,320 corridors, bedrooms, kitchens, garages, living rooms, 11 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:32,640 everywhere. What does success look like to? 12 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:35,560 You to me success happened when I was able to. 13 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,200 All right, Simona, so excited to have you on the show. 14 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:46,520 Yeah, same. Very excited. 15 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:47,840 Thanks for having me. So I. 16 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,640 Learned two things about you. I learned that you're incredibly 17 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:56,200 good at setting up studio spaces no matter where you go, and that 18 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:00,640 you have maybe an above average sense of how to make this whole 19 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,480 creator thing work financially. I mean, I've been doing this for 20 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:08,640 for a few years and for the first few years they were just 21 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:11,960 failure on top of failure. So let's say it took me a while, 22 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:14,800 but now finally it seems like it's working out. 23 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,760 So you are digital nomad, right? You travel around the bunch. 24 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,440 You've had the luxury of setting up a bunch of spaces. 25 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,520 So when you walk into a new space, what is something that 26 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,360 you notice? What do you like? 27 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,560 Do you look at angles like? What is your perspective on 28 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:32,360 this? I tell you what, even before 29 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:35,760 entering into a space, I I look online for photos for, for 30 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,160 things that I could use as backgrounds because I want to 31 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,160 make sure to have at least a few elements that I can use in my 32 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:44,240 background. And then I've created studios in 33 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,800 literally any space, including like corridors, bedrooms, 34 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:50,120 kitchens, garages, living rooms, everywhere. 35 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,920 So now I'm quite skilled at it and I can recognize quite easily 36 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,560 spaces that I could use for studios. 37 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,800 And So what makes a good space, or what makes you choose a space 38 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:01,960 over another? Oh that's that's a very good 39 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,480 question. First of all, in case nothing 40 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:10,680 works, I start with a plain white wall and then I want to 41 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:15,080 have at least 2 meters and 20 of space without nothing so that I 42 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,040 can start with 0. Then usually I don't like to 43 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,280 work with white walls whatsoever, so I always try to 44 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,000 have either a texture background or maybe I can buy some 45 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,240 wallpaper, I can buy plants, I can buy panels that I can use 46 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,080 momentarily because most of the time I cannot really drill or 47 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,120 paint the wall in like temporary accommodation. 48 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,080 So I try to always have some sort of texture in the 49 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:37,840 background. Then the next thing is that you 50 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,760 want to try to have as much depth as possible, which means 51 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,520 that you want to set up your camera on the opposite side of 52 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,360 your background. And even right now, the camera 53 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,200 is literally attached to the wall that I have in front of me. 54 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:51,800 And then I'm using this, which looks quite decent as a 55 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,240 background, which is currently basically the living room that I 56 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,360 am that I'm in right now with just the sofa, looking for 57 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,600 symmetry. Then kind of like try to balance 58 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:03,560 both of my sites. So on one side I have a plant 59 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:05,640 and then on the other side I have a floor lamp. 60 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,200 So these are kind of like the main general guidelines that I 61 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,200 try to look for whenever I create studios. 62 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,920 And so do you travel with a bunch of kit or do you just work 63 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:20,400 with whatever practicals are available in the house? 64 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,480 In terms of background design and practicals, I always work 65 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,760 with whatever I have. Sometimes I need to buy maybe an 66 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,280 extra plant, but I always try to have a very low spending. 67 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:32,520 Otherwise if I need to spend thousands of dollars every time 68 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:35,160 I move, then it's just it's not going to, it's not going to, 69 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,560 it's not going to work. So the main things that I have 70 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:42,520 always with me are a 60 Watt light, a foldable softbox, a 71 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,800 teleprompter, a camera, a tripod and a light stand and two pocket 72 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:48,800 lights. Those are the essential on the 73 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:49,880 microphone. Sorry, forgot about the 74 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,160 microphone. Those are the essentials that I 75 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:54,800 need all the time, no matter where I go, just because buying 76 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,560 an extra light every time, it will be quite, quite expensive. 77 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:00,960 But in terms of background design, I've built studios with 78 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,720 literally €20.25. I mean studios building 79 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:08,920 backgrounds with €2025 because it's all about understanding the 80 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,720 kind of texture that you want to have in the background and there 81 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,600 are some very cheap possibilities out there and it's 82 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,399 just very fun for me to create an epic looking image that cost 83 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:20,680 €15. Nice. 84 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,880 So you said in your intro, you're now making entrepreneurs 85 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:28,880 and creators look epic before they look epic. 86 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:30,760 What? What do they do wrong? 87 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,040 Like what is the most common mistakes you see across the 88 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:35,680 board? I've seen it, I've seen it all. 89 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:40,880 Honestly I would say most people think that you need just a 90 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:45,680 better camera to make it look epic, but the reality is I can 91 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:49,240 literally show you right now 2 images that have been shot with 92 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:51,920 the same exact camera in the same exact location with the 93 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,840 same exact background but one looks rubbish and the other one 94 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:57,120 looks amazing. This is because of lighting. 95 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,040 Lighting is way more important than the device that you're 96 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:02,880 using. If you upgrade from a camera of 97 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,200 $1000 to $2000, so that's a double price. 98 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:10,240 It won't make any difference if you don't change your lighting. 99 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:13,760 So the biggest mistake that I see is just not taking care of 100 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:15,400 lighting. And people think that lighting 101 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,400 is extremely difficult, whereas I think it's not. 102 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,800 And we can use some basic rules to make it look much better. 103 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:26,840 The first one of which being have the light higher than your 104 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:29,080 eyelid. So let's think about, for 105 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,400 example, ringlet, right? Most of the time, the ringlets 106 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,760 have the phone holder right in the middle of the light. 107 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:37,240 This is for convenience. It's not because it looks good. 108 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:40,760 It will make you look flat. Whereas if you lift it up and 109 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,200 then you maybe detach the phone and then you have it 45° higher 110 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,600 than your island, this is going to look so much better for your 111 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:48,920 face. And this is one of the key thing 112 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:52,360 that I teach and that whenever we do this movement, this little 113 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:54,080 change is going to make a massive difference. 114 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:58,480 Have you noticed like a shift in the output from the creators 115 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:01,640 once they like have their setup? Like does it boost their 116 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:03,640 confidence that make their content better? 117 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,600 What's the like emotional response that you get from the 118 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:08,720 people who go through your program? 119 00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:12,680 Yeah, like I, I see a lot of people that they just literally 120 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:15,480 send me, I received I think an hour ago, an e-mail that says 121 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:17,960 like, I've been trying to do this for so long. 122 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:20,880 And then just thanks to, to, to a few tips and tricks, now I 123 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,600 really look good on camera. And it's not only about ego, but 124 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,680 it's more about authority, positioning and confidence. 125 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,880 So whenever you look great on camera, people will look at you 126 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:35,000 different just because you have usually, you know, one to three 127 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,200 seconds to judge somebody's content, right? 128 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,560 And then if you look great, you're going to think, oh wow, 129 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:44,080 this person puts effort in his or her content. 130 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:46,360 That means he's probably going to put effort also in his 131 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:48,040 business. And therefore I can trust him 132 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:52,160 and also myself when I see my content and I know that I look 133 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,360 good on my content, it makes me feel really good. 134 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:57,960 It makes me even, I want to, I feel inspired to create more 135 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:00,400 whenever I know that my content looks professional. 136 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,240 And on the other hand, it's exactly opposite for people that 137 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,280 really they think they're ugly. They they don't or they're not 138 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:10,320 satisfied with the image. They can't really work out how 139 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,680 to actually make it look good. And it just puts your 140 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:17,560 inspiration to to 0. You know what I mean? 141 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:22,560 It's it's really it helps a lot in so many different areas. 142 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:27,400 And especially if you're talking with clients, if you're doing 143 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,680 webinars, if you are a closer maybe and you want to try to 144 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,480 literally close clients looking good, it will help massively and 145 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,160 it will create instant trust. And also it's fun to create 146 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:38,720 backgrounds and to create studios. 147 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,400 I mean, at least for me. OK, real quick, if you're 148 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:44,800 enjoying this conversation, if you're learning something, if 149 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,520 you feel inspired, can you do me one simple favor? 150 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:52,760 And that is just to share the episode, share with people you 151 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:57,120 know, share it on social media because the algorithm does not 152 00:07:57,120 --> 00:07:59,960 care. But if you're still here, you 153 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:03,160 do. And the only way more people get 154 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:08,000 to see this type of content is if people like you talk about it 155 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:12,040 and share it. So that is the only ask I have 156 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:14,200 for you. This content is completely free 157 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:15,960 and I'd love for you to enjoy it. 158 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:19,600 But yeah, if you want more of this, just share it. 159 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:21,120 And now let's get back to the show. 160 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:25,120 This space I'm in is quite limited in its layout and it 161 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:30,360 took me, I don't know, years to get to the point where I am now 162 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:35,240 where to me this is workable. I don't think it's perfect, but 163 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:38,799 it works for me. But I don't know how would you 164 00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:41,600 rate this setup. I would say first thing first, I 165 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:45,000 would block out all the natural light coming in, which means 166 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,200 that you will be able to control it with artificial lighting. 167 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,640 Even here I have a window right here, but I blocked it out 168 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:51,760 because I want to have full control usually. 169 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,160 The second thing that I would say is try to declutter your 170 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,520 background to remove everything that is not absolutely necessary 171 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:00,960 just because you want to have it as clean as possible. 172 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:04,280 You want to be the subject of the frame. 173 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:06,760 You don't want anything around to be distracting, but you just 174 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:11,160 want to complement your image. And then I would try to have an 175 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:16,160 image that will remove the white parts, especially the part of 176 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:18,400 the window so that you don't see the heater, you don't see the 177 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:20,400 window. So probably a more cropped in 178 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:22,280 image would look slightly better. 179 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:24,560 I like the frames that you have on the opposite side 180 00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:26,800 potentially. So maybe just rotating the 181 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,400 camera on that side, it would be better and probably changing the 182 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,440 lens if we can. I always suggest to have the 183 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,160 lowest aperture possible to have more separation. 184 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,720 So if you have an F 1.4, F 1.8, something like that, that will 185 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,760 make a massive difference. Even yesterday I was on a call 186 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:47,000 with the client and his image was looking OK, but it was just 187 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,480 very flat. It was because he had the 188 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:55,360 aperture set at F 5.6 and he had the lens that could go down to F 189 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:59,080 1.4. And I'm like just go down and 190 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:00,960 it's going to make a gigantic difference. 191 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:02,800 Obviously that's super important. 192 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:07,840 And then in your studio, I would add lights to the background. 193 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,440 This will allow to have more depth to illuminate the plant, 194 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:15,200 maybe a light that shines through bottom up to the plant 195 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,360 and maybe some small pocket lights or fairy lights on the 196 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,120 floating shelves that you have. Because I think your studio 197 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:23,040 looks amazing. We probably just need to work a 198 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:25,840 bit on the lighting, the background and cutting things 199 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,240 that are extra like the window for example. 200 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:31,880 All. Right, cool, I got nice set of 201 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,400 roasted. That's a first, but you know, 202 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:39,240 that's part living room, part office, part everything. 203 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:44,640 And I, you know, I like the daylight vibes that come in, but 204 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:48,440 I totally get the like make it dark and control the lighting. 205 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,000 Just just two very different approaches I think. 206 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,880 But probably I think you can keep potentially the natural 207 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,520 light coming in because as you said, I totally agree there too. 208 00:10:57,680 --> 00:10:59,720 You know, you could have natural light coming in. 209 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:02,000 It might be tricky on the editing if you're recording 210 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:03,480 content. Yes, it can be. 211 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:06,240 Because like the windows are much brighter than everything 212 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:08,360 else. It just looks like a basically 213 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:11,920 just white inside the windows. That's why I would say try to 214 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:15,200 cut it out potentially so you just don't see it in the image, 215 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,000 but you can keep the windows up in case you you'd like a 216 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,600 brighter image for sure. All right, cool. 217 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,520 Fairpoint, I'll take it into consideration. 218 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:28,600 So I'm sure you also deal with a lot of people who start with the 219 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:31,480 built in webcam to whatever computer they're using. 220 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:37,800 Like what, what do you need to make your first home studio? 221 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:41,960 Do you need like €10,000 to get started or where do you start 222 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,680 those people off? So if you have absolutely 223 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:49,000 nothing in terms of gear I would recommend and you don't have 224 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,280 much budget, I would recommend that you start recording with 225 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:53,720 your phone. But the first investment should 226 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:55,280 be a light. OK. 227 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:59,320 And with light, I would recommend a 60 Watt light. 228 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:03,360 You can find it from non light go dogs, newer, whatever comes 229 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:05,040 in your mind. There's so many brands out there 230 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:07,080 based on price. I have everything non light 231 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:10,000 because I used to be a non light ambassador. 232 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,840 Then what's really really, really important is that you use 233 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,360 a softbox. This will allow you to have a 234 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:21,160 diffusion in front of the light and this will create amazing 235 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,440 flattering light. And then as I said before, you 236 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:27,920 want to have it higher than your eyeline, 45° pointing towards 237 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,000 you. So this is kind of like the main 238 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,880 thing that I would suggest. So don't buy a camera if you 239 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:36,920 don't have much budget, but buy a light and start with your 240 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:38,960 phone. If you're enjoying creating 241 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:43,040 content after you look at least decent, then you can invest in a 242 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,440 camera. In general, my guideline is like 243 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,000 if you have less than $1000 budget, there is no point buying 244 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:51,480 a camera. Just use your phone will be the 245 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:55,320 same quality. So I would suggest to save up to 246 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,360 you know when you have $1000 then yes you can invest in a 247 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:02,240 camera and there are like some great alternatives out there for 248 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,480 for $1000 and that's a great starting point. 249 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:08,840 Then if you have a bit more budget, you want to have 250 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:14,840 probably a Sony A74, Sony A73, something like that between 1002 251 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:16,600 thousand budget. And then you'll probably need to 252 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:19,840 add an extra maybe 500 for a very good lens. 253 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:23,520 The length that I have right now, it's a Tamron 2875 that 254 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,120 it's like probably $650 like that kind of range and it still 255 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,440 looks pretty good and with the Sony A7 four. 256 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:34,120 And then the third thing is microphone actually forgot about 257 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:38,000 that super important as well. This is I think the best quality 258 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:41,840 overpriced microphone that you can find right now is the Shore 259 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,880 MB 7 Plus. It has a USB C cable that goes 260 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:47,360 directly into the laptop. So you can record directly with 261 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:48,760 your laptop or even with your phone. 262 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:52,920 And then you don't need, for example, the XR cable that most 263 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,800 podcast microphone have just because it will be a massive 264 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,160 hassle. But the audio from this, I think 265 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:01,040 it's really, really nice. Is there anything else you want 266 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,080 to share about studio setups or anything like that? 267 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,640 Oh yeah, I mean, I have AI have a ton of things to share. 268 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:10,880 One of the things that usually people don't like overlook, 269 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:12,920 let's say it's balance within the image. 270 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:17,240 So whenever you have an element or like big elements on the 271 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:21,520 left, then you should not leave your right hand side empty. 272 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:24,840 So try to have balance within the composition and eyes will be 273 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:29,000 a bit, it will be more pleasant for the eyes. 274 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,040 Then regarding elements that you have in the background, I always 275 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,600 try to recommend to not have anything that is bigger than 276 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,360 your head in the background just because otherwise it will 277 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:41,120 empower you. It will just not look great and 278 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:42,840 then you're gonna it's gonna be distracting. 279 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:47,480 So smaller or maybe elements that can if you have a very 280 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,040 blurred out background, then it's OK maybe to have you know, 281 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,560 bigger elements. Obviously plants are excluded 282 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:56,160 from this, but even when you use plants, if you use a huge plant 283 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:58,120 and you're very close to it, it's going to be it's going to 284 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:00,520 look like a forest. So it tries to have balance also 285 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:04,840 in the dimension of objects. Then another thing that I can 286 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:07,520 tell you is that clothes make a big difference for me. 287 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,360 I always suggest to check your outfit, which means that if you 288 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:14,320 have big logos, if you have a lot of colors in your outfit, if 289 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:18,080 you have a very contrasting outfit, that will be 290 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:20,560 distracting. So I want my face, I want people 291 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,200 to look in my eyes instead of my clothes. 292 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:27,800 So I always suggest to avoid logos and try to be as neutral 293 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:29,840 as possible. So try to understand, OK, what 294 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:35,080 could be OK with the background and then go with plain sweater 295 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:39,360 AT shirt, a shirt that is not distracting. 296 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:44,480 So I always wear black just because in this case, when you 297 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:48,080 see my darker backgrounds, you don't see anything on my chest. 298 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:49,560 You don't. This is not distracting at all. 299 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,360 It's almost like disappears in the background, but then my face 300 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:57,160 just really stands out. And that's why it's it's good 301 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,240 for me to just wear black. And I like it also because it's 302 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:00,840 simple. I don't have to choose. 303 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:04,520 I always wear black. It's just this one thing, one 304 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:09,720 thing to think about less than than all than everything else 305 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:11,880 that you have during the day. Love it, love it. 306 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:14,480 How did you get into this whole thing? 307 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:19,320 Like how did you just like figure this thing out and what 308 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:23,960 made you think about this more? Listen, it was a pure necessity. 309 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:27,520 I so first of all, kind of a bit of background about me. 310 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:33,400 I love DIY stuff like since it was 12, I started working with 311 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:37,440 like wood stuff and do things for my own bedroom. 312 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:41,160 I rebuilt my bedroom like 3-4 times just because I really love 313 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:43,760 DIY things. It's like and this kind of like 314 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:46,960 recent years because I was moving so much, I needed to 315 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:49,040 build content. It's been over five years that 316 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:50,920 I'm a full time content creator and before I used to be a 317 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:53,480 videographer. So it's just like I wanted to 318 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:55,480 look professional every time and everywhere I go. 319 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:59,200 And therefore whenever I'm in a new room, I need to build a new 320 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,040 space. And because I don't want to 321 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:05,040 spend crazy amounts of money, I just want to try to find ideas 322 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:07,040 that will make me look good with cheap. 323 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:12,720 And then with skills and time, I learned that it's about camera, 324 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,880 it's about light, and it's about just background design and just 325 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,280 some very simple elements that will make it look outstanding. 326 00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:26,079 So it was literally a necessity. Then what happened is that I had 327 00:17:26,079 --> 00:17:30,040 a friend asking me to go and basically make a studio for him. 328 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:31,960 He wasn't a fit, he was a fitness influencer. 329 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:35,120 So I went to his place and then I just built up a, a nice 330 00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:36,560 studio. I told him like a few things to 331 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:39,440 buy and then the image was just looking so much better. 332 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:43,920 Then I didn't really think that this could have been business 333 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,960 or, or a course or anything because I'm like, Nah, not many 334 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:49,920 people need this. And then I started creating some 335 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,840 organic content of studio transformation that I was doing 336 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:55,160 in places. And then every single time I 337 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:57,320 would post on Instagram, I caught like a piece of content 338 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:00,120 about studio transformation and how to look better on camera for 339 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:02,120 content. It would go viral like every 340 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:05,720 single time. So I'm like, OK, there is 341 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:09,960 demand, so let's just do a course about this and just teach 342 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:15,320 very basics things that maybe could be helpful for people. 343 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:19,960 Then slowly with time, I understood that this was a huge 344 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,520 problem for people. Then I started looking around 345 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,160 and being more attentive on how how people would show up on 346 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:29,280 camera and I saw that they could be improved with a few simple 347 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,600 tweaks. And therefore I, I was like, OK, 348 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:34,360 I think there is demand for this and maybe I can even build the 349 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:37,800 business out of it. And and then here I am today 350 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:41,560 with like over 1300 entrepreneurs helped. 351 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:45,400 I have 14,000 students stored on all my courses. 352 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:48,120 It's just it's been going incredibly well and I'm like, 353 00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:50,440 wow, I was not expecting this at all. 354 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,520 If you think of somebody who wants to create content but 355 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,800 hasn't started, hasn't like made the first move, what would you 356 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:02,520 tell them? I would say first of all, pick 357 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:06,880 one single niche. The biggest problem that I see 358 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,840 right now and that it used to be mine, maybe it's mine still 359 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:13,360 today, is that we want to do too many things because we I enjoy 360 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:15,320 fitness. I'm a personal training myself 361 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:17,440 swimming instructor. I love, I do, I work out every 362 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:22,360 day and obviously because I know quite a quite a bit about 363 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:26,360 workouts and routine and maybe a little bit of diet, naturally I 364 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:28,200 want to share that on social media. 365 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:31,000 But then there will be a mistake because my brand has been built 366 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:32,880 on photography and videography stuff. 367 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:35,840 So it's just it doesn't really work that much. 368 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:39,040 And then also I like to look at financial markets. 369 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:41,440 I like to invest money in stocks and stuff like that. 370 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:42,920 Should I talk about stocks as well? 371 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,240 In my channel, most people are tempted and say like, yes, I 372 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:48,280 want to talk about my cat. I want to talk about cooking, I 373 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:50,600 want to talk about this. And if you do that, you're 374 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,360 never, ever going to grow up because it's just super hard. 375 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:56,960 And the the biggest problem that I see is that many times when I 376 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:02,960 do the speech to people that are starting out, they then 377 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:06,480 reference. Actors of lifestyle, people that 378 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:10,400 are posting about whatever they want, that's we are not actors, 379 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:13,320 we are not already famous. We are completely different 380 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,960 humans. And maybe it can work for one 381 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,160 person out of a million, but we need to assume when we start 382 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,600 this journey that we are not that person, that we are not 383 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:26,080 that lucky and we need to embrace the normal journey of 384 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:30,280 steady slow growth. And therefore, if you try 10 385 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:31,880 different topics, it's never going to happen. 386 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:35,400 Whereas if you focus on one, it's way, way, way easier to 387 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,080 stand out and have people that follow you for that reason, 388 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:41,400 because you're, let's say, an expert or somebody that knows a 389 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:45,480 bit more on that topic. And talking about this, I think 390 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:47,920 it's really important to understand that you don't need 391 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,960 to be a pure expert on anything in order to start. 392 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:54,000 You can just share your experience, what you've learned 393 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:59,280 until now to somebody that is one step behind you, rather than 394 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,040 having to become the top expert and then teach everybody else. 395 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,640 There's no point in doing that. Even when I started my social 396 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:10,520 media career, I was like literally sharing extremely 397 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:13,360 basic tips on photography and videography. 398 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,720 And that worked out because most of the people are beginners. 399 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,920 And this is something that I didn't really understand first. 400 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:24,920 It's just like 99.9% of people watching your content. 401 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:29,960 It's probably a beginner and and therefore targeting the mass. 402 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,280 It's it's, it's a good thing with basic stuff and that's why 403 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:37,360 you don't need to be an expert. Amazing, amazing. 404 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,560 To wrap things up, what does success look like to you? 405 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:46,280 I come from a very small village where I had no idea that all of 406 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:49,840 this was possible for me. What I've been taught in school 407 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:53,080 is that you just need to find a full time job that pays you 408 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:56,520 €1200 a month, keep it until you retire. 409 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:01,240 That's what's been like what everybody was saying. 410 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:06,560 And then a bit of luck, a bit of courage, a bit of, I don't know, 411 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:10,320 I found out about a world that is much bigger than than I 412 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:14,720 thought. And even today I cannot even 413 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:17,720 comprehend the numbers that we're doing right now. 414 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:22,200 Like I, I, it's, it's, it's unbelievable how much money we 415 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:26,520 are making and how much this is actually helping other people. 416 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:31,600 So for me, success is has been already achieved years ago when 417 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:37,640 I managed to go full time into social media and now everything 418 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:40,920 that comes on top of whatever happened already for me, it's 419 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:46,040 just a massive ultra E per something that I was not 420 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,120 expecting before. It's just super, super success. 421 00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:52,320 But in terms of what I would be happy with, obviously now 422 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:55,000 because I have this and like I love working, I love building 423 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:56,920 new things. So I will keep doing and I don't 424 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,520 have any target in mind. I just really enjoy what I do. 425 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:08,160 But for me, success happened when I was able to live decent 426 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:10,920 life without having to do a nine to five. 427 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,920 That's like managing my time. If I want to go to the gym at 428 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:17,240 11, AMI can do whatever I want. If I want to take a day off, I 429 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:18,120 do whatever. You know what I mean? 430 00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:21,200 That's that's what success looks like for me. 431 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:27,440 Super, super personal, but I I love the freedom and I love 432 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:29,760 being able to do what you love on a daily basis. 433 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:34,960 I wake up every day wanting to start work ASAP and I finish as 434 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:36,840 late as I can because I just love it. 435 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,040 As long as I can do my workout daily, even weekends. 436 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,360 This weekend I worked the whole weekend. 437 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:45,880 My girlfriend didn't really like that but just I had some urgent 438 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:47,520 things I wanted to finish and get it done. 439 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:50,160 So this is what success looks like for me. 440 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:51,960 Amazing. Well this was a great chat. 441 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,320 If people want to know more about you, what's the best place 442 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,760 they can follow you? How can people stay in your 443 00:23:57,760 --> 00:23:59,880 orbit? You can find me on Instagram, 444 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:08,280 TikTok and YouTube at Pharaoh 21 and then if you want to find me 445 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:12,160 there, then all you'll find the link in my bio for for the home 446 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:16,160 studio blueprint in case you want or just send me a message 447 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,480 on Instagram. I try to get back to everybody. 448 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:21,240 Sometimes it's not easy because it's just my my chat is 449 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,200 absolutely jammed, but I do my best. 450 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:25,920 All right, what do you think of the new studio setup? 451 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,520 Let me know in the comments down below and make sure to subscribe 452 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,840 to catch the second part of this conversation where Simona tells 453 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:36,040 me about his ridiculously profitable monetization 454 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:37,920 strategy. I'll see you over there.