Stanley Meytin is the founder and Creative Director at True Film Production, a New York City-based video production company that creates videos for businesses and brands all over the world. Known for his creative visual storytelling, brand building and digital marketing expertise, Meytin has helped many businesses establish their company image and transform into iconic brands. Meytin’s expertise is fueled by his passion for bringing ideas to life, which is evident in the work provided to his clients and in his attitude towards existing and future entrepreneurial ventures. Follow him @TrueFilmPro.
Who is your hero?
My hero would have to be my wife because she not only supported me when I decided to quit working for others and start a business of my own, but continues to support me each and every step of the way. As many people probably already know, entrepreneurs tend to treat their business like a child. You have to put in the time to help it grow, you can’t just work a 9-to-5 schedule and you have to be willing to go through tough decisions and hardships. My wife trusted my decisions and helped me through the rough patches. The confidence and support she provided has helped me get to where I am today and where I will be tomorrow.
What’s the single best piece of business advice that helped shape who you are as an entrepreneur today, and why?
When hardships surface, you need to work through them so you understand how to deal with tough situations going forward, ultimately coming out ahead. As an entrepreneur you can’t let downfalls get to you; if you do, you’ll find yourself heading towards a downward spiral.
What’s the biggest mistake you ever made in your business, and what did you learn from it that others can learn from too?
Not having enough patience and trying to grow too quickly. The number one takeaway from the situation was to carefully plan everything out step by step and be patient when it comes to progression. If you do everything step by step and make progress in an organized manner, growth will occur naturally.
What do you do during the first hour of your business day and why?
Check emails, plan and organize! The first hour of any business day, I check my emails and set up goals for the day so this way I can stay organized and be focused to get work done. When it comes to setting up goals, I like to break these down to daily goals, weekly goals and long term goals. This way, I feel like I am always working towards something and when I start to check off some of my daily goals than weekly goals, etc., I feel accomplished and more motivated.
What’s your best financial or cash-flow related tip for entrepreneurs just getting started?
The best financial-related tip is to plan ahead and set aside some money for reinvestment. Many entrepreneurs feel obligated to reward themselves when the money starts to come in and actually forget about putting money back into their business to help it grow. In the long run, this is actually more harmful and although they may see some immediate gratification with a larger income, they are robbing themselves of more cash flow and profit.
Quick: What’s ONE thing you recommend ALL aspiring or current entrepreneurs do right now to take their biz to the next level?
The biggest recommendation for all aspiring or current entrepreneurs is the same as Nike’s motto: “Just Do It.” Many people have great ideas, some even spend a lot of time doing research and trying to gather information on how to execute their ideas, but the biggest mistake that many make is simply not taking action. Sometimes things seems easier than they actually are and other times it really is as simple as just taking action, but you won’t ever know until you try it. Great ideas don’t just magically execute themselves over night.
What’s your definition of success? How will you know when you’ve finally “succeeded” in your business?
As an entrepreneur, I strongly feel that there is never full satisfaction, you’ll always want more. Success to me is the ability to meet all immediate goals and then looking for how to build upon them to bring things to the next level, all while maintaining a healthy work-life balance (which is easier said than done).
