Forrest Tuff, Filmpreneur at One Vision Productions

  Welcome back friends to our podcast, your world of creativity. We've traveled from London and Amsterdam and Zurich to South America, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, talking to creative practitioners of all kinds about how they get inspired, organize their work and launch it out into the world. And today we're going to one of the most creative hubs in the U. S. right now for music, film, television. We're traveling to Atlanta, Georgia, and my guest is Forrest Tuff. He's a filmmaker, producer and entrepreneur. Forrest, welcome to the show. Glad to be here, Mark. Thanks for having me. I love your background, and I often find that creative people like you have a lot of what I call dashes and slashes.

Filmmakers, producers, entrepreneurs, business people, the slashes in the title. Share with us this kind of multi talented role that you play in the plates that you spend creatively. I think it all stems from being active, as a kid and not really I love school, but I really love sports and extracurricular activities.

So I think that's where the slashes started early on because you had to be a student to be an athlete. . And hence that term, the student athlete came about. I really just wanted to be an athlete. For me it was NBA or bus. And unfortunately, it was a bust. The numbers game that it is.

That's right. The numbers game. And so the thing is, I actually made it to division one. I played at that level, but I had a career ending injury. And so after that, it's now okay, get into the world and get a job. And I was just not happy with the nine to five. I did it. I got into sales. I love sales, but it was just the structure of it.

starting a retail business in: 2000

And that's where I've been doing that. We're celebrating 20 years today. Congratulations. Oh, and this is One Vision Productions. And I was reading about the awards, all the media and branding projects that you have. What, do you have a creative process that you tend to take on when you bring in new projects?

Is there something you say, look, I'm going to start right. And this is how we're going to start. That's an interesting question. I'm glad you asked me that because I've never thought about that process and I'm sure there is one, there have been the process that I think that I really have built into is jumping.

And that's been a really scary process but that is how I could describe my journey. When I started the media production. It was really from a hobby, all throughout high school and. And elementary on, I would just record things. And even in college, I just had a camcorder, took pictures.

And somebody asked me one day, Hey, would you get paid to do this? So would you do a birthday party for X amount of money? And I was like, yeah, this is great. And so that bug went off and I was like, this might be the business. But because it's a nontraditional way that I started business, everything has been jump in, get in there and figure it out and even to the point where I had to start to step back and get training.

So when I have a process, the first thing is I look at the job. Does it excite me? Is it something that I know, or is it something that I don't know that will be beneficial for me to know? And that's how I actually just plunge right into it. I say, you know what, this is something that I could do. I get in and study it.

And I go ahead and just, it's like I'm adding a piece of the pie every time we take on something new. I can see that. And what about this balance between creativity and business strategy? I can't tell you how many people have come on the show and we talk about that. Sometimes it's a balance, but sometimes it's a pulse, I'm going to work on the creativity.

Then I got to step back and do some strategy. Then I'm going to work on the business. Then I'm going to come back to the creative. How do you take that rollercoaster ride? I think it's a weird thing for me because I am ambidextrous, and I've also had some personality tests when I was actually a manager for Radio Shack out of Fort Worth, our management training, and they said that I was split down the middle for different skill sets, the creative and also the business.

So that was a rare place for me. I didn't know it. Of course, you don't know something like that. And then you find this assessment and you really don't know how that plays. But now that I'm in this creative space, it makes total sense. I actually enjoyed both, which is, it's a weird thing. You know how they say in school, when kids have that what is this attention deficit thing that they say?

I have that. I was like, I can focus on business so long. And I'm like, yes. And then I'm like, okay, I got to get out of here. We got to get over into this creative space. Otherwise, I'm gonna make it and it's like that for me. I'm able to flip flop back into both of these modes and I get a joy from both of them.

And I think that's just that may be one of the benefits that I've had as I've built businesses over the years. Yes. When I was first introduced you to you Forrest, you told me that you're a trademarked a word that sort of explained or spotlighted this creative and business approach and that trademark is filmpreneur.

What a great word. Yeah, to me, it talks to my creativity and my fact that I understand that film is the film business. That's what we always say. It's not just film, it's the film business. So that's my foray into saying, Hey, listen, I understand both and, I like to treat them both as not only a creative process, but also as a business that has processes and in order to actually have success in that, they, you have to understand the processes that keep the cog going.

And it's often been said that sure you can be creative and that can be your art, that can be your hobby, but if you're going to truly make it a business, it has to have some framework. Certainly it has to have costs, a client, a profit, et cetera. Absolutely. One of the things that I did that I want to mention this.

After I had 10 years in business, I joined an organization. It's a resource department through the Small Business Administration. It's called SCORE. And so SCORE offers pro bono mentoring services for entrepreneurs. And they have about, it's been around about 60 years. And they're all throughout the nation.

I joined the organization to become a mentor. And so through mentoring, I was giving assessments. I had to learn how to help mentor business owners, and I learned so much more about business by being in the space to help that it truly benefited, the things that I was doing as I was learning and implementing helping others.

I was also taking those skills and applying them to what I did. So that was a good thing. I did that for almost eight years, and it was really a great experience because It's like you give back, but you're also learning and you're learning things that can help you to sustain your business. Exactly.

And this idea that we creators can figure it out somehow. It's Oh, I'll figure it out. I'll make it happen. Why not get the help? That's right. Yeah. It's a great program. I couldn't help but think too, for us, as you were describing this, being in such a creative ecosystem, a creative market as Atlanta The available resources, insights people to collaborate with.

How has this contributed to your business? So it's a positive and there's also the downside. In a market like this, there's so many resources. But then oftentimes, some of the people that know the resources aren't willing to help. So you have to really be proactive. You have to, be okay with falling down and getting back up, those things are going to happen, and also learning from, people's experiences and filtering out the good information versus the information that may not be useful.

It's a hub because there's so many professionals, so many content creators, there's so much information also, that becomes a challenge okay, yeah, I don't think that's going to be the route I want to go. This is really finding your lane. And that's really the biggest thing in an area like this is finding your lane and finding the pieces that'll make that work.

Yes some of these people have decided they want to be, individual performers and superstars and keep the spotlight on them versus what you've been describing the giving back the sharing the mentoring. It's it really makes a difference, doesn't it? Yeah, it does. It makes a difference in how approach things because.

I'm also a part of that ecosystem where I have to brand and I have to put myself out there so that, opportunities can come, but it's also the balance of not letting that become who you are. Like the things don't define you, they're just the means to an end. Yes. And if that means is to not only, take care of your family, provide things for yourself, but also to help others.

And I think that's the piece for me that makes this all work is that giving piece actually balances everything out to where I don't just feel like I'm doing too much. Yes. Maybe you could give us an example or two of projects that you've been working on. Actually, I've, right now we're working on a feature film by actually two, one feature film, one documentary.

That's in that creative space. And the film is really, it's something we put out in the film festivals as a short. It did really well. And right now one of my business partners and I we're working on the pitch there. So we've done the work in terms of. Making bring the awareness to it. Now we're putting together the, the pitch, the finances and how the same would work and.

Try to find some investors and show how this could be a profitable project. And I'm also putting together a documentary that I've been working on that is loosely based on events that have happened throughout my life. And so that's going to be a really fun project that I'm working on. And we've been putting these together right now.

And that's on the film producer side. There's other things that I have, once again, I do speaking and, I'm also with one vision productions. We're currently working on a project with the federal government and that's It's been really hands on, but it's also a great space because those are the type of things that help pay the bills for all this creative stuff that we're trying to put out.

That's right. Just those three examples are, the range of things you've been working on. I couldn't help it. My, my antenna, my ear perked when you said pitch decks, you're talking about entrepreneurial you're the CEO of a creative project. When you start thinking like that.

Yeah, absolutely. Because at the end of the day, that's what it's about. When we do a lot of grant writing, and in the space working with, government agencies, we have to put together a lot of proposals. So information is key, it's not just about the actual work. It would be great if I could just show people videos.

They're like, Oh, yes, please come. That's enough now. We have to show how this affected the company, how it did something in the market space. So there's a lot of moving pieces to that business. And it's like, how does this benefit the company? How does it help the company grow? How does it meet their objectives?

And so we have to be able to explain these things. And it's, and that's the thing about the pitch deck when it comes to film is when you're talking to investors, you want to show them how this is something that could be in the marketplace or how there's a potential for them to get an ROI on this investment.

And so it's you have to put these things together so they can see the big picture and not just your dream as just. Hey, we're going to finance your dream and that's it. There's nothing else to it. It's, this is a business. Oh, if it was only that easy. Here's my dream. Here's my dream. Can you give, write me a check?

I think it's going to be great. And I think everyone else will too. Let's finance that. Yeah, that's great. What about, we've been talking about collaboration and I was wondering Forrest, all sorts of people listen to this. podcast and are also seeking collaborations. Is there an area of your business or creative resource you're looking to add so that you can really strengthen your offering and your business?

Yes, one of the things that I really look for are people that have specialties either in a creative space or in a space for grant writing. Now that's one of the things that we're really Moving towards his grant writing going after projects and also in the space of going after corporate sponsors. So that's an area that we're going to be moving into.

So that's one of the things that's a priority for me right now. As we hit this 20 year mark, we're celebrating 20 years in business this year. So I'm truly excited about that. It's just another benchmark. We try to find different ways to diversify and keep your doors open and stay relevant and ever change every evolving market.

That's a terrific milestone to celebrate, for sure. And so dialing the clock back 20 years, and let's imagine there's a young, budding, aspiring entrepreneur and creative person out there where you were 20 years ago. What advice would you give to them based on all the lessons you've learned along the way?

I would say is If you don't have kids yet, get started without kids. It makes it a little bit easier. I had two young kids at the time and trying to start that and take care of things was just, An amazing experience. I can't even, I couldn't even go into it, but no serious on a more serious note.

I would always say as an entrepreneur, you have to really understand where you're trying to get. That's the first thing, figure out what you're trying to do. What would be your end game? And let's say three to five years, just to start, you don't even have to go that far. And now map out, what does it take to get to this place?

Who are some of the people that can help you? What are some of the sacrifices you're going to make or. You need to make recertifications. You need to make, to get to this certain place. Or to put yourself in position to meet the right people. You also have to look at it from a strategic point. I always said there's also strategic volunteering.

There's a piece of it that I call the humanitarian work. And then there's a piece of volunteerism I call the strategic planning. It's how you leverage experiences with people that can benefit where you're trying to go. And even if you're working with someone, let them know up front, Hey, I would love to do this with you.

Here's what I would like, have that conversation and be upfront with people. And I think that could get you on the right path starting off because it's like laying the foundation is the biggest thing for your business. It's like building a house. If you have a weak foundation, then by the time you get to the roof might just tear up, because it's not sustainable.

Yes. Great insights. And as you say, based on real experience and lessons learned for us, where can we get in touch with you? If people did want to collaborate or continue to discuss this kind of advice based on your experience, how can we find you and your work? You can find me on social media, but the easiest place.

It's to go to my website, ForrestTuff. com, that's two R's, two T's, two F's, ForrestTuff. com. And from there, you can see any of the work, you can find all of my social media platforms, and you can find an email just to contact me so that we can have the conversation about what you'd like to accomplish in life and how we can probably find some synergy together.

Yeah, for sure. Forrest, I can't thank you enough for a great conversation, especially this inspiration about being a filmpreneur. Love the term. Thanks for being on the show. Thanks so much, Mark. It was a pleasure to be with you. Yeah, and all the best to you. Listeners, keep coming back to our show. We talk to people like Forrest to get these kind of real world insights and experiences on how we can up our game both creatively and entrepreneurially.

And also coming in the next few episodes, I have a panel discussion on creativity and sustainability and ideas that are coming from all over the world to improve our planet people, and Stay profitable. So come back again for that. Also want to thank our new sponsor, White Cloud Coffee Roasters.

Remember you can take a 10 percent discount off your order with our promo code creativity at whitecloudcoffee. com. I'm Mark Stinson. come back again for our next episode and we'll continue to unlock your world of creativity.