It’s always great to connect with anyone in the video industry. The consumption of video on the Internet and via mobile is simply staggering and shows no sign of slowing. Finding people that understand that space and can tell your story effectively, is the key to getting your message out there. Read on…
What’s your story?
I am originally from Southend in Essex and graduated from De Montford University with a degree in Media Technology. I have been interested in travel, photography and videography for as long as I can remember and my passion for video got me a job working as a runner for the largest post production house in London. This was then followed by a few different roles at an online video startup and for the past 4 years I have been based in Asia working client side in corporate marketing. I recently moved back to work in a small business agency side went back to agency-side to peruse my passion and because its nice to be able to turn up to work in flip-flops now and again!
What excites you most about your industry?
The pace at which the online video landscape is changing and the versatility of video is astounding. That and the look on peoples faces when they see the results from their videos and how they have directly led to more sales and online exposure is priceless too. When I first started in the video production industry everyone still thought of video as being just TV and film production, this was at the time when high speed internet was just hitting the UK. These days video is available to everyone no matter what the price point or intended output is and it can help anything from your SEO ranking to converting more online sales.
What’s your connection to Asia?
I first travelled Asia when I spent a year backpacking around the world and knew one day I would live out here. The opportunity arose the second time I came to Asia with a chance meeting with someone in Thailand. We talked for a long time about marketing, Asia and travelling and I was eventually offered a job in Shanghai. Since then I’ve spent the last 4 years living in both Shanghai and Hong Kong and view both cities as my home.
Favourite city in Asia for business and why?
For me it’s Hong Kong as I have found it to be a place where people are more entrepreneurial in the sense that there are always opportunities to join a new startup or to collaborate on projects. It astounds me how easy it is to network here and lots of our business comes through these networks. Setting up a company is a doddle, geographically it’s perfect and its small so you can cram in a lot of meetings each day. Its also an incredibly efficient place to live too, if a little corrupt at times! I’d say there are advantages to doing business anywhere in Asia ,its incredibly forward thinking but Hong Kong a place I have found the most advantageous.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Sales; tell them what they need and then ask how many they want
Travel; if someone says they didn’t like a place you should visit anyway
Life; get up and get on with it
Who inspires you?
Generally I get inspired when I see someone doing a selfless act in order to help others. I met a guy called Jimmy about 4 years ago when I sat on the Austcham CSR committee. He runs The Renewal Centre which helps migrant workers in Shanghai and he set me on the path to looking more into CSR and I now have a couple of organizations that I work with including his.
What have you just learnt recently that blew you away?
You can make bricks out of milk and vinegar, true story!
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
Not much really I think the mistakes I’ve made drive me to learn how to do things differently in the future. If I changed too much I’d be worried about where I’d end up!
How do you unwind?
Playing guitar is something I really enjoy doing as it takes your mind off of everything. It’s surprising what 10 minutes messing around with 6 strings and a block of wood can do to your mindset!
Favourite Asian destination for relaxation? Why?
Thailand I think, I love the food, the people and discovering the more off the beaten-track islands and beaches which gets harder each time I go back!
Everyone in business should read this book:
Losing my virginity by Richard Branson.
Shameless plug for your business:
We are a boutique video agency based in Hong Kong and have been producing content for SMEs and corporates for over 15 years. We produce product videos, testimonials and interviews, events and branding videos. We love what we do and we love to help companies harness the power of video to increase sales and brand awareness
How can people connect with you?
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: hk.linkedin.com/in/davidsmalley1983/
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This interview was part of the Callum Connect’s column found on The Asian Entrepreneur:
Callum Laing has started, built, bought and sold half a dozen businesses in a range of industries across two continents. He is the owner of Fitness-Buffet a company delivering employee wellness solutions in 11 countries and he is also the CEO of Entrevo Asia, a company that runs 40 week Growth Accelerator programs.
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