Meet Jude Charles ~via @JudeCharles
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, Jude had the opportunity to share his story with Canvas Rebel Magazine.
"The diagnosis stunned me - Burnout, depression and anxiety - but I didn’t let it define me. Instead, I embraced it and got the help I needed. It’s ok to not be ok. Ask for help." ~Jude Charles
Thanks for sharing Jude. Tell your story in a way people will care... something I believe and you helped me embrace in 2015 when you worked with me to tell my #NoLetUp and #ThisDadWontQuit story, and you certainly live it here.
Jude has been an influence on me, and an inspiration to me, ever since we worked together at a Hispanicize event in 2015. He spent the day shadowing me there with his insightful eye and camera at Google's behest. Then has worked with me several times to tell my evolving story. Please read his story here. /Ted
Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jude Charles. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jude, thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
On October 10, 2020, I woke up that morning and could not physically get out of bed. My heart was racing. My teeth clenched shut. My face was drenched. My arms were stiff at my side.
The next 2 hours brought a soup of anxiety and emotions.
I wasn’t sure what was happening.
I wasn’t paralyzed. But no matter what I did, I could not move.
I had been through tough challenges before and prevailed.
There was the 2008 recession where I didn’t make any money for 6 months.
There was struggling to make money during my first 5 years in business and having to start over.
And then there was even losing my dad, my hero, to cancer in 2014.
But this was something different that I had never experienced before.
When I was finally able to get out of bed (about 2 hours later), I set up an appointment to go see a therapist and was officially diagnosed with burnout.
Not long after, I received 2 other diagnoses – clinical depression and anxiety.
*How could I be depressed?*
2020 was my best year financially. I should be relieved and happy. While there were other small stressors in my life, for the most part, I was in a good position in life.
Or so I thought.
After more evaluating with my therapist, there were 14 different stressors going on at the same time.
For context, most people can only handle 4-5 stressors at a time before they begin to collapse under the pressure.
This was a massive wake up call that I wasn’t playing the game I wanted to play.
My business was causing me anxiety and stress. Sometimes I do think it would be easier to simply have a regular job. One where I didn’t have to think about wearing so many hats. One where I didn’t have to worry about meeting payroll, paying vendors, or whether or not the bills were paid.
Don’t get me wrong, I make good money, but it comes with a cost.
But when I realized I was burnt out, depressed and anxious. I was able to take 2 months off from running the business. This wouldn’t have been possible if I wasn’t a business owner.
I could have asked my boss for time off, but it wouldn’t have been guaranteed that he/she would give me 2 months off or that I’d even have a job when I was ready to come back.
So when I do think about whether or not I’m happier as a business owner, the freedom I have, and the choices I have – I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Now my goal is to work on independence.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
It’s hard to forget that one day that changes your life forever.
In 2006, while I was in high school, a teacher recognized my talent and encouraged me to launch a video production company.
She even went as far as buying me my first set of business cards.
So with business cards in one hand and a borrowed video camera in the other, I was crazy enough to think I could be an entrepreneur.
Even though I had no idea what I was doing I was willing to bet on myself.
I own a video production company and for over 15 years, I’ve helped entrepreneurs bring their stories to life through documentaries.
I dig deep to find the compelling story that no one else knows & then leverage it to strategically scale their business.
I’ve been blessed to produce stories for Google, Coldwell Banker, and Steve Harvey – just to name a few.
I am also the author of Dramatic Demonstration. This book is a roadmap that teaches you how to dig deep to find compelling stories that no one else knows, and how to leverage the power of storytelling.
My mission is to lead and empower entrepreneurs to have relentless, unwavering courage.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
I’m sure you’ve heard that word-of-mouth is the best form of marketing. I agree. It has been the #1 way to help me grow my business over the last 15 years.
The 2nd best effective strategy is closely related to word-of-mouth marketing. Getting testimonials from clients.
But there’s one important piece to this. Not waiting until after the client has received the product or the service, but getting testimonials throughout the entire process.
For example, I have different milestones when I’m crafting a documentary for a client.
First, there’s the initial strategy session where we map out the entire project. This is a full 6-8 hour day getting to better understand the client, what makes them tick, what they stand for, and the journey that’s led them to run the business they’re running today.
After this session, I ask the client for a testimonial on the experience.
The next time I’d ask the client for a testimonial would be after filming with them for 2-3 months, before we start editing. I’d ask about the experience, what they liked about the filming process, and what they were apprehensive about.
And then finally I’d ask the client for a testimonial after they’ve seen the first look at their documentary.
After having all of these videos, I can create a larger case study showing others what the entire process of working with my production company is like.
Doing this for the last 8-9 years has helped me close deals with people who are outside of my normal clientele circle.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I woke up a little after 7 am to the sounds of chains hitting the floor. By the time I jumped out of bed and raced outside, there was not much I could do but watch what was happening in total shock. My car – a gray 2001 Mazda 626 – was being repossessed. You want to know the worst part? This was the second time it was happening within eight months.
I had barely made $20,000 that year from video production and I was struggling to keep up with bills.
I’d been sitting on the edge of my bed thinking about quitting. I had given this business a good 5 year run. I can at least say I tried.
While I’m sitting there, my phone rang. “Keyshia” flashed on the screen of my cell phone. It was a client I had been working with for a little over a year. I debated whether to pick it up. I wasn’t really in the right headspace.
To this day, I’m not sure why, but I decided to answer the phone.
“Jude! Jude! You won’t believe it!” Keyshia was literally screaming down the phone line. “I just spoke to my accountant and we did it! I made a million dollars this year, Jude!”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it in disbelief. Is this really happening right now? I’m sitting here broke, and Keyshia just cracked a million?
I felt sick.
But that moment helped me realize that although I was broke, I had created something of value. I simply needed to learn how to actually run a business. How to market and promote what I had to sell.
I could’ve been bitter about Keyshia making $1mm but instead, I took it as an opportunity to use it as a case study and an opportunity to get better.
Henry Ford has a quote I love, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t. You’re right.”
I took a year off from taking on clients and learned the business side of filmmaking.
This helped me grow my business from struggling to make $20,000 to making well over 6 figures.
Contact Info:
Website: JudeCharles.co
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudeCharles
Other: Newsletter – http://JudeCharles.co/newsletter
