Meet James Lloyd of Striking Media in Mesa

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Lloyd.

James, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have been self-employed for almost five years now. However, I started with personal training. After several years of training and managing a gym, I decided to start shooting my own video ads for my business. I didn’t know much about video and enrolled in a few classes at Scottsdale Community College.

Day one I realized that video was my thing, which is surprising considering how much I love fitness! I had actually spent two years as an ambassador for a fitness brand based in Florida that had turned into my dream job and had received a job offer out there around Christmas of 2017.

By the spring of 2018, my family was ready to move, but major shifts in the business staff and direction ended that opportunity almost overnight. I was devastated. The next day I filed Striking Media LLC. The rest of 2018 I spent running my training business, and doing free video work every day I was free and spent every night editing till 2 am some days.

Now my training business is phasing out, and Striking Media is my full-time job. Now I see that my dream job was actually to run my own video production business!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This is my third attempt at running my own business. I don’t hang out with friends, I haven’t been on vacation in years, and have been working over 100 hours a week for the last two years. I’ve made hundreds of calls and sent even more emails. I got rejected for a small business loan and been laughed at in the beginning when I offered my services.

I’ve had more rejection and failure in the last year than I have had the rest of my life combined. It sounds worse than it is, however. I get to see my wife and two daughters every day. I wake up every day wanting to “go to work.” And I get to meet cool new people every day. As I get better at overcoming rejection and failure, I see more and more success. So far, this has been the hardest chapter of my life, and without question, the most rewarding.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
Not many people know me. But that’s okay. A quick reputation is a weak one, and what sets me apart is that I care about the quality of every production and my relationship with every person I meet, client or not.

I shoot real estate videos, weddings, commercials, music videos, youtube videos, educational videos, and documentaries. Out of all of these, I think music videos are my favorite. It’s not really even work!

When you look back, what are you most proud of?
My proudest moment is hard to pin. It’s been a lot of days, hours, and years. I would have to say the one thing that I’m most proud of is learning to face my fears. I was told as a kid that I was shy, introverted, and that it was okay.

That that was my personality. Well, it took me thirty years to realize that I was actually just fearful and that I was using “shy” as an excuse to progress. Now that I see that, I’m a different person and actually enjoy overcoming new fears.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.strikingmedia.media/
• Phone: 480-313-9532
• Email: Strikingmedia@outlook.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesaaronlloyd/
• Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/strikingmedia/
• Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/strikingmediallc/

Image Credit:
Kayce Lloyd, Spencer Heaton

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