Vlogging leads to young man becoming entrepreneur
Entrepreneur Sam Lister went from vlogging to founding a video business. • Submitted Photos
By Tom Victoria
When Sam Lister started documenting his life, he didn’t know it would lead to founding his own business filming the stories of companies.
His company, Blnk Slate Media, earned a quarter-million from 2020 to last year. Sam, 21, initially filmed videos for his clients, but the impact of government regulations in response to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, changed his focus.
“I decided to pivot my company,” he said.
Sam converted Blnk Slate to a fully remote video editing company, resulting in soaring profits. His goal for the next 12 months is to bring in a million.
The future entrepreneur grew up just outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During Sam’s junior year of high school, he became involved in some startups and began networking.
“I’m not good at many things,” he said modestly. “I’m really good at making connections.”
Sam started making videos of his own life with a Smart phone, posting them initially on Instagram before adding LinkedIn to the mix in 2018. A business owner liked what he saw of Sam’s video work, offering him a gig to profile the man’s company.
“He said I want your help,” Sam recalled. “That really was the catalyst.”
Sam became an expert creating and editing video.
Since the job worked out so well, Sam bought a camera. During a convention at which Sam’s final product was shown, he bumped into a stranger who spotted the camera. The man asked Sam if he filmed for hire.
“He said ‘hey, do you shoot video?’” Sam said.
He was offered a job filming an event occurring 36 hours from that moment. Sam seized the opportunity, creating Blnk Slate in the process.
“I jumped into the wide blue ocean,” he said.
The fee for each job rose, from several hundred to $10,000.
Sam holds a phone showing his business.
Sam decided to forgo college once he realized he found his direction. The focus on becoming an entrepreneur was not a stretch in his family. Sam’s grandparents ran a carpentry business while his dad operated a financial firm.
“They were pretty supportive,” he said about his parents upon learning of his decision.
While entrepreneurship was in Sam’s blood, filming was not in his plans for his future years ago.
“I never took a film class,” he said.
Sam’s interest only was piqued after his friends started filming themselves and posting it online.
“I didn’t want to get left behind,” he said. “It’s a mix of peer pressure and competitiveness.”
Sam enjoys the scenery in addition to capturing it for others.
Sam started posting sports clips and selfies on Instagram and Snapchat.
“It was super uncomfortable for me,” he said.
Now, he is comfortable in front and behind the camera. Pulling in enough revenue to support the business and its staff, which includes partners and remote team in the Philippines, Sam does not have to pull even the 9-to-5 anymore.
“My life is very fluid,” he said.
However, Sam is not resting on his laurels. He already is developing other ventures.
He does not fret about the possibility of an endeavor failing.
“As long as I’m ethical and I follow the law,” he said about the only things he must do. “If it makes zero, I’ll do something else. Learn from it and start again. It’s all a big test.”
The link to Blnk Slate is: https://blnkslatemedia.com/
The link to Sam’s Instagram is: https://www.instagram.com/samlister.eth/