What are small business owners and sole traders spending to make their businesses run smoothly week to week? In this new content series, Kochie’s Business Builders walks in the shoes of unique business owners to find out their expenses, how they manage them, and what drives them each day.

Adam Singer runs his own freelance videography and photography company, working in the fields of travel, music and fashion.

My business is…

Storytelling, first and foremost. It just happens that I do it through video or ‘digital film’, as I like to call it, which keeps me connected to my former life as a film-based photographer.

As a freelance videographer I’m hired by other small production companies, advertising and marketing agencies, directly by small businesses and also by artists for music videos.

I’d describe myself as a ‘humanist’ with my perspective coming from watching countless movies and shooting stills for over 10 years in genres such as fashion, weddings and travel.

I’ve also recently taken on a new role alongside my own contract-based work as head of production for Levity Video, which specialises in e-commerce and brand storytelling work. Michael Langdon, the bestselling author of Welcome to the Age of Emotion is at the helm there. I’m managing all projects that come through from client briefing, pre-production and filming before handing over the footage to the post-production team and debriefing them to produce the final assets.

My staff headcount is… 

One, which is me, but can be up to 10 contractors on any particular day such as other camera operators, assistants, scriptwriters, voiceover artists, makeup artists, presenters, models, sound operators, lighting gaffer and so on.

The music that gets me going for the day is… 

I’m a sucker for ’70s classics! It must be that naive idealism that resonates with me.

Making my own music (listen here) has become my secret passion that I’m slowly letting out into the world. The infinite possibility of music and as an outlet of expression really keeps me humble. With my thirst for more self-discovery, it never stops rewarding me.

Adam Singer: photographer, videographer and musician.

One thing most people don’t know about me is …

I was one stripe away from becoming a black belt in karate, but I came to the realisation I was a lover not a fighter and over the course of many years found my way into Japanese esoteric Buddhism to replace my love of discipline amongst the chaos of life.

On an average week/month, my product expenses are…

When it comes to product expenses I don’t have a weekly spend. It usually comes in big chunks like upgrading equipment, maintaining equipment, or covering production costs. That could be $1000 to $10,000.

On an average week/month, general overheads are…

I keep a fairly lean machine when it comes to basic expenses. With the legacy of COVID lingering, I’m still working out of drop-in work spaces and hire different studios for filming depending on the work, so I don’t have a fixed rental cost – it tends to align itself with the workflow.

My other expenses are high-speed broadband, subscriptions to website and video hosting, and advertising. This all runs to about $250 a month.

3 tips for businesses about managing cashflow and expenses:

1. Use other people’s money. This is especially important in these times when we can go into a lockdown at any given moment, giving yourself plenty of room to move and pivot. It helps you to stay liquid so you can keep making good decisions and not get caught up in unplanned disruptions.

I recently used hummpro for some asset acquisition. I like the ‘buy now, pay later’ structure. It’s flexible, the payback terms are good and the fees are reasonable. Knowing I could stretch the payments out or pay it back straight away gave me the peace of mind to keep marching forward.

2. Make more than you spend. Of course that’s obvious but can be overlooked when things appear to be busy and you’re in an expansion stage.

3. Automate. The less data you have to think about, the more time you’re able to put into the growth of your business in ways that count.

The best part of my job is…

Always taking on new challenges and stretching what I’m capable of. True happiness comes from growth. One time I got some kids in Bali to build me a mud camera with its own mirror system after showing them my old twin lens medium format camera.

Interacting with people and environments is always the most rewarding thing.

Thanks for sharing, Adam.

Check out Adam’s work here: adamsinger.studio

Check out hummpro to see how they can help you manage your business cashflow, including access to up to $30k, unsecured, and flexible repayment options. To apply for a hummpro account, download the hummpro app from Google Play or the Apple App store, and follow the steps.

This content is brought to you by Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with hummpro.

The information above is intended to be general in nature and is not personal financial product advice. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information provided and the nature of the relevant financial product having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. You should seek independent financial advice prior to making an investment decision in relation to a financial product (including a decision about whether to acquire or continue to hold). Pinstripe Media and hummpro are not liable for any loss incurred by use of or reliance on the information.

Feature image: Adam Singer