In this episode, I sat down with filmmaker Derick Fischer of Fishbowl Media for a live, no-script coaching session. After getting laid off from his corporate TV gig last November, Derick is officially making the leap from side hustle to full-time business owner—and he was honest about the messy middle of that transition. We unpacked his pricing, the systems he's missing, and the specific tools he can plug in this week to start filling his pipeline.

Key Takeaways

Your hourly rate is probably a fantasy until you track every hour. Music searches, call sheets, revisions—those "little" tasks add up to thousands of dollars in unpaid time per project.
Cold outreach still works, but it shouldn't be manual anymore. Tools like BotDog and Perplexity can build your prospect list and start conversations while you're focused on shoots and edits.
Lead with a low-ticket offer, not a video package. Free virtual tours, paid workshops, or strategy sessions get clients in the door before you ever pitch the bigger project.
A weekly sales block on your calendar is non-negotiable. Without it, you're back on the roller coaster the second a big project wraps.

In This Episode

[00:00] Welcome to the show!

[05:16] Meet Derick Fischer

[07:49] Coaching Session

[10:01] Biggest Frustration in the Business

[12:08] With the End In Mind

[17:20] Evaluating Cost In Jobs

[20:52] Perplexity AI

[24:36] Botdog AI

[30:30] Having Systems In Place

[35:21] Connect with Derick

[35:57] Outro

Quotes

"If those costs are not being passed over to a client, you're giving away your time and you're giving away $1,500 worth of your skills." — Ryan Koral
"You will forever be on the roller coaster, trying to find new client after new client, but without a system in place, you're just making life a lot harder for yourself." — Ryan Koral
"Find the things that can run in the background, especially as a solopreneur, when you are the one responsible for everything." — Ryan Koral