How To Use Social Media To Generate Endless Leads For Your Home Service Business | Jade Sprake

Summary

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Next Level Pros Podcast | Episode Summary

Episode Title:

How To Use Social Media To Generate Endless Leads For Your Home Service Business | Jade Sprake

Release Date:

March 26, 2026

Host:

Chris Lee

Guest:

Jade Sprake

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Overview

In this episode of Next Level Pros, host Chris Lee sits down with Jade Sprake, a standout figure in the home service space who has amassed over 10 million views and 50,000 Instagram followers in just six months. Jade breaks down how home service businesses can transcend the “portfolio page” trap of social media and instead use it as a tool to connect, tell stories, and generate genuine inbound demand. The conversation spans why focusing on personality, brand values, and authentic storytelling easily outperforms showcasing finished jobs and testimonials—and how anyone, regardless of their background, can leverage these strategies for exponential brand and lead growth.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Rethinking Social Media for Home Services (00:00–03:31)

• The Common Mistake: Most companies treat their social media as a static portfolio—posting completed jobs and five-star reviews. Jade argues this fails to engage audiences meaningfully.
• Jade’s Take: Social should showcase who you are, your team, values, and the daily reality of running your business.
  • Quote: “People need to stop posting so much about…the work that they're doing…Speak into who they are, why they run it, who their team is, the values behind the company.” — Jade Sprake (01:04)
• Connection Over Proof: “Stop trying to prove you’re good and start making people feel connected to you.” — Chris Lee paraphrasing Jade’s approach (00:00)
• Creative Content Examples: Instead of showing “windows are in,” narrate the struggle, the unseen process, or make a running joke for human interest.

2. Social Media as an Opportunity to Build Relationships (03:31–07:12)

• Personal Brand Impact: For Jade, personal branding led to new contracts, partnerships, and a broader network—not just more revenue.

• Unique Position in the Trades: Jade’s age (22) and gender stand out in a male-dominated field, showing that sharing authentic identity can be powerful.

• Storytelling Framework: Storytelling creates a “mass movement.” If you get people rooting for or against you, you’re building community and engagement.

  • Quote: “You either want people to root for you or…against you. And I didn’t really mind which direction they rooted in, because…now [they] have an emotional attachment to the thing that you’re doing.” — Jade Sprake (05:58)

3. The Online Resume & Understanding Your Audience (07:12–09:49)

• Digital Footprint Matters: Even if most views aren’t from potential clients, what shows up online is key when prospects research you.
  • Quote: “Our online profile is essentially our resume.” — Chris Lee (07:12)
• Serving Underrepresented Segments: Jade’s business attracted women, moms, and widows by being approachable and emphasizing communication, not just technical skills.
• The Broken System in Trades: It's less about finished jobs, more about fixing the lack of communication and customer service in the industry.

4. Storytelling > Results — Why Process Wins (09:49–11:51)

• Never Promoting Finished Work: Jade purposely never showcased final results—she focused on the back end, her journey, and comprehensive communication.
  • Quote: “There is not like one video of my guys ever finishing a job…It was always about…the back end of running this and what it takes to run it.” — Jade Sprake (09:49)
• What Homeowners Really Value: Customers pay for trust, comfort, and reliability—especially significant for single female homeowners (a key demographic).

5. Making Content Relatable & Story-Based (11:51–17:58)

• Turning Boring Into Engaging: Everyday admin tasks can be content—frame sales calls as a “$10,000 in four hours” challenge for natural suspense.
  • Memorable Reference: “Everything we do every day is interesting to somebody if you frame it right.” — Jade Sprake (19:43)
• Document, Don’t Preach: Instead of positioning yourself as an authority, show what happens behind the scenes—team interactions, hiring, the real stress and funny moments.

6. Practical, Tactical Social Media Advice (20:17–24:30)

• DIY Filming Techniques:
  • Use your phone’s back camera (preferably in 0.5x wide mode).
  • Prop it anywhere—tripod not necessary. Just start recording!
  • Edit clips together and voiceover if it feels more natural.
  • Angle variety adds visual interest; even odd spots like the ceiling work great.
  • Initially, Jade edited all her videos herself, then outsourced final touches to a professional.
• ** Music Branding:**
  • Use personal playlists, not just viral sounds. Consistency in your soundtrack can help define your brand.
  • “As you follow me…you’re listening to my playlist…I just love coffee. I’m going to post that I drink black coffee every day because one day a coffee company will come to me because I’ve posted about coffee so much.” — Jade Sprake (24:12)

7. Case Study: How To Tell “Rob the Electrician’s” Story (25:32–28:19)

• Scenario Planning: Chris describes a hypothetical client (“Rob”)—a young electrical company owner with great reviews and a solid local business.
• Jade’s Content Angle: Feature “day in the life” stories, but from someone else’s humorous, unfiltered perspective (like Rob’s girlfriend doing a naïve, funny voiceover).
  • Quote: “My day as an electrician from my girlfriend who doesn’t know anything about being an electrician.…But they do stuff and they make good money.” — Jade Sprake (27:25)
• Making the Business Human: Show personality and home life; let others hype you up and create relatability.

8. Overarching Advice on Authentic Brand-Building (29:32–31:46)

• Don’t Copy—Find Your Voice: Authenticity trumps replication. Study yourself, what works/doesn’t, and keep iterating content.
  • Quote: “No matter how much you study someone else, you’re never gonna graduate being them. So you should just study yourself.” — Jade Sprake (29:32)
• Lean Into Your Own Life: “No one lives your life. You just gotta be really creative in the life that you live.” — Jade Sprake (30:11)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Segments

• “Stop trying to prove you’re good and start making people feel connected to you.” — Chris Lee (00:00)
• “Storytelling is really about…helping people see the vision that you want to create, but also the emotional attachment of why you want to create that vision.” — Jade Sprake (05:58)
• “There is not like one video of my guys ever finishing a job…It was always about…the back end of running this and what it takes to run it.” — Jade Sprake (09:49)
• “Everything we do every day is interesting to somebody if you frame it right.” — Jade Sprake (19:43)
• “No matter how much you study someone else, you’re never gonna graduate being them. So you should just study yourself.” — Jade Sprake (29:32)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–01:31 — Why “Portfolio Page” Social Media Doesn’t Work
• 02:38–03:31 — “Make Social Media Social” and Creative Testimonial Strategies
• 05:58–07:12 — Building a Movement Through Personal Storytelling
• 09:49–11:51 — Why Jade Never Shows Finished Work
• 19:43–20:17 — Framing Boring Tasks as Challenges, Making Daily Grind Intriguing
• 20:39–24:30 — Filming & Editing Tips for Non-Experts
• 25:32–28:19 — Jade’s Content Blueprint for “Rob the Electrician”
• 29:32–31:46 — Why Copying Doesn’t Work & How to Find Your Voice

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Actionable Takeaways

• Show who you are, not just what you do. Highlight values, struggles, day-to-day realities, and team dynamics.
• Prioritize emotional connection and relatability over flawless portfolios or review posts.
• Document daily life and processes. Make the mundane interesting with personal narration, voiceovers from family/friends, or unique angles.
• Start filming now. Use your phone and focus on authenticity; polish can come later.
• Develop a signature style and soundtrack. Let your music, humor, and quirks become recognizable in your brand.
• Study your own successes and failures. Build content around what resonates with your unique audience.

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Closing Note

Jade Sprake’s philosophy is simple yet profound: Authentic storytelling, showcasing your personality, and focusing on real-life moments will grow your audience and turn your home service business into a brand people choose—even when you’re not the cheapest on the market.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[A]

Most home service companies are using social media like a portfolio. They post their finished work, they post five star reviews, and then they wonder why nobody cares. In this episode, I'm sitting down with Jade Sprague. She's pulled in over 10 million views in the home service space, and she breaks down what actually drives attention and inbound demand. We get in the shift that changes everything. Stop trying to prove you're good and start making people feel connected to you. Jade breaks down what that actually looks like in practice. From what to film when you don't have a camera crew, how to make the day to day interesting, to the pieces of content that will always outperform those before and after photos. If you want more leads in a brand, people choose. Even when you're not the cheapest in town. This one's for you, Jade. You have over 10 million views on your social media platform just in the last six months alone on almost 50,000 followers on Instagram, all in the home service space. What do guys need to be doing to get this kind of exposure?

[B]

I. The first thing I would think of is, like, people need to stop posting so much about, like, the customer reviews and the work that they're doing and like, speaking into all the jobs that they're doing. But more so speak into like, who they are, why they run it, who their team is, like, the values behind the company, the things the company focuses on, and then show it.

[A]

Like, so you're telling me, like, they got to stop showing, like, the results. Like, hey, this is the new job I did.

[B]

People will post like just a photo of an. Of a testimonial and it's like, what does that do for anyone? Like, I feel like if I really wanted to check working with you, I would go look at the Google reviews, I'll look at your website, all the information I need to know about the job and the execution you can do lives there. But social media to me is the place that you actually get to connect with somebody and it's really disconnected to just show them, like a photo of a house and be like, windows are in. And it's like, cool. Like, it doesn't really help much, but getting to like, tell a story of like, people don't understand the amount of work it takes to actually put a window in a house, for example, or like, all of those steps. And like, explaining that out is actually a lot more interesting. And being like. Or like, people will say, like, I can imagine, like the storyline of people. Have you ever seen that thing that people are like, have you never. Have you ever seen your neighbor take out their garbage? And people are like, never. Like, it doesn't exist. Like, it's just like one of those. Like, we're all in, like, the same mirage that, like, our neighbors never take out their garbage. But, like, imagine being like, you've never seen windows be put in a house. Today's the day. And then you, like, joke around with it being like, this is your moment. And, like, that to me, is a lot more interesting. And I'm more, like, emotionally connected to, like, how are they gonna turn out than being, like, cool windows.

[A]

So what I'm hearing is make social media social.

[B]

Make it social, make it creative, make it your own. Just make it so, like, the more creative creativity that you can throw into it, to me is, like, the most valuable thing that you can do. Again, like, your personality is the most like. Like, it is the most valuable thing that you can own. And I think leaning harder into the things that you can create from yourself for your company is so strong. Other than being like, house, like, this job is done. This is done. Like, showing the back end, showing the struggles, showing, like, if anything, like, the best way that you can show a customer testimonial isn't, like, what they say or the finished product, but getting those videos being, like, we surprised our, like, customer with doing, like, she wanted her floors redone, but we ended up redoing her entire first, like, first and second floor, and we're going to surprise her. And, like, that kind of stuff will hit harder than any, like, written testimonial review.

[A]

So, Jay, the reason why you're sitting here today is because I saw one of your Instagram videos, and you've had a lot of viral videos about the trades. You have a great personal brand. How has your ability to tell stories and build a personal brand impacted you in the trades in home services?

[B]

I feel like started with. It started honestly because I just kind of owned that I didn't know anything about trades or the industry and was going into something that, like, was completely unknown. But I wanted to do it as a girl who was young, who didn't have a degree or no background in this space. And the biggest thing that I got out of it wasn't necessarily business or, like, anything that helped my companies grow or the franchises grow, but was just the ability to, like, meet cool people. Like, a lot of the contracts that got with other contract, like, other trade companies to get contracts with them. A lot of just networking opportunities that I got with different people. I would say, like, the Biggest. Yeah. Biggest impact was more the people and the opportunities that it brought me and

[A]

less like, well, it's interesting. You have something going for you that's like, completely unique, especially in the trades and Home Services. One, you're young, 20, 22 years old. Usually people that are 22 in the trades are maybe working like a minimum wage job or whatnot. And two, you're female. Right? Like, that is rare in a. In an industry that is dominated by men. I mean, I. I would say, you know, 95, 96% of trades companies are men, unless it's like an administrative role or a back office or whatnot. But when it comes to, like, people being out in the field running these businesses, managing, it's. It's a pretty rare occurrence that, that a woman is at the helm. And so I think that's, you know, some of the things that, like, caught you. Catch people's eyes.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so, like, you. You have like, this master ability to go and tell stories about, like, hey, I'm. I'm this young female owning a handyman's. You. You ended up selling those companies, right?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Awesome.

[B]

All three. We just sold our franchise. Since it was a franchise, it was like we just got to a place where I was like, you know, someone else wanted our franchises in our cities, and I was like, you, let's do it. Like, why not? Let's do it. So we sold those about two, three months ago.

[A]

So tell me this. How can storytelling impact anybody, regardless of what kind of company you own or whatnot? Give me, give me a masterclass on that.

[B]

I feel like, to me, storytelling is really about, like, helping people see the vision that you want to create, but also the emotional attachment of why you want to create that vision. Like, for me, like, owning a handyman company might not be the most glamorous thing, but it was like getting people to understand why I wanted to do this. I wanted to go into an industry that I kind of had no right being in and run a team of guys that I had no right being the leader of. And, like, get into those positions because then you either want people to root for you or honestly root against you. And I didn't really mind which direction they rooted in because it's just people now have an emotional attachment to the thing that you're doing, which I think is super insane. And when you create that, you start to create that, like, mass movement framework where people start to, like, want to root for you or root against you. Like, my favorite thing about storytelling is just like, you never, ever know who's watching. Like, you never know who's watching. I wouldn't have known that you would have ever seen a video of me sitting in my room in Canada on my computer, answering emails. Like, how does that lead us to being here right now? Or lead me to some of the most amazing friendships that I currently have or different opportunities that I have? I think storytelling and the way that you can present what you're doing to the world is so valuable to get people to either buy in or out of the vision you're creating.

[A]

So I'm a. I'm a big believer that our online profile is essentially our resume. And. And that, yeah, sure, maybe 95% of the views are irrelevant. Right. Maybe it's somebody in South Africa, Canada or whatnot watching it. It doesn't speak to my end audience. Right. Like, say, for example, I own an electrical company in Chicago.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. And obviously I'd like to get more Chicago homeowners to get electrical services from me. Like, that's. That's the end goal. And I go and I tell this story or whatnot, and it's shared with somebody in Florida or shared with it. Like, and. And yes, some of those things are irrelevant, but at the end of the day, I'm a big believer that, like, it's our online resume. So, like, if somebody is looking into your company, they go to your social media profile and they see this story of what's being like, like those obviously most important views. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, I think so too. And, like, a big thing for us is that we ended up getting. Our client base was like, highly women and moms and widows, and they just really loved that there was, like, a girl behind, like, the whole thing. Even though it was still men doing the jobs, it's still like, all my guy, all my guys, contractors, full times, all men. Not that I. I just. No one. No women applied, so not on me. But they just love the idea that when they. When they called, it was like me answering the phones when things went, like, wrong or right or whatever the scenario was. I'd go up to their house and then they'd be like, you run this. It was like, such a nice feeling. And I think that they also just, like, it helped to buy into what I was doing. Being like, oh, you're just like this dreamer kid. Like, this is awesome.

[A]

You know, you bring up a strong point. Just like the power of having a woman's face in marketing, in the home services is, like, so valuable right now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I saw a stat the Other day it was actually somebody promoting like, hey, this. If you went and started this type of company in the home services and basically what it was is a company that appeals to single women that own homes, whether it's widows, never been married, divorcees, whatever else. It's something like 20 to 25% of all homeowners are that fit into that camp. And, and a lot of times those people, they don't feel comfortable.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Dealing with some random dude coming into their house. You know that hey, I'm not sure if there's background checks. I'm not sure like what, what has actually happened here versus like having this nice forward facing marketing face that, hey, I, you know, I feel comfortable, right. Like appealing more to that. Like, hey, I'm willing to pay for security and comfort over even a job well done.

[B]

Yeah. I think the biggest thing that like I wanted to do was everything that I did online was actually never promoting the work we did. There is not like one video of my guys ever finishing a job on my, on my social media ever. It was always about like the back end of running this and what it takes to run it. And then my like story and the way that I've like used a lot of like the way that I've spoken into what I did was all about that. To me, what I was running wasn't about the work, it was about the communication. That's the broken part of this industry. Right. Like there are so many guys who do amazing work and like do it every single day. But like the homeowner doesn't really. They obviously care if the work's great, but it actually, the broken side of it is all the systems that back it all up, getting companies that actually are going to call you after and be like, did you actually like, did you enjoy that? Was it great? Like, did you like the service? Like, or just people who answer their phones in general who are happy to talk to you. Because a lot of these trades guys who will answer their phone on the spot are also on the job at the same time.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And they're busy and the last thing they need is their phone ringing off the hook and they're doing admin in their trucks and whatever it might look like. And then if anything, like their customer service might not be at its best because like, I mean you're busy. Like it's not their job to like answer phones and stuff. But then when it is their job, they don't really want to do it. So then framing this whole company being around like, yeah, yeah, we do great work. Like that's a given. But we're here for the people. We have the systems in place, we have all the tech. We have like the communication is here. When you call, I will pick up my phone. Like that was the whole point.

[A]

I love that. And frankly like that is not being portrayed trade in the home service industry. Right. Like you're exactly right. Like you go to most of these guys pages, their Instagram page or whatnot. It's finished work. Yeah, right. Finished work and reviews. That's it.

[B]

Little like, like before and after.

[A]

Yeah, maybe a before and after. This is what it looked like. This is the work that was done. Mary said five stars. It was fantastic.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Versus. Yeah. Showing the actual pain points behind. I think that's, that's phenomenal. Like that, that the focus is on that. Because that's such more of like the emotional time. Yeah, right. Like all of our frustrations, at least mine is dealing with customer service. Yeah, right. Dealing with people that are just like ignorant in the way that they follow certain processes or whatnot. Like if you ever find me pissed off it's usually because like I'm like that, that is just a dumb customer service person that like is trying to exercise their authority for no apparent reason and just making me mad. I, I actually just went through this when I was travel from Hawaii with a TSA person. I was just like, oh my gosh. But anyways, yeah, it's so, so intriguing. So, so tell me this. I'm going to give you a scenario and I would love to hear the way that you would portray the story. Okay. So if you were running this person's personal profile, how you would go in and I'm going to give you a real, a real life scenario. Okay. So there's a guy named Rob. So he owns an electrical company called High Caliber, High Caliber Electric. Okay. He's based in Antioch, Illinois. Cool. It's freaking cold right now. Okay. He's got four vans on the road. Okay. So they're out. They're doing home service stuff for the electrical space. They do main panel upgrades, new wire runs, switch out different, you know, plugs and switches and light fixtures. Stuff like that. Yeah, sometimes battery, battery backup or whole home generators, that type of thing. Back office there is a, a CSR that answers the phones, a girl that sets the appointments, guy that runs the warehouse. They have a small little warehouse, you know, with supplies, 200 stars online reviews. And Rob is, has a live in girlfriend, no kids. He's been running the, he's been in this trade for six or seven years, been running the company just over a year and he's done a great job, built a nice local reputation. He's passionate about customer service and sales. He also understands the trade and knows how to go and like do the actual work.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Much of his day looks like training his team, going and interacting with customers, selling new jobs, making sure schedules. Schedules are full and jobs are efficient.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So what is. Understand. So that's the profile. What other, what other questions do you have about Rob? I can try to give you and. And then I would love to hear how you would portray that in a story.

[B]

I think I got it. Like, I feel like he, like if he's running this day to day and he has a team, he has people, people are out for him. He has vans, it's cold. There's all this stuff. Then I feel like if you start from what I see about a lot of people who do social media and are in the trade space is they talk a lot about the work that they do and like, like you said, like before and afters, the client results, all of that. But people are so curious about other people's lives and the way that their lives work. Is that if he documented his life behind the scenes. Like, I think one of like my best videos I ever did was how much money we made in a week. Which, like, sounds a little egotistical but like it was true. But there were some days hit zero and it's like Tuesday zero.

[A]

I watch that video.

[B]

Yeah. And it's like, it's like doing stuff like that or even like the stuff where there's one guy who does it really well who owns like a snow plow company in Ontario and he always makes videos about being like today. Like, these are the plows we're taking out. This is what we're going to do. How much we charge, how much we charge.

[A]

And like it's interesting.

[B]

People are so interested in that.

[A]

People are intrigued in that because like we had the junk teens on our previous and one of their best videos is like, like they literally have a tally of like how much they charge what they did. Yeah, I know your video. In fact, one of my best like comments ever is on one of your videos. I don't know if you knew this.

[B]

I don't know that.

[A]

Yeah. And it was like, you should have raised your prices so good. And I think I have a thousand. I remember that a few thousand likes on that. But yeah, yeah, okay.

[B]

So good.

[A]

Keep going.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. I would picture like imagine I could imagine just doing things where it's like you make videos. Being like, this is how you treat your team and you're not speaking from a place of authority. You're actually showing everything through action. Like one of my favorite things that I did was I don't actually feel like I have any authority to preach on. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to run a handyman company. I don't feel like I can. I feel like I can speak from my experience and my experience alone. But the best thing I could do was just show all of the action I was putting into the things that I was doing. Because that speaks louder than any story I could tell. Like speaking into being like. Like one of my favorite things is how we hired our guys and like getting. I didn't make a video about it but like, because I wasn't doing videos at that point. But it would have been so interesting to like make a video like being like interviewing the guys and like not filming them, but just filming me and the kind of questions I asked them and then just making videos. Being like, here are the five questions. Like not even framing it, being like, here are the five questions I'd ask trades guys because then you're putting yourself in authority but framing it, being like 22 year old girl interviewing 45 year old men.

[A]

These are the five questions that I asked these. 45 year old.

[B]

Yeah. And then being like, welcome to your interview, I'm your boss. And like, like because I'm young I can like joke about it. And being like I'm your boss, let's get into this interview because that's what I literally did with these guys. But in like this, in Rob's scenario, if he did a scenario that he was like, I can imagine like him going to site, going to homes with where the guys are working and being like, how long you been here? And he's like, oh, six hours. And it's like, okay, how much work have you done? Six hours. What does that work equate to like in like a monetary standard? Like what does that look like? And. Or just doing, I don't know, like documenting more about what you're doing and speaking less about what you're doing, I think is really strong.

[A]

What do you mean documenting more and speaking less?

[B]

Like showing all the actions of what you're doing. Not just like sitting, like we could sit here and I could tell you all about the handyman company but it's not that interesting to hear from my mouth. It's so much more interesting to Visually watch the story be told. I think like I do storytelling where I like actually will sit down and like tell a full story. But I also do a lot of storytelling where you just can get what's happening. Like there was a lot where I've done sales calls where I'm like calling back all the open estimates today. Let's see. And then I would make it a challenge and be like, how can I close $10,000 in three hours?

[A]

Speaking of which, I'd love to show a coup of your couple, your clips just right here.

[B]

Since the beginning of the year, I've had a secret goal to join this exclusive group which is only people under 30 who all own businesses and meet on a private island once a year. But I don't make enough money yet to join. But the next best thing just happened to me. When my dad told me about this group a year ago, I just knew like I wanted to be a part of it. I believe that so much success comes from your network and how valuable you are to your network. Two months ago I got stood up by the same person four times and it lost me $3,480. I'm gonna tell you about it while I also show you everything that's inside my work bag. Shall we? People keep telling me to let it go, but I just can't. So here's what happened. First off, shitty headphones covered in hair dye. Two months ago, a company booked my handyman job for a multi day job, My wallet. They've reached out weeks in advance that they needed some handyman on site, gave me all the dates they needed us. So I cleared our calendar, moved out their work and made sure my guys were available and ready. I'm a woman. Day one, all good. My handyman shows up, does the work and leaves. AI conversation recorder. I'm recording you. Day two, he gets ready to go back to site, but when he gets there, they say, oh, we don't need you today. Yeah, but things like that, just like, instead of just being like, oh, this is how I closed estimates today, blah blah, then I actually am like, I. My goal, like for example, it's just making all the boring things interesting. Everything we do every day is interesting to somebody if you frame it right. Because answering estimates is like cool. I have 40 emails to answer. Not that interesting. But the minute I'm like, every single one of these emails is like a certain dollar value. So how can I close $10,000 in four hours? That's so much more interesting. And then I'm like, Cool. Okay. Now the whole story is, how can I close $10,000 in four hours? And then I film myself calling all the estimates back. And then you hear people being like, great, let's book it.

[A]

And I'm like, oh, so let's talk about, like, camera angles, because I think you're pretty good at that. Like, how. What is, like, the logistics of that look like, because most of these guys don't have a full camera crew. They don't have, like, the ability to just, like, be on camera all day. Like, what. What pointers do you give to a guy like Rob?

[B]

The first thing I would say is just start filming with your phone. Like, like, without even trying to think through, like, camera angles or anything like that. Like, just start filming yourself.

[A]

What does that look like? Put it on a tripod.

[B]

I honestly, like, the biggest thing I do is I have my phone and always use my phone to film. I don't use anything else. And I'll do, like, the 0.5 mode on my phone just so it's a little bit wider, and then I'll just flip it backwards and film whatever I'm doing. I started doing that just to get comfortable filming myself and being on camera.

[A]

Always. You're always using the back camera.

[B]

Always using the back camera.

[A]

Back camera, 0.5. Get the wide, get the Y. I'm gonna put it. Prop it up on whatever you.

[B]

Sometimes I'll prop it up and, like, just film whatever I'm doing it. Just the whole thing of me starting social media just started with me filming everything that I was doing, and then I clipped it all together later and then usually, like, spoke over it, because that was, like, the most comfortable way I feel like I could create at the time. So. Voice, voiceover. And then eventually I ended up getting more into, like, filming myself and then speaking in the moment about the thing that I was doing. But I always feel like the things that you see every day, people don't see every day. So getting creative about the way that you show your environment. Like, the fact that I like, like, like getting a little more creative, that if. I don't know, if we're sitting here and the camera's right here in front of me, this angle is probably pretty, like, natural or normal to somebody else. But if I put the camera, like, on the ceiling and I was, like, looking up, being like, oh, hey. Like, it's so much more visually captivating because you wouldn't expect to see me from that angle, but you would expect to see me from this angle right here. So it's like just trying to frame it, editing this. Well, okay, it was me in the beginning, and then I ended up getting an editor because I would spend like four hours a night editing. Because there was a time that I was posting every single day. And then. So I'd like four hours.

[A]

Yeah, shoot me in the face.

[B]

It's a lot. It's a lot because I would work the whole day and then, you know, spend four hours editing. Like, falling asleep while I'm editing. And then eventually I got to a point where I was like, okay, like, I can so buy back all this time because I also will own I'm not even the best in editing. Like, someone can do this better than me. So now I have an editor and he. Now it's like half and half. Like, I'll cut things together and edit things together, but then he'll like, add on, like, all of the things on top. Like, I'll add. I'll cut all the clips together the way I want them cut together. Purely because I know, like, my personality or humor or like, random, like, while I'm filming, I'll like, think, like, I gotta keep that in. Like, I gotta keep that in. But I don't wanna add all the text, I don't want to add all the photos. So then he'll, like, go and clean everything up for me. Add music. He has a playlist I created that he can just pull songs from it.

[A]

So you only use the same songs over and over again?

[B]

Pretty much. But the playlist has like 2,000 songs.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

Yeah, it's basically like. Well, my goal wasn't to, like, use a bunch of, like, Instagram audios that are, like, viral or anything like that, but my goal was to create a playlist of all the music I actually just love. And then so as you follow me, like, even though you don't know it, like, you're listening to my playlist, like, that's what I would normally listen to. Because my goal wasn't really. It was just to figure out all the small things of how I can build a brand around me that people just start to know me really well. Versus, like, you can know I was running a handyman company, sure. But yesterday I posted that I was drinking an energy drink and I got so many people swiping up being like, no more black coffee. Why aren't you drinking black coffee anymore? And I'm like, it's crazy, guys. It's just one day. It's just one day. But it's insane because it was a Secret goal that I always had. Like, there are little things that I do that people don't know that I do, but I do it on purpose. Because there is one day a dream of mine that like isn't really a dream, but like is a dream is to own a coffee company at some point in my life. Who knows when that is? I just love coffee. Probably. Pardone. I don't know. And so I've, I'm like, I'm gonna post that I drink black coffee every day because one day a coffee company will come to me because I've posted about coffee so much in my life

[A]

and they're gonna say, hey, we want to do a brand deal.

[B]

Exactly. And I have a coff shipping me coffee as we speak because they were like, you drink so much black coffee. We would love for you to try our coffee. And I was like, so sick. Or I wear like chunky rings every day. Which is like, I love wearing them. But also you hope, you hope that one day someone's like, hey, what about this? I wear Converse every single day. And it's not like I'm doing it for the sake of like what it brings me, but it's actually just a really core part of who I am. And the more I showcase that, the more people actually will get to know me. And then they notice like, oh, you're a lot more dressed up today. Because usually every day I'm in a hoodie. Like every single day I'm pretty much in a hoodie. So it's like those little things, people just start to build patterns around, around who you are.

[A]

Love it. Yeah, Love it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So going back to Rob. So I thought about my guy Rob. No, you're good. You started talking about like some of the things maybe you would document with Rob. Like give me, give me one video right now that you would do for Rob start to end. How would you, you, how would you do it? How would you film it? What edits would you put in place?

[B]

The first thing, if it's for the electrical company.

[A]

Yep. Well, his main goal is he wants exposure about electrical company that potential customers that go in, they see Rob like, man, this is a guy that I like and I want to do business with him over the elect other. Because here's the thing that I do know in the trades, we are in a commodities based business. Right. There's not really a difference in wire. There's not a, there's not a difference in plugs, there's not a difference in lights fixtures, anything like that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So at the end of the day. Yeah. People are willing to pay more for people that they like.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. And obviously the experience and everything else, but the. The main thing that is a big separator in the space is if they see someone that they gravitate to.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So how. How are you going to pitch Rob in a light that is really going to make people love him but also want to get their electrical services.

[B]

Does Rob have kids?

[A]

Rob has no kids.

[B]

Okay. What? Has a wife.

[A]

Rob has a girlfriend.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I've been strongly encouraging him to get engaged.

[B]

There you go. Get engaged. Drop. The first thing that I would think of is that, like, sometimes when you speak about yourself, like, loves the Chicago Bears. Okay. Stunning. Sometimes when you. When you speak about yourself, it's a little hard to, like, Like, I don't know, like, I have a hard time, like, oh, like, owning, like, I don't know who I am or personality traits or, like, I'll always just be like, it's fine. Like, I don't know. But it's so much easier to hype somebody else up that I feel like if he filmed, like a day in his life of, like, being an electrician or running an electrician company, but had, like, his girlfriend, soon to be wife girlfriend, like, be the person who voiced over, but she doesn't know anything about electrical, could be really good for, like, couples. Like, people love watching, like, other people support each other. That I could imagine, like, he films

[A]

his day boyfriend, Rob.

[B]

Yeah. And then. Or like, I can imagine also, like, the text on the screen being something like, my day is an electrician from my girlfriend who doesn't know anything about being an electrician. And then she's like, damn, he's just like, messing around with the wires. I don't know. And then she's like, but look, lights work now. I mean, to be fair, you could totally storytell it, like, really well, but I could imagine, like, her voiceovering it. And then, like, it's just like, instead of Rob pitching himself to you about why you should be an electrician, it's actually her being like. I'm like, she also comes from the perspective of like. Like, if you're looking for that 20 female homeowner, she is the 20 female Homer home owner. And then she's speaking from her perspective. She's like, I don't know what electricians do, but they make that magic happen. The lights to go on my plugs work. It's great. So then her almost speaking into that, like, it's like, like, you're almost like making a joke out of the fact that she doesn't know what electricians do all day. But they do stuff and they make, they make good money. So I don't know that's the first thing that I would think of.

[A]

But, but no, I love it. I think such a unique. And that can apply to many more people besides Rob.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Like just, yeah, just such a, such a unique perspective. Like frankly it's not things that I think about and especially you know, at 22 years old, your generation is just so much better at the social media. Like so much better. Like I like to flaunt that like, hey, I'm 42 and a halfway, know what I'm talking about. But like, like, I mean you guys were raised on it. Yeah, like, I mean I was raised on freaking dial up Internet. When I was like 12 years old and like, you know, got, got my first smartphone when I was what that 2007. So I was, how old was I in 2000? 23. I was 20. I was 23 years old when I, when the iPhone first came out. But social media didn't exist for like another five years and like even then, you know, and so yeah, it's such a unique, such a unique perspective of like storytelling. What other advice would you, would you give around building that personal brand?

[B]

I would say like just it's so easy to look at other people and like think they have it. Like look at other people's content that does well and then be like, cool. I'm just gonna make content exactly like them. But I think the most valuable thing that you can own is personality. And like no matter how much you study someone else, you're never gonna graduate being them. So like you should just study yourself. Like if your content isn't working, figure out what wasn't working and what was working and then just like keep trying things like keep putting in those reps. I still don't feel like I've put enough reps into social media to even feel like I fully understand a lot of it. But I do feel like I understand a lot of myself and what audience I've built and what they want to see and, and like it's so easy to like think other people's content is like I need to make it like them, I need to make it like them. When like if you get creative and like making no one lives your life, like you just gotta be really creative in the life that you live. And so many of my friends do like the multi scene storytelling where they're Always, like, moving or different locations or always doing stuff like that. And that style, like, really blew up because some of them are. Honestly, they, like, they, like, really spearheaded that being a style of storytelling, and they're really insane at doing it. And then all these other people tried doing it and it didn't work the same. And it's like, yeah, because you're trying. You're studying being someone that you're never going to graduate being, because they're going to go and find new styles and new ways and new things, and then you're always going to feel like you're in a game of catch up. So I feel like it's like, just lean really hard into, like, what you know and what you want to do, but also just getting real. Like, if you. If we were on a podcast. Well, we are, but if we're on a podcast right now and I was making a video about being on a podcast with you, I wouldn't be like, like, huh, Like, Me and. Me and Chris are on a podcast. If anything, it would turn into being like one of those, like, stories where you're like, I don't even know how I got here. Like, how did I end up getting interviewed by you? That's insane. Or even making a joke, being like, this guy has the top, like, comment on my story and like. Or being like, this guy guy six months ago told me to up my prices because blah, blah, blah. And then you turn it into a much bigger story than what it actually is.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I love that. Jade, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. It's going to be extremely valuable to all of our listeners.

[B]

Love it.

[A]

Having you on.

[B]

Thank you for having me.