← The Futur with Chris Do
The Futur with Chris Do
317 - The Realities of Content Creation Across Continents - With Bea Chu
00:21:39
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- [00:00]
Chris Do
We're here at the Indigo Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, and whenever our creator's in town and we have an opportunity to create content, we try and grab it. So here we are. Thank you for jumping on the show and agreeing to do this. I have a lot of questions for you, but for people who don't know who you are, can you please introduce yourself?
- [00:37]
Bea Chu
Yeah. Thank you for having me. First off. And hi, I'm BEI Chu, and I create content around cinematography, audio and tech, pretty much. And the creator economy.
- [00:48]
Chris Do
As we discussed at the pizza place earlier today, your LinkedIn profile needs some updating, but you've worn many hats before. A lot of slashes in your history. Tell us a little bit of some of those slashes. You're a serial slasher.
- [01:00]
Bea Chu
Right. Like I said, you know what? I have not gone in and fixed my LinkedIn, but I did theater before, and then I did sound engineering, which is really ironic because I took up music production, but then I never touched the board because I just didn't want the responsibility of being in charge of if. Whether or not people will be heard. So there was that, but feel like in some way it contributed to where I am now.
- [01:31]
Chris Do
Okay, so we know that there's some acting in theater, some desire to perform, and then some technical stuff with sound engineering. And that's a very technical thing to do, right?
- [01:40]
Bea Chu
Yeah.
- [01:41]
Chris Do
But then we also learned that although you might have enjoyed it, you don't want that burden, the responsibility of everything hinging on your ability to do this.
- [01:48]
Bea Chu
Yep. Right.
- [01:49]
Chris Do
And so today, in case people don't know you, you have a strong following on Facebook, on TikTok, on Insta.
- [01:56]
Bea Chu
Yep.
- [01:56]
Chris Do
And somewhere in a couple hundred thousand. Okay. The thing I want to talk to you about is because I haven't met too many creators who are doing this thing, like, full time, as that's like their main source of income. So I'd like to learn a lot from you about what you see. The differences are from being a creator from the Philippines vs the Creator in the United States.
- [02:17]
Bea Chu
Yeah. So I feel like it's hard for people in the Philippines to do or be a creator full time. Mainly because in the Philippines, people don't really get paid as much, or at least we're not bold enough to charge higher and being able to come here to the United States. I've met a lot of creators who it's like baseline for them to charge like $3,000 and above for one reel, of course, depending on the following. But even so, it's. I'm Realizing that there's such a big gap between creators from the Philippines and creators here in the US when you.
- [02:57]
Chris Do
Say creating a reel, is this a brand sponsor deal, is that what you're talking about?
- [03:01]
Bea Chu
Yes.
- [03:01]
Chris Do
So for people who don't know, explain what a brand sponsored deal might look like. A typical thing, you don't have to name any names.
- [03:07]
Bea Chu
Yeah. So a brand sponsorship could be like two different things. It could be like a feature, a review. Right. So a brand would reach out to you to either feature their product or talk about their services. And then they pay you to have a spot in your content. Either that or they pay you for one dedicated content for them.
- [03:26]
Chris Do
Okay.
- [03:26]
Bea Chu
Yeah.
- [03:27]
Chris Do
So what are the conditions in which you would accept a brand deal?
- [03:31]
Bea Chu
Personally, for me, it would be. It has to be a brand that I definitely trust better. If it's a brand that I already am associated with or I like, it's a product that I use and it's something that I believe in. That's super important for me. It has to also be in line with what I do. So in the cinematography and audio and tech aspect. So those are like the non negotiables for me in terms of accepting a brand deal.
- [03:58]
Chris Do
Okay. And why is that important?
- [04:01]
Bea Chu
That's important for me because if the brand does not meet those, for me, I think it's really hard to be able to stick to like or uphold like my integrity as a creator. And it's super important for me to know that I'm being honest with my audience. And it's hard for me to fake that if it's a brand that I have not used, if it's a brand that I haven't worked with, or like I don't believe in.
- [04:28]
Chris Do
So that sounds like it's a question of integrity and authenticity.
- [04:31]
Bea Chu
Yeah.
- [04:31]
Chris Do
Right. So it means like I can fully endorse this because I currently use and love it and have given them tons of my money.
- [04:38]
Bea Chu
Yeah.
- [04:38]
Chris Do
And so it's. Now a little money is going the other direction.
- [04:41]
Bea Chu
Yeah.
- [04:41]
Chris Do
Whereas something that you're not familiar with that you don't know who's behind that, if you attach yourself to that, you feel a little funny. I'm putting words in your mouth here by just going to your audience and saying, I love this, this is great.
- [04:51]
Bea Chu
Yeah, yeah.
- [04:52]
Chris Do
And if it blows up, that's kind of the end of your reputation, right?
- [04:55]
Bea Chu
Yeah.
- [04:55]
Chris Do
So it's very important. You only have one reputation. You need to protect it.
- [04:58]
Bea Chu
Yes.
- [04:59]
Chris Do
And as we were talking about before, there are differences between say a creator in the United States and then somebody in the Philippines. What kind of price points are you seeing? And also how are they speaking to creators differently from the brand pov, Right.
- [05:14]
Bea Chu
So this is from talking to a lot of creator friends in the Philippines and being able to interact with creators here in the US So one of the things that we, that I know that locally we run into is that brands, I think, still don't understand how to work with creators, at least in the Philippines. It's like we pay you, so you have to say the things that we want you to say. Right. And we know that that just doesn't work anymore online because the reason why brands want to work with creators is because we know our audience and it's because of our creative direction as well as our integrity. And then, yeah, just all that. When it comes to brands in the Philippines, not only do they demand or a lot of them demand that these are the things like the talking points. It still sounds like a commercial. We're still pushing people to buy stuff. Right. That's still like the focus. And the rate, on the other hand, is pretty low. So I'm going to throw out numbers here. I know there are some creators who are charging like 5,000 pesos. Pesos.
- [06:26]
Chris Do
And that's like, oh, pesos. Oh my gosh.
- [06:27]
Bea Chu
Yeah. And that's. What is it, like $100?
- [06:30]
Chris Do
I don't know, but it's terrible for like a video.
- [06:32]
Bea Chu
Yeah, yeah, like $100 for a video. And it ranges from like 5,000 because they think it's UGC. So, you know, I'll just like give you a free thing. Some of them don't even pay. It's frustrating when I meet creators who I ask about, like their rates, especially when I know that they put out really great content, because I'm like, dude, you can charge more because you deserve to be able to have like autonomy over your content, but at the same time be recognized for the skill that you put out and the work that you put into, well, your content. And here in the US I know like people charge like a baseline of $3,000 for one reel or like one piece of content is actually low. And it's like an average of 3,000 to 5,000. And this is like, we're not even talking about hundred thousand followers. This is like 10k followers. And so the higher you go, of course that means you have more engagement, more reach, more influence. And then they charge upwards of like US$10,000 for one video. And so just it's so it's so far, it's so frustrating. And the pain point, and this is something that we were talking about earlier, is that when I was starting out, people don't really talk about how much they're charging. And so my belief is that if we don't talk about it, then people don't know how much they can really charge. And then so everybody just charges whatever they think that people are going to say yes to. And now there's like the gap just never closes. And we don't get better from that.
- [08:18]
Chris Do
Yeah. So on the low end, for $100 for a piece of content to what you're talking about $10,000, that is 100 to 1 ratio. That's not 10 to 1, because that'd be 1,000 to 1. I'm not going to say, but I'd be embarrassed to tell you what I charge because it's going to just make your head smelt. So my 10,000, you can't get me on the phone for 10,000. Forget about that. So we talk about there's two sides to every equation. The side of the buyer and the side of the seller. We can't control the side of the buyer.
- [08:45]
Bea Chu
Yeah.
- [08:46]
Chris Do
We can barely control our own side. So what do people need to do in developing market? I don't want to say third world. I think that's offensive. Maybe a developing country or a second market. What should they be doing? Let's talk about psychology first. And then what are the practical things they can do?
- [09:03]
Bea Chu
Right. So I guess on the point of psychology, it really has to go back to something I learned from you, which is, was that like the scarcity mindset versus the abundance mindset. And it's, it's first getting past the fear that there's not enough out there. Like, it's just the fear. Right. That was one of the things that really helped me because from being super scared of throwing out a number that I think I deserved, that a brand might like, skip on because it might be too expensive, to realizing that, oh, it's okay, because if a brand really wants to work with you, they will. And if it's something that they can't afford right now, they'll come back to you with, like a counteroffer at the very least, because that shows you that they really want to work with you and then at least now you can have like a conversation. So I feel like psychologically that the change of mindset. There you go.
- [10:05]
Chris Do
Okay, so the scarcity mindset. I think there's some assumptions. The first thing is that there are only finite things Available, finite jobs, finite opportunities, and finite people or connections or parties to go to. But if you start to live in the, in the world of an abundance mindset, then you think there are infinite opportunities, that although this person might say no, another person will say yes. So through the lens of the, of a scarcity mindset, they are afraid of saying something that might be rejected because they think that's the last time somebody will ask me ever again and no one else will ever ask me and no opportunities will come true. We know that that's objectively untrue, but this is what we live with as opposed to people who are like, oh, not good fit for me right now. Come back when you have more money or I'll continue to do my thing until someone else sees the same value. Now, this is pervasive, persistent, and it's something that's very hard to unbundle in somebody's mind. How have you been able to overcome this yourself?
- [11:05]
Bea Chu
It took a lot of realizing that I don't need to say yes to everything that lands on my lap because I did that for the whole 20, 21, and I burnt out. And then I realized that through that fear of, okay, I really don't want to do this because it's not worth it for this amount of money. So this is the amount of money that I'm going to throw at you for it to be worth my time. And then I was crapping my pants, but then I got the yes. And then I realized that, oh, right. So that was like my interaction with one brand and that's kind of started the ball rolling. And then the next interaction that gave me kind of more confidence to stick with my rate at that time. And it's different interactions with brands, wherein there are some brands that just ghost you after you put out like a number, and then there are some brands that actually come back with a counter offer. And that's how I gradually learned that, oh, if they really wanted to work with you, they'll put in the effort.
- [12:10]
Chris Do
I believe that if somebody really wants to work with you, price is not a problem. You will come to a point and you can negotiate. You can say, what if we send you $10,000 worth for our product plus the amount of money you were talking about, but we can't do it all in cash or how we split the payment apart, or, where's the compromise here? And I compromise all the time. I know people on the Internet like you never compromise. I compromise because I get a feel for the person and their willingness to work with me. And it's a mutual thing. So you'll compromise a little bit. And they're like, well, we can come up a little bit and let me make some phone calls. We'll make this happen. And I think that's the thing that starts to change the game. I think we all kind of exist in this baseline of what we think we can get. And you can get pulled into one of two directions. So there's one of two ways you can handle this. Everybody. There's something that I refer to as the vicious cycle, and that's going to push you lower and lower. So you say, okay, if I charge $500 for this, they'll say no. So you pre negotiate with yourself. You say, I'll charge $400, and they say yes. So the game in your mind is like, if I ask for less, they'll always say yes, but that's going to go one direction only. Yeah. As opposed to you, when you said, oh, I'll ask for a little bit more, they'll probably say no. But what if they say yes? And lo and behold, they say yes. So then the new narrative dialogue in your mind is, what else can I ask for? And you just. And that begins the second of the two models, which is the virtuous model, which builds you up. So we all start at a baseline. You have to ask yourself, do I see a future where it's going to go lower and lower, or do I see a future for myself where it goes higher and higher? We need to shift that logically. I think everybody understands this. We can draw, we can nod, and everything's great. But there's this emotional component that holds people back. So what I would love for you to look right in that camera and speak to those people directly, pour into their heart, appeal to their emotions. What do they need to do to start changing this game? Because if the entire industry is lifted up, it becomes easier for people like you and me to ask for what we want and not have such a big gap, like, oh, I can hire 100,000 other people to do this for this amount. No, you can't, because they don't exist anymore. So go ahead and lay it on like you're running for president of the Philippines. You got this. Give us your best pitch, please.
- [14:16]
Bea Chu
The amount of work that you put into your content deserves to be recognized regardless of where you are and regardless of how much following or influence you have. That's like the baseline. Because the amount of work that you put in, that's not going to go away. And even if you're in the Philippines or if you're in the U.S. you do the same amount of work. And so that needs to be where you build the foundation of what you think is worth your time and what your work is worth, and then add onto it in terms of distribution and influence. And as you grow, that should also grow. And it's also important to know that if people want to work with you, if people want to be around you, they will also put in the effort to do so. It can't be a one way street. It's just like friends. You try to have like a conversation with somebody and then they don't respond. Like, you can't really make something out of that. Right. So it has to be a two way street. And, oh, one thing I realized is that if you lowball yourself, let's say you charge like $500 and it's not worth your time, and Everybody else charges $500. There's a lot of people there. Yeah. That might say yes to $500. But then you'll realize that when you say, no, my rate is at $3,000. Yeah, you do lose a lot of, like, in terms of quantity. But then the quality of people who will actually say yes to $3,000 and who will say yes to working with you, it's significantly smaller. But then you'll realize that you only need to close one instead of, I'm really bad at math. But then instead of x amount of $500. Right. So you not only save your time, your effort, but it's surprisingly so much easier to talk to people who are willing to pay you $3,000 than $500. And that's because they trust you, and that's because they trust in what you do. And it just gets better as you go higher.
- [16:31]
Chris Do
Okay, so Mayo for President, anybody? Okay, I'm gonna wrap up the episode. I know it's a super short episode. I'm gonna say these three things for you to hear. So if the first wave of messages that came from Bayo didn't hit you, maybe the second wave will. Number one is when you were in high school or something, there was always a guy or girl who was like, very popular, and no one could get near, and they became more popular because no one could get near. And then let's just say, like, at least in America, there's a term like, they were easy. And I don't. You can infer whatever you want from that. And they're not respected. They're just like, oh, you don't have to work too hard to get that person. And the thing is, you got to ask yourself, am I going to be the person that's held in esteem with integrity, or am I going to be the easy one to do a deal with? I don't think you want to be easy. Number two is you're a creator. You put all your heart and soul into this because you love creativity and it's not for the pursuit of money. But here's the plot twist on this. You should only want to do a brand deal that inspires you, that fills you with joy. And the way I know how to get that is give me the money. Give me the money so I can be really excited. Oh, you want to change it to red? Happy to. Oh, should we bring in more? And we can then pour into it versus feeling like we didn't get paid enough and being resentful about it and then putting that energy into the work. It's bad for you, it's bad for them, it's bad for your audience. It's just bad all around. We need to do this. The last thing I want to ask you this, and it's a serious but silly question, which is where is the Internet? Does the Internet exist in a certain place or is the Internet everywhere? So to think geographically, I'm here, but I'm on the Internet. But I can only charge prices from where I'm at is silly because you don't understand how the Internet works. The reason why they found you is because this thing called the Internet, that means we're all connected. It's like a global family. And so stop thinking like, because I'm here, I can only charge this and change your life and hopefully ride the virtual cycle with us.
- [18:21]
Rich Cardona
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- [19:25]
Chris Do
Beo where are you headed off to next and what excites you as quickly as you can?
- [19:29]
Bea Chu
Yeah, so I'm going to New York next and I'm really excited because there's going to be an event, a creator event that I'll be attending. It's called Story Jam. And then after that I'm heading to Dallas for a vid summit and I am so stoked to meet more creators there.
- [19:42]
Chris Do
And if people want to work with you, what is it that you can help them with?
- [19:45]
Bea Chu
People want to work with me, I can help them with the production side cinematography and stuff, the technical aspect of it. But also I'm a big geek when it comes to like analytics. So understanding the types of content that would make your content like your your account better as well as you as a creator, understand your niche better and be able to put out your own type of content that will make you grow.
- [20:11]
Chris Do
And where can I find some of this information?
- [20:14]
Bea Chu
You can find this on any of my accounts. A true TV, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, growing my YouTube now. And you can also email me at workwithchu mail.com work with Chew hey, it.
- [20:28]
Chris Do
Was a pleasure talking to Chu.
- [20:30]
Bea Chu
My pleasure.
- [20:30]
Chris Do
Thanks for doing this. All right, sorry to cut it so short. I want to give one more prompt here to our audience. I was going to geek out on comic book nerdy stuff and creator stuff and some of the backstories you want to hear. So if you want to hear that and watch that episode, comment the word nerd N E R D and we'll do another call or conversation with Bea. Thank you very much.
- [20:55]
Adam Sanborn
Thanks for joining us. If you haven't already, subscribe to our show on your favorite podcasting app and get new insightful episodes from us every week. The Future Podcast is hosted by Chris do and produced and edited by Rich Cardona Media. Thank you to Adam Sanborn for our intro music. If you enjoyed this episode, then do us a favor by reviewing and rating our show on Apple Podcasts. It will help us grow the show and make future episodes that much better. If you'd like to support the show and invest in yourself while you're at it, visit the Future Document. Com and you'll find video courses, digital products, and a bunch of helpful resources about design and the creative business. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time.