Welcome to the new era of this page, and honestly, me, Dan Kathman. No more splitting myself across 10 different accounts trying to “make sense” to the algorithm and people I don’t really care about. This is the personal blog now. Business. Life. Love. Studio build. Creative stuff. Funny stuff. Educational content. Talks. Advice. Big ideas. Failures. Wins. Random thoughts in the car. All of it. But mostly, all of me and stuff I make in one place. A flood of content is coming. Get ready to unfollow me or love me forever. 😂
Ironically, this isn’t really the “smart” business move. Niches and niche content usually grow accounts and businesses faster online. But if you want to build a real personal brand, people can’t just like one video, they have to like you. A video can’t just go viral. Been there, done that multiple times. You have to “go viral.” The person. The story. The weirdness. The whole thing. Seth Godin called it being a “Purple Cow.” Memorable. Different. Hard to ignore. We buy The Rock’s Under Armour gear, his tequila, watch his movies, follow him online, not because he makes one specific type of video, but because people buy into him. That’s true for almost every massive personal brand online now.
Of course, I’m hoping this helps grow my business too, like building a well known and successful personal brand has done for so many people. But all of this, being fully you, and if you’re me that seems to be a lot sometimes, comes with criticism. Good. Seek it. Standing out is the point. Be a purple cow. Most of the greats are anyway, and you probably won’t put a dent in the internet unless you are.
So this is me officially done hiding parts of myself just to be easier to explain. Welcome to the show. And if you wanna hate, go ahead, but this year marks 30 years that I’ve been making videos, well before you could put them online. So if your goal is to get me to stop, there’s not a shot in hell. ✌🏼
We had our 3 year anniversary, I made a collage of photo prints from our engagement as a gift with 3 dozen roses, we went out to a fancy dinner, had our last alcoholic beverage for a while (we’re going sober… we think), the studio renovation is coming along great. We’re almost done with the 900 sqft studio shooting space before paint, and getting closer to installing doors, paint, and floors for the 800 sqft office/shoot area up front. Karen saw the progress for the first time since we demoed a room and did a ton to get the studio almost ready for paint. We went to the beach and Karen made crabs cakes! We did a scratch off movie and thought it was Iron Man, but it was The Dark Knight. Karen’s never seen it and got really into it. Took Karen to the premium outlets in Tampa to get work clothes, went to Texas Roadhouse to feel like we were back in Texas and have a good lunch, and then we decided to go sober and dump out and store the rest of the alcohol. It’s a health thing, a productivity thing, a better yourself thing, it’s a safety thing with going out and driving, it’s a savings thing. We’ve got a wedding and a studio to build, and it just feels like the right time. So that’s about it for yesterday. Haha… the past week.
End of Day 68 building my dream studio was a big one.
I realize you guys really haven’t seen much of the process yet, but that’s about to change. Here’s a little peek before I start sharing everything from the beginning.
I’ve changed a lot, and also very little.
This was 2009, the year after I started what would become @kathmanstudios . I was helping a friend, who later passed away, shoot a funny video for a party. That dumb DVD is still something a lot of us remember him by.
The photo below is from this weekend. Shooting a video featuring a local business as my way of giving back, because I can & I know how much small businesses need attention & support online.
Sure, there’s always a side of me that’s looking to market too, but hey, you’re talking to the guy who sold candy out of his backpack & made videos with his friends since he was 7. I’ve had a camera in my hand for 30 years now! Wow! I was born to be a creative entrepreneur. I don’t think there was ever really a backup plan.
And honestly, in many ways, I’ve changed. But in the good ways, I’ve stayed exactly the same.
I’m still shooting videos. Still building businesses. Still the guy you can talk to. Still surprisingly funny, and I mean surprisingly because I was never the class clown.
I still believe in God and go to church. I’m still allergic to dairy, before it was cool. I still haven’t said anything behind someone’s back that I wouldn’t say to their face.
I still surprise people that I’m not quite the golden retriever I seem to be in life, and a little more wolf in business. I can be hard-headed sometimes. Blunt. Passionate about the work. I care deeply about making things great & sometimes that intensity rubs people the wrong way.
But it’s never about ego. It’s always about the project.
I’ve sucked too. I’ve failed too. I still doubt myself sometimes. But those feelings fade when you’re doing the work. You remember who you are.
And I still am me.
I restarted this business into what it is today in 2016, so almost 10 years ago now. People say it takes 10 years to really build something meaningful, and honestly, I feel like things are finally starting to shift.
We just got our own studio that we’re renovating now. Business is better than it’s ever been. Big plans for socials. Very excited & grateful.
I just hope this inspires someone to never forget who they really are.
You’re a badass.
Don’t forget it.
