The Primal Video Leadership Journey

Justin Brown

“We’re not selling. We’re just coming from that place of adding value and the right people will want to take that next step.”

Justin Brown

 

Justin Brown is a beach geek who, along with his brother Mike, founded Primal Video; a seven-figure automation-driven business, with over one million YouTube subscribers. They teach entrepreneurs and business owners how to leverage the power of online video to build and scale their businesses.

Justin, who regularly has to deal with a case of mistaken identity, as people wrongly believe he is Chris Martin, has spent more than 20 years in video production. He has worked on everything from Netflix feature documentaries to music videos and extreme sports projects and assures us that no one wants to hear him sing!

 

Primal Video

Before Primal Video Justin was working on a documentary project where he got to fly around the world. He interviewed top people in online digital marketing who built businesses around helping people. This is what inspired Justin and Mike to start their YouTube channel.

During the first few years they really had no idea what they were doing. There was a lot of trying, testing, failing and learning. Then they started getting comments from viewers thanking them for their help in creating their first video. A light bulb moment for Justin was when they received feedback from a viewer who was raising awareness for autistic children. He then realised that this was not about them and started to have a look at what made a successful YouTube video. One that people stuck around and watched.

Seven years on and everything is now a system and the clear focus for Primal Video is to teach people how to create effective videos, build a real business and monetize everything off the back of it, so that the content has more impact. 

The YouTube channel might be the face of their business, but it is not their actual business.

Have you read: Why Have 500 Lunches with Strangers? – Nick Bendel

 

Social Media

The front of Primal Video is the YouTube channel but the goal, besides showing up and helping people, is to grow the business email list. Where people are signing up to direct communication because they want to hear more without an algorithm or filtering. This way if something happens to their YouTube channel, their business isn’t done. Sure, they would feel it, but it is not over because they have established a direct line of communication.

For Primal Video, all roads are pointed to YouTube. Yes, they are growing a Facebook page, but the only thing they post is links to the YouTube videos. They have also ramped up their Instagram but ultimately, they only play in the places they like to go. It is way simpler and easier to focus on one.

Have you read: How to Communicate and Be Heard – Amber Daines

 

Recruitment

Justin and Mike are straight shooters. They are building a team that not only works with integrity but are prepared to take responsibility and 100% ownership of tasks.

A lot of time has been invested in working out how they can communicate effectively with each other, which has required a bit of soul-searching and understanding of the different personality profile types. They have extended this into their recruitment process to gain some insight into how each person thinks. 

They hire through the mailroom strategy and ask random questions such as “If you had a billion dollars, what would you do with it?” 

The objective is for their team to enjoy their work and have flexibility in their day, but when they are working, they are focused and kicking goals.

Primal Video, which began by using the rock-paper-scissors decision making tool, is the perfect example of a business who has leveraged the power of online video to build and scale their business.

The complete interview of the Primal Video leadership journey can be listened to here, on audio platforms, or watched here, on The Culture of Leadership (TCoT) YouTube channel.

 

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