Success Story: Multipreneur and Filmmaker

Back in January, we challenged doers like you to make 2018 about actually doing more, and not about just promising ourselves more. The Year of Do is about championing the entrepreneur in us all and enabling our global community to do more. We committed to holding ourselves accountable by launching an initiative asking doers like you to share your goals for the chance to win $500 in Fiverr credit.

Meet Mike Madigan: Vice President of M-1 Studios, filmmaker at Five Clover Films, and the first winner of our Year Of Do contest! Fresh off a trip to Sundance, he's going to use his Fiverr credit to debut a film at the Detroit Shetown Women's Film Festival. Learn a bit more about Mike and what makes him tick in the post below—and then share what you’re going to do in 2018 for the chance to win $500 in Fiverr credit.

Tell us a little about yourself. Who you are, where you’re from, and how you started your business.

I’m Mike Madigan, VP of M-1 Studios LLC in Ferndale, Michigan. We specialize in creating and editing video content for businesses and organizations around the United States. We first started back in January 2008 which was one of the worst times to start a business during the recession. But we persevered, and now get to celebrate 10 years in business!

My side hustle, however, is filmmaking. I began by directing the short film "Caught" (2006), which screened at 11 film festivals in the US and began my ongoing interest in the digital short film format. I followed that up with dramatic shorts "The Candle", "Demeter," and the follow-up hit "Demeter: Surrender" starring Rio Scafone—the trailer for which has  700,000+ YouTube views to date!

I also served as the Detroit Producer of the internationally-known 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP), from 2010 to 2015, bringing filmmakers together in the city of Detroit, with both the main filmmaking competition, as well as the 48HFP Horror (2013-2014) and 48HFP Sci-Fi Projects (2015).

I also received advanced screenwriter training at the famous Detroit Film Center (DFC), in collaboration with The D-Town Screenwriters Group.

Tell us about your business. What inspired you to start it—and what are your goals for the future?

We initially saw a need for developing creative video content for businesses in areas that weren't being served, for example, extended iMercial overview videos and training content. Once we focused on these markets, things really took off in terms of our success related to video solutions that are effective and economical.  

How do you use Fiverr to make your business ideas a reality? Any favorite sellers you like to work with?

We use Fiverr for numerous voice over talents because there is such great variety available. Additionally, we use different translation services based on client needs.

What would you tell someone planning to launch a small business?

Marcus Lemonis on The Profit says it’s all about product, process, and people. At the beginning of a business journey, it’s usually just yourself, so the "people" part comes later. But instead of just "product," I think that figuring out how you're truly going to master customer service in whatever you do is the first step toward starting a successful business.

What motivates you as an entrepreneur? Why do you do what you do?

Creating successful, value-added content for our clients as well as developing and fostering a creative environment for our employees, while creating new job opportunities, motives us on a daily basis.

How are you going to use your Year of Do credit to help build your business?

Five Clover Films is excited to develop and create the Detroit Shetown Film Festival 2018 with help from our Fiverr credit winnings. Our film festival's emphasis is on female-driven independent cinema and video in performances, stories, and key filmmaking production positions.

With Fiverr's Do Year's resolution, we hope to utilize creatives to help us in promotional poster content development, as well as recording voice over samples for using in promotional trailers for the film festival. It's interesting to be working full time in the video production realm while at the same time creating a new event that the area hasn't had before up until now- but that's part of the fun of the creative process, one side feeds the other and when it all comes together it can be very fulfilling indeed!

Thanks to Fiverr for seeing the merits in what we're trying to accomplish here in the Detroit, Michigan region that we hope will be the first of many additional years of the film festival!

‍What are you going to accomplish this year? Tell us in the comments below!