Dennis Abad, or Shoden as he is known online, is a visual storyteller who understands how video marketing can help companies increase their traffic, boost engagement, and raise brand awareness.

He transitioned from a corporate job into offline freelancing as a documentary and corporate filmmaker, and now transitioning into online freelancing as a video marketer. While he lived in the cubicle world and had different hats, he is thankful for the skills he acquired along the way.

He is now also a co-founder of the SHOOT! Practical Videography School and he loves pizza, beer, coffee, reading, and great conversations. (but not all at once, haha)

In this inspiring story of #JasSuccess interview with Shoden we tackled a lot including;

✅ A work at home dad's freelancing journey
✅ The benefits of freelancing to a full-time Dad
✅ Some proven tips on how to succeed online

and much much more...

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Notable Quotes

• Like Steve Jobs always say, connect the dots, moving forward  you’re not really sure what’s gonna happen with your life, I think one of your guests before, also mentioned it, the guy who has a 400k project manager, also a Cebuano, he is very inspirational, so all along, he didn’t know that all of his skills would tie up to make him the person who owns a BPO he has today. So, essentially, I think it’s true for all of us.
• If you want to become your own business, really you have to pick up a bit of piece of this year, develop a skill set here, like people skills, management, also being more organized which is something that I am really not right. You’re forced to do it when you’re in the job.
• Because you’re young, you have this arrogance in yourself that you can tell kaya ko naman yan eh. I was really like full of myself, full of it. And then, I realized when I did the wedding of my friend, Oh My God! I didn’t know what I’m doing!
• I thought dati, it was the best that was there. At first, that’s when you get to expand your horizon. You realize that you’re not really that good. But you have a chance to level up really. That’s what you really want to do. So, whatever field you’re in, freelancing or videography, you surround yourself with people who are way better than yourself so that you’re gonna level up yourself. Sabi nga nila, rising tides rise all boats. You really have to raise your bar.
• The thing is if you really have your skin in the game, you're really pushing yourself. So, even if you’re not really that skilled yet, and you have to admit that guys. As I learned na, I have to learn pa talaga, I decided to make it work kasi, lugi tapos I would disappoint not just my friends and everyone else, but syempre, at least I tried something,  I give it my all, I wouldn’t  be able to say na, "Sana If I just tried myself pa." As you realized that you had a lot to lose, it would really spur you to do your best, just because you’re really in it na, you’re in the game na.
• Just realize that at first, you’re gonna suck! Ganun talaga, you’re really gonna suck, everybody says that that’s the thing in the industry. You should rejoice that you’re moving forward, you realize that in yourself na, you’re gonna try to do better next day, and then do it a little suckier the next day.
• I would love to do it as a project and advocacy, help other people see or change how to effect on their behavior kasi ganun yung magic ng movie, or this video, you have the ability to impart feelings on your audience using an inanimate object na nandyan lang naman. If you’re able to pass thru the camera with your feelings and impart it to your audience, you dig something special.

Dennis Abad’s Journey to Freelancing

• He worked in different companies, from being a call center agent to Accounts Payable Staff in a big company.
• He recently working with the popular internet marketers like Jon Orana, Allan Ngo, and John Pagulayan.
• During college, his favorite part-time job was making video editing for people’s projects and presentations.
• Most of his gigs during earlier times were for free. He made it for friends’ birthdays, and weddings. There, he realized he had so much to learn.  
• In 2010, he decided to invest in himself to upgrade his skills, he went to Singapore to enroll in a videography school.
• When he started owning a camera while working in Sunpower Phils., he went on weekend gigs, where he gets paid as a freelancer. That was the time when he really was into the offline freelancing thing.
• He finally left the corporate world in 2012 to do full-time video freelancing.
• His knowledge of German language became his USP to penetrate the European clients, and in 2013, he got the 7 figure contract from a German NGO.
• In 2014, he and his friend and mentor EJ Mijares set up the Shoot Practical Videography School to teach aspiring videographers how to do video editing and shooting the right way.
• His introduction to online freelancing came about when he needed to learn how to set up the website, do email marketing, all the sequences in email marketing. He got to know people that help him along the way in his own journey to become a better businessman and to get their school online.

Q & A HIGHLIGHTS

As a premier video freelancer when it comes to video and video marketing, any popular one that you can share with us?

Ah, well if you know John Pagulayan, then you probably saw some of my videos. I can actually mention some of the internet marketers I am working with like, Jon Orana, he is also a mentor of mine, and I’m currently working with Allan Ngo as well because this is our world of freelancers. This is the domain where I like to work now, but previously I’ve had documentary work in corporate films, so a lot of them typically don’t get publicly credited to my name, but it’s ok because it’s always in NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) with me.

How you got started, you know you come from a corporate world, you had some experience there, what were you doing before freelancing? How you transition to what you are doing today?

My first job right after college was in a BPO, so I was a Technical Agent Support for Convergys for the Bell South account. I used to have a fake Texas accent, I would be doing callbacks for Hurricane Katrina victims.

I also took up European languages in a University.

After 2 years in Convergys, I got into an account inside of the Emerson process management which gave me the opportunity to practice my German again. So I got to work in Europe for a few months. That was the routine for the next 3 years.

So, after that, I felt that I would want to try the solar industry, so I actually transferred to Sunpower Phils. I work as a Solar Advisor. I was also working at the German language, so I was the administrator for the offices in Germany when you wanted to set up a solar panel on your warehouse, on your roof, these are all really day jobs in effect.

So even if you get to travel the thing that people don’t realize is that you’re in Europe but you’re in an office 8-5. You know, I’m really thankful for the opportunity to travel and stuff like that, that’s what people don’t realize because you know, you’re there to work, you’re not really there for a vacation. So, that’s the difference.

After that, I went into the IT hotel industry. I worked for Docomo NTT, German support as well.

And after that, my last corporate job was Shell Phils. So, I was working for the Accounts Payable department.

So, these are really, if you think about it, it’s a really a sort of unrelated things. It’s a mismatch of  IT, Engineering,  and customer support, and logistics.

All of these jobs have nothing to do with the video.  But at this time, were you interested in video?

The funny thing is now that you mention it, now that you're giving me perspective on how am I supposed to tell my story, it’s the fact that before I went to my first job, there’s a sort of a first love that happened before you get the job. You get exposed to certain elements that you really desire to work in.

So, in college to support myself, one of my favorite part-time jobs was to edit videos for people with projects. So that’s where the link comes in. So I really, I couldn’t afford a camera back then. And then back then we have a Bootleg, Happies, Photoshop, you know, Adobe, all of those things. You could never afford any of those things if you are a college kid.

I used to work with a lot of graphics, and then transition into video editing first before I actually got into video shooting. It’s only recently that DSLRs become more manageable in price.

So, that was when I actually went to Europe, I was able to finally save up some money, see the sites, sayang yung tourist spot if you don’t take photos or videos of them.You know I was traveling to several places and then, people started noticing, and at one point somebody actually asked me for my rates.

So, you bought your first SLR, and then you did some weekend shoots. Is this how you started doing gigs with your friends?

That started like that, but also there was this realization where they started to ask, that one day worth of gig would actually be if you did it every day you only need to work like five days a month.

So that was a realization that you’ve become sort of like an entrepreneur, wait the minute, this is what’s happening? Those were the things that you know, you’re shooting right and I got a month of TF or talent fee for the work, I’m getting lots of projects and, on the weekends, if you total a month of what you get, if you do the math, the weekends are sourced up as opposed to be in an office, going thru traffic, being hooked up to regular work.

So, you enrolled, you invested yourself in this videography training course?

That’s when I actually had to find courses, but there was no available in the Phils. back then so,  I had to go to Singapore. I borrowed money from my best friend, and some of my friends, so I could afford the course.

It was $1,000.00 back then. I had to crash at my other friend’s house in Singapore, you know, those things, but it turns out naman really great kasi I got to network with some of the big time filmmakers in the Phils. Back then, they were also in Singapore, so they just go to that event.

At that time, you were still an amateur videographer, and you were doing gigs, but would you consider yourself an amateur at that time? That you realize you needed to learn more?

At that time, I considered myself  like a really good videographer! I was really full of myself, and then when I went to the training, I realized how small, how basic my work was. So, I had this video that I was so proud of, and I went to the course trainer, and asked, "Sir can you check my work and give a critique?" Everything was in slow motion, that’s the catch kasi eh, if you’re always doing the slow motion, you’re not really telling the story, it’s just a moment that is slow down di ba?

At what point where did you go to your next level in your freelancing?  

Di ba I was doing freelance work na, so when I finally left corporate in 2012 pa lang, luckily because of the gig and all of the practice that I have, I got a seven (7) figure deal in 2013.

What I had to do because I did not have credentials yet, even if I was able to do a lot of great editing work and filmmaking work, I didn’t have the firepower yet, so I had teamed up with my friend and actually my partner right now for the video school EJ Mijares, he was my mentor as well in the documentary work.

It was 2014 when we set up the Shoot Practical Videography School. It came about kasi, si EJ, his dream was to prevent people from making bad videos out of other people’s milestones. Kasi di ba, this was the time 2014 that DSLRs are becoming cheap, so practically, anybody who had a DSLR could pretend like me before, that they could shoot weddings, buti na lang I had this foresight na don’t make me act like I’m the main videographer, I am just here to practice.

Pero a lot of people are actually practicing at the expense of the milestone of the bride and groom, which is very sad. It happened to EJ’s cousin’s wedding, where the wedding videos did not cause tears of joy but tears of sadness. Kasi sobrang pangit talaga tapos, they paid them. Hindi naman cheap magpagawa ng wedding videos. Ako naman on my side, parang I adopted the cause kasi ako naman yung naghahanap ng school, so I could relate to  the market, kasi I came from corporate, gusto ko rin yung challenge kasi nga I was the one who set up the website, yung mga email marketing, online marketing na ginagawa natin.

What’s in it for me in the future?

I think I’m looking for something na, actually I invested in online marketing courses. Gusto ko ng parang income na I would still love to do filmmaking pero not for survival na, like before you would go out kasi you need to put food on the table.

I would love to do it as a project and advocacy, help other people see or change how to effect on their behaviour kasi ganun yung magic ng movie, or this video, you have the ability to impart feelings on your audience using an inanimate object na nandyan lang naman. If you’re able to pass thru the camera with your feelings and impart it to your audience, you’re doing something special.

What's your one tip that you wanna share?

Most people get discouraged kasi mahirap, pero a good way to think about it is to just enjoy the hardship, kasi ganun sya eh, it’s when you feel that your being pushed to the limit, you know that you’re growing kasi you’re being uncomfortable, doing things that you haven’t used before, so look for that, whenever you want to look into different venture, or parang don’t be complacent.

I think that’s the thing kasi yun nga eh, I don’t always manage that in my own life, pero when I see na may something that I want to pursue, tapos nandun yung excitement ng being a newbie again, you’re learning things, you’re researching, the moment you’re on the floor, enjoy that process.

I know it’s difficult, nothing is really easy to master if you want to master everything. It takes patience and a lot of mistakes to get there. Acknowledge that you are gonna make a mistake and enjoy the hardship. If you’re feeling na difficult siya, i-enjoy mo lang sya pag nahihirapan ka na. Your positive outlook on difficult situations would totally change the outcome of what you’re experiencing.