In 2019, I left my job as a creative director, and with my newlywed wife, we invested our savings to chase the "American Dream" in California.Unfortunately, Los Angeles was overwhelming, and my storytelling skills weren't paying off.We moved from one Airbnb to another, trying to establish connections until our visas expired.Unwilling to return to Ireland defeated, we instead moved to Mexico for a fresh start.Arriving with just under $300, a two-week Airbnb reservation, and far from home, we refused to consider failure.Convinced of the potential in my video production skills, my wife reached out to e-commerce businesses.Despite my doubts, I started performing "creative audits." From 100 cold emails, we got 5 Zoom meetings.Just as we were running out of money, we landed our first $6,000 contract—enough to return home and reset.The early days were tough; our video ads looked too conventional and were ineffective.The game-changer came when we discovered direct response advertising and integrated it with my videography skills.This strategy was straightforward yet tricky to master, but once we did, our ads started to perform well and attract attention.This is how I started to work for myself and three years later, we're far beyond where we imagined.Our video marketing agency now serves giants like Sage and Mobile Vikings, and major e-commerce players like LastObject.Our impact includes ads seen by over 100 million people in 2023, helping generate $5 million in online sales over three years, and nearly $1 million raised through Kickstarter videos.Contact me: edvinas@silksocial.co