Meet Jacky Cheng

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jacky Cheng a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Jacky with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I got my work ethic from my dad. He came to the United States with no money and didn’t speak the language. From that starting point, he was able to save up enough to bring his wife and kids from overseas to the States. My dad started working as a dishwasher in the basement of a New York restaurant. About 15 years later, He owned his own restaurant. Sometimes when I feel like I have it rough I just think back to what my dad had to go through and that makes me realize I can work harder.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
So I didn’t go to school for film. I wanted to go into some sort of creative field when I was getting ready for college but my parents thought there would be no money in creative work. After graduating college with a Computer Information Systems degree, I felt like something was missing. I never wanted to do anything with coding or corporate. In fact I just picked that degree because my roommate had the same degree. I wonder how many people fall in the same boat. Around the same time, Covid happened so I took the opportunity to pivot. I tried multiple business ventures for the next 2 years but nothing really stuck. I wasn’t till my brother in law saw that I had interest in cameras and film that he told me “If this is something you really want to do then you have to go all in”. Videography has always been on and off in my life. I would start a youtube channel then stop and then start up again after I had some more money. I decided to really commit this time and learn the craft to be a filmmaker or cinematographer instead of just a videographer. I created my media company 2 years ago and haven’t looked back since. I love creating and capturing moments whether it’s narrative or documentary work. This line of work has opened the doors to many unique opportunities that I would’ve never imagined.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
People skills or soft skills are some of the most important qualities to have. In this industry, it’s all about who you know and what they think of you. Being on sets, film crew works flow better if everyone gets along so they usually bring on people that they know will work well together. Networking is extremely important because you have to remember no one knows who you are. The second quality that comes to mind is willingness to learn. There’s always going to be someone who does things better than you but it’s that willingness to adapt and comeback better. There’s so much to learn in film and I’m always learning. Lastly is to keep an open mind. Besides the technical camera stuff, creative taste and narratives are objective. Just have fun with it.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
As a creative, what I see as a flaw amongst other creative is the lack of business sense. I want to express my creativity and also make money doing it. My friend, Alice, recommended a book called “$100M Offers” by Alex Hormozi. This book is easy and short to read but provides a step by step blueprint to creating any type of business. I’ll let the readers find the books impactful nuggets of wisdom!

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