Episode 85
Building a Video Business That Lasts (ft. Dream Engine)
Some video companies burn bright and disappear. Others quietly endure. Ryan Spanger has run Dream Engine in Melbourne for more than 20 years, producing corporate, promotional, educational, and live-streamed video for medium and large businesses, government departments, and universities. Along the way he built a second act as a coach and podcaster, teaching other founders the durable, unglamorous fundamentals that keep a studio alive for decades rather than seasons.
In this thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation, Ryan joins Dario and Kyrill to unpack the long game: why most video businesses never build a real marketing system, how to become a trusted advisor instead of an order-taker, why he only pursues clients who already want video, and how authentic networking, consistent content, and a healthy relationship with risk and regret compound over years. If you want to build something that lasts, this one is a masterclass.
Key Takeaways
- Build a marketing system. Most video businesses grow organically without one. Defining your target market and running a repeatable, deliberate sales process is what makes success sustainable.
- Network authentically. Building long-term relationships and becoming a trusted advisor beats transactional lead-swapping. Focus on adding value, not chasing every lead.
- Chase high-intent leads. It is far easier to win clients already considering video than to convince people who do not want it. Compete where the intent already exists.
- Stay consistent with content. Posting high-quality, insightful content on LinkedIn keeps you top of mind. Prioritize quality over frequency and inject your own perspective to stand out.
- Use behind-the-scenes content. BTS shows your expertise and taps the natural fascination people have with filmmaking, making your work relatable and memorable.
- Beat comparison paralysis. In an industry full of talented people, constantly measuring yourself against others is counterproductive. Focus on your own progress.
- Think long-term. In networking, marketing, and client relationships, the best opportunities usually come from years of steady effort, not immediate results.
- Regret comes from inaction. The biggest regrets stem from the things you did not try. Putting yourself out there, even when it is uncomfortable, is the job.
- Play to your strengths. There are no fixed rules for marketing. Pick the one or two channels that genuinely fit you and double down rather than forcing tactics that are not you.
Timestamps
Two Decades in the Making
Ryan started Dream Engine in the early 2000s and, like many founders, grew it somewhat by accident: a few freelance jobs became a company. Over 20-plus years he built it into a studio serving medium and large businesses, government, and universities with corporate, promotional, educational, and live-streamed video. More recently, people kept asking to learn from him, and that organic demand turned into a formal coaching practice and a weekly solo podcast, The Business of Video Production.
That arc, from operator to owner to mentor, is the whole subject of this show, and it pairs naturally with other long-haul stories like scaling smart with Heehaw and the buy-side view in buying a video production company.
Build a Marketing System
Ask Ryan the single biggest mistake video businesses make and he does not hesitate: they never build a marketing machine. Work arrives through word of mouth, someone stumbles onto the website, and the pipeline stays accidental. His fix is a deliberate system: identify who your market is, craft the messaging, refine an offer you know converts, and define how a conversation actually becomes a client. He also credits a long-term mindset (he gave the business a five-year horizon at the start) and constant self-reflection.
He standardizes without going generic, noticing that most jobs fall into repeatable formats and that clients cluster into a few segments (business owners, agencies, corporate and government) each needing different messaging. That is the discipline behind niching down and building a repeatable engine, and it starts with knowing what a video costs and packaging your core services clearly.
Become a Trusted Advisor
The relationships that last, Ryan says, are the ones where you stop responding to callouts and start operating as a trusted advisor, sharing strategic ideas and results before a client even asks. He gently educates through regular emails and LinkedIn, and finds a particular sweet spot in ambitious small-to-medium businesses that are hungry for growth and genuinely want to be pitched ideas at the right time.
Leading with genuine expertise is how you earn the right to guide a client, the same posture behind pitching as a producer and being the obvious choice when someone is choosing a production company.
Chase the Right Leads
Here Ryan is refreshingly contrarian. Rather than trying to create demand, he pursues people who already have it. He is happy to be one of three providers a client is comparing and to put a compelling offer in front of them, but he will not try to talk someone into wanting video in the first place. His analogy: if you want a burger, no amount of enthusiasm about pizza will change your mind. The best source of high-intent leads, he adds, is people who have already bought from you, plus the referrals they are usually delighted to give.
Focusing your energy where intent already lives is one of the highest-leverage choices a studio can make, closely tied to generating better leads and spotting red flags early.
“I only focus on people who already want video. I find it very challenging to try to shift someone from not even wanting something.”
Ryan Spanger, Dream EngineNetworking and the Long Game
Ryan is candid that formal, transactional networking (he name-checks his mixed experience with BNI) never really fit him. What works is authentic: showing up in the right communities, being genuinely useful, and letting work come through friends, colleagues, and social connection over time. He leans on the 1000 True Fans idea, the notion that a small group who love what you do will carry you further than chasing everyone, and on focusing on process over outcome when the rewards are slow to arrive.
His guiding rule is disarmingly simple: if at all possible, people should be better off for having known you. That patient, relationship-first approach is exactly how studios find work in their local community and build a magnetic personal brand over years.
Show Up, Consistently
The final stretch is about the hardest part for many creatives: self-promotion. Ryan’s LinkedIn philosophy is quality over schedule, post when you have something genuinely useful, take a real position, and (now that AI can generate the generic listicle) inject the personal experience only you have. He is a fan of behind-the-scenes content for the way it taps people’s fascination with filmmaking, and he is honest that putting yourself out there feels artificial, especially for an introvert. His reframe: act like the CEO a shareholder hired, fall in love with the channel that fits you, and treat posting as a form of leadership.
Underneath it all is a philosophy of regret. Ryan distinguishes the good regret of trying and stumbling from the bad regret of never giving it a go, and that fear of unused potential is what pushes him to keep showing up. It is the perfect note for a business built to last, and a reminder that consistency and confidence, not comparison, are what compound. If you want a Toronto team that lives these same long-game principles, that is exactly what Lapse Productions does, across promotional and training video.
“Bad regret is the things that I didn’t do that I probably could have or should have. I really didn’t want to look back and say I had unused potential.”
Ryan Spanger, Dream EngineFrequently Asked Questions
Who is Ryan Spanger?
Ryan Spanger is the founder of Dream Engine, a Melbourne video production company he has run for more than 20 years. He also coaches video business owners and hosts a weekly solo podcast, The Business of Video Production.
What is Dream Engine?
Dream Engine is a Melbourne, Australia video production company producing corporate, promotional, educational, and live-streamed content for medium and large businesses, government departments, and universities.
What is the biggest mistake video businesses make?
According to Ryan, failing to build a real marketing system: a repeatable way to identify your market, reach them with clear messaging, and convert conversations into clients, rather than relying only on word of mouth.
How should you approach networking as a video business?
Authentically and for the long term. Ryan favors becoming a genuine, trusted presence in communities over transactional lead-swapping, and points to the 1000 True Fans idea: a small group who love your work will carry you further than chasing everyone.
What kind of leads are easiest to convert?
High-intent leads, people already planning to buy video. Ryan focuses on being one of their options with a compelling offer rather than trying to convince people who do not want video that they need it.
The Hosts
Dario Nouri and Kyrill Lazarov are the co-founders of Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company, and the hosts of Creatives Grab Coffee, a weekly show about the business of video production.
About
Creatives Grab Coffee is a podcast about the business behind video production: sales, strategy, pricing, team building, and everything that happens off camera. New episodes every week on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Lapse Productions is a Toronto-based video production company serving tech, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing clients with corporate, promotional, and training video. New to commissioning video? Start with our guide to the types of corporate video.
Dream Engine is a Melbourne, Australia video production company founded by Ryan Spanger, producing corporate, promotional, educational, and live-streamed video for medium and large businesses, government, and universities for more than 20 years. Ryan also coaches video professionals and hosts The Business of Video Production podcast. Learn more at dreamengine.com.au and ryanspanger.com.
