Create Together: A Reflection from Huynh Nguyen

I first started Emperor with Ryan in 2014 with the idea of creating a business that allowed us to create amazing work with other creative professionals. It was going to be a tough journey with a steep learning curve but I knew  the adversaries we would go through would get Emperor to the position it is in today. This is something that I am immensely proud of and our achievements are something I want to share.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller.

2019 saw Emperor grow from a team of two to a team of five exceptional professionals. It is this growth that allowed us to take on bigger jobs and foster our network of clients, partners and creatives. 

Emperor is its people – every single person on the team is recognised for their individual talents, personality and knowledge. I applaud them for being phenomenal at their jobs but our biggest strength and what is most important is how we operate as a team. I work with 100% confidence in my guys. I show them this with complete transparency with all things – nothing is off limits. It allows transparency in the strengths and weaknesses of the business – giving them responsibility, the feeling of being a vital part of the business and allowing them to have input to the growth of the business. It is also an important part in them seeing me as an equal, not their boss.       

This is a lesson I want to pass on, communication is key, key to Emperor’s relationship with our clients and partners. If we’re upfront with our clients, we can manage expectations, create better work and build stronger relationships.

Over the years

SCD American Vehicles

Emperor provides full agency service to SCD American Vehicles. In the last 12 months, with  our support the Brisbane-based business has grown in leaps and bounds, bringing the strongest and toughest American vehicles to Australian shores, employing more and more Australians every day. 

We’d like to thank you Eddie, Steve and KJ for giving us the space and opportunity to grow Emperor’s team.

Anytime Fitness

In the last two years, Emperor has become a pivotal resource for Jordan Cowen’s team and his Anytime Fitness franchises. Our relationship started off with small jobs – additional print and digital art. Over the last 3 years Jordan’s business has grown with the help of Emperor. We provided holistic content solutions that help deliver their marketing strategies. This year we saw them expand to a total of ten Anytime Fitness gyms with the recent openings of Newmarket and Stafford.

Thanks to Jordan, we’ve been able to expand our relationships and create work for multiple Anytime Fitness franchisees and businesses like MyFirstGym. 

Damian Coppolecchia 

Through the Anytime Fitness franchise, Emperor’s been an agency partner with Damian Coppolecchia. Starting initially with a single location, we saw Damian grow to three locations plus being a part of the opening of a new business CityCave Beenleigh. Damian’s gyms have proved successful from month to month and CityCave Beenleigh broke opening records.

We’re excited to see what the future brings for Damian’s team.

Base Training Centre

At the start of the year we saw our good friend Damien “Beatdown” Brown open Base Training Centre, his own mixed martial arts and fitness facility. We had the amazing opportunity to help create and build this brand from scratch, creating its brand, digital presence, content solutions and merchandise. 

We’d like to congratulate Damien, his family and the Base team for an amazing 2019 and wish them the best in 2020 and beyond.

Eternal MMA

This year, Emperor solidified its partnership with Australia’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion Eternal MMA. The partnership offers the talent of everyone in the Emperor team and we push the creative boundaries of the Australian MMA scene.

As well, Eternal MMA became a UFC FightPass platform partner – boasting the opportunity to showcase Australian and New Zealand athletes to the worldwide audience. Along with that they’ve generated over 4.2 million views on their YouTube channel this year.

Emperor will have the opportunity in 2020 to provide original content as well as social media and digital advertising helping the growth of the sport throughout Australia and the expansion into New Zealand. We welcome the chase with Eternal MMA and like to thank Cam and Ben for their support.

Thank you

Over this decade, especially the last four years, Emperor has had the privilege to work with an array of businesses and people, local and international. There’s countless clients and partners we’d like to say thank you. You’ve built our confidence to execute and believe in our work. Thank you for challenging us to be better than we were yesterday and push the boundaries in the work we do. 

I’d personally like to thank the team and their belief in Emperor; Trae, Mitch, Sohale, Mitchell, Callum, Chez and Rocco – each one of you has helped me become a better creative, a better professional and a better person.

Emperor is defined by what you bring to the business.

I’d like to thank all the mentors I’ve had in the last decade as well as my friends and my family. Since I said I was going to do something great, you’ve all challenged me, pushed me and most importantly believed in me. I am most grateful for you.

If the last ten years have been about finding our purpose I think it’s time to say that Emperor has a clear vision for 2020 and beyond.

Professional Confessional: Relationships

Your knotted stomach rolls while your breath and heartbeat resemble a jazz band. You’re not staring at a vicious mammal intent on making a meal of you or another dreaded danger that would soon enough end your life, or worse, your career. You’re staring at an email with each letter hitting you like bullets. A beloved client who trusted your ability and vision is not happy with your work.

Believe it or not, they’re right and you’re wrong and that’s okay.

Male taking photo in round mirror 

But if this is true, why do we react to someone’s critiques such as we would to the imminent threat of death? Today I’ll warmly welcome you to the idea that not everything you do means the world to everyone. You’re a creative visionary by day, sure. But what you are not is a shrinking violet or thin-skinned. Immediately remove these terms from your self-talk vocabulary.

You just care, and that’s perfectly fine.

You care and that’s fine.

Firstly, you’re not betrayed or useless, you’re attached to the work and detached from your client’s wishes. You as a professional have the burden of uniting the two. In times of static between you and your client over a finished product, side with them whenever you can and make an effort to ensure the remedy is both timely and constructive to a point that you and your client develop a deeper professional relationship.

Not all bad experiences are bad, just like Charles ‘Chuck’ Swindoll famously said:

“I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.”

Take the high road and the one that allows a more fruitful result for you both and the thoughts of dread will be behind you. Time spent living in the past is time spent that could have been used to remedy the situation for your client, because that’s exactly why you’re here. 

Person in painted colours 

Not everything you do for a client has to be “art”.

How liberating is this? Knowing that everything you are commissioned doesn’t have to be the Mona Lisa or Shakespeare? We touched on the common ground of being a creative for hire earlier and this can truly be a liberating experience once you realise that not everything you do for them has to be high art; it can be what they need.

The delicate balance of doing what feels right by your creative skill set and what the client wants has to tip in favour of the client, but trust me, this can be good. The trappings of perfectionism we can go through trying to create the ultimate expression of art can border on obsessive. Thankfully, for a client that doesn’t require this, you should not by any means be pulling your hair out over the greatness of your work, just the right fit. If your client asks for a metaphorical pair of shoes that are comfortable, don’t bring them glass slippers that hurt their feet. Unless it ultimately goes against your better judgment, in which case…

 

You don’t have to be ‘right’

Occasionally, you will hold on to your position with white knuckles and be damned sure you are doing what is best for your client – after all they hired you for a reason. The best course of action here is just to put your best case forward with some example outcomes of why it is the best course, complete with somewhat could go wrong and simply let it go.

You’ve said and done your piece and the time for bargaining was at the start of the job or project. Now is the time to focus on the future and getting this revision right whilst building on your professional relationship with the client.

Male with bag leaving officeFall apart with glue in your hand.

Sometimes you’re just not going to keep it together. That thing you did that took weeks of your life for a high-profile client ended up in the trash and you feel hollow that you won’t ever get that time back. When in fact, you put in the time and effort to hone your craft and get better. Besides, if they’re really unhappy with it, keep it on your backburner and repurpose it or use it as your own. Your time is never truly wasted if it helps you hone your craft or the end product can be repurposed.

In summary, care enough to give them exactly what they need and hold tight to your professional authority if you think it is in the best interest of your client. Ultimately, it is their choice to do what they want with your work and if it doesn’t suit, repurpose it for your own goals when possible.

Go forth into the fray and keep the dream of your clients alive.

Emperor’s Guide For Entrepreneurial Survival

“Don’t get distracted. Never tell yourself that you need to be the biggest brand in the whole world. Start by working on what you need at the present moment and then what you need to do tomorrow. So, set yourself manageable targets.” – Jas Bagniewski, Co-Founder of Eve Sleep.

Maybe you quit your job with a head full of steam or you have been putting off your desire to work for yourself for too long? Or there’s always the possibility your career path has been made redundant by the internet age, or the global need for downsizing people and upsizing profits.

Whatever the case, if you need the fire under you to be lit, this is some grade A gasoline inspired by some great minds in the business world. Chances are you are already in the deep end of your entrepreneurial vision or seeking a Sherpa up the mountain of success.

Either way, what better place to begin than at the bottom and that is knowing how to survive before you can flourish.

We’ve broken these points down to distil the core of each and provide you with a bang-for-your-buck.

  1. Operations Come First

Operating the business should be the first priority above the fun stuff, the kids’ stuff, the stuff you like.

If it really is that bad performing the monotonous parts of the business, outsource, and if it’s not, define the tasks break them down and go after them like a disciplined surgeon so that you indoctrinate yourself into a routine.

The upside to this is becoming more efficient at something that was previously boring or monotonous, plus this frees more time to let you flourish in the more interesting parts of the business or using your strengths.

Learning your strengths as an entrepreneur

  1. Learn Your Strengths & Weaknesses

You started this thing because you had an idea which was inherently born from something you think you can provide.

Think on this for a moment and discover the crystallised gem within. Most likely, this is your strength.

Now, move from this outward and look to places where this strength can also be applied.

You’re a graphic design specialist? Bam.

Your strengths are going to be in the creation of engaging imaginings that cuts a line and defines your brand’s image. Logos, social media posts, paid advertising, collaborations and more should have your distinct fingerprint all over them and drive your skills home to people who view and engage with you.

The flip side to this coin is to learn your weaknesses, but if admin and ops are your weakness, see point 1.

If your weaknesses include marketing, legal, dispatch or anything that is deemed necessary to the core of your business model, either figure it out or outsource.

Personally, I recommend learning to a degree.

Not only will you become a more rounded business owner and entrepreneur, you will also be able to instruct those on the operations and procedures that take place and why when you really start to take off and look to hire.

Another benefit of learning for yourself is that you will become more aware of potential opportunities and threats within your business. It’s funnily poetic that the more you learn about your strengths and weaknesses the more you do so for your business, right?

There is one aspect of this that I find non-negotiable and that is…

All entrereneurs need a knowledge of marketing

  1. Learn Marketing ASAP!

People usually start businesses with their head in the clouds and their feet off the ground, and they are grounded pretty hard the higher you are. One recurring shortcoming that will bring you back to Earth is this:

No one will care about you if no one can see you.

Sounds simple right? You’d be surprised at how many business owners still get this wrong. Say we time warp to when TV ruled supreme, think of your business as a channel and the TV the industry you’re in. If you have an ineffective marketing plan and presence through your social media, website, electronic mail, and old-fashioned outbound streams you have either a weak ability for awareness to the consumer (like a midnight TV timeslot or worse yet, virtually no channel at all).

Get to grips with marketing and become at least competent enough to exist in the eyes of your target consumers.

  1. Act First, Plan Second

Game plans are great and all, but that type of thinking should be done quarterly and in great depth. If you are constantly planning every day for the foreseeable future you aren’t maximising your potential to thrive today or to adapt and react to the potential opportunities that may arise. Obviously, planning doesn’t get anything done but it sets your compass, therefore it is clearly important.

However, the weighting between the two is almost double for action.

You know that saying:

 You have two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you talk.

Well here is the entrepreneur’s version:

Plan early for a long time and act twice as much as you plan your foreseeable future.

Additionally, it might seem counter-intuitive, but chasing that invoice or allowing an ongoing issue to destroy your time is a fool’s errand. Instead, point your compass toward the future and focus on your next move before you’re stuck in the mud for so long you forget which way the business was headed.

Conversely, immediately pay our bills and invoices before they get away from you. Don’t succumb to the trappings of “putting it off to save time” when you’re really just putting it off hoping it will go away. It won’t and you’ve saved nothing. Putting things off for another day is the equivalent of drinking today and having a hangover tomorrow.

Hammer now so you can enjoy the future.

  1. Have Multiple Income Streams

“But I have barely enough time to do my own stuff, how can I work more??” I hear you say…

Let’s head back to our graphic designer example.

If people love your designs, offer to work in collaboration with them in exchange for what they are good at, again point 2 is showing up. Fair work trade for services is definitely income and that’s how you should treat it, especially if it is something you consider a weakness.

Now, should you ask everyone that interacts with your brand if they’re good at doing taxes? Slap yourself if you even set foot down that path. Clearly, this takes some intuition and common sense, so use them both. If that doesn’t seem like your cup of tea, try using what you’re good at in a few different avenues.

Heard of Rob Scallon? He might be the most successful YouTube guitarist of all time. Rob plays his own signature guitar, with sponsored gear, on YouTube and gets paid by all three.

Now that’s pretty much the holy trifecta there and you don’t need to emulate that, but if you have a business people are interested in, why not entertain the idea of using it in a few ways?

Revert back to graphic design guy/girl.

They could perform tutorials on YouTube or one-on-one sessions for graphic design beginners through to advanced. Your site could host some tactful and non-intrusive advertisements for brands that you prefer or recommend. Is there a digital drawing pad or brand of peripheral supplier you prefer? Reach out to them.

*I strongly reiterate tactful and non-intrusive.

You will save time and you will save money.

  1. Fill Your Cup

They tell new mothers to look after themselves because an empty cup cannot fill another and this is certainly true with you nurturing your baby business venture.

Take these points to heart, for your own sanity.

  • Rest, work out, socialise, switch your phone off, set aside days you don’t work and times when you put your head down and all you do is accomplish.
  • Definitely do not work every single hour, seven days a week. Burnout is real and will prevent you from bouncing back or reacting with a clear head if things might take a turn.
  • Say no to distractions (time traps) and yes to opportunities (excitement machines).
  • Take a five-minute break every twenty minutes.
  • Make your downtime related to the business if it is something you truly love but don’t get caught up and go back into work mode.

Hopefully, this is enough to keep you optimistic and not burn out or lose hope in your new venture.

You will stay optimistic and productive if you are fresh as a daisy with a full cup who looks to the future, learns, acts then plans, diversifies, prioritises and learns what strengths they have within the business.

Huynh Nguyen: Emperor

In the dynamic world of online media, there’s an insatiable appetite for new content, new means of reaching people and an ever-evolving arms race of style. In the ‘good old days’, you’d drive a message through a catchy jingle or a commercial that evokes emotion. Today the landscape has changed.

Rather than use content as bait to lure and pounce when the opportune moment arises, content is utilised as a stratagem in relationship building with your audience.

Which brings us to the pointy end of the sword and reason we are both here.

I sat down with Huynh Nguyen to delve into the inner workings of his digital content solution business, Emperor. Reputable for its use of dramatic imagery and flair, I’m eager to discover what makes Emperor so definitive and unique.

Firstly, the name Emperor strikes a line. My initial impression was prestige, royalty, power.

However, Huynh was quick to illustrate that there’s more to the name than a first impression.

“Two days before the launch party for the business we still had no name. Emperor just came to me. It came from the control of what we do, leadership ownership of the empire. Not prestige as you might think, the focus is on small/medium business and helping them start their own empire. If you’re a small business we want you to compete with the big dogs. Much like how we have, so we know it’s possible.”

Emperor has grown sustainably over the past few years without ever getting too big for its boots. If the toes touch the end, the capacity grows until now with a multidisciplinary team of content solution professionals who specialise in the complete package.

“Branding isn’t just an icon, it’s an attitude. How you’re perceived, even how you talk on the phone, I try to teach clients that from the start. We don’t work toward prestige, we just want them to relate and grow as Emperor has.

The Motto: A to Z not A to B. We build with them, for the long journey.

We make sure they know how sales work so when we generate leads and business, they can take it from there. We offer a lot of value to our clients, so not only are they attracting business, but finalising business to grow.”

Huynh gives the impression that relationship building is paramount to the core beliefs in Emperor.

“We will work with anyone, we try and do it well and teach them more than they realise they’re getting and they come back. It grows that relationship. We do have core clients and they’ve been with us for 7-8 years.  They trust us.”

Trust. The foundation of any good relationship and something invaluable to creatives. Trust in them, trust in their ability and trust in the process.

“I don’t mind finishing training, having dinner and then doing artwork for them. It’s not just a service but a relationship, because without them I wouldn’t be where I am.  A lot of those guys still refer me, purely from that experience and I’m more than grateful.”

Organically, the conversation moves to one of the clients he has shared his journey within former UFC fighter and current RIZIN mixed martial artist – Damien ‘Beatdown’ Brown. Not the type of artist you’d expect reading a blog about online content solutions.

“Damien Brown was one of the first athletes to buy fight photos from me years ago and never questioned price or had any issues, and now we completed the whole branding and marketing for his whole gym.”

A massive job and even greater honour. The branding of an establishment that is someone’s livelihood is no small feat, but Huynh is up to the task.

“I’m the go-to guy in terms of media in fight related content and my vision is becoming the standard. The community helped me grow my confidence, the way people talk about me it’s really humbling. Even on Facebook, I’ll get tagged as a recommendation for jobs people need doing because they trust me.”

Again, the theme of trust rears its head and Huynh builds on the theme.

Huynh trusts in the process which in turn breeds a culture of trust within Emperor. The ability to have faith in his team carries over to symbiotic acts of confidence and belief Emperor shares with its clients.

Everyone gets a piece of responsibility within Emperor and shares it during the process. The utmost confidence in one’s team leaves room for a growing relationship for all.

With the application of one’s art, again and again, comes competence and confidence in the process. For himself and eventually the martial arts community.

Clients simply trust Emperor because the end product is of a standard that exceeds expectations. But how did such a standard come to be?

Turns out it was not an overnight process.

“I’m 29 now and I started when I was 18 and I have always stood by doing things right by people. I did a lot of work for free and grind away doing several different jobs just to get experience and I think that’s important.”

Huynh also had an inclination to be part of the martial arts community in Queensland, which stemmed from an early age introduction to the iconic Bruce Lee.

“He’s Asian, I wanna be like him!”

We share a laugh but there’s something genuine about this and without further ado, the lines are coloured in.

“I didn’t know what the UFC was at the time so I googled and it brought me to Anderson Silva and I was amazed. I love the human body and what we’re capable of, so to see someone move like it’s a choreographed fight is insane. Once I saw that I knew it was what I needed to do. I went to my first class at Fightcross and passed out after the warm up!”

Huynh jumped into the fire and put his initiative and skills from his recently graduated degree in IT and Graphic Design to the test. His affinity or learning is evident in his philosophy on training in the workplace.

After just 3 months Huynh had his first fight against soon to be multiple time Australian MMA champion Tim ‘Quickdraw’ Moore.

“I had my second fight on a show called ‘Nitro MMA’ and started working with Scott Ferris the original owner and that’s what got me into working with his nightclubs. I’ve done some cool things and met some UFC fighters. When they had the media day at Chris Haseman’s gym, I ‘met’ Mighty Mouse.”

To the uninitiated, Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson is possibly the most celebrated Mixed Martial Artist by diehard fans and the greatest flyweight ever in terms of domination and skill. It might not sound like much to the layman or woman but getting to meet people of this calibre, especially fairly early into your martial arts journey, can be a full tank of gas on the fire of inspiration.

“I didn’t even know who it was! I thought ”he’s so tiny, he can’t be a fighter”, this was before the flyweight division existed. I had this little niche with the fight scene but I got to brush shoulders with Michael Bisping and Frank Mir.”

Both celebrated UFC champions. Bisping brought the UK to the map in terms of credibility and popularity and Frank Mir was using the often thought of “little guy” Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a “big guy” on his way to capturing 2 world titles.

As far as the company you keep goes, not too shabby.  

“I was regularly producing good quality photos by someone who understood the sport. Even if my understanding was basic at the time, I knew what to watch for in a fight.  People soon realised I was someone worth following and through that, I got connected with Fight News Australia who I did a couple of UFC events with them. FIGHT! Magazine commissioned me to do profile shoots of martial artists around Queensland.”

Huynh’s grinding attitude struck a chord with martial artists who gravitated toward his dramatic style of understanding the glory and pain in mixed martial arts competition. This led to a reputation for quality art synonymous with his name.

“There’s a handful of guys who opened their own gym or went to the UFC, I have worked with at some point and I have some pride that I held a high standard whether they wanted design work or photos in general.

Huynh’s application to work started putting rubber to road and mixed his abilities into a cocktail of passion, resulting in a new standard of fight art in south-east Queensland. One of the more historically endearing pieces of art and fight culture is the “fight poster”, accompanying the hype of an impending fight and encapsulates the gravitas of the fight to come.

Huynh worked with Ross Cameron’s Aftershock MMA promotion as the next logical step in his ascension with definitive and sharp art.

“I take some pride that I did create a standard to the creative part in martial arts in Queensland and I dare say Australia. I can confidently say Aftershock was an amateur promotion but I made sure the quality of work we put out that people would think we were some multimillion-dollar production.  The only reason I did that is because I love the sport. I talk to a lot of older guys who used to fight and they all say ‘I wish we had photos and video from back then”.

“So, I started doing it for free to grow and I think I helped people to grow their own profile. As for the art, I could have done any fight poster, but I have some pride in the work. I always wanted to push the boundaries with the art.”

Expression in art sometimes comes with detractors, especially something as coveted as fight art in a historically dense culture.

“Sometimes it didn’t mesh with people, but the truth is if I’m not getting paid a lot, I’m going to do it how I want. It was a blessing in disguise in a way because I did cool stuff, and people recognised it. Some people don’t understand the commitment to these types of posters, I get proper photos and assets but people think I sit behind a computer for an hour and it’s done. Maybe I’ve had to get photoshoots from New Zealand sent or drive around to locations.

Newer promotions spend the money on advertising but they have graphic designers who don’t understand how to create consistency. With Emperor, I can create the most beautiful art you’ve ever seen, but if someone sends me a photo from a bad camera, it’s going to be bad. Having a commitment to my artwork and quality of work it carries through to the company and to the guys that work.”

Again, the standard of work trickles down from the output in art in the past to the ongoing application of Emperor and it’s employees.

“I know that in 12 months my guys are still going to be there and we are going to be on another level.”

I have to agree that the type of sustainable growth Huynh has invested in Emperor is a sturdy trunk with more fruit to come in the near future.

“Emperor is going to be that marketing team you never knew you could have. There’s a team of people. When you look at a business you’ve got one marketing guy that does everything and he’s okay, but not great at anything.”

The high standard of quality work has created a snowball of ongoing momentum for Emperor with Huynh in the driver’s seat.  Emperor might be labelled a content solution business, however, I’ve learned that this doesn’t do justice the amount of dedication to the artistic process and investment in people Huynh makes a distinct priority for.

For a total solution to represent your business digitally, think Emperor as you build your empire.