by Lindsay Odom
MEET THE AUTHOR: Communications Coordinator and Columbia native Lindsay Odom received her degree from Clemson University before joining the Endeavor team in May 2017. In addition to social media responsibilities, Lindsay is interviewing Endeavor members to learn (and share) more about marketing, agency life, entrepreneurship, and what it means to create meaningful work for clients.
Following your passion is easier said than done. Today, many people have jobs they don’t like because they choose a steady income over chasing their dreams. Maybe if you’re like me, you’ve assumed that success in the creative field happens in New York City or Los Angeles.
Randall Owens of Skyline Post and Lingo Films believes that money doesn’t buy happiness. He turned his passion into a career in the city he’s always wanted to live in, and it’s probably not the city you would guess. “I always ask young people three questions,” Randall said, “what do you want to do, how much do you want to make doing it, and where do you want to do it?” So, to inspire you to chase your dreams, I turned the tables and asked Randall to answer his own three questions.
What do you want to do?
It’s a simple question, but it’s not always easy to answer. If you’re lucky, you have a degree in the field that you’re passionate about. Owens discovered his passion for audio engineering in college after switching his major twice. From traveling as a technical director and working with NBC’s Nightly News in Charlotte, North Carolina, his career went through the roof as executive director at Erwin Penland. A decade later, he started his own company, Skyline Post , with his wife Laura and their dream location –– Greenville, South Carolina. But Owens made an even bigger career move last year when talking with entrepreneur Joe Erwin about the idea of a coworking space for creative companies.
How much do you want to make doing it?
Randall quick realized that Erwin’s business idea was going to place more than just a monetary value on his company. Joe not only asked him to be a part of the coworking space, but he also included him in the tours for potential locations before choosing the ONE Greenville building. Owens and his wife custom designed some of the facilities, including a state-of-the-art sound booth, as the first official members of Endeavor.
Where do you want to do it?
As he reflected over the past year, Owens told me that the best part of Endeavor is the prime location and the high-tech facility itself, which is beyond what most agencies can afford. For film work, Endeavor has allowed them to show their clients an upscale space that’s similar to most offices in Los Angeles or New York City but instead is located in the heart of Greenville, South Carolina.
When I asked his advice for people my age who recently graduated from college, he challenged me with this: “find out what you love to do, and do it. Ask if what you love is a hobby or a career. You have to be good at it, and if you are good at it, then you have to be passionate about it.” For Owens, he can’t imagine doing what he does in a better place than Endeavor –– “this is a place to consider if you want your company to take a step up. When you’re ready to be a professional and stop working in your pajamas outside of Starbucks every day, then Endeavor is the place for you.”
