Diversify Your Skills. Build Your Dream Network. Transform Your Brand.
Design a Creative Career on YOUR Terms.
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Join our global community of creative misfits defying the status quo andĀ designing the more rewarding, fulfilling, and sustainable careers we deserve...without burning out (or selling our creative souls).
Join 350+ professional creatives spanning 6 continents
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"I typically don't like new things, butĀ I've found comfort in a community where people understand exactly what I'm going through. I've never been unemployed longer than 3 weeks, and the current slowdown has gutted me. I've questioned my identity. Without this program, I probably would've lost hope."
Sediqua FrancisĀ ā¢Ā Assistant Editor
A motivated and supportive community designed by creatives for creatives
Achieve your creative potential
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Courses, Workshops, and Masterclasses
Learn networking, branding, career design, time management, and more from our library of self-guided courses designed by creatives, for creatives
Live Office Hours
Join weekly Office Hours calls and observe live coaching sessions with fellow students on the āHot Seatā seeking solutions to problems just like yours
The āVaultā & Office Hour Archives
Over 1000 recorded, transcribed, summarized, and curated Hot Seats searchable via keyword and AI
Schedule 1-on-1 āHot Seatsā
Book your own 25-min coaching sessions during Office Hours to workshop anything and everything you need support with
Slack Community
Join an engaged community of creatives across six continents and build your new peer group
Member Directory
Connect with members 1-on-1 based on job title, skillsharing, seeking mentorship, or providing mentorship in return
Join 350+ professional creatives spanning 6 continents
Hi, I'm Zack.
Iām an award-winning Hollywood film & TV editor (my most notable recent credit is Netflixās Cobra Kai) turned writer, podcaster, and career coach who helps creatives like you build a career you absolutely loveā¦without burning out (or selling your creative soul).
If you feel like your career is on life support amidst all the uncertainty, this community and I have your back. We creatives do things a bit differently, and I created this safe space for us to learn new skills, build our peer groups, connect with mentors, and support each other along the way.
To paraphrase Steve Jobs:
āWe are the crazy ones. The misfits. The round pegs in the square holesā¦We change things and push the human race forward. While some may see us as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.ā
Join our global community so we can change the world together. The rising tide lifts all boats.
My work has been featured in:
We Didnāt Sign Up For This Sh*t
(Nor Are We Prepared For It)
When we decided to build our livelihoods around our creative skills, nobody warned us how quickly things would change. It feels like overnight it went from those with the best (and most specialized) skills landing the best gigs to instead a chaotic free-for-all where even the best at what they do are struggling to string together consistent work.
As the creative workforce globalizesā¦
As the ways in which society consumes entertainment ācontentā evolvesā¦
As artificial intelligence transforms countless creative craftsā¦
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Having a singular, specialized skillset has gone from providing security to instead becoming the riskiest path of them all.
"Your 9-to-5 job is dying. By 2034, it will be extinct."
ā Reid Hoffman, Founder LinkedIn
āLess than 5% of specialized careers will survive artificial intelligence.
We will all become generalists.ā
ā Mauro Guillen, Vice Dean The Wharton School of Business
āThe main thing in demand is versatility. Youāve got to be able to wear several hats because you donāt know what you might be working on from day to day.ā
ā Joanna Sucherman, Executive Recruiter
As creatives we were trained to master a singular, highly specialized skill set.
The educational system didnāt prepare us for this new world that requires a completely different approach to career design.
To not only survive but thrive as creatives will require:
> New skills.
> A new network.
> A new story.
Lucky for you Iāve spent the last decade navigating my own existential crisis career pivot and learned how to diversify my creative skills, create multiple streams of income, expand my professional network, and rewrite the story of my creative brand.
Now I want to share everything Iāve learned with you.
Say Hello to Your New Insta-Network of Brilliant Creative Minds
As soon as you join the community weāll provide you with the educational resources, the mindsets and strategies, the tools, and most importantly a supportive peer group to help you navigate the next phase of your creative career.
Ā Diversify your skills, knowledge, and experience to create new opportunities
Ā Build your dream network and become a networking ninja
Ā Rewrite the story of your brand so you stand out from your competition
Accountability
If you struggle to follow through with your goals (or even worse if you procrastinate), weāll provide you with the motivation and inspiration to follow through.
Collaboration
Connect with like-minded creatives to share skills or even create your next project together. Countless students in our community have landed their next gigs - and even their dream jobs - through other community members.
Mentorship
If youāre seeking guidance and mentorship, there are many members of the community here because the see the value in giving back to others.
Networking
(Without the Awkwardness)
We are by-and-large a community of awkward introverts, overthinkers, and recovering perfectionists. If youāre looking for a safe space to be yourself, look no further.
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Encouragement
If youāre tired of the rat race and always trying to one-up your competition, we instead lift each other up. We refer each other for jobs, give constructive feedback, and share our wins to inspire others along the way.
Nobody ever succeeds alone. Now more than ever we all need a supportive community of peers, experts, and mentors. Say hello to your new insta-network of creative misfits, awkward introverts, rebels, and square pegs. š
Ā
"The number of bad moves you've helped me prevent and the number of good moves you've helped me facilitate...it's a lot. If you made a commission on every contract, holy smokes that would be a crazy business model!"
Kalika Sharma ā¢ Designer, Animator, Agency Owner
Ā
Introducing the
Optimizer Coaching & Mentorship Community
Whether itās online courses, virtual masterclasses and workshops, live Office Hours āHot Seatsā (via Zoom), or an engaged and supportive global Slack community, weāre here to support you as you build your creative career.
Courses, Workshops, and Masterclasses
Learn networking, branding, career design, time management, and more from our library of self-guided courses designed by creatives, for creatives
Live Office Hours
Join weekly Office Hours calls and observe live coaching sessions with fellow students on the āHot Seatā seeking solutions to problems just like yours
The āVaultā & Office Hour Archives
Over 1000 recorded, transcribed, summarized, and curated Hot Seats searchable via keyword and AI
Schedule 1-on-1 āHot Seatsā
Book your own 25-min coaching sessions during Office Hours to workshop anything and everything you need support with
Slack Community
Join an engaged community of creatives across six continents and build your new peer group
Member Directory
Connect with members 1-on-1 based on job title, skillsharing, seeking mentorship, or providing mentorship in return
Diversify Your Skills. Build Your Dream Network. Transform Your Brand. Design a Creative Career on YOUR Terms.
Join our global community of creative misfits defying the status quo and forging our paths towards the more rewarding, fulfilling, and sustainable careers we all deserve.
Scroll below to show all features for each subscription plan.
THE COMMUNITY PASS
The Slack Community
The Member Directory
In-person networking event invites
The āVaultā
Entire Office Hours Archives
Audio recordings, transcripts, & summaries of all future Office Hours calls
Career Design & Productivity Course Bundle
Premium Networking & Branding Course Bundle
Attend Live Office Hours
Schedule 1-on-1 āHot Seatsā with Zack (up to one per week)
FREE Access to future Masterclasses
20% Discount on future 8-week classes and in-person workshops
30-Day Money Back Guarantee
$497/yr
THE ALL-ACCESS PASS
The Slack Community
The Member Directory
In-person networking event invites
The āVaultā
Entire Office Hours Archives
Audio recordings, transcripts, & summaries of all future Office Hours calls
Career Design & Productivity Course Bundle
Premium Networking & Branding Course Bundle
Attend Live Office Hours
Schedule 1-on-1 āHot Seatsā with Zack (up to one per week)
FREE Access to future Masterclasses
20% Discount on future 8-week classes and in-person workshops
30-Day Money Back Guarantee
$997/yr
Compare Both Yearly Subscription Plans & Features Below
The community pass
The all-access pass
Not sure if this masterclass is the right fit?
Feel free to reach out directly to [email protected] or review the FAQās below.
Ā
"I'm very much in the dark, it's hard. But to have these two hours to listen to all of you other people talking about similar problems in a positive way has been such a nice break."
Selina HĆ„kanssonĀ ā¢Ā Editor
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About Your Instructor
Hi! I'm Zack, an award-winning Hollywood film & TV editor (notable credits include Netflixās Cobra Kai, Empire, and Burn Notice) who has also spent the last ten years as a podcaster, writer, and career coach.
I help creatives and storytellers like you design the more rewarding, fulfilling, and sustainable careers you deserveā¦without burning out (or selling your creative soul).
Having worked with hundreds of creatives all over the world, I understandĀ itās never been harder to build a career doing the work you love. Whether itās the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, never-ending work stoppages from strikes and pandemics (and now fires???), or the implosion of legacy media, it feels nearly impossible just to find consistent work. I canāt change the world around us, but I can help you change your approach to how you brand yourself and market your creative services.
Iām confident your skills, knowledge, and experience bring far more value to the right people than you know. And I want to help you leverage your value and stand out from your competition so you can continue doing the work you loveā¦without running in circles on random job boards and social media, ultimately burning out before you even land your next gig.
Consider me your career sensei. Welcome to my dojo.
Past clients have included:Ā
Join our global community of creative misfits. Introverts welcome. š
Ā
Join 350+ professional creatives spanning 6 continents
