EP.47 - Rolling Out EOS in a Creative Video Production Agency

In this episode of Inside the 90, Jami sits down with Will Stewart, founder and CEO of 9/8 Central, a video production studio in Greenville, South Carolina. Will shares his winding path from teaching himself HTML in high school to freelancing in Hollywood to finally building his own studio during the early days of the pandemic. He and Jami dig into 9/8 Central's first nine months on EOS, covering the messy early lessons around rocks, scorecards for a creative business, and learning to trust a leadership team as a high-visionary founder. The conversation closes with Will's take on staying intentionally sized, using AI to speed up content creation, and why video and genuine human connection matter more than ever in a hyper-automated world. **Key Topics** \- Will Stewart's path from teenage web designer to Hollywood freelancer to founder of 9/8 Central. \- Building a video production studio from one employee at the start of the pandemic to a full team. \- Getting introduced to EOS through a hybrid coaching relationship and rolling it out company-wide. \- Early struggles with rocks, scorecards, and issue lists in a creative, project-based business. \- Learning to trust a leadership team as a high-visionary, high-quick-start founder. \- Defining a three-year picture and capping growth on purpose to protect team culture. \- Using AI tools internally to speed up content creation for clients. \- The content engine framework and shifting clients from one-off projects to recurring work. \- Why genuine, human video content matters more as digital connection becomes automated. **Chapters** 0:00 - Welcome to Will Stewart and introduction to 9/8 Central. 2:00 - Studio tour and the spa day philosophy for clients. 5:00 - Will's origin story, teaching himself web design in high school. 8:00 - Falling in love with video as cameras became more accessible. 11:00 - Freelancing, a Hollywood mentorship, and lifestyle burnout. 14:00 - Founding 9/8 Central in March 2020 and early growth. 17:00 - Getting introduced to EOS through a hybrid coaching relationship. 20:00 - Focus Day, early ahas, and adjusting to being a visionary. 23:30 - Struggles with setting and completing rocks. 26:30 - Rolling out L10 meetings and scorecards for a creative team. 30:00 - Building a scorecard around client communication. 32:30 - Learning the issues list and the language of EOS. 35:00 - Trusting the leadership team and letting go of control. 38:00 - The three-year picture and defining what winning looks like. 40:30 - Building an internal AI tool to speed up content creation. 43:00 - Staying intentionally sized and avoiding the boom-bust agency trap. 45:30 - What's exciting for 9/8 Central this year. 48:00 - The content engine framework and recurring client work. 50:30 - Case studies, positioning, and working with Wonder on messaging. 53:00 - Where to find Will Stewart and closing thoughts. **Mentions & Credits** Wonder - https://www.workwithwonder.com EOS Worldwide - https://www.eosworldwide.com 9/8 Central - https://98c.org Jason Blumer - https://www.jasonblumer.com The 6 Types of Working Genius - https://www.workinggenius.com Seth Godin - https://seths.blog Kolbe - https://www.kolbe.com American Society of Cinematographers - https://theasc.com