One of my favorite filmmakers is Robert Rodriguez. I remember watching Desperado as a kid—it instantly became my favorite movie, and to this day, it remains one of the greatest action films out there.

Rodriguez got his start with El Mariachi, the precursor to Desperado. The movie aired on German TV around the same time. I liked it. It was good. Only later did I learn that El Mariachi was his low-budget debut—made without a crew, without a producer, and without any help from Hollywood.

I read Rebel Without a Crew, the book in which Rodriguez details how he made El Mariachi for just $7,000—and how that film opened the doors of Hollywood for him. I couldn’t believe it was possible to create a quality movie on your own, and on such a tight budget, even back in the early ’90s.

Today, things are even more accessible. You can make a solid movie with just a smartphone and an editing app like CapCut—almost for free. All you need is a few friends, a strong idea, and the drive to make it happen.

To prove this point, Rodriguez made another $7,000 movie in 2018 called Red 11.
I watched it yesterday. It’s certainly not a Hollywood blockbuster, but it’s good—especially when you consider it was made on a shoestring budget.

Watch it here:

And here’s the big lesson: If you want to be an artist—a creative, a storyteller—use what you have and just get started. You don’t need to crowdfund your first book. You don’t need a $20 million budget to make a movie. You don’t need a record deal to make music.

With today’s technology and the reach of social media, anyone can be an artist. The gatekeepers are gone. Make your low-budget film. Self-publish your book. Upload your songs to Spotify, your short films to YouTube, and your comedy sketches to Twitter.

Just start. Learn as you go. Improve with each project. And build your audience, your skills, and your income along the way.