at what point are we self destructing?

Not being able to count on my current revenue streams to be there in the future, I went plantin' bushes this mornin' and badabing... stuff is growin berries like a mofo.
awesomness.
We can kid ourselves into thinking we are self employed but really, we are simply self empowered. It wasn't 4 years ago that I was making more than a quarter a mill a year off just one client (along with a dozen other places in town getting the same volume from the same folks). Since then, they have almost cut that in half each year and with yesterdays InBev swoop, man you can put a fork in em. The local cable co will file this or next quarter and every post house in town that had an abilical chord to these places had better have ironed out more streams before today or they'll be lookin for jobs in other markets in months.
My lil berry bush will allow me to live anywhere, incuding where we are right now.
Bottom line... think big... be bold... freakin go for it.
 
Jim Brennan said:
I agree, but there is a middle ground. I was approached by a client to create a video project for them that would have cost X number of dollars. I said great, and we sat down to chat. As we started to talk about the project and the need it was supposed to fill, it became obvious to me that this was not the best use of their dollars. I explained this to them, and while they were reluctant at first (due to how 'cool' they thought their original idea was), they eventually saw what I was talking about. We wound up doing a project that cost them half the money and was twice as effective.

That is now a long-term, happy client who recommends us not only for our skill at shooting and delivering a video, but for being honest and not just taking the money.

.
Click to expand...

I agree with this approach.
1. Yes, Jim made less money but he was paid for what he did.
2. He now has a steady customer.

If you know you're screwing somebody you should speak up. It's simply personal integrity. You will have more friends as well as loyal and surviving customers.
 
commalot said:
2. He now has a steady customer.
Click to expand...

And a steady customer that will probably speak well of him to other potential clients.

There is a lot of good wisdom in this thread.

I'm not the most talented person, but I try to be a nice guy. And "nice guy" can go a long way when doing business with clients.
 
I have to throw out some full disclosure though, because not everybody can afford to be passing up well-payed gigs. My wife and I started our company with one DVX 5 years ago. She worked full time and kept the mortgage payed while I made films and hustled up business. So we never counted on these type of gigs as our primary source of income.

Things are a bit different now, but we still have $0.00 overhead, unless you count the gas it costs to go to gigs and meetings. Every piece of hardware we own was paid for by a gig. We have no debt (personal or commercial) except our mortgage. It took us a while to get here, and lots of cowboys on this site have ponied up some serious cash (or credit) to get started so they can take higher paying gigs out of the gate. That is the way a lot of businesses get started, and there can be a big payoff. But they have to meet expenses every month. My only expenses are my serious addiction to Pepsi, and the constant need to buy more gear.

Anyway, it's a lot easier to walk away from a gig (for whatever reason) when you don't have to worry about keeping the doors open.
 
I dunno why I didn't think of my overhead as being the burdon of my stresses. Kind of obvious but it's something I grew so use to I just kind of started looking at it like I look at paying the cable bill.
I want you to realize though that even though you have no debt, you do have an overhead. Money did come out of your pocket. This makes you have to charge more than a freelancer and that often gets you thrown out of the pile of pickens.
I feel this when people want me to freelance at their place. On one hand, I am canibalizing from myself... a capital sin if you listened to your business instructors back in the day. On the other hand, 70 bucks an hour is profit if I was not booked otherwise. It's this mentality that often ensures one is not booked on their own gear later... cuz they showed their client it was not required.
 
LOL. Yes, that's the problem. Let them pay for whatever they think is needed if it includes you getting paid. Big companies have budgets for people like us, let them use them to the fullest.

-Nate
 
For the record I never said to consciously "screw somebody"... but one day you'll work with some dude... some dude that is amazing at what he does... and you'll watch him in awe all day... and at some point, you'll be wrapping up and have some personal conversation about the day's project... and you'll bring up the idea that the project may not have been money well spent on the part of the client... and that amazing professional will look at you like you were speaking Chinese... and then cross you off his mental list.

If it's just YOU and a client and the project really is... "on you"... and you see a waste of money... I guess you could mention it and build a long-term relationship. I have yet to be in a situation where it unfolds like that.

Imagine pulling your car in for an oil change and a guy working there comes up and says "you realize you could do this yourself and save a lot of money"... you'd definitely go somewhere else next time.

The guys I work with don't even want me to move a piece of trash out of the shot while I'm doing sound... because "it isn't your concern"... I'm not the DP... or producer, or whatever... I guess we've been talking about different levels of production. In my world even bringing stuff like this up takes you off the call list.
 
MattinSTL said:
If it's just YOU and a client and the project really is... "on you"... and you see a waste of money... I guess you could mention it and build a long-term relationship. I have yet to be in a situation where it unfolds like that.
Click to expand...

I have and thats why I mentioned it. And its bearing fruit as well...
 
It's why I have sold two shows in the last year too. Undercutting the producer is a risky business but a requirement in many cases today.
I'll explain. When budgets were fat with A-B, they'd bring me a stack of beta tapes shot in a different state and we'd edit a show for a week. I did not mind this work flow as they'd throw about 10 grand my way to edit and not point out how much they were waisting. As budgets tightened, my boutique was the place to feel it first and I started taking note of the crews of five or more they were flying around (and lodging) and the wacky local photogs they kept hiring per market, usually giving me quite a challenge in post. I took my show Moddin' Art to em as a demo, showed them my one man band appraoch, offered a flat rate to pre-produce, travel, head the production and come back and edit it for one flat fee. They saw the immediate common sense in this and set me off for a full season of "Working in the Trade".
Was this risky? Hell yeah it was. It placed me as a competitor with my clients, who were freelance producers for the brewery. Was it worth it? Well yeah, man it's what kept me employed last year. I knew they'd say yes or I would not have shot myself in the foot with the indeviduals that had been bringing hundreds of thousands in billing my way each year.

In the end, I think we are saying the same thing, Matt. Say nothing until it's time to speak up. The bottom line of this entire thread is the change of times and economy are making it about that time for most. In my opinion, if you are not revaluating your workflows today, you'll not have much to evaluate next year when half the companies we have done work for are no longer offering work. That's it in a nutshell. Some still deny a depression is on the horizon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top