How To Get Started and Stay In The Business

Hi Chromed One! Great to see your name here again!

I'm not quite getting your question as I thought we'd addressed this way back in the beginning someplace. If I'm missing something, shoot me a PM or email with a few more details and I'll try to help if you'll agree to repost everything here for others to benefit from as well.

Thanks!

Robert
 
As I was typing I did feel that i was making a redundant post... but I definitely wasn't sure. Let me re-read the thread.

Thanks
 
Robstar, I want to get your thoughts on hiring part timers.

I'd like to hire someone to do some simple editing or prep projects for editing. Loading video, labeling clips, logging clips (busy work), and when that's not happening, they're a PA on set. They run errands like getting snacks for shoots and picking up the rental gear.

Of course, this is all project based, and when there's not active shoots, there's not much for them to do, so we'd have to scale them back.

Have you done this type of thing before?
 
Hey Woody!

Employees open up a whole new world of challenge for you; they can be the best thing in the world or a nightmare. No matter what, my best advice for hiring freelance or staff is to HIRE SLOW AND FIRE FAST!!! Repeat that over and over to yourself during the process.

Part-time is a different world now with the ACA / "Obamacare" and you need to fully understand the repercussions that go with employees.

Whatever you do, make sure you have Workers Comp insurance for either one unless you're willing to give up your home and everything you own for an injured worker.

I'd certainly recommend freelancers over staff based on having staff for 26 years. You do have to be very good in your setup though to make sure they are truly freelancers as in they have other customers, they invoice, they have insurance of their own and that you do not control how they do their job. In other words, they are doing the work in their own time, their own way with their own tools at the location of their choice. You give them a task and they perform it as a consultant. You, as the customer can still have creative control or goal oriented scopes of services but not control how or where they do it. Some can still be at your location.

Another way to do it and if I were going to have staff I would do it this way is to "lease" your employees from a staffing company. You hire, they work for the staffing company but ALL of their payroll, insurance is handled by the staffing company. You simply hire the staffing company to provide someone for your business. That is the best insulation between you and them. They work for the staffing company and the staffing company leases them to you as needed. Yes it will cost you some percentage more, HOWEVER if they get hurt on the job or need healthcare it is from the staffing service not you. You don't deal with employment, screening, taxes, accounting, healthcare or anything else. A huge thing is that you can terminate the staffing company / person at any time and you are not stuck dealing with proper hiring / firing / requirements. Trust me when I tell you it is worth every possible penny in the pain in the rear factor not to mention risk management and liability. Plus you have someone there essentially under your control all the time. If they suck you simply tell the staffer to send in options for a replacement and you don't have to deal with warning letters, probation periods, vacation / sick pay. Sounds complex but IMHO the only way for a small business to have staff and protect your own interests.

Does this help?

Robert
 
Well guys first off, I started reading through this thread again a few days, ago and tried the prospecting type of conversation on a client, which actually worked. I'm learning now to get clients, it's all about building relationships with your clients, not so much about you trying to get money from them, on the first instance.

Secondly I'm not able to call as much prospects in a day, because I'm currently employed. So they say to start a business you need six-twelve months worth of savings to start a business, I cannot save that yet, but I still want to start my business.

So what I'm doing, I'm currently treating my current job as the monthly expenses, so I'm currently in month one, while in the mean while, I'm doing what I can in my free time, to start the business. I also followed Rob's advice about joining the chamber of commerce, I did not join one, but I'm going to be joining a association with the business owners I'm targeting and guess what, this association have gatherings, where they invite all of the business owners to come and mingle, so boom, right there I will be able to get some insight straight from the owners in understanding their business better.
 
I'm also working on getting a very professionally designed website, because this will be very important and speaks a lot about your professionalism.
 
Thanks for joining us Jermaine and congratulations on your decision to get started in the business and to take the steps from the very beginning to stay in the business!

Keep at it because you're already making good decisions!

Everything you do from how you compose emails, answer the phone and how you dress affects it all. Total packages equal total success!

Thanks!

Robert
 
Good question Woody! You made me think of this in a way I have not before and the answer was not what I expected when I first read your question!

I think it would depend on what you're outsourcing the most or what you need the most control or oversight on. At the time that I was employee focused, we had 3-6 projects in-house in various stages of work at a time and I needed full time attention from a dedicated staff for each project or projects. There was no choice but to have light accounting / office manager, PA, producers, editors, marketing director, camera op, web and graphic designers. There were specialists but everyone helped everyone depending on what the immediate need was. Employees themselves were quick to spit out people who did not help the whole team when needed.

In terms of making my day to day world as a business owner better, hands down without a doubt that position was Executive Assistant / Office Manager; someone with no interest in film at all but loved supporting me and the rest of the company. I had never thought about that position until I hired an office manager who had been an executive assistant and she taught me how to work with one. During the interview I explained how hectic my work day was, how hectic the office was and she said the best line any employee or prospective employee could ever say "I know exactly what you want, I know how to do that and I can do that for you". Best line ever even when you're pitching a prospective client!

She truly revolutionized my work day and became my protective sheep dog. She would find out or anticipate what the work was, what my needs were and organize my desk, my paperwork, travel schedule, my phone calls, meetings and schedule. When I traveled, she handed me an envelope with everything I needed. When I met with prospects or clients she handed me everything I needed. Phone calls were prioritized and every Monday and Thursday she created a "one-sheet" overview of the company financials as to how much we had, who owed us and who we owed. She knew what to do and I didn't have to train her. All of that allowed me to focus on what I could do best for the company and it was in her nature to be a support person for busy people like me. I'd say that was my most valuable staff position to me personally but obviously all the other positions were important too; she simply cleared my head of all the little stuff.

The Executive Assistance position is not simply an Admin Assistant or Office Manager; there are professionals that specialize in it and take pride in it. They also do basic admin tasks and even some light bookkeeping but their real benefit is freeing your schedule and mind to do the important work like marketing, sales and creative. I know many top executives who have had the same Exec Assist for 20-30 years and they follow from job to job. They cost a little more but are worth every penny and then some.

Since I sold the company I never wish I had employees or staff still except for those days that I wish I had my Exec Assistant. If I had it to do over again and wanted to gear back up I'd hire freelance everything until such time as I could find a good assistant.

Robert
 
Some information i've found helpful are, when presenting to clients, present yourself as problem solvers, a lot of potential clients don't care if you are the Dp, Creative Director, Photographer etc etc. For ex: say you are a video editor that tells effective stories to solve your clients problems, present yourselves in that way, not just as a videographer, editor etc etc...
 
robstar1 said:
Good question Woody! You made me think of this in a way I have not before and the answer was not what I expected when I first read your question!

I think it would depend on what you're outsourcing the most or what you need the most control or oversight on. At the time that I was employee focused, we had 3-6 projects in-house in various stages of work at a time and I needed full time attention from a dedicated staff for each project or projects. There was no choice but to have light accounting / office manager, PA, producers, editors, marketing director, camera op, web and graphic designers. There were specialists but everyone helped everyone depending on what the immediate need was. Employees themselves were quick to spit out people who did not help the whole team when needed.

In terms of making my day to day world as a business owner better, hands down without a doubt that position was Executive Assistant / Office Manager; someone with no interest in film at all but loved supporting me and the rest of the company. I had never thought about that position until I hired an office manager who had been an executive assistant and she taught me how to work with one. During the interview I explained how hectic my work day was, how hectic the office was and she said the best line any employee or prospective employee could ever say "I know exactly what you want, I know how to do that and I can do that for you". Best line ever even when you're pitching a prospective client!

She truly revolutionized my work day and became my protective sheep dog. She would find out or anticipate what the work was, what my needs were and organize my desk, my paperwork, travel schedule, my phone calls, meetings and schedule. When I traveled, she handed me an envelope with everything I needed. When I met with prospects or clients she handed me everything I needed. Phone calls were prioritized and every Monday and Thursday she created a "one-sheet" overview of the company financials as to how much we had, who owed us and who we owed. She knew what to do and I didn't have to train her. All of that allowed me to focus on what I could do best for the company and it was in her nature to be a support person for busy people like me. I'd say that was my most valuable staff position to me personally but obviously all the other positions were important too; she simply cleared my head of all the little stuff.

The Executive Assistance position is not simply an Admin Assistant or Office Manager; there are professionals that specialize in it and take pride in it. They also do basic admin tasks and even some light bookkeeping but their real benefit is freeing your schedule and mind to do the important work like marketing, sales and creative. I know many top executives who have had the same Exec Assist for 20-30 years and they follow from job to job. They cost a little more but are worth every penny and then some.

Since I sold the company I never wish I had employees or staff still except for those days that I wish I had my Exec Assistant. If I had it to do over again and wanted to gear back up I'd hire freelance everything until such time as I could find a good assistant.

Robert
Click to expand...

Well, we're in the process of hiring a junior editor to bring in here. Hiring freelance eats our lunch on costs, and we have so many other, internal projects that we can't bill for, that it seems to make sense to have someone like that on staff.

However, I see the value and the reason of hiring an executive assistant, I'll keep someone like that on our radar and thing scale up.
 
Jamaine said:
Some information i've found helpful are, when presenting to clients, present yourself as problem solvers, a lot of potential clients don't care if you are the Dp, Creative Director, Photographer etc etc. For ex: say you are a video editor that tells effective stories to solve your clients problems, present yourselves in that way, not just as a videographer, editor etc etc...
Click to expand...

You're right, there are very few clients who give a crap about what camera and editing software you use. I love talking to them about it if they ask, but mostly, like you said, they have a problem that needs to be solved, and you're the only one that can solve it for them. One of the big things we've been working on around here, is client communication through the process. We involve them as much as they want, sometimes not much, sometimes a lot. We're in a communications business, but some companies aren't good at the client communication. In fact, there's companies in town that are great, creative places, but people won't work with them again because they didn't enjoy the experience.
 
Hey Everyone! I just finished ready every single post in this thread, which I discovered last week. Every. Single. Post. This thing is an absolute gold mine.

I would like to thank everyone in this thread who has contributed advice. I've learned so much over the course of reading it.

A little about me for some background.

About two years ago, I was laid off from my role as Lead 3D artist at a small post house here in Seattle. I decided to take the plunge at that time, and start my own business. Unfortunately, like many people, I had the mentality that if you do good work, people will come to you. I've since discovered that is NOT the case at all.

With my background in 2D/3D animations and post production, I figured I could find work easily. I also discovered that was not the case. I now know (because of this thread), that I most certainly can find the work, but that I was looking in the wrong places. My marketing plan actually begins this weekend.

I'll be traveling to Oregon this weekend for a large Paintball event (It's called Supergame, and is the biggest event on the west coast, averaging between 1500-2500 players every year). I'm shooting a documentary (my first) about the event, while simultaneously marketing to vendors, making connections, and building relationships. I've also been in much communication with the photography team, so I'm hoping that some referrals can come from that relationship as well.

I'm currently building a list of companies to start calling.

I'm also talking to a designer that I know, brainstorming of ways that we can collaborate to provide better value to prospects.

I just want to thank everyone posting advice and success stories here. You guys have seriously lit a fire under my ass!

Brian McGahuey
Owner - Pixlbrain Digital
http://www.pixlbrain.com

Also, I'm posting a link to my website in the hopes that you guys can provide some tips to help make it more appealing to potential clients. Feel free to look around, and let me know what you guys think.

And, just so you know, I can take criticism, even if it's blunt. ;) Bring it on!
 
Hi Everybody!

Just like several others I've come across on the way, I just finished reading my way through this thread and am stunned. Not only by the knowledge being shared but by the collective and collaborative spirit of the forum in general. In an industry that can be cutthroat, it is always great to see people helping each other to such an extent.
I work for Above Summit, an up-and-coming boutique production studio specializing in Aerial Videography/Photography. We use UAV("drone")-mounted cameras to capture shots from the air that would otherwise require cranes, wires, or helicopters, and have an absolute blast doing it.
I am in charge of most of the communications, marketing, sales, and research for Above Summit, and have found the advice contained in this thread to be of immeasurable value. So I just wanted to say thanks and I'm looking forward to joining this community!

Cheers,
Dave Avery
Above Summit
www.abovesummit.com
 
Thanks for all the support to keep this thread going for so long! Wow!

Please share your tips, tricks, trials, tribulations and successes to help others.

There's such a great knowledge base here now of good people helping their friends and colleagues!

All the best for your success!

Robert
 
Growing pains.

A couple of months ago, we decided to take the plunge (again) and hire another employee. We really needed a full time editor to come in and kick ass. We hired who we 'thought' we needed, and were off to the races.

After a month or so, we started to see that we weren't getting what we needed from the editor, and we couldn't change it, we had hired the wrong person for the job. This was our fault, because we didn't really know the qualities that we were truly needing, so we hired for what we 'thought' we needed. Fortunately for us, we have a two month probation clause with new hires, and it fell with in that time period, so we had to part ways with the guy.

I was crushed.
It was one of the worst experiences ever, and top three worst professional experiences ever, if not THE worst.

Firing someone, for no real fault of their own, is really tough, but it had to be done for the company and our clients product.

Now, we're far more focused and realistic about our expectations for the next editor, but we're taking it even slower, and probably doing a part time contractor and see how that goes. I'd love to never have to fire anyone ever again, I'd much rather them quit because of a better opportunity, or maybe they decide to become a monk or a realtor, whatever. It's been said here and everywhere a million times:

Hire slow, fire fast.

We took our time hiring, and fired fast when we knew it wasn't going to work out.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but after ever round of projects, the team gets together and does a project post mortem. I call it a Good Bad Ugly meeting, but really, it's what we did good and what we can do better. Keep it positive.
This has been really helpful in not making the same mistake twice, because every project has a unique set of circumstances that will challenge your existing process and skills, but when you come across a similar project in the future, hopefully, you've learned a bit of what not to do, and what to do more of.

What we're finding is that we need better communication with our client during the idea/budget phase. What's been happening is that the idea they like ends up being more expensive than they can afford, so we're either delivering the project with a skeleton crew, or eating some cash. Neither are great.

Even if you don't have employees, and just hire freelancers on a regular basis, I highly recommend a post project review.
Insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result.
 
Tough and expensive lesson to learn indeed. Been there done that more than I care to think about. You can't hire slow enough or fire fast enough frankly. Sorry you had to do it but you did it and learned from it. Now you're sharing your story and that's going to help someone else someday and help you too in the long run.

Getting to the client issue of what I call project creep, you have to detail out bids and proposals and of course it makes perfect since to get feedback from all departments. The first thing a client wants is a "rough price" and it's hard not to give that out and it's almost always wrong as well.

You have to stay with it and make sure you have a locked treatment BEFORE you ever give out any price and also make sure all departments / freelancers are part of the upfront process. You'll get lots of great questions and points from them to go back to the client for answers and clarification on. Absolutely hold out until you have everything and all expectations. Once you do and of course it's still rough, present a "Preliminary Budget" based on information as of that exact date. After that point if the client makes changes above that scope of services you can refer back to it and say "We'd love to do that and think it's a great idea but that will blow your budget by $$$$$ and my job is to protect your budget". This keeps them in check, determines disparate expectations early on and frankly provides you with an income opportunity. You're a smart guy so I know you can take it from here.

YOU HAVE TO RESIST THE URGE TO TOSS OUT A BUDGET AND HOLD YOUR GROUND!!!

Now, this is not the same as a "qualifying budget" to determine how much time to spend with this prospect. They may have no idea or no concept yet and could have very unrealistic budget expectations (imagine that). During the deeper qualification process if they don't have a number or concept in mind you can qualify them by saying "Like building a house with no floor plans the range could be $50,000 for a two room home or $550,000 for a 3000 sq foot home". If they say they were thinking more like $5,000 you can either decline as it's under your range or you can tell them what they can get for that amount.

As always thanks for sharing the wins and challenges and please keep us updated!

All the best!

Robert
 
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