How To Get Started and Stay In The Business

I'm having some difficulty understanding how I can bear the expense of traveling (much less convincing a distant client prospect to hire me over some local) 250 miles one-way, lodging costs and still make a profit, unless the gig is a huge one paying five figures, but then on a huge gig that would make all these expenses financially-feasable, why wouldn't the client choose a well-known local outfit? It doesn't make sense. I would have to charge more to cover my lodging/travel, whereas the local would charge less, as it's just a day's work and a short commute. Another matter is that I have responsibilities at home, taking care of a child, which limits my time away from home, as the wife and I work opposites shifts/hours and rotate childcare responsibilities.
 
You never pay for travel. That's the client's responsibility. I don't even offer a lower day rate for travelling. They can either afford me or they can't. My time is worth nothing less in the air than it is in the edit suite or in the field with a camera. This by itself limits your time away from your family and it's by far the most diplomatic way to weed low end clientele.
 
Something just doesn't add up here.. with all the downward pressure on videographer's rates, you're suggesting that I add on to my rates, the high cost of travel and lodging? It would seem that any sensible businessman hiring a video company would say "to heck with that out of town guy, I'm not going to pay double the local guy's rate because he's from out of town!"
In an economy where one has to be competitive on price as well as quality (and screw quality, since almost no one seems to give a hoot whether its on VHS, DV or HD), adding a few hundred or more dollars on to the price tag for a project would price me out of the market.
Now if I manage to somehow break the cartel around the Boston Symphony, or the New York Philharmonic, or another nationally-known orchestra, and if the industry could afford to pay me the proper ten to twenty grand for making a recording/video, then that would be another situation altogether, but I don't see that happening at this point in time.
 
Then stay local until your reel/reputation commands that kind of compensation. You're right, it's a tough market and you have to compete. But you're not making yourself competitive by bidding on distant jobs and then paying your own expenses. You're just making yourself poor.
 
indeed.
There has to be a reason they'd want to travel you instead of just hiring someone in that market. That reason should be because you will do a far better job. For that better job, they will pay for the travel... or just hire a local photog and have the tapes fedexed their way.
They don't all wanna roll the dice on this, not knowing if they are getting a fine DP or a local news photog. Peace of mind costs a plane ticket and a hotel room. Your day rate can't cover that.
 
Hence, the 'chicken or egg' syndrome. To make a reel, you need clients. To get clients, you need a reel... hmmm...
 
You can do that locally. Don't get in the red to do it. you can get in the red making your own projects with no travel at all. You simply need to go through your local productin directory, cold-calling everyone. Take every job offered... yes even the free ones. This is how you will get started. Get your foot in the door, have something on that reel and resume then get a minimum wage job. You'll get a low paying salary gig after that and most liekly find after the hours you put in, it's far less than minimum wage. You'll justify this by knowing you are learning far more than you were when paying a college to learn. After that, you'll give yourself a five figure raise every other year in the form of moving on to a bigger better job, most likely in a different market. Be ready to move. At some point folks will indeed pay to fly you around the country producing media for them.
 
basspig said:
Hence, the 'chicken or egg' syndrome. To make a reel, you need clients. To get clients, you need a reel... hmmm...
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Not necessarily. The manner in which you present yourself, your business card and other advertisements speak volume to clients. If you're just starting out the level of client you're dealing with may not even know to ask for a reel so don't offer. I never offer a reel unless asked for one. You're the "video guy" so you must know what you're doing, hence you know more than them; assuming you do. Nor do you need clients to make a reel. Shoot your own scenes a/k/a practicing your craft and build a reel from that. Be creative, buy a nice product and shoot it, shoot scenics of your town at magic hour light that can be used for stock b-roll later as well. Few people ask for a reel or resume on the client side and only a few DP / Director types ask for a reel.

Consultant travel is part of doing business for all kinds of consultants and clients are accustomed to paying for it. Try calling a Plumber and they charge you to drive across town! You don't have to itemize travel expenses if you wish for it to appear as if you work local, your fee should be enough to cover it if that is the way you want to handle it but don't be afraid to add travel and expenses for jobs requiring overnight.

It's time to quit making excuses, pick up the phone and start dialing for dollars if you want to establish yourself and survive in the business. Once you get offers for work you'll figure out a way to do it.

Also, there may be some markets where you want to establish yourself as a "virtual local business" if there's lots of potential work there. For instance, a good bit of my work is in LA and I work LA as a local operator. I've set myself up with an LA phone number and a crash pad to stay there.

It's very easy to say we're based in Small City, MO but we service the X, Y and Z markets as well.

If there's a will there's a way so unless you have the will to get through all these hurdles you'd better start looking for a regular job.

Robert Starling, SOC
Steadicam Owner / Operator
 
I'm certainly familiar with the travel expense billing model, as I used to use it when I worked as a freelance broadcast engineering consultant. I enjoyed a modest amount of success in that field due to the fact that I had no competition--kids these days aren't going for ASEE and BSEE degrees and even fewer become PEs, whereas I have over forty years' experience in the field of electronics, RF, communications and optics/lasers. Much of the electronics industry evaporated and I found myself working in unskilled jobs to put bread on the table. My last 'good' job was as a tech writer where I earned a whopping 20 grand a year, almost double what I was earning 4 years earlier. The company relocated and I took an early retirement. Since then, I went on to start a typesetting business, then graphic design/color prepress and in the second year of this new century, video production. I dabbled with video production in the '80s, but I couldn't raise the kind of capital to do it right back then, so I shelved it until the digital age brought it within my reach via bootstrap financing (self finance).

Right now, I'm pursuing work in the music industry, as that unites my passion for audio and music with my interest in video. It's not that I've just started this business up. I've done a lot of freebie video for non-profit orgs in 2002-05, but in '05 I realized that I was at my best working in the music/concert venue.

The concept of 'virtual local business' is way off in the future, if at all. That involves expenses to maintain an office. I'm working out of a renovated studio on the lower level of my home and have been for 23 years in various modes of service. It would be nice to make that level, but it's sort of like jumping a tax bracket in the 1960s where once you make the leap, you're profits drop considerably as you now have massively increased overhead. I could see myself hiring prime video experts in various regions one day, but that requires an almost franchise-like business model/formula that makes me a desirable employer.

I've been calling local businesses, but it seems that either they feel they're happy with the ad work the cable company did for 'free' as part of they ad campaign on cable, or they feel that video is not of value or even applicable to them. Some have all the work they need and aren't interested in promoting themselves (mostly medical professionals in this category). I'm starting to see a tiny interest from local musicians, but it's a trickle and hasn't turned into any contracts yet. Lots of followups and a lot of 'brainstorming' so far.

Regular employment never was, or will be a good match for my personality type--I just don't work well in confined routines and I get bored very quickly and lose interest in working for some corporate entity for $10/hr only to come home with about $6/hr after taxes, after a two-hour commute each direction. I really hate commuting and I can't stand being in or around crowded cities. The country and the mountains have been my home for most of my life and it's a part of who I am.
 
all I can say is in working in the music industry for a couple of decades, I have never paid my own trvalling expenses for a project for a client. Now labors of love are different. When I embark on a new show I am trying to get off the ground and it requires me travelling to do it, as executive producer of the project that's part of my gig or it is not gonna get done. When somebody calls needing this or that, again, they can either afford me or they cannot. I do not invest in other companies' business plans. Invest in yours, grow it, and enjoy the ride.
 
The manner in which you present yourself, your business card and other advertisements speak volume to clients. If you're just starting out the level of client you're dealing with may not even know to ask for a reel so don't offer. I never offer a reel unless asked for one. You're the "video guy" so you must know what you're doing, hence you know more than them; assuming you do.
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So true.
Last year I met this guy at a restaurant, we talked and he asked me what I do. I told him and gave him my card. He was impressed - based on just my card and the small talk we had.
Two months ago he hired me to shoot a TV spot for his company - which is now airing on ESPN.
He never saw my reel.
 
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I get a lot of people wanting to see my reel. I even signed up with TurnHere last March, but apparently, since I have nothing but orchestras and aviation footage on my reel, they have no confidence to hire me to produce ads for their clients. Reels are still important.
To the good, I had a small 'miracle' happen recently... a law firm in an adjacent state found my web site on Google and called me. They had a panel discussion coming up in two days and couldn't find anyone to shoot it on short notice, so I checked my schedule and sure enough, I had nothing booked (as usual) and I got the gig. I did one heck of a job--turns out at first they were a little skeptical that my price was TOO low, as I later found out I came in about $350 under other quotes they'd gotten. But I based my quote on my hourly rate and the number or hours to shoot and edit the event. I got the job, delivered the finished product within the week, they reviewed it and were blown away by the quality. I'd say there's a good chance I'll see some referrals and repeat business with them. Lawyers know a lot of people, and that's good for me. All I need is one job a week like that and I'm set. Two a week and my wife can retire.
Of course my ultimate gig would be a contract with the Boston Symphony or the New York Philharmonic, where I record for commercial release and become world-famous for advance the audio state of the art.. :-)
 
Rob, the economy is quickly changing...Any more sage advice? I have begun to see an upswing in leads. How does a small business leverage the incoming tide?


Jason
 
I don't believe a phone call from an unknown is effective. My strategy is to build credibility with musicians who know people in these orchestras, to increase my number of recordings made using my technique and to eventually send samples and a cover letter to these orchestras.
I fully expect to be shot down by both union rules and existing recording contracts. Others in the music biz have told me that my chances of failure are not quite 100%, that any one of these orchestras could have a dispute that causes a falling out with their recording companies, thereby opening opportunity for me.
 
Cold calling is a big part of business, be it job seeking or pitching content. Sooner or later, it's something your going to have to be effective at.
 
On the subject of travel, I was asked about availability to record a concert by an existing music client of mine in Boston this week. The problem was, once I gave them my estimate of cost, taking into account the almost six hours of round trip driving, they just couldn't budget that much.



On another matter, today my wife and I went to a prospect's house to quote on covering a sweet sixteen party. From a conversation I had had last winter with this individual, it sounded like they wanted a couple of hours only, at a reception hall. Today, she laid out the whole day... a 7 hour day, multiple locations, following her daughter and 18 other teens in a stretch limo to various locations. She wanted the shoot to be like one of those television shows with young celebs. So I pointed out on my price list which package would fit her needs. Due to the fact that the woman (mother of the girl we'd be making the video for) is a casual friend of my wife's, I gave her a generous 20% discount. She acted like the price was not even remotely within her budget. We haggled for another hour, she showed us her own wedding video (which was supposedly shot by a pro in 1995, but looked so shakey like it was shot on a cell phone camera) with bad video and horrid audio (he didn't use any ext mics), we sat down at the table again and I shaved another $99 off my price. By now, I'd be working for under $20/hr.
She argued that she got a photographer for half what I was charging. I explained that once he leaves the reception hall, 90% of his work is done, whereas mine is just beginning. I pointed out that video involves continuity of picture and involves sound as well, both things the still photog doesn't deal with. She was quite clueless.
My final offer was about $400 lower than I felt comfortable with, but apparently higher than she wanted to pay.
Mind you, this woman earns 3X what my wife and I earn COMBINED.
Now for the kicker: just before we left, she bragged about her new car and pointed to it in the driveway, a shiny new black Mercedes that must have cost at least sixty grand. I rolled my eyes, bid her a pleasant good bye and walked out.
 
Waisting time is waisting money. Don't travel unless getting paid to do it and don't drive out to give bids that could have been shot down over the phone.
 
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