Launching my production business full time - some advice and tips needed

R

richmondfloyd

Active member
Hi,


I've been running a video production company for a couple of years on the side. All top of the range equipment (well it was :)) - EX1, DV6, Letus Extreme etc etc. Had some great feedback. What i'm trying to say is that i'm not in the realms of 'shaky camera' poor quality amateur that I so often see under cutting my prices!


I've been made redundant and have until the 1st Dec until my 'day job' ends. I've always wanted to run my production company full time, but taking that leap from paid employment has not come easily. Now I am being pushed, its finally a reality. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared but equally excited.


Main business - corporate productions, but I think i'm going to branch into Weddings to keep the money rolling in. I'm also going to expand into the area of renting a camera and providing editing services. I never thought that later business model would work, but I have been proved wrong!


Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated. What are the best ways to advertise? Where? How should I structure my day? Are there any tips I need to be thinking about now to save me a bunch of time in the edit?


I know these are really general questions, but any advice would be appreciated. I was only working on my business for 3-4 days a month before and all my work comes from recommendations.


Kind regards,
 
richmondfloyd said:
So what was your biggest learn?
Click to expand...

Charging what was appropriate. I tend to undercharge by nature. We create professional pieces and have wonderful (and higher end) clients. Yet, I still habitually give too many breaks on price. The bottom line is that most clients will pay what you ask for. While I don't want to overcharge, I also don't want to leave money on the table.

The power of hindsight. There is nothing like the experience of being there and having done that. Undoubtedly, you will have somewhat of a learning curve, but each experience grows both character and understanding and ultimately creates a kind of 'foresight' where you can begin to anticipate things unseen.

Networking works. Growing a business is more about who you know (and who knows you) than virtually anything else. Advertising and marketing can help, but there is nothing like pounding the pavement and meeting people. Exchange business cards at every opportunity. Pay for a coffee or a lunch. Attend networking meetings. Follow up with every new contact by sending an e-mail and/or calling. You will probably be surprised to learn that after a few years, you can trace some major clients back to an impromptu meeting. Sometimes a single contact accounts for many, many paying clients or projects. The bottom line is every new person you meet could open huge doors for your business.


Jason
 
What I learned the hardway is that the skills you have learned to succeed at your craft are not the same skills it takes to run a business. Make sure you have a basic knowledge of bookkeeping, liability and insurance, labor law and permitting needs in your area. In addition, have additional resources to draw on when needed like a good accountant and attorney. I have owned a few businesses over that last 25 years and what I found out the hardway was that the skillset needed to administrate a business well are different than your craft skillset. Even if you job the business aspects out, you still need some understanding and a quality team.

Grant
 
I want to quit my job and start my company for a year before I got laid off. I officially started my company 3 weeks after getting laid off. I called my ex-boss a year later and thanked him profusely.

As far as insight i will say if you can handle the craziness weddings are a great way to supplement the corporate work as most corporate clients don't do work on the weekends. Also the extra time you will have from no day job should help with growing the business. My 3 biggest tips are shoot, shoot and don't take my clients. Good Luck!
 
biggest advice: work hard at sales and marketing. Rob Sterling's thread that you have been given covers this. Follow it as much as you can.
 
Make a business plan, stick to it.

Run your business like a business, not an expensive hobby.

it takes less effort to keep your current clients satisfied than it does to find new ones.

Someone will always beat you on price, beat THEM at best-in-class service and creativity.

Get insurance.

Talk to an accountant about taxes. Trust me.

Pay yourself and your contractors first.
 
mcgeedigital said:
Make a business plan, stick to it.

Run your business like a business, not an expensive hobby.

it takes less effort to keep your current clients satisfied than it does to find new ones.

Someone will always beat you on price, beat THEM at best-in-class service and creativity.

Get insurance.

Talk to an accountant about taxes. Trust me.

Pay yourself and your contractors first.
Click to expand...


My advice is... follow Matt's advice.
Seriously.
 
Thank you so much! Really supportive.

So to build the business plan, I'm trying to figure out what customers to target first! Hotels etc. What do you think? I'm confident that when I build up more clients, I'll retain them and they will recommend me, but need more clients at first to get a good wage!

Also, to make sure I follow Matts advice soundly, what needs to go in the business plan to make sure its not just an expensive hobby and i'm running the company like a business?

Oh and I need to revamp my website (www.oplproductions.com - if you fancy any critique). It's made on iweb, but I need to redesign it in the face of the customer. What will they want to see as the key messages when visiting my site? Does SEO matter?

Thanks
 
Your website is very professional looking! iWeb? You shitting me? Your work is very impressive as well (for the corporate look). Are you your own steadicam op? Still and motion graphics artist? Do you do everything yourself?

Rather than asking who you wanna target, the better question would be: How you want to target them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top