Allan Klingler / teton video services
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My thought is if they had problems getting you payment for the work, even though they may have made good, if they want further alterations to their site they can take their business elsewhere, If its their site, let them worry about it. What recourse do they have for you to be forced to do it, especially it you are not getting paid to do it? Say sure, I’ll do it for you, it will cost X and payment is due upfront.
Allan Klingler
TVSFind a good woman, treat her right. See life ain’t so bad…
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I liked the idea of being willing to do the training process without charging them since it reflects your willing attitude to do the job their way and find out what that is. Lets face it, every client I take on, I have to spend a considerable time in discussion with them to get a feel for their shooting and editing style and what their expectations are for the finished work of the project. That is a cost I incurr in doing business and there is little getting around that unless it is with an exisiting client who says, do it just like you did last time.
On the other hand. If you are involved in steady profitable work and its all you can do to get things done for your current tasks, that time out of the office to train off the clock is unreasonable and not cost effective. Can you justify that pressure that will come from pushing back the work of other paying clients for something that will forseeably have limits in profitability to your company. If it has the potential of being an ongoing profitable gig you should consider it, but if you forsee the client will always be trying to get stuff out of you for free, Turn it down outright or raise your prices. I have enough clients like that who use tactics like this to reduce their investment in my precious time. If you are established, you need to pick and choose your projects wisely as it will determine whether you are just keeping busy or are making money doing work.
I find I am often further ahead to turn down my marginally profitable work. Always take care of good clients as they are the ones who take care of you. To do what is best for your company, your objective is ideally to pick the most profitable long term mix of projects and selectively fill your time with what you can get done right. Other less profitable work can be either farmed out or rejected. People you take care of well realize the production value you bring and will be willing to pay for it when they need you. Having said that, don’t take on so much that each project can’t be stellar work. Ultimately quality work will benefit you more than doing lots of mediocre work. Since the nature of the work we do is high profile for our clients they talk a lot to other potential clients and that word of mouth advertising is the best advertising any of us has.
Allan Klingler
Teton Video ServicesFind a good woman, treat her right. See life ain’t so bad…
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As far as churches as a client directly, in owning a video production company for nearly 10 years I have never had one solicit me for work. I have had several calls wanting to buy second hand used equipment for their own start up studios.
As far as that goes working with people directly for church weddings and Quinceaneras is probably more reasonable to break into, although frankly it is highly competitive on price and you will compete with well established people who have many thousands tied up in equipment resources who will make it intense to compete against in quality or price.
The LDS church has some truly remarkable and great commercials and TV productions if you have ever seen their work, it truly is world class. If I am not mistaken I believe that Bonneville Communications out of SLC UT does a good part of their work. You ought to call the toll free #s on their commercials and get one of the videos to watch sometime just to get a feel for what they do. You can learn a lot from observation of quality work in the field you want to serve.
Frankly, from my experience, I think you may be facing an uphill battle if you pursue only this small niche segment of the market in your business model. I would say focus on what you’re good at, and talk to your clients. Word of mouth will get you in more doors and the diversity in your work will make you better at what you do. There is no sense in locking yourself into something so narrow that you will not be able to not be able to adapt quickly to changes in your customer base.
Allan Klingler
Teton Video ServicesFind a good woman, treat her right. See life ain’t so bad…