Joey Groah
Forum Replies Created
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To echo what Todd said, that does sound a bit high. We’re a 5-person shop, we pay out a couple of hundred dollars for year-end for tax prep for two partners and the company.
Joey Groah
Partner/Producer
DIGICO Shoot | Post | Design
https://www.goDIGICO.comO: 540.433.6529
f: 540.574.3041 -
Ha, these are great, and versatile for the scenarios.
I always forget the cars! I’m going to steal “What kind of car driving on how long a road driven by Brad Pitt in a nice, tailored suit…”
Joey Groah
Partner/Producer
DIGICO Shoot | Post | Design
https://www.goDIGICO.comO: 540.433.6529
f: 540.574.3041 -
A bookkeeper, part-time/one-a-month/whatever suits your needs, is a good first step. Minimally I’d suggest an accountant for at least your first year in business.
Five years in, we have a once-a-week “office manager” coming in to reconcile the books, monitor invoicing and receivables, and go through general managerial work with us. We also have a (local) bookkeeping service that handles quarterly filing and our payroll. Earlier in the year we tried a national bookkeeping company but had a number of issues, and going local made a big difference.
The amount we’re paying out to these services is minimal for the expertise and experience we get, as well as the time that’s freed up for the creative work and client interaction.
I’d also suggest exploring legal services. We found a lawyer we like (someone involved in local organizations we got to know), drafted some standard contracts that are modifiable, and have someone who knows our business and can answer questions quickly and informed when we have them.
Incidentally, we’ve just hired a business development/sales person with a background in sales, and a personality and reputation that meshes with ours. We have some specific markets we’d like to grow. Both parties are viewing this period as a trial with concrete goals that are negotiable as we go, and are stoked by the prospects.
Good luck with your growth.
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Joey Groah
Joey@goDIGICO.com -
Thanks much for your thoughts, Todd.
Yeah, the “we need something concrete” is the chief motivator here. I like that we’re flexible to the point of “Hey, do you want to shoot this on Saturday night” and “Yeah, if you’re caught up we’ll see on Monday.” But having some basics down’ll curtail questions/concerns int he future.
joey@GoDigico.com
https://www.GoDigico.com -
Mark, that’s great. Thanks very much for your thoughts and expounding on all your points. Really great.
I’m actually in the employer situation, and we’re reevaluating how we handle vacation/sick days and I was curious about how other shops run. We’re a small shop size-wise (three people internally, a part-timer and about three local freelancers) and we’re looking at hires for later in the year.
I asked around to some other production friends and your thoughts are in line with theirs (and mine).
Again, thanks a lot for your time and input.
(how funny that the post edit button tells me to “Go Back and Edit?” Even the post button knows I should be editing…)
joey@GoDigico.com
https://www.GoDigico.com -
I realize “Free magazines?” is probably not the best header; paid subscriptions are fine by me.
What I should have gone with was “Magazine Suggestions.”
Thanks,
Joey
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I heartily second and third setting up your accounting system ahead of time. There are two of us who make purchases regularly and multiple gas and shipping receipts.
We have a simple process: different folders in the filing cabinent. Throughout the month the different receipts are plugged in to the right QuickBooks account by one person.
And there is a business account for us (we’re an LLC) and even if I was solo and “Joey Video Inc” I’d have a seperate account. There were two of us when the company started and a different account was the way to go.
You may want to check out/join your local chamber of commerce as they often have workshops on basic buisness accounting and the like. And some of our local universities have workshops or sections devoted to business Additionally, S.C.O.R.E. https://www.score.org/ may be a good resource; free counsuling from retired buisness folks for small businesses.
Good luck with everything!
joey@GoDigico.com
https://www.GoDigico.com -
Hey Seth, thanks for your thoughts.
We actually will have a LOWER overhead with the move, due in part to the landlord situations of both properties and some technology tax credits. And there is a bit of retail with our company: we’ve created an “imprint” of custom-built, custom-content kiosks that are used by a variety of industries including real estate, home improvement, fitness centers and the like. So we have our trade show models that can be displayed in the store front.
Regardless, I’m going to miss much of the “home” aspects of the house.
joey@GoDigico.com
https://www.GoDigico.com -
“Where is it jerky? During capture? After capture playing back in the Viewer? On an external video monitor? If it’s during playback, is the log and capture window closed? Are the Viewer and Canvas set to Fit to Window?”
Hi Tom,
Video is “jerky” after capture, during playback in the viewer and an external monitor. Log and capture are close, viewer and canvas are set to fit the window.
We’re also seeing some motion blurring on video of objects in motion. For example, on a piece of video captured before the upgrade, there’s a shot of bus with feet getting on the bus as the bus door opens. The feet and the swinging doors have some “jaggedness” while the background looks fine.
Thanks for your response,
Joey
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Thanks for your thoughts everyone.
We do a lot of business outside of the area, so a big part of us showing up to the next couple of shows is saying “Hey, we’re right around the corner.”
I’ll try to remember to give a note about any benefits.
Thanks,
Joey
joey@GoDigico.com
https://www.GoDigico.com