[Kris Simmons]

Hi Peter,

Congratulations on your new venture! The best thing I did to source clients when starting my video business was to network with other professionals at local association meetings. Some of these meetings included the Chamber of Commerce, PRSA (public relations society of america), Ad Federation, BNI (Business Networking International), Manufacturers Association, Safety Association, etc.

I found that the first step to being successful with my video business was to simply get to know as many people as possible and to make sure they had my business card. Then, I’d take the ones I felt could be most beneficial to my success long term and I’d contact them at a later date with the intention of meeting them for coffee or lunch. While at this meeting, I’d get to know them even better and would give them a copy of my demo reel along with any other information about my video production services that they may find useful.

I’ve since added a step in this process by adding these contacts to my email database so I can stay in touch with them on a regular basis with new service announcements, project case studies, etc.

This effort alone worked to grow my business rapidly in the first 3 years and honestly, continues to be the only strategy that guarantees results. I’ve tried a lot of marketing strategies like advertising, direct mail, sponsorships, etc…but nothing results in new business better than networking with people who can either hire you or recommend you to someone who has the authority and money to hire you. Good luck and let me know if I can do anything to help you get your video business off the ground. I’m excited for you!

Kris

[Kris Simmons]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I knew you’d pull through with great advice.

I believe I’ve found the right solution. There is a nice, small office space a couple blocks from my existing office downtown in one of the nice towers on the 13th floor (no, I’m not superstitious). It actually looks out over our river and downtown area so its pretty amazing and its only $750 per month. It’s only about 800 sq ft but I think it will work perfectly for an edit suite and a conference room. Plus at the top of this building is a club I’m a member of so if I need to wine and dine a client, all we have to do is go upstairs. Pretty convenient. I’ll most likely keep my field gear in my garage at home and I’ll just load up and leave from the house whenever I have a shoot.

I’ll probably still do most of my work from home but I’ll have a posh yet inexpensive space to call home if/when a client wants to come there for sales meetings or review sessions. I’ll save $1,000 a month in rent and I’ll have a place to work if/when I want or need to get out of the house for a while.

Seems like a good deal to me. I’ll try to keep you posted.

Thanks again for your time and knowledge. I sincerely appreciate it.

Kris

————
Kris Simmons
Executive Producer & CEO
Fire Eye Productions, Inc.
https://www.FireEyeProductions.com

[Kris Simmons]

I agree with Mark. It doesn’t matter what service you are providing on your machine. If its tied up, you can’t provide another service on it. I suggest that you give your client an estimate of how many hours you believe it will take but give them a little bit of a range. “It will take between 8 and 12 hours to complete these changes. A lot of it depends on how long the HD files take to convert.”

Always remember that if they didn’t need your services, they wouldn’t hire you. You are valuable to them and their business so charge accordingly.

————
Kris Simmons
Executive Producer & CEO
Fire Eye Productions, Inc.
https://www.FireEyeProductions.com

[Kris Simmons]

There are a lot of great points here.

One of the ways I continue to raise rates without clients really knowing or caring is that I don’t actually put the hourly rate and how many hours it will take to perform a particular task in my proposals anymore. The only part I list units on is the actual shoot days because its easy for the client to ask for more days if its not listed in the contract.

The clients I don’t want are the only ones who actually ask how many hours it will take to complete the edit, scripting, whatever. The great and most profitable clients pay for the finished product and as long as the number fits within their budget, they don’t really care how many hours or what tasks are required to deliver it.

Let me clarify that most of my clients are medium to large corporations. I’m sure it would be different if I were working for other producers or advertising agencies.

————
Kris Simmons
Executive Producer & CEO
Fire Eye Productions, Inc.
https://www.FireEyeProductions.com