Making video, be it a hobby or video business, can be truly satisfying. You have the ability with your video productions to make an audience laugh or cry, be amazed or simply be educated on a specific topic.
You've probably invested a substantial amount of time and earnings from your day job to purchase all the resources that make-up your video studio. So the leap from hobby to business is not that great.
Technology To The Rescue your Video Business
The marvels of modern technology have enabled the task of making the video to be taken from the studios of big business and transferred to your everyday home office P.C.
A home video business equipped with a digital video camera. And real-time video editing suite can quickly and efficiently produce broadcast-quality video productions.
What Is The Right Video Business For You?
While your video business can cover a whole range of subjects, many operators prefer to specialize in one particular niche. This allows them to deliver quality productions and charge for them accordingly.
The range of video businesses can cover:
Weddings
Certainly, it is not uncommon today for wedding packages to include video along with still photographs as memories of the occasion.
However, a good quality wedding videographer can charge between $2,000 and $5,000 for a day's work! Besides the monetary benefits, in this video business, you can work primarily on the weekend to get paid. Fortunately, you could have the rest of the week off.
Corporate Videos
Contracting your video business to a company can see you videotaping seminars, compiling staff training or other event vido. As well as instructional videos, documenting legal procedures or producing a business promotional video for, let's say, different social media, for instance.
Special Interest Videos
Developing a video or series of videos for a niche area is another great option. By focusing on a market or area of interest you can target an audience of people and supply an ongoing service to them.
Video Journalist
Definately, tough economic times have seen many a business rationalize costs and expenses and this holds for network television both large and small. In other words, you may have seen wanted ads in classifieds asking for video journalists to cover news stories in regional areas?
A local studio may have closed down thus offering an opportunity for those wanting to break through into broadcast media!
Television Production
Firstly, top of the range Digital video equipment can be purchased for under $10,000 and have the comparative output of professional Sony or Canon camera units.
This combined with your desk-top editor and 3D graphic generation software can have you outputting commercial productions rivalling a prime-time network! And it is possible to get free or purchase airtime on many television stations.
Movie Making
Truly, this is one of the exciting aspects of the advancement in video technology! George Lucas has shown what digital can do on a large scale and there are more and more small-time movie makers taking advantage of the new technologies.
Now this list is not exclusive or the 'be all and end all' of video businesses. Just a guide to help you along, if you are stuck for ideas in your videography journey.
Minimizing Risks & Keeping Overheads Low
If you are transforming your hobby into a video business then odds are that you already have a day job. This is an obvious way of minimizing risk as the costs associated with day to day living. Indeed, Paying bills and keeping food on the table is still be maintained by your regular income.
Costs and overheads can also be kept to a minimum by working from home. Buying video hardware that is appropriate to output media and audience and utilizing 'guerrilla'* moviemaking techniques.
Examples of 'appropriate' would be:
* guerrilla video is a term used to describe the making of movies and videos on a small budget and using any means available to produce the desired outcome.
Setting Up The Video Business
Business Legal Structure
To incorporate or not to incorporate. Which way do you take your video business?
Note: I don't give advice regarding business structure, tax or legal matters as that is certainly not my thing. For that type of advice, you should look for a reputable and qualified business adviser, tax agent/accountant and attorney/lawyer.
What I will pass on are the main areas that you should investigate further.
By incorporating or setting up a company structure, you have the ability to raise an impenetrable wall between your personal life and assets and your business activities.
This is most important if you happen to live in a 'lawsuit happy' country and can go a long way to giving you peace of mind as you practice your business.
Accepting Credit Cards
As we appear to be heading more and more towards a 'cashless' society, the ability for your business to accept credit cards becomes more and more important.
You can get yourself a merchant account by:
- approaching the bank.
- partnering with someone who already has a merchant account.
- buying a business that already has a merchant account.
- using an intermediate processor to handle credit card transactions.
Taxes
For sure, this is one area that you should take the time to thoroughly investigate either by yourself or with a registered tax agent.
Any good accountant can point out to you that there are many legitimate tax deductions available to you acting as a corporation that would not be available to you as an individual.
Also as a company/corporation, your tax rate will also be reduced as compared to that of an individual.
So take the time to look into this, it can really be worth your time and effort.
Legalities and Copyright
Going into legal issues for any business can open up a veritable minefield of possibilities And far beyond the scope of my knowledge and this site. But once again, what you will get is the various issues that are likely to come up as they are particular to a video business.
- Performance release - Gaining permission from your actors/subjects to use their image in your production.
- Site release - Using a venue or location may require the OK from the property/business owner.
- Copyright - This can include the use of music, other video or still images etc.
Business Promotion
Obviously, as every business owner knows, clients are the lifeblood of your business. You can be the best practitioner of your craft in the world, but without customers, all your study and training can mean zilch!
Business Promotion Tools And Resources.
No matter what business you are in, in order to stay in business, you must become a 'student of marketing'.
Most importantly, cashflow will now become your priority and all business promotion activities should be geared. Agterall, marketing is working great towards getting more clients through your door or traffic to your website to book a job or sell your products.
Hypnotic Publicity
What Is The World's Most Unusual Way To Promote Your Business or Website? You Can Potentially Get Up To 30 Times More Traffic With This Unusual Breakthrough Method!
Don't Just Have A Website, Have A Web BUSINESS!
In conclusion, today EVERY business needs an online presence... a website. But for a website to be effective it needs to be done right.
To succeed online, you must start where your customers start.