Getting Your Video Business Started

Interested in starting a video business? This can be a daunting thought when you start to realize everything that goes into creating and building a business.

There are many key steps that you will not want to skip when starting your videography business.

As owners of a videography business, we wanted to share some tips and tricks that we have learned over the years.

Set Your Goals

This is the fun part. Dream big! Create a list of your goals for yourself and your new business.

What do you want to achieve by creating this business and how are you going to do that?

Create a business plan. You can find templates online or make your own. Writing a business plan is like one big goal planning session on paper.

Set ideal deadlines- when do you want to have your state paperwork complete, when do you want your website to launch, when do you want your first client booked? It is okay to miss these deadlines but setting the deadlines in the first place will keep you motivated.

Research the Market

Understand those in your market. They are not your competitors but your community. Understand what they are doing or not doing in order to be sucessfull.

Reach out to contacts with these companies. You will be surprised how many people with small businesses are willing to meet for coffee or hop on a call and give you advice and just chat. Building relationships like this is so important (more on that later).

Your local Chamber of Commerce might also have some free resources you can look at.

After you research, this should help you narrow what your focus will be with your videography business. Establish what makes you unique and what solutions you will offer your clients that they can currently not get with other companies (lower prices, different editing style, etc.)

Education

Everyone starts at a different level. Some start learning about videography in high school or pursue a related degree in college.

If that is not you, no worries! Start by educating yourself. Youtube is a great resource. There are mentors and leaders in the industry that post helpful content in regards to editing, equipment reviews and filming tutorials for FREE on their channels.

Taylor did go to college for Digital Media and was able to learn a lot about videography and production but he still frequents different Youtube Channels to stay current on new software or editing trends.

Take advantage of free or low cost resources online when you are just getting started.

Get Legit 

After you educate yourself and you are ready to pull the trigger, start planning your administrative to do list. Figure out your state requirements to start operating as a legit business.

Register your business name with your state, familiarize yourself with your tax requirements for operation, open a business bank account, decide if you need business insurance, create social media accounts and a free website. Do not feel like you have to spend a lot of money in order to get your business started. 

How are you going to handle your finances? You can set up a program like Quickbooks on your own or you can look into hiring a monthly bookkeeper. We managed our Quickbooks and hired out our tax services for 5 years before we could afford a monthly bookkeeper and tax prep.

Now, there will be some people who say “just start taking jobs and do all that admin stuff later”. But we have found that having a registered LLC and business insurance at the very beginning was helpful when booking clients. When working with other organizations that have an accounting or legal department- they will request your proof of insurance, a W-9, an official invoice, etc. So be prepared.

Get Experience

Once you have learned more about videography overall and familiarized yourself with the industry and market you will be working in, get some experience. 

If you do not have any past experience in videography, you may have to take some internships or low paying jobs to get started as a production assistant. This allows you to start building your portfolio.

Another option is just taking your camera and start filming. Stage your own product videos or interview people you know to add to your body of work. We have filmed for family businesses or staged a product ad with coffee or liquor products that we use daily. The content turned out great and we had complete control over the editing.

Look into internships if your schedule and finances allow for that or contact local videography businesses in your area and let them know your rates and show them your portfolio.

The more you get your name out there, the higher chance you have at getting leads on jobs.

Network

Network, network network! Like any other industry, it is important to mingle with other videographers and production companies in your area. Once you have authentic established relationships, these contacts will be more likely to recommend you for jobs.

They will also be a great resource to lean on when you are going through the typical struggles of owning a small business.

Grow

Once you start educating yourself, creating your business, getting experience and networking, DON’T STOP. Keep growing in your industry. 

Technology is always changing. Marketing trends are always changing. New videographers will always be joining the industry. 

We have been in business for 7 years and we are still learning and growing. We recently went through a complete re-brand. We struggled with how to market our 2 different brands (business videos and wedding videos). We invested in our education.

It never stops.

If you stay focused and determined to grow in your business each year, you will continue to be successful.