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R R $ HOW TO START AND OPERATE YOUR OWN VIDEO TAPING SERVICE
Video taping services are not only tremendously profitable, but timely, as
more and more demand grows within this exploding industry every day.
Video tape is rapidly growing in popularity among consumers because
as more and more people add video cassette players to their home
entertainment systems, the demand for expertly produced videos of
important events in a family’s life is skyrocketing. Weddings,
baby showers, birthday parties, club meetings, school sports events
and numerous other gatherings provide the perfect opportunity for
you to enjoy a fantastically profitable business while enjoying the
company of new friends.
Now is the ideal time to get started with your own video taping
service. The purchase, operation and maintenance of all the
necessary equipment is quite easy. Advanced features built into
the equipment, combined with simple operating procedures make video
camera operation a snap. You can read through a video instruction
manual, spend several hours experimenting with various lighting
conditions and techniques, and develop the ability to produce a
high quality video tape of almost any event.
One- and two-person video taping services around the country are
reporting substantial gross earnings. One large operation we
looked into reported an income figure of $800,000 during the
preceding 12-month period. They were accepting taping jobs from
all quarters and keeping four full-time teams busy. In the
beginning, however, success with this kind of business does not
require an office set up or any special education or training. You
can start it on a part-time basis from your home and parlay it into
a full-time, profitable profession. The prestige this business
will afford you is similar to that of a real estate broker. You
can begin working alone or with a partner. You’ll need a minimum
amount of equipment, but you must spend time developing sales leads
and personally contact prospective customers. Therefore, if you
plan to begin as a part-time operation and grow into a full-time
business, it would be advisable to have at least one other person
on the team with you.
The successful operation of a video taping service is found through
marketing imagination, organization, and attention to detail.
Ideas and requests for new events to tape and preserve for later
playback and viewing develop faster than one can list. There are,
however, so many things to remember and minor details to take care
of that the only way to operate successfully is with a series of
checklists. This applies to both the person selling the service as
well as the man or woman behind the recording camera.
Don’t let the numerous details scare you off. On the contrary,
you’ll find video equipment easy and inexpensive to work with,
especially when compared to obtaining a comparable degree of
expertise with film. You can use the same tape over and over
again. This is definitely business where the phrase “practice
makes perfect” applies.
To begin your video taping service, you’ll need a portable video
recorder, commonly termed a “camcorder” (camera-recorder). If you
don’t already own your own equipment, now is the time to buy.
Prices have never been lower nor the selection greater. Standard
size camcorders can be purchased for well under $1,000, often for
half that price. Because technology changes so rapidly, you can
pick up a high-quality camcorder from last year’s stock, or perhaps
slightly used, for under $500. And these are still top-of-the-line
cameras. Smaller, palm-size cameras are now available, as well as
adapters to make smaller tapes compatible with most home VCRs.
Features and options for your camera will abound, but you’ll want
to make sure your camera has some of the more important ones, such
as input jacks to add external microphones. This will aid in
taping extended vocal recordings, such as speeches, weddings,
concerts, etc. Your dealer can help you choose an inexpensive
external microphone to augment the one that is already built into
the camera. Other important features include auto-character
generation (for adding titles and captions) and the ability to dub
vocals onto a tape without harming the original picture quality.
Read through some current video magazines available on the
newsstand to get a general idea of the features you would like.
Make a list of those that will be a necessity and those that are
“wishes.” Then visit as many stores as possible in your area that
carry video cameras. Get a feel for prices and available options.
Then make your selection. Note that some stores may allow you to
lease a camcorder, thus reducing your initial cash outlay
requirements.
An important part of your service is the blank video tapes that you
will purchase. While standard VHS tapes can be purchased quite
inexpensively, you will want to make a habit of using a high
quality tape for the best results. Check out the latest copy of
“CONSUMER REPORTS BUYING GUIDE” at your local library. Determine
what their best recommendation is concerning video tapes. Talk
with the video salesman at your local stores. You’ll soon come to
know what brands are better and which to avoid. Find out if you
can purchase tapes wholesale by calling the home office of the
manufacturer. Check around in your area. Doing the necessary
study in advance will save you time and money in the future. These
elementary learning steps are necessary as the foundation of your
business.
Once you have your video recorder, take it home and start
practicing with it. Think of yourself as being on a job for a
homeowner or an insurance company taking a photographic inventory
of the house and/or the occupant’s possessions. Practice by making
a tape recording of your own household furnishings. Make a tape,
then play it back and critique your work. Then repeat the process
again and again until you have a tape you can use in sales
presentations to homeowners and insurance companies. Video tape
recordings of this kind are becoming extremely popular for use in
insurance claims across the country.
The possibilities for selling your services to those who would like
a video record of some special event are endless. Look through
your weekend newspaper and make a list of the girls announcing
wedding dates. Find their names and telephone numbers in your
telephone directory and call them on the phone. Ask them if they
would mind if you came to their wedding and made a video tape of
it, without any obligation to them, of course. Arrange to be at
the wedding location an hour beforehand to get your equipment
situated. The secret is to get as much of the wedding from a good
angle as possible without being obtrusive. Setting up slightly
behind the officiating minister and off to one side will allow you
to focus on the faces of the wedding party and guests without
having to make large movements. The zoom feature of your camera
will allow you to be far enough out of the way so as not to
obstruct the view of any guests. With your camera set up on a
tripod, shoot the wedding ceremony. Afterward, go to the reception
and take candid shots of the events–dancing, singing, cutting the
cake, the departure of the couple, etc. Use your imagination. Get
as many of the events as possible but without interfering in any
way. After the event, take the tape home and review it. Keep
practicing at weddings until you have a tape you’re reasonably
proud of, and then call the bride. Ask to come over and let her
see the tape. Explain to her that you’re just getting started in
the business and you simply want her comments and suggestions.
Chances are that when she sees the tape she’ll want to buy it.
While you’re in the learning phase of your new business, visit an
apartment building and arrange with the manager to make a video
tape of her showing the apartment to you as a potential renter.
Contact a couple of property management and real estate firms and
do the same thing with condominiums and houses for sale. You might
want to listen in on the police radio frequency and make tapes of
auto accidents for law firms, particularly those involving
injuries. Consider taping golfers practicing at the local driving
ranges and letting them review the tape on site to improve their
swing. Other ideas include any kind of sports practice sessions,
birthday parties, special anniversaries, baptisms, bar mitsvahs,
publicity stories, sales presentations, and “fireside chats” by
company presidents or general manager. These are just a few idea
suggestions you might want to pursue. You may find a certain kind
of video taping assignment especially enjoyable and want to
specialize in that area. Or, you may want to leave the door open
for any kind of assignment and handle each as the opportunity
presents itself. Whatever you decide, there are a few “sure
success” points to keep in mind as you begin to sell your services.
Virtually everyone likes to see himself as a star in a home video.
Thus, when you show a client of a video tape of himself in the
starring role, he’ll either buy the tape on the spot or contract
with you to make a similar tape of another event. Modesty aside,
everyone likes to show pictures of himself and explain to his
friends the different highlights of his or her life. Thus, when
you make a sales presentation featuring your client, your sales
rate should be close to 100 percent.
The best way to sell your services is to run a regular ad in your
area newspapers. Consider something along these lines:
Smart Video Taping Service
Whatever your idea or assignment,
we can handle it for you! No job too
large or too small! We’re experts
at taping weddings, anniversaries,
birthday parties, and other special
occasions. Commercial assignments
welcomed. Your satisfaction is
guaranteed, so give us a call–
123-4567, right now!
When you receive calls in response to your ad, your objective
should be two-fold. First, find out what kind of taping job the
customer has in mind. Second, set up an appointment to show them
an example of the kinds of tapes you can produce. Present the
prospect with an example of your work.
Never meet with a prospect in a selling situation without some sort
of demonstration tape for him to preview. Try to match the tape
you show them as closely to their wants and needs as possible.
Don’t show wedding tapes you have made to golfing prospects or
demonstrate a tape of home insurance inventory for prospective
wedding clients. Once you’ve met with the prospect and shown the
proper demonstration tape, you should have the sale in your pocket.
Besides an ad in the newspaper and yellow pages of your telephone
directory, make copies of your ad and get it up on the bulletin
boards in your area. Send news and publicity releases to all the
media in your region, especially when you have an unusual or
special assignment that would be of interest to the general public,
such as the testing of a new invention by a major corporation or a
birthday party for a centenarian. Have some impressive business
cards printed and hand them out to as many people as possible, as
often as you can. The slogan on your business card might read:
“You Name It, We’ll Tape It.”
Radio and television ads are much more expensive than the resulting
jobs will sustain, so be very cautious when considering this type
of advertising. However, it will very definitely be advantageous
for you to pursue guest interviews on any kind of talk show. Talk
show appearances and free write-ups about your business in your
local newspapers are promotional angles to grab at every
opportunity. Always be on the lookout for promotional ideas and
gimmicks that will result in area-wide publicity for your services.
The bottom line is simple: Don’t be adverse to creating a story or
set of circumstances if it results in a talk show appearance or
newspaper write-up for you.
How much should you charge for your services? Basically, the going
rate in most large metropolitan areas is about $75 per hour you
spend on the assignment. Thus, you’re going to have to learn to
estimate pretty accurately exactly how long you’ll need to spend on
each job to produce a quality recording. Some jobs, like weddings,
might go for a standard fee of $150 to $300, depending on the
competition in your area. It’s always a good idea to check out
what other video taping services in your city or comparably sized
cities are charging. Newsletters and trade publications serving
the video industry often feature articles on typical rates that
free-lancers charge. Check with your equipment supplier for the
names or sample copies of any newsletters about which he might
know.
You can form a relationship with a client that can last a lifetime.
Beginning with a young couples’ wedding, if you follow up on each
sale properly, you’ll probably end up making tapes for birthdays of
their children, youth sporting events, school pageants and
graduations, anniversaries, family histories and scores of other
events.
To make yourself a success, you will need imagination, an affinity
for people and a flair for salesmanship. Imagination is important,
because in many instances, you’ll have to suggest an idea for
taping services. Although just about everybody would like to have
a taped record of some event or part of their life to pass along to
future family members, most will not be able to decide what to tape
until you suggest something to them. You’ll also find that almost
no one is aware of even half your capabilities until you make
suggestions.
Taking pictures of people requires an ability to get along well
with them–to get them to relax and immediately feel comfortable in
your presence. You’ve got to be persuasive while exercising a
great deal of tact and diplomacy. Learn to make friends easily and
quickly. Be aware and understanding of wants, desires and
ambitions. Do your best to instill a feeling of confidence in the
prospect–confidence that you are the best choice he could have
made, and confidence that what they are doing is important and
doesn’t look silly or staged.
Selling and getting along with people are almost synonymous. Life
is an ongoing program of selling yourself to achieve your own wants
and ambitions. Read a few good books on the art of selling, such
as “How to Sell Yourself,” by Steve Girard or “How to Sell Anything
to Anybody” by Tom Hopkins. Remember, selling is really just a
matter of recognizing someone’s needs and then satisfying those
needs with a product or service. Your customers will automatically
accept as fact that you have the professional knowledge and
equipment to fulfill their needs. All you have to do is reassure
them, listen to their opinions on how best to meet their needs,
and, in closing the sale, become a good friend to them.
With the simple plan outlined above, you can get started with your
own video taping service. By combining our suggestions with a bit
of energy and persistence, you should be able to begin with very
little start-up investment and quickly begin to reap the fruits of
your own profitable labor. Having laid it all out, the rest is up
to you. Your future is in your own hands. Grab on to your future
today!
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