Videography Business: Making Money With Video

As much as you may like creating video, it just isn't the same if you don't make money while doing so. In fact, they have a name for such a venture. It's called a hobby. Nothing wrong with that. Just don't confuse it with business.

Having your own business sounds like a great deal. You get to be your own boss, set your own hours and take home all the profit. On the other hand, you get to pay all the bills, convince people to pay for your services and work evenings and weekends for free. That's the tradeoff.

There are plenty of things to worry about when it's your name on the door. This small business stuff is not an exact science. Should you send a thousand postcards to a list of potential clients in town or put an ad in the newspaper? Should you hire a full-time assistant or pay more per hour to get the same person freelance, but just for the hours that you have work?

But for the video professional, one of the most pressing (and potentially expensive) concerns is equipment. Where should you get cameras, lights, audio gear? And when you do get them, should you buy, lease or rent?

Read on, video entrepreneur, and we'll give you some tips on how to equip yourself for success.

As human beings, we have pride of ownership. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. Most of the world economy is based on acquiring stuff. But it's probably not the best reason to make a business decision. There are plenty of other reasons to tip the scales in favor of ownership, however.

Convenience. Let's say you're a video producer and you don't own any gear. When you know you have a job coming up, you go to an equipment rental house and get what you need. But when your best client calls with an emergency, you could be in trouble. "Get over here right now," Mr. Big of Amalgamated Inc. says to you on the phone. "We just got the Universal Widget Stretcher working perfectly and we have to ship it out to the customer in the morning. We must shoot some video immediately." You can't say no to your best client, but the rental house has already closed for the day. Your only option might be to hire your competition to fulfill your obligation. Boy, is your face red.

When you own the gear, you can shoot when you like and edit at your own convenience. Want to put your client's show together in the middle of the night? Go ahead. Do you want to push those buttons wearing nothing but your ratty jockey shorts? I don't want to hear about it.

Client perception. To your clients (both real and potential), the perception they have of you and your business is your business. You may be the greatest videographer who ever pulled a focus, but if you drive up for your shoot in a beaten-up station wagon filled with barking Rottweilers, they may view you as less than professional.

If, on the other hand, you show up in a nice van with your logo on the side, and each shiny piece of equipment you pull out also has your logo, they're going to see you as a force to be reckoned with. You haven't changed from the first scenario to the next. Only the client's mind has changed. But the client is paying the bills.

Cost effectiveness. As a purely business decision, the following may be the only legitimate reason for buying your own equipment--if it pays for itself and makes you a profit. If you're shooting several times a week and editing as fast as you can push the buttons, then you'll probably make more money if you don't have to rent the gear every time you need it.

Also, you can write off some of your expenses for equipment purchases each year on your taxes. This write off must be for direct video production equipment only. You can't claim vehicles, for example. Since you may not be able to write it all off at once, it may be a good idea to spread your purchases out over several years.

There are several scenarios where renting gear only when you need it may make more sense than buying. But, as is true with all these examples, only you can decide what method best suits your needs. I can't recommend buying in all cases or renting in all cases. That choice is yours.

Versatility. When you rent a shooter's package, you can set it up to suit the job. You can also put it together with whatever gear the client may think is necessary. Have you ever received a Request For Proposal from the government? They can be pretty specific about what equipment they want you to use.

If a client wants Betacam and all your equipment is Hi8, then you have two choices. You can: 1.) try to talk the client into using Hi8 instead, which may have the desired effect, or may end with the client going to someone who already uses Betacam...or you can 2.) go out and rent the Betacam equipment for the shoot. Meanwhile, your Hi8 gear sits back at the shop, depreciating, unused. You're basically paying twice to shoot once.

But if you rent when the need arises, you can put together any package you like. If the client doesn't have a preference, you can use whatever you're most comfortable with, be it S-VHS, Hi8 or 3/4-inch. If the client demands Digital Betacam, all they have to do is reach into a pocket and pull out a large check. No problem.