You are welcome, n90 (lordy, I prefer real, live, actual names - so much easier, and feels so much more normal & personal...) Anyway...
Dunno what Linda's response will be, if any, but here's mine, as short and sweet as I can make it.
First, I had some advantages: Photography classes in high school and college, 30-year career journalist, photo-journalist, and with the advent of consumer/prosumer video systems some "stringer" work for area television stations. Born with some degree of artistic aptitude, raised in a family supported by a "super salesperson" dad and mom, totally extrovert and socially inclined, insatiably curious, avid and prolific reader, etc. etc.
But, my primary responsibility during the journalistic/publication career phase was news writing, though I dabbled in graphics, layout and design, typography, took typing and learned to touch-type using QUERTY approach, dark room technician. I have also spent time as an ad sales/design person, editor, managing city editor, assistant publisher, publisher and owner/publisher of newspapers, creative writer and more - all these prior to actively pursuing a full-time independent video services provider business. At 60, like Linda, I've got the years and experience and generally supportive background over a LOT of you young whippersnappers here :-)
That being said...
I developed an interest in capturing stories, interviews, breaking news and other events via videotape more than 20 years ago.
My first camcorder was a VHS model made by Magnavox (I think owned by Panasonic/Matsushita at the time?) purchased at Montgomery Ward.
A future associate was then volunteer director for an area hospital where I had already developed a decent business relationship, producing, publishing and distributing in house and direct mail newsletters for the hospital, for the physicians group, and for a state-wide hospital volunteer organization. I got all this by first offering my writing and publishing skills to the area hospital to produce, publish and deliver a gratis volunteer newsletter, as a way of being a contributor to the community and volunteering as well. With my overall background, parlaying my interests and skills into an additional money-generating business model was not difficult.
But, while I was and am comfortable as a writer/publisher/photographer, my interests began to expand to video production. I KNEW I could do it! So, when the need for a volunteer orientation video came up at the hospital where I volunteered, I offered to do it for $1K. I had the contacts and creds so I was given the chance, thus purchased that gawdawful VHS camera, a couple of lights, microphone system and a invested into what is REALLY archaic by today's technological standards, a Videonics stack-box editing system that used data on VHS tape - not even floppies, large (think the 5" or whatever seriously floppy, or the smaller 3" or whatever disks in plastic enclosures) and WHAT were CDs? DVDs? MiniDV? even S-Video or S-VHS????
The production worked out and led to other productions and gigs - weddings, birthday parties, physician retirement parties and roasts, holiday celebrations - most of this connected in some way with the hospital where I volunteered. Things change though, don't they...
...enter managed health care and other cost-cutting elements of many of the area hospitals, tightening of some of the Medicare/Medicaid billing practices and requirements, and the newsletters dropped off in cost-cutting efforts, hospitals were sold out, transferred ownership, ceased to exist, etc. I was still employeed full-time as a news editor and photo journalist for a local community publication. The pay was good, considering, benefits were awesome and the retirement plan was not threatened by poor, starving, filthy-rich CEOs, COOs and other overrated egos.
Meanwhile I had developed really NICE, high quality business cards, did a LOT of shameless self-promotion of my video services - anyone I could trip, tie up, lock in a room, sit at the dining table of and MAKE listen to what I do for a second career. Weddings were a natural first step, so by 1990 I averaged quite a few of those annually, I also continued marketing via direct mail, web as it manifested itself as a marketing tool, phone calls, listings, participation in other web-based service providers such as PartyPop dot com, etc. Always having been comfortable with "shameless self-promotion" and marketing in general - guerrilla or otherwise - I have always maintained the mantra and copyrighted slogan "If you market, you will make it!" That has, does and will always hold true.
At some point, following new cameras (many times, seeking something that would acquire better quality imaging, especially in the era of B-roll linear editing and copies, of copies, of copies of footage that took major quality hits with each reproduction (we're still before digital, folks), new editing systems, purchase of a NewTek Toaster and later Toaster/flyer 4000 system that never really worked right because it was never realy set up right by the person from whom I purchased it, scads of control systems and editing possibilities in between, I realized I needed to at least have SOME idea of what the term "broadcast quality" production was all about.
Instead of formal schooling, working with an established pro or any of the MANY other ways to get into "things" I opted instead for joining the local community access cable television program, qualifying after taking their relatively simple, but informative, training session and put in a few years working with the various programs - even developing a few of my own - on a volunteer basis.
Meanwhile, I continued with the shameless self promotionj ANYWAY I could, including attendance of work fairs, bridal fairs and other opportunity-generating focus areas. I joined WEVA, attended several of their events, also Videomaker and its west coast event that was then held in Burbank and perhaps still is. Essentially, other than my background and my "training" stint with the area community access program, I am self-taught and self-trained. So, you could say I simply decided to sink or swim.
I put in a LOT of years doing full-time video production work on a part-time basis, holding down my day job and giving away 40 hours a week for a steady paycheck. All this time I averaged with one gig per week the amount of "take-home" pay generated from my day job. Ten years ago my associate quit her job with the hospital and went full-time, marketing, editing, shooting and whathaveyou. Eight years ago I pulled the plug and did the same. There have been lean and mean times, there have been some wonderfully successful times and there have been times when I wanted to crawl under the porch and die.
But, there have also been a host of rewarding experiences, big money, etc.
My focus, and another copyright mantra/slogan is: "Somebody somewhere celebrates something EVERY DAY!" referring, of course, to the need for video in their celebrations. I also moved toward focusing hard on the vastly underserved funeral and memorial, and memorial montage, market. Today, that market alone comprises 30 percent of our gross production income. I prefer EVENTS over weddings, and have never failed to obtain business with the series of direct mail pieces and personal marketing efforts to youth and youth sports and school groups, martial arts and dance schools and groups, community events, private events as well as special interest video development, music instructional productions, and a host of small business video production opportunities. Many of these have originated from either a volunteer approach, guerrilla marketing approach, public events and the host of contacts acquired over the years.
With self-taught/acquired skills, some reasonable quality tools, knowledge of the basics and a whole lot of gumption, formal education and/or apprenticeship can be bypassed, sink or swim, dive in head first, or, as I have said, and others here even, "just do it!"
This is my story, and I'm sticking to it.
