Videos for local businesses?
 

My friend Anne is seeing her income dwindle because of the economy and I am helping her come up with money making ideas.

She has top-notch video skills and tremendous contacts with local businesses. Anyone have any success stories or specific ideas for her for generating a nice moonlighting income quickly from that combination?

Thanks,
Marcia Yudkin

Re: Videos for local businesses?
 

Has she considered video surveillance? Video cataloging? Video Private Eye Service?

Tell us more...
 

Marcia,

Thanks for asking for Specif Ideas.

I have some questions...


What is she doing Now that the Economy is seeing her income drop?


What does this mean? Is she good at Editing? Camera angles? Using it in manual but staying in focus all the time? Your description of her skills is too generic.


What does this mean? Does she have a lot of contacts, or only a hand full but really good ones (as in, knows them personally and maybe even socializes with the)? If those contacts are so good, why doesn't she acquire herself a higher paying job so she doesn't have dwindling income?

Michael Ross

Re: Videos for local businesses?
 

Marcia,

A little food for thought...

Add a mix of Creativity and you'll have Multiple more ideas...

http://www.videomaker.com/article/3336/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...ors_movie.html
http://www.evideodirectory.com/ideas.html

Lots more Local video business models & ideas for Brainstorming in Google...

Like...
http://www.getfave.com/
http://www.getfave.com/locations/sea...ywhere&q=video

If Anne has tremendous contacts with local businesses, there are some Excellent Local business models and ideas worth considering on the Warrior wso forum...
http://www.warriorforum.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=15

Think like Reed Hastings of Netflix... :)

Quirky Business Ideas That Thrived
http://www.wdtn.com/Global/story.asp?s=5461737

A Big Opportunity with Huge Potential...

Only a few are attempting and working the idea with all kinds of ways of “twisting” it into a Full time long term business...

Services and products Converting all kinds of Content into Videos... ;)

Pick one, find your niche... and Specialize...

Articles... Press releases... Personalized web page Videos for businesses etc. etc...

So many just Lack the Time and Knowledge...

Therefore Unlimited clients, niche markets to connect/network and Do business with...

Phil

Consider this....
 

There are STILL....MANY businesses, professionals and medicos who do NOT have a website!!!

AND....many of these would WANT their own website AND...be willing to pay an Initial Fee and a Monthly Hosting Fee.

If she doesn't have the ability to create websites...she can find someone, locally, who can.

Now...there are 2 ways to go about making money with this;

1) Create Custom Sites for those who don't yet have them

a) Open your local Yellow Pages and call and ask to speak to the "Owner" or Go to the local Chamber of Comm and get a copy of their Member Directory (This has the names of the OWNERS)
b) Go down the list...call and ask the owner if they have a website. If they do, thank them for their time and go to the next name. If they don't, tell the owner you would like to give him an estimate of a site for his biz. Set up an appointment and show him a couple samples of sites (Make up a couple of "Dummy Sites". There are Templates available online to use as examples)
c) Find out what he wants to show and say...quote a price and ask for a Deposit...with the balance due when you're finished.

2) Create a Custom Site for a Specific "Niche" (ex: Chiropractors)

a) Get a Unique Domain Name for the site. Put the site ON Line.
b) Go down the Yellow Pages of using the Chamber Directory...call owners IN that Niche, one by one. With each one...tell them to GO up to the Site WHILE you're on the phone with them (If they can't check out your site now...ask them to check it out later and call you IF they're interested)...then call the next owner UNTIL you have someone who IS interested)
c) Quote your SetUp and Monthly Fees....get a "Verbal OK" and go get their Logo, Photos and Text of what they want on the site.

You DON"T have to get too complicated....just a Home Page and 1 or 2 pages. Should be able to get $500 to $1,000 set up and $50 or $60/mo hosting.

If you already have a Hosting Co (like Hostgator...that lets you set up multiple sites for $10/mo) and a Site Editor like MSFrontPage...Domains cost $10....you can do this (Or...pay someone to do the technical stuff)

Now...if you put on your "thinking Cap"....what will REALLY get prospects to WANT your sites AND be willing to pay GOOD money for them is to;
1) come up with a POWERFUL Domain Name
and
2) a way for your sites to GET CUSTOMERS (Clients or Patients)

Don Alm
My Latest Program; "Websites On Spec!" Make a Bundle with websites!
http://www.midasreports.com

Re: Videos for local businesses?
 

Phil,

Thanks so much, these ideas are worth looking into!

Don,

My friend isn't a web designer and doesn't want to be one, so she's looking to do videos for businesses in some way, not create web sites. But thanks!

Michael,

I know you're based in Australia, so you probably don't have a good sense of how bad things are getting for the middle class in the U.S. right now. This article might help you understand:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/14/op... 8&ei=5087%0A

My friend is a commission-only sales rep in a local area where people are everywhere either falling behind in the ways described in the article or in fear that they will. Businesses are mostly cutting back on expenditures, advertising and marketing... not everyone, but many are.

Again, thanks everyone!

Marcia

Re: Videos for local businesses?
 

In THIS business climate, I don't think biz owners will want to pay for a Video.

Ask your friend to consider creating her own product to sell where she can keep most of the profits instead of just a commission.

In fact...even though the economy is down...people are still "moving". Last year at this time (June) we averaged 160 homes a month being sold. This year we average 60 BUT...there are still 120 (average) people MOVING (Home Buyers and Renters)

So...see if she'll consider setting up a "Coupon Mailing Program"....where you make a Coupon for each business, insert them into an envelope and mail them to a List of 'NEW MOVERS".

Businesses and Professionals WILL Pay to reach these "New Movers"!

At least 95cents each (x 100 per month = $95/mo x 30 = $2,850 a month and...the cost is about $1 per name ($100)

A Co in the Cleveland area has been doing this for FORTY FIVE YEARS.... charges $120 for 100 Coupons and gets people to pay month after month... year after year.
http://www.communitysurvey.com

She could make up a few samples...sell people on paying 1st and last of a 12 month agreement (or just get first month in advance plus a $100 set up fee ($220) and she can get going.

Get "New Mover Names" from Melissa Data.com

The Coupon OFFER has to be good. No "10% Off" thingees. "FREE Pizza!" "5 Garments Cleaned FREE!" "FREE Dozen Donuts!" "$10 or $25 GIFT Certificates"... will DRAW customers and keep clients paying.

"NEW Movers" are a strong reason for joining. Biz owners can get to them FIRST!

Don Alm

"Websites On Spec"
http://www.midasreports.com

Here are my 2 cents worth Marcia...
 

I'm going to toss em at you...and let your friend mull em over, OK?

First thing...she's losing commission which means her employer is losing sales...HOW can she help her employer? Most newspapers are suffering from AD revenue drops...so she can borrow from some that have added video to their ADVERTISING offers:

So www.ohio.com home of the Akron Beacon Journal and here is a link to their VIDEO cars for sale:

http://autos.ohio.com/

Someone has to take those videos. See also the HOMES link and you'll find videos being shot for those to...as ADS for the ABJ. They seem to be ahead of the curve on recouping ad dollars.

So, she can pitch the job to her employer, get a "production" fee built into the ad cost and call upon her same customers to kick it off.

Those advertisers are cutting back, but they still would LIKE to get and more important KEEP the customers they have...so, and borrowing from Mr. Alm again...

She can create a "BEST BUYS OF THE MONTH FOR MONTPELIER" for example. And feature ONE type of business that is offering or would be willing to offer a substantial either discount or a bonus or whatever...and she could get X number of these, say 50 or so, 1.5 or 1.25 per day if she can do that amount...And each location can also either Sell these for a buck or two or give them to their customers...and even the newspaper can offer the video discount of the month.

This gives the advertisers a longer opportunity to build their case for their products, could give the newspaper another ad revenue source.

Then there is twisting that into one of these:

She should daily shoot some video, of common things. At the end of a year she will have enough stock footage to offer to other video people. In New England, she could specialize on the changing of the seasons, for example. That's hardly quick however.

Now for chattel (hey, I can't help myself). Marcia, there are large dollar pieces of chattel being sold in your area, for example, RV's have hit a lull, but people are still trying to sell them...she could charge a decent sum of money, perhaps a couple of hundred dollars even, and offer to create DVD's for people selling their RV's (or Kubotas ;) even)...and of course the REAL estate too.

The chattel opportunities are QUICK. Here's a today post from VT craiglist: http://burlington.craigslist.org/grd/719780115.html

for a 9000 Kubota...the pics are OK, but if this guy had a YOUTUBE video of this thing working and running and allowing potential buyers to see the hours, then she might get 150 dollars for her 2 hours of work. When someone is selling a 9k to 100k RV or piece of equipment, a couple of hundred bux is not hard to extract from them.

There is a 29,000 log skidder in the same section (farm). See?

She can spend an hour or two with her two nearest craigslist PLACES and find tons of high priced chattel that is waiting to be videotaped.

She could put the 25,000 pizza shop for sale in Wiliston VT on YouTube and run an ad online too at one of the many biz for sale sites. She can test it out by calling upon some of her old customers and discuss strategy with them.

When it has to be quick, in my opinion, nothing beats chatteling. I'm sure there are people in her neck of the woods that have stuff for sale, and it doesn't have to be "garage" sale junk (as I've been accused of looking for)...it could be that 85,000 RV that was housed in the garage.

Also, don't forget local High Schools, dance studios, ski resorts (in season of course), recreation centers, golf events, where people might be willing to buy a "souvenir" of the event, and even some REUNIONS too.

OK, that's my 2 cents as promised.

Gordon Jay Alexander

Re: Videos for local businesses?
 

Thanks, Gordon... there are one or two winners in there.

Marcia

Re: Videos for local businesses?
 

Marcia,

A number of years ago, a friend of mine, Barbara Besteni, was going great guns with special interest videos. These videos can quickly be set up with a local expert who has a following to create (For example, best cashew chicken recipes) a video to sell to their customers.

The client pays for the shoot and gets X copies. Once so many copies are produced, the client gets the FULL Rights after ALL expenses are paid. You continue to get revenue from duplicating.

You could also create a special event video of say, a car show, and sell copies directly via Ebay.

Just a thought.

Millard