I am looking for some help on starting a small business with my new XL1. Hopefully the camera will pay for itself. Here is my situation. I am 17 and I dont have that much money. I can probably spend about $1000 on this business. I am in school right now so it would have to be an evening and weekend thing. I was thinking about doing weddings but I guess its too important and people wont trust a teenager. I have Adobe Premiere and a computer that can handle editing.

If anyone has any suggestions on what I could do I'd really appreciate. Just tell we what you do, even if it isnt realistic for me. I do like to dream. Also if you could give me a list of what equipment I will need that would be great.

-- Matt Carlson (amerigooner01@hotmail.com), September 13, 2001

Answers

Hello Matt, I started my own business when I was 20 and met with similar attitudes. But I prevailed, somewhat. Anyway, I started with an old SVHS panasonic AG-450 10 years ago and began shooting a local TV show, Volume: Rock Revue, on the local cable station, then I went around looking for sponcers for the show, next thing I know I am shooting car infomercials, like the ones you see late at night "The Cable Car Show". The next thing I did was started an "electronic Billboard" on TV with Powerpoint. I sold space on it for $25 for 30 second and their ad to be shown 3 times in half hour. Really the best thing to do is get a partner, someone who is a natural salesman, an older friend maybe who is interested in making it on there own. That is also one tip I'll give you, to make money in this business you have to continualy be working, that means someone has to be continualy selling. It's hard to do it by yourself, I know. Keep looking for new ideas, or a twist on a old idea and in other markets around the country, you might run across something that you can bring to your area. The key to TV is Ad revenue. Here's what you do. Call your local cable TV station and get the rates for their leased access channel. Make sure you can resell the ad time, that is take there 1/2hour and resell 5 min blocks with in it. Find out if anyone else has a car show, then under cut their rates. Make up a brouchure with your Great Rates! Then contact a local small dealer and ask him to shoot his lot as a demo. Get him to walk along the cars and pitch them, do 3 or 4 cars at a time to fill up 5 min. Then cut it together, make it look sharp! Then hit every dealer in the local coverage. Once you success at that, go to the local affiliate and get there rates, and sell to the whole region. Good Luck!

-- Will (PettyClark@aol.com), October 07, 2001.

Well, Im in a similar situation. Im 22, recently out of college i began putting together extreme sports videos showcasing upcoming talent mainly in the Nothwestern US. Last year I released my first video "The Demo" were currently sold by 120 or so retailers thought the US, however this business takes awhile to get going from what ive heard. I also am looking for a way to pay off equipment ideas Ive came up with are: Weddings, event coverage, comercials or infomercials, real estate, family videos, etc. If you are interested in shooting any extreme sports footage I might be able to find some riders out your way that are looking to get filmed. By filming these riders you can submit me with your footage and Ill use the good stuff on this FOX 49 show (www.sostv.tv) and on my videos. Its a good way to get your name out and about. Good luck!! If anyone out there has either extreme sports footage or people doing crazy wild stuff email me and Ill tell you where to send it if you want to.

www.topnotchproductions.org

-- Shane Turpin (ShaneTurpin@topnotchproductions.org), January 30, 2002.

Dear Matt, I am 16 years old and started a production company at 13 and now i am 16. Boy oh boy what a journey, It is Hell BIG HELL. I would recommend not doing weddings. AND WOW AN XL1 wish i had one when i started. You need to do projects that bring in large money like, Slide Shows 500 Bucks a pop (For weddings and things like that). You will be screwed by the liability of Adobe Premiere. Email me for more questions because i have A hell of alot more answers to give you. Because i have been through hell and back.

-Thanks Maddison Lake CEO Moonlit Productions

-- Maddison Lake (moonlitproductions@emailaccount.com), February 11, 2003.