Video Pros should get paid for their time and expertise - Another 4Video Real Life Story in the business of video
"But the Tape only costs $2.00", he said. As a video professional, you deserve to be paid for your time and expertise.
If I may suggest to the Video Pros, print this and save it for the next insulting cheapskate... Oh sure you will offend them with this article... but who cares once they have insulted you - they don't value your time or expertise and figure that since the tape only cost 2 bucks, anything over that is profit and since your their "friend" you should do it at your cost - that cost being the 2.00 for the tape. Some people honestly believe this is your cost.
Let me cite a few examples from personal experience, I will omit his true name to save him the embarrassment. Let's call him "Mr. Mercedes". He owns a car dealership in Tampa Bay. I have bought two cars and a used pick-up truck from him in the last 5 years. Yes, I got good deals because of our prior business relationship, but rest assured he still made at least a few grand. Not that I begrudge anyone a fair profit.
A few weeks ago he calls me and informs me his daughter is getting married and asks if would I be willing to create their Wedding Video. "Sure", I reply, "I will coordinate the details with your wife". Now I don't make it a practice of doing wedding videos for good reason. Internet Video or a 30 second spot is by far more profitable. Also consider this- while you can always get a deposit, getting the final balance after everyone else providing services for the wedding has gotten paid and the couple blew a wad in Cancun can be difficult.
First, because you have fallen for the, "well we don't have it right now but go ahead and give us the video and we promise to pay you later" and been burned more times then you care to admit NEVER to see the balance. Since you won't give them the tape without payment in full - you are being difficult.. Or they begrudgingly pay you the balance and cuss you under their breath..... What he doesn't trust me? Trust this.... it always becomes a no win situation. Worse and quite ironic, I have found that the people most able to afford your services expect the world for nothing or dirt cheap.
After gaining all the details and answering Ms. Mercedes questions I ask her for a standard 50% deposit check of $300.00 (about what she spends at the Safety Harbor Day Spa.) She says she thought her husband said I was doing it for free. News to me. Though true we never did discuss price other than "whatever it is OK - tell my wife". She then instructs me to call her husband. So I call Mr. Mercedes up and explain I am giving him my best $1,200.00 Gold wedding package for the price of $595.00 the cost of the "Most Popular Package" A 50% discount on my services. ( Video Pro hint* Adding extras is better than lowering cost) I am willing to do this because Mr. Mercedes meets all the Real estaters , stockbrokers, lawyers and other assorted crooks that can afford my services to edit their family / vacation videos etc... and the guest list is sure to include my targeted clientele'
Now please keep in mind I am not a weekend warrior with a 300.00 consumer cam and a editing VCR. My work and my reputation is why Mr. Mercedes called me in the first place. These prices are fair in my market. I refuse to compete on price, but I will compete on quality all day long. Mr. Mercedes invites me to come over to his dealership so I do. He starts by reminding me that he gave me his long distance account several years ago. I remind him that by switching him from his rip off rate AT&T pricing to Worldcom I saved his dealership $18,000.00 a year. I found lines GTE was billing him for that were not connected to anything - plus I saved him another $15,000.00 on a new phone system that once installed was more practical and efficient. Still running smoothly today. I also remind him about the 3 vehicles I had purchased from him and the 1/2 a dozen people I know bought a car from his dealership I referred to him. One would think at this point Mr. Mercedes would say, " your right thanks and here is a check for the lousy $595.00"
Instead he spews those words, " But the tape only cost you 2.00" I have heard this from one too many "friends" . I always agree - and since I can buy DVD's now for under a buck I suppose I should only charge you 89 cents for a DVD. PLEASE ALLOW ME TO SCREAM HERE! AWWWWWWW! IT IS NOT THE COST OF THE TAPE! It is the $4,500.00 for the Cannon XL1 - The 1000.00 for Final Cut Pro 4 - plus the other $5000.00 in software, it is the $3000.00 for a G4 / G5 Mac. It is the 6-8 hours I'll spend shooting and then the 10 -15 hours spent editing it. It's the 800.00 a month for my tiny yellow pages ad, plus all the other costs nobody calculates like the cost of gas to and from the event and running all over town simply to get a lousy 300.00 deposit check!
Some might say, "yes but your my friend and you already own all your equipment." They don't understand that equipment does not last forever; repairs and maintenance are costly; and every 5 years you need new everything just to keep up with the technology.
I don't expect Mr. Mercedes to know video anymore than I know about selling cars. But even I know his cost of selling a car also includes full page ads every week in the paper - a sales and service department, plus the multi - million dollar commercial property and buildings, so I attempted to explain it in terms he could relate to. Then he says this is true, but my costs are peanuts by comparison and that I just shouldn't worry about them. Then he adds one of my all time favorite lines. "Yes, but think of all the business I could send you."
Well I have thought about that Mr. Mercedes. In the six years I have known you, you have not referred a single customer to me. Lets also clear up this "friend" thing..... when is the last time we went fishing together or hung out at Frenchy's on the beach or went to dinner? Never. Yes, Mr. Mercedes I am your "friend" when you want to sell me a car, or get your daughter's wedding video done for what 2 bucks. Now I do value our business relationship - but let's not confuse the definition of "friend" I have offered you 50% off which is in fact the "buddy rate" Please, call Alessi Video & Photography they specialize only in weddings and are the best in town. He will charge you a $1,500.00 minimum.....plus plus plus... and with that I walked out.
Now for the less Classic Jerks..... I call the Tourist Jerks
My dive & video buddy Bela always brings the underwater housing and camera whenever we go diving in the Keys or elsewhere. Some of the other patrons on the boat always ask - can I get a copy? I politely explain that I am not the dive tour operator's camera person. Some will accept that answer and others become indignant.
I explain that we will have a limited window of opportunity to shoot. I am not interested in shooting them to be in my video, because of course they'll expect that their personal copy should include them. Then the cute girl pouts her lip and whines please.... so I give in. OK, for 50 bucks I will take some footage of them put it on the front with a custom title and the rest will be the wreck or fish footage of whatever happens to show up while were down. They will have it in about a week and I will mail it to them. This is about the time they freak out and say, "But the tape only costs you $2.00! - and you are doing it for yourself anyway. Can't you just make me a copy - I'll pay for the tape."
This is about the time I loose it. Okay you stupid tourist - if I were the dive operator camera person a video tape of you and your once in a lifetime dive trip would cost at least 100 bucks... $250 is not unreasonable. So I am sorry, I am not authorized to sell video tapes on this dive charter, just like you, I came to enjoy myself. Yes, I have Pro equipment and the tape will be professionally edited. FOR ME
If you want, hire your own personal underwater dive video person on your next dive trip. Then take and have the footage edited, next tell them I offered to do it for 50 bucks ~ and that they should be willing to match my price and see what they have to say. Bela and I have learned the few people happy to contribute the lousy 50 bucks, who realize the value and their luck of getting a trip with us, are not worth the aggravation of the multitude of new found "friends" that are simply sharing a boat ride with us to the dive site. No, whenever we get asked, our standard reply is a short NO! It's not that we are not nice people, we are just tired of going thru this ritual on every trip.
I'll dedicate this last group of would be freeloaders to distant relatives and "family friends"... not your friend but your aunt's friend. Everyone has an aunt Linda we will call her. She never sent you a Christmas card last year, but her friends kids are also in the school play and since you are going to see your little cousin Timmy perform anyway why don't you bring along your video camera - of course aunt Linda wants a tape, and one of those 2.00 copies for her friend.
WARNING! WARNING!!! DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER! You will think aw what the heck it is just this one time and after all she is family ( and the friend's tape is really just a copy of what you planned to do anyway.) Don't do it!!! - find an excuse that prevents you from being able to go to little Timmy's school play, sporting event or graduation ceremony.
Because this is what happens - now your on call for free or dirt cheap like 20 bucks for all of Timmy's events and he is only in the sixth grade. Next the friend isn't happy because you didn't know exactly who her kids were and there were 50 of them on stage running around confused. Something in the edit is now incorrect, or maybe you misspelled Zidowlowski in the credits. No matter your best intentions and the fact you did it basically for free, now the "friend" wants you to make a few changes after seeing the tape. They paid you 20 bucks - so you are now obligated to correct it and re edit it and make a replacement tape..... for free of course. Later Ms. Zidowluoosky will call and ask you to hook up her VCR and new DVD player to her TV since you know about these things - you can just drop on by.
The point of my article is this. As a video professional you deserve to be paid for your time and expertise. Your cost is not 2.00 for the tape ~ when it comes to cheap people that expect something for nothing - "friends & favors" will keep you working 24/7 for 2 bucks a tape. This takes up your time and creates wear on your equipment. It also prevents you from making the money you deserve.
My advice is to just blow off these kinds of people. Why work for free, when you would make more money doing nothing. You should devote your time to running your video business as a business. Understand that in the past, you may have needed sample tapes and references. You got to get past the "I need the practice so I'll do it cheap phase"
You started your video business to make money - not create favors for friends & family. You are a Professional and this is your livelihood. Understanding this is a key element to a profitable video business. The value of my service is in having the best equipment for the job, plus my eye. Also consider my editing skill and creativity to blend your treasured home videos into a custom authored DVD as a lifetime keepsake. The cost is not 2.00 a tape!
