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I used to be 23 years previous, contemporary out of faculty and touchdown what I believed was my big break. The corporate appeared authentic — it had an expert web site, a gentle stream of wedding ceremony shoppers and an workplace in Orange County, California. I had spent years filming weddings alone, grinding to generate profits and right here was a enterprise that had all of it discovered. Or so I believed.
Inside three months, I’d be drowning in shopper complaints, taking livid calls from brides and watching a so-called enterprise unravel in actual time. The second that broke me got here when a crying bride referred to as me in sheer panic — her wedding ceremony videographer by no means confirmed up. Her father was livid and I used to be the one individual selecting up the telephone.
That was the day I give up and that was the day I discovered what sort of enterprise I’d by no means run.
The “too good to be true” supply
I had been filming weddings since highschool, working my very own small video enterprise. I skipped the coed movie section in school as a result of I did not see the purpose. Why make films for a grade after I may make them for a paycheck?
In the future, John (not his actual title) contacted me. He owned a wedding video firm and had seen my work. “I like what you are doing,” he mentioned. “Wish to shoot weddings for me?” It was a simple sure. No promoting, no advertising and marketing — simply $400 per wedding ceremony and go house. Then, after a couple of months, he made me one other supply: VP of Operations.
I used to be simply out of faculty and somebody was calling me a VP. I did not even know what it meant, however it sounded essential. A management position at a longtime firm? I accepted.
The enterprise appeared legit
On my first day as VP, I walked into the workplace able to be taught, however John wasn’t there. The telephone rang and I answered. “The place the hell is my wedding ceremony video?” I apologized, took down their info, and promised to comply with up. Minutes later, one other name. Identical drawback. Then one other. I checked my electronic mail. There have been lots of of messages from livid {couples}.
John, it has been 18 months. The place’s my video?
John, I am taking you to court docket.
John, you ruined our wedding ceremony.
Besides I wasn’t John, I used to be simply the man dumb sufficient to point out up. I began digging and what I discovered was a catastrophe within the making. John’s enterprise mannequin was constructed on one factor: being the most cost effective possibility. $799 for a marriage movie. Seems like an important deal, proper? The common wedding ceremony videographer costs $4,000 or extra, so brides jumped on the cut price. However right here was the actual breakdown:
- Lead shooter: $300
- Second shooter: $200
- Editor: $200
- $99 left for “revenue”
That “profit” was alleged to cowl hire, advertising and marketing, payroll, refunds, and errors. It did not. To maintain the enterprise afloat, John booked as many weddings as potential. We have been filming eight, ten, typically twelve weddings a weekend. There was no high quality management, no customer support, and no plan for delivering movies on time. And since we paid so little, videographers began not displaying as much as weddings.
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“She’ll get it when she will get it“
It wasn’t simply the shoppers getting screwed. Videographers — a lot of whom had been with the corporate for years — began emailing me straight. Hey, when do I receives a commission for final month’s wedding ceremony? Hey, it has been three months. Any replace?
I went to John. “Jennifer has been capturing weddings for you for years, she simply needs to know when she’s getting paid,” I pleaded on behalf of one of many longtime employees.
“She’s high quality,” he shrugged. “She’ll get it when she will get it.” That was the second I noticed this wasn’t even an actual firm.
The breaking level
I caught it out for 3 months, hoping issues would flip round. Then got here the telephone name that broke me. I used to be at a commencement celebration when my telephone rang. It was a crying, panicked bride. “My videographer is not right here,” she sobbed. I stepped away from my household, my abdomen in knots. I checked our system. There was no videographer assigned. John had forgotten.
The bride’s father took the telephone. He was livid. I needed to repair it, so I nearly wired $1,000 of my very own cash to get somebody there final minute. My dad stopped me. “You will by no means get that again,” he mentioned. “This is not your battle.” And he was proper. I give up the following day.
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The teachings discovered
That have formed all the things I do now. I discovered that being the most cost effective possibility attracts the worst shoppers, the worst distributors and the worst issues. It additionally confirmed me the significance of buyer loyalty. It isn’t nearly delivering a product, it is about caring when one thing goes incorrect. Reply the telephone. Do the work. Make it right.
Busy does not imply worthwhile: John bragged about doing 300 weddings a 12 months. However his enterprise was shedding cash. Progress with out revenue is simply speed-running to bankruptcy. And whereas we’re on that observe, I discovered {that a} web site, an workplace and a brand do not make a enterprise —execution does.
Lastly, I discovered that some companies aren’t meant to be saved. I could not repair this catastrophe, I may solely be taught from it.
Strolling Away Was the Greatest Choice of My Life
The enterprise collapsed inside a 12 months. Me? I built a company that does the precise reverse of all the things I witnessed there. We do not undercharge and we do not ghost shoppers. I like working Franchise Filming — and we love serving to franchise manufacturers inform their story on video. And when a franchise model hires us, they get precisely what they paid for. No lies, no chaos and no crying brides. That is how a enterprise must be run.
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