Hi guys. I've been filming weddings for a few years now but never had enough revenue to open a studio and do this full time. Do any of you when getting clients, invite them to your home office and discuss video production there? I've been doing this lately. I own an apartment that isn't too small but have an office where I keep my euipment, pcs, cameras, monitors, etc. It seems to take the bride and groom a few minutes before they can adjust and "feel at home". At first I get a vibe that they aren't too comfortable. But after a while it eazes them a bit. Do any of you have similar work from home setups and how have you been dealing with clients and their moods when they visit to discuss wedding businesS?

When my wife and I got married several years ago, virtually all of our vendors (video, photo, cake, DJ, flowers) worked out of their homes. All of the meetings or consultations were conducted at their homes. Neither my wife nor I had a problem with this. Of course their homes were immaculate. No kids, animals, funny smells or mess to contend with. To us, it appeared very professional. Fast forward to today, I now find myself working out of our home. We keep our place spotless...cleaner than a lot businesses or store fronts I've been to. We have a very open and contemporary floor plan that many of our clients comment how much they like our place.

I would love to have a real studio or store front but we haven't reached that part of our business plan yet. In due time. If you find that your clients don't "feel at home" or get the vibe that their not comfortable, you could always meet with them at a coffee shop or cafe. The downside of that is that you're not in a controlled enviroment like your house, so if it's really busy or loud or there are a lot of distractions, it might make the pitch a little bit more difficult...plus you can no longer show your demo on your 100" HDTV via Blu-ray ;)

Mike

I am glad to hear this believe me. Well I guess people in this area of upstate ny are very traditional. Not many businesses here are run from homes but I DO make sure my apartment is very clean along with the odor, etc and pleasant to be in. My office is not huge but it's enough to half a 2 seat sofa, fairly large glass desk with my pc, 2 monitors, etc. My camera equipment is stored nicely. Basically a nice home environment. My trouble is to improve on "greeting" and make the clients comfortable of the whole idea of running my business from home. I am not a good sales person and it's hard for me to start conversations (shy timid guy) but for wedding videography, I do what I have to. I am glad though to hear that some of you do run businesses from home and eventually I would want a studio. I am however more comfortable at the moment to work from home.

What other techniques do you guys use to get to know your clients better when they first come in? Offer them some water, coffee, etc? Crack some jokes... Some tips would help.

BTW I'm 21 years old, have no kids and new to Video Production in the wedding area but I am learning a lot.

I've got a home office/studio and just like my house - it's a tad on the messy side. There's no way I'd invite clients here. I simply say I prefer to come to you, we can meet in a coffee shop or at your place - anywhere you feel comfortable.

I used to run out of my house for 4 plus years, and would use Starbucks as an office/meeting place. I rarely had wedding clients come by my house, because I have younger kids. 6 months ago I found a good deal on some office space an haven't looked back. I do corporate work as well and it makes a big difference in client perception when you have dedicated office space. I had been wanting to make the move for the last couple of years and finally found some very nice affordable space not too far from my home. Now I can store all my gear in an organized way, and I encourage clients to come by. Corporate clients like to ride shotgun on edits sometimes.

The 350.00 a month that I pay for 300 square feet of space is more than worth it.

The 350.00 a month that I pay for 300 square feet of space is more than worth it.


85 dollars/week is definitely super cheap. can't beat that. well done.

The 350.00 a month that I pay for 300 square feet of space is more than worth it.

85 dollars/week is definitely super cheap. can't beat that. well done.Agreed! That's just £220 or €255 for 30 square metres. Office rental in Vancouver Island is clearly a lot cheaper than round here.

The 350.00 a month that I pay for 300 square feet of space is more than worth it.

We pay $500 per month for a bit more than 500 square feet in a technology park. We don't shoot weddings, but we do a fair amount of events. It's a great advantage for us. It also include a fitness center, pool, common meeting areas, IT support, etc.

There are small offices available in our city for dirt cheap - as low as $150 per month for a single person office (200 square feet). "Real" office space can be a great asset and doesn't have to be expensive.

Agreed! That's just £220 or €255 for 30 square metres. Office rental in Vancouver Island is clearly a lot cheaper than round here.

Nigel/Santo,

It's close to my home, about 10 minutes, but out of the city I would rather be in. About 20 minutes out of the city, close enough though. I wanted more urban downtown, but rent was more than double, and I couldn't justify (or afford), the difference. It's also convenient to be closer to home, so it does have trade-offs.

The economic 'situation' has created a lot of vacancies. There are still 3 or 4 vacant offices in my building at the same rate.

I built a 900 sq foot studio detached from my home..no commute!

Victor, you can certainly do well with running a studio out of your home. We ran our studio out of our home for about 8 years before relocating to Miami and opening a studio space separate from our home. The key things to keep in mind are the types of clients you are trying to attract and how your home-studio presents itself to them. For us, we would have couples come in and ask us where we lived because we had gone above and beyond to turn our home into a studio. So for the most part, our couples never really felt like they were just meeting us in our home.

Although we were hitting high-end clients before, we wanted to really focus in on it and thus decided to move to Miami and open an actual studio space. We also were tired of sharing our home with our business, so now we live on the 14th floor and just take the elevator to work. Here's a vid of our studio grand opening just for fun. d;-)

Studio Grand Opening | Serendipity Studios on Vimeo

Travis,

That is some killer space there. Nice job on the set-up.

Michael,

That is ideal. Separate but not too separate. I found my home office was always getting used by my 2 kids and for me it was a necessary move. I used to use Starbucks and and a laptop alot for meeting new clients.

Victor,

I read that you're 21, and kind of shy about sales. You'll get over it. Hang in there, and persevere and develop your skills. You're getting in to the business at a fun time. Wedding 'cinematography' is beginning to be recognized as a valuable service, thanks to alot of people in this forum, producing some stellar work.

thanks for the excellent advice. And nice studio and very nice car :) My dream to open a studio one day...

thanks for the excellent advice. And nice studio and very nice car :) My dream to open a studio one day...

haha. thanks! I parked my car in the photo so the bride would know where to park! I email them this picture when I give them directions.

I built a 900 sq foot studio detached from my home..no commute!

..is that the studio or the house!

..is that the studio or the house!

the studio, my house is just behind it about 100 feet away.

This looks cool..really.

This looks cool..really.

Thanks Andy! It's more of a "man cave". lol. I find that impressing the groom goes a long way!

I am starting up in a small market and I find this thread interesting. I could not host clients at my house, my wife's shi-tzu is very excitable. There is a few minutes of calm down time when we do have guests. In addition to that we have a cat. Clean and well mannered, but people have allergies.... I also do not have a trophy home. It is a newer (2005) manufactured home in an under developed community. To get to it you have to drive past, not through one of poorer communities. Not crime ridden but uncomfortable for some. My self included growing up upper middle class. I would prefer to have a studio but it may not happen for some time.

The silver lining is my wife and I have been the masters of low wage frugal living. This allows my to pursue my video business full time.

good luck to all