How to start your own media production company
A production company creates video content with varying levels of creative involvement. Starting your own production company requires planning and development. A lot of people start their journey into the the film, photography and video industry the same way — they put boots on the ground and get out there and start working for themselves. If that’s your plan, good news: It will work for a while. But after you’ve nickel-and-dimed your way through a few small projects and mom-and-pop clients, eventually you’re going to want more. And that means you’re going to need to put together a real team, settle on a name, and open up your own production company.
Conduct Your Own Market Research
Starting a media production company might seem like a dive-in-head-first proposition, but you absolutely must do your research beforehand. If you look across the industry, you’ll see that many small video and media production companies actually (and wisely) focus on more specific needs rather than operating as a catch-all “photo and video production company.” What are your skills, preferences, and — most importantly — what are potential clients in your area you are looking for? To start your own media production company or business, you must consider talking to potential clients early, network with others, and search around online into what other companies are offering and how they’re offering it.
Put Together Your Team
While it’s not a necessity to have partners or a team when you’re just starting off (because you can do business as a sole proprietor — more on that below), however working with friends or other people is always better than working alone. Plus, there are going to be projects that you need at least a few people to help out on. The question becomes — do you hire freelancers to help, or are they business partners or employees?
That question will be answered with a quick look at your business plan and finances. No matter what shape your team takes, just be sure to surround yourself with people you respect, trust, and count on. Your financial livelihood will be in their hands as much as it’s in your own.
Decide On Your Own Legal Entities
Decide What Type of Company You’ll Be (LLC)
When choosing what type of company you should be, you have some important structure and tax-based decisions to make that will play into how you classify yourself. Here are your options (with some links that lead to more info).
Sole Proprietorship: “A sole proprietorship is the simplest and most common structure chosen to start a business. It is an unincorporated business owned and run by one individual with no distinction between the business and you, the owner.”
LLC (Limited Liability Company): “A limited liability company is a hybrid type of legal structure that provides the limited liability features of a corporation and the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership. The “owners” of an LLC are referred to as “members.” Depending on the state, the members can consist of a single individual (one owner), two or more individuals, corporations or other LLCs.”
Cooperative: “A cooperative is a business or organisation owned by and operated for the benefit of those using its services. Profits and earnings generated by the cooperative are distributed among the members, also known as user-owners.”
C Corp (Corporation): “A corporation (sometimes referred to as a C corporation) is an independent legal entity owned by shareholders. This means that the corporation itself, not the shareholders that own it, is held legally liable for the actions and debts the business incurs.”
S Corp (Corporation): “An S corporation (sometimes referred to as an S Corp) is a special type of corporation created through an IRS tax election. An eligible domestic corporation can avoid double taxation (once to the corporation and again to the shareholders) by electing to be treated as an S corporation.”
Partnership: “A partnership is a single business where two or more people share ownership. Each partner contributes to all aspects of the business, including money, property, labour or skill. In return, each partner shares in the profits and losses of the business.”
Find a Niche
Here’s another solid move for new video and media production companies: Find a niche to exist in and push into it hard. For example, if you’ve worked a lot in documentary filmmaking, then you might consider branding your company as a documentary-focused production company. Further than that, you can use your documentary expertise to sell yourself as a niche-expert in branded documentary content, a new video style that’s become popular with clients over the last few years.
Whatever niche you decide, it’s important to focus on your target audience early on, and then show that focus in everything from your company name and branding to how you set up your clients and teams.
Pick a Memorable and Searchable Name
When it’s time to name your company, the world is really your oyster. Be creative and have fun with it, for sure, but keep a few rules and guidelines in mind. First, and most obviously, you have to find a new and unique name that hasn’t been used before and doesn’t violate any copyrights. To make sure your ideas are legal, conduct a lot of research and register it depending on the legal entities that you choose you can register with companies house or speak with HMRC in the UK.
When brainstorming names, try to keep them simple and searchable, as that will play a huge part in your success. A good search-friendly name is short and simple and also (ideally) features a keyword that clients will be looking for. Additionally, consider using the name of your city or region, especially if your focus is local. That’s a great way to make sure your company pops up in relevant searches for your area.
Create A Website and Online Presence Such as Social Media Pages
A solid website and a strong online presence are vital to a video and media production company’s success in recent times. Luckily, these things are wildly within reach, thanks to some great breakthroughs in web services. Check out skdesignmedia.co.uk for simple, dynamic web designs that are easy to use and customise. If you know a bit about web design, a platform like WordPress can help you achieve more sophisticated results. Contact skdesignmedia.co.uk to help you to create a professional website.
It’ll take a bit of work to build up and activate your online audience, so start cultivating your web presence early with platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. You don’t need to spend all day on them (unless you can have a dedicated social media manager), but updating them weekly (if not daily) with your latest work, company updates, and commentary on industry trends should keep you in front of clients new and old.
Build Up Your Client Network and Portfolio
The most important step of the process for, you know, actually making money with your new production company is finding clients! You can read up much more on some tricks and techniques for landing new clients here, but, rest assured — nothing will serve you better than steady networking and delivering solid work. Once you have those very first clients, leverage them early. They’ll often be your best allies in building up your client network.
Remember starting a production company you will need to:
- Focus on producing quality videos and photos that suit your creative strengths
- If you want to stand out in a crowded marketplace, find a niche and don’t forget to market your services
- Keep your overheads as light as possible – do you really need an office?
- Do anything and everything at the beginning to develop your skills and create a diverse show reel
- Develop lasting relationships with clients and freelancers
- Get your pricing right – it’s easy to underestimate how much work a job will take
