Beware of Imitations!

When you have a successful business it's important not to get complacent, and to keep an eye on your competition.

When I started producing motion graphics for nightclubs and bars in 2004, as far as I am aware there were only two real competitors to my service, and neither offered a fixed price structure like mine.

I put together the price structure to make it easy for venues to understand what they were paying for, and work to their own budget.

I recently did a bit of Googling to see who was out there now, and found a few new websites which have sprung up offering custom nightclub/bar visuals. I was amused (and flattered!) to see that they have all copied my pricing structure, and in some cases have made a very obvious copy of my business model, even down to the wording of their website and additional business areas (one has a 'themed DVDs' section, which is 'coming soon...' - it will be interesting to see what comes of that!)

It's nice to have some company in my area of business - I believe competition is very healthy, and by having alternatives out there it means clients can take a look at what is on offer and feel happy that they've made their own choice of supplier rather than only having one option.

Importantly, it also gives me the motivation to keep developing my service and improving the quality of my work.

I have two major products/services in the pipeline specifically for my nightclub/bar clients, which I believe, in addition to my 5 years of experience, will maintain my position as an industry leader.

Pride Themed DVD Finished!

I've finally finished my Pride Themed DVD. It has a pretty limited market, but I've enjoyed making this one. Hopefully it will appeal to gay clubs and bars for use during Pride festivals.

I've been agonising over whether to concentrate on adding more titles to the Themed DVD collection (I've got a few more in mind and would really like to reach 20 titles!), or to get started on converting all the existing ones to NTSC format in order to access the American market.

The sensible option is probably the NTSC one as the weak pound is making my products better value in the USA, and it's a much bigger market. The downside is that it's a pretty tedious/boring task to undertake, and there are a few other considerations to make such as Product Liability Insurance (Americans will sue for anything!), choosing a distributor (Fulfillment by Amazon is looking like an attractive option), sorting out the exporting and the impact that US import duty etc will have on the profit margin.

My visit to PLASA Focus in Leeds earlier in the week was worthwhile. The seminar about the Media City development in Manchester was very interesting - it sounds like it will be very beneficial to the city and the creative industries within it. I also had a wander around the trade show although that was a bit disappointing. I haven't been to a PLASA show for a few years now, but there was nothing ground-breakingly exciting in the world of lighting/video, just lots more LED products everywhere!

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

I'm afraid I've got a bit lax with blogging over the last couple of weeks - things have just been very busy work-wise, which is of course no bad thing!

Tomorrow I'm off to the PLASA Focus trade show in Leeds to listen to a seminar about the new Media City project in Manchester, so may well blog about that tomorrow.

The show is also a chance for me to keep a tab on what the pro sound & lighting industry is up to (which of course includes a lot of video technology these days!)

I was reading a thread on the After Effects Mailing List about dealing with anxiety, and Trish Meyer made a great point about keeping fit and healthy. I couldn't agree more with this - I go to the gym first thing in the morning four times a week, and can say without any doubt that I work better and think clearer on those days. This combined with a good diet and adequate sleep are essential if you want to work at your full potential. I believe it's best to take excercise in the morning as it leaves you feeling great for the rest of the day, and lets be honest - the last thing you want to do after a long day at work is go and work out for an hour!

Happy New Financial Year!

Well that's another financial year over. I spent Friday morning catching up on the last 3 months of accounts so I can submit the final figures to the accountants - one of the not-so-nice aspects of being self-employed, although it is very satisfying getting it finished and being able to see how the year compares with previous years.

I finished the Kids Party themed DVD last week - http://www.philbearman.co.uk/kidsparty - and have nearly finished the Pride themed DVD. Will hopefully get that completed on Monday.

I've got quite a busy week ahead of me, so the bank holiday has been a welcome opportunity to recharge my batteries.

Media Glasses

I was out for after-work drinks on Friday evening with a graphic designer friend of mine (www.ilovegraphics.co.uk), and he was describing a friend of his who is a video editor and said "she wears media glasses"!

I asked what he meant by that and he said he meant those bold rectangular glasses that seem to be worn by anyone who works in media, which is so true!

I have recently been prescribed glasses for computer work, and picked what I thought were a nice pair of D&G glasses. I've actually already gone off them (they're too wide for my face - that'll teach me to buy glasses online!), but what amused me was that they fit my friend's description of Media Glasses!

Across The Pond

I've noticed a huge surge in work from the USA recently - I think the weak pound has actually done me a huge favour! I've always got a buzz out of knowing that my work is being seen by hundreds of thousands of people every week around the UK, so to know that it's also being seen across the pond is another huge buzz for me!

Speaking of ponds, my stock footage on Pond5.com has also seen a huge increase in sales over the last couple of months, and as the footage is sold in dollars I'm benefitting from the weak pound that way too!

With the media contstantly doom-mongering about the recession, I think it's vital not to get sucked in to all that, and focus on the positive things - the above is a great example of how it's not all bad news!

Forthcoming DVD releases

I'm currently working on 4 DVD titles which will be released over the next few months:

* Nineties - Nineties themed visuals to compliment the existing 70s and 80s titles.

* Kids Party - Designed primarily for mobile discos who cater for kids parties, featuring clowns, balloons, cakes, etc. This title will hopefully also appeal to parents holding parties for their kids.

* Pride - A collection of cool rainbow-themed visuals aimed at gay pride events

And one other title which I'm keeping under wraps :-)