Make $250,000+ a Year ... With Your Video Camera

By Paul Lawrence

When my two partners and I agreed to pursue the venture, we thought of it as almost a hobby. We all enjoyed combat sports and thought it would be cool to sell related videos. And, if we made a few extra dollars by doing it ... even better.

Fast-forward a few years and the enterprise we started is anything but a hobby. For the employs 10 people. people who now own it, it's a very serious business that nets over $250,000 a year and

But what I find really incredible about this story is that we started this business with only a few hundred dollars.

For the first videos we produced, we just rented the lowest-level broadcast-quality camera for $50. And we hired a service to do some simple edits for about $100 more. After that, we placed some small ads and created a website. The rest, as they say, is history.

Naturally, if you're financially able to purchase all the equipment, it makes the whole thing more convenient. Still, I recommend producing a video or two first. Then, once you've got some cash coming in, go ahead and buy a video camera, a computer, and the appropriate software. You should be able to get everything you need for about $6,000.

There is an almost unlimited opportunity to produce videos, because there's a demand for them in just about every area of interest. Since my experience with that first partnership, I've created and produced a variety of other videos that have all been extremely profitable. (By the way, I eventually sold my share for a nice profit.)

Some of the best kinds to produce are instructional videos. Because people are buying information - not special effects or top-notch acting - your production doesn't have to be perfectly polished. It shouldn't look like you shot it in your garage with a camcorder, but it doesn't have to look like a broadcast television show or blockbuster Hollywood movie.

You may already have the technical know-how to create your own instructional video, and you may even feel comfortable being on camera yourself. If not, no problem. All you have to do is hire people who have the skills or knowledge you lack.

In one instance, I became acquainted with a fitness instructor who had developed an awesome technique for stretching the back that really helped me. And because so many people suffer from back pain, I figured there might be a market for her system. So I hired her to host an instructional videotape that I produced.

The results were nothing short of fantastic. I made a $5,000 profit within days of putting the video up for sale. And I did it without having any personal expertise in videography.

And I'm definitely not the only one who's been able to turn instructional videos into a profitable business. KH came across a man who, in his 60s, was in better shape than most 20-year-olds. His muscles were toned and he had amazing energy and vigor. The man agreed to turn his personal exercise regimen into an instructional video (with KH as the producer) - and within 30 days of shooting it, KH had made a $10,000 profit. The best part is that KH had started with a mere $250 investment.

If you have your own area of expertise that you can transform into an instructional video, so much the better.

As I've mentioned several times in ETR, I taught ballroom dancing for years. And I've earned a nice stream of income from an instructional dance video I created during that time. Because I featured my own skills in the video, my investment was even smaller than it would have been had I needed to hire an outside expert.

One of the best things about creating and selling videos is that they can provide a continuing income stream. Once you've made the video, all you have to do is fill orders. And if you have a topic that continues to interest people - and you continue to market it - the video can sell forever.

Here's how to get started with your first "how-to" video:

1. Choose a subject.

2. Either plan to be in the video yourself or hire a qualified expert.

3. Rent or buy the camera and editing equipment.

4. Shoot and edit.

5. Using the direct-marketing techniques you read about in ETR all the time, sell the video to your target customer.

Producing and marketing your own videos is not only exciting and fun, it can also be very lucrative. Plus, this is a business where you can quickly get your foot in the door with a very small outlay of capital. Just take an inventory of subjects you know already or find interesting ... and you could be a video producer in a matter of weeks.

Grab Market Share - but Be Prepared for What's Going to Happen When You Do

by Paul Lawrence

One of the most effective strategies to break into a new market and obtain market share is to offer your product or service at a much lower price than that of your competitors. In fact, this was the subject of the very first ETR message: "The Most Powerful Way to Grow a Business".

It is often possible to do this by containing your expenses and being willing to start out with a smaller price margin. And then, once you are well established, to slowly raise your price closer to the rest of the market and increase your profitability further.

I have done this with several types of small businesses (you can learn about many of them in my Microbusiness program) - but for today's discussion, I'd like to talk about one in particular.

Several years ago, I began and became the successful operator of a swimming pool maintenance business.

When I started this business, I determined that the competition had a very large profit margin and that I could still make money by offering my service at a much lower price.

The strategy worked very well, and I rapidly built a thriving small business. But some problems cropped up that I hadn't expected at all.

When executing this "discount price" strategy, I had anticipated that I would have trouble keeping expenses low enough to earn a large enough profit. And I was concerned that customers might be skeptical as to the quality or the reliability of my service.

In fact, neither of these things happened.

What did become a problem was that my competitors became very hostile toward my business and took action to try and destroy it.

One of the things they did was report me to government regulatory agencies for running an "unlicensed" business.

You see, in the swimming pool maintenance business, you have to be able to purchase the chemicals you use at a wholesale rate. And this wholesale rate is only available to licensed companies.

Fortunately, I did have the license. So this effort on the part of my competitors to shut me down didn't do any harm. But they did use their clout to make life difficult for me in my dealings with the few pool-chemical vendors in the South Florida market where my business was located.

One very large competitor threatened to pull his business from a certain vendor if he continued to sell to me. Because of the competitor's size, the vendor, although apologetic, cut me off.

I quickly realized that if this were to happen with one or two more vendors, I would be out of business. So I changed my strategy.

But I'll be honest. My first reaction to the hostility was to be defiant.

When I received nasty calls, I snarled back at the callers and shouted (with an equal number of profanities) that this was America and I could charge any price I wanted. But after being cut off from that first wholesale vendor, I realized that what I needed was a strong ally.

I contacted one of my other large competitors and told him that I'd like to propose an arrangement whereby he could earn additional profits.

I explained that I was a young company with a low overhead and thus didn't have any repair staff on hand. But my business was growing - and I was finding that I needed to have a way to handle repairs that my customers wanted to have done.

I proposed that this competitor could handle those repairs in exchange for my receiving a small "commission."

The deal made sense and he agreed.

I then began using the same vendor that this guy used. (And I made it clear to the vendor that this competitor and I had a "business relationship.") With a strong ally on my side, I was then immune to the griping of other competitors.