To grow sustainably, is it better to take on projects that are frequent and reliable, or sparse but lucrative?
Q: I own a film and production company, and I shot 100 videos last year -- 70 weddings and 30 corporate, totaling $330,000 in revenue. The corporate videos are more profitable, but weddings are always happening. I don’t want to turn off a constant source of revenue, but should I spend more time pursuing corporate events to grow my business? -- Trevor R.
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Welcome, Trevor, to the entrepreneur’s struggle! You build a great product or service, make good money and the next thing you know, you feel like you have to change your model. It’s the age-old question of scale: What’s the best way for your business to grow, and does that mean making less revenue now in order to have more sustainable growth for years to come?
With the bulk of your time being spent on wedding videos, you probably feel stuck in the slow lane, watching better profits pass you by. But remember that scale is not just about margins. Numbers can be deceiving, and you control what you charge for your services. While your corporate videos are more profitable right now, going all-in might not be the long-term answer.
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To figure out the best route for your business, start with a clear vision of your ideal final destination. How much money -- and profit -- do you want to make per year? It might sound like a frivolous question (who doesn’t always want to make more?), but it will allow you to reverse-engineer your business model and help determine a practical answer.
Let’s say you want $1 million in gross revenue per year. At this time, it sounds like you charge about $5,500 per corporate video and about $2,400 per wedding video. That means you’d need to sell either 182 corporate videos or 417 wedding videos. (That’s a lot of videos!) Use those numbers to guide your vision . Next, consider scale, which depends on a number of growth factors. First, creating value: Make sure you’re charging the appropriate amount for your services in order to reach your goals. Second, anticipating growth: Where is the greatest opportunity, not just at the moment, but in the future? And third, limiting expenses: How can you keep costs down so spending doesn’t outpace revenue?
Answering honestly will help you create several business models. For you, Trevor, those models are (a) weddings and corporate, (b) weddings only or (c) corporate only. As a case study, let’s consider “weddings only.” Last year, you worked 70 nuptials. Before you consider hitting pause on that side of your business, revisit those growth factors to figure out if you can make it more profitable. Should you charge more for each video? How many clients did you turn down last year? Could you have taken them on if you had extra help? Weigh the costs, and consider adding another videographer to the staff. If that seems financially impossible, look for ways to at least maintain your current output while trimming production costs.
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For a small business, profitability is a mad science of focus, projections, and getting out of your own way. What makes the most money on a per-item basis is not necessarily what will make you the most profit in the long run. Consider Amazon: It created scale by focusing on smaller margins. It’s a helpful reminder that there are different ways to succeed. Understand what you can charge, how you should save and who is most likely to buy from you in the future. By simplifying the complicated challenge, you can jump on the fast track to growth.
