What do you like least about your business?
Setting up and striking sets. It’s a lot of equipment, lights, cables, stands, sand bags, etc. It’s a pain in the you-know-what. I’m getting too old to be schlepping all this stuff around.

What was your first year like?
Interestingly enough, my business took off like a rocket. Without much effort, we landed some major projects of the type that are usually awarded to seasoned professionals. In that first year I was also nominated for an award at the American Indian Film Festival. Pretty heady stuff for a rookie.

What did you learn in that first year?
I learned that my first year’s success was pretty much a fluke. I just assumed that the projects would just keep coming. I didn’t know that I’d have to go out and find them.

Who are your customers?
I work with both public and private sector clients. Our clients have run the gamut from Indian tribes, to manufacturers…with everything else in between.

How do they find you?
Word of mouth, predominantly. My marketing skills are lacking.

Do you have a website, or any other online presence?
Yes, I have a website for my ebook at www.howtoweddingvideo.com I don't have a website for my video production company yet. As I mentioned before, most of my work comes from word of mouth so far (and marketing is not my strong suit).

What was involved in setting your website up?
I bought a course from a couple of internet marketers and followed it to the letter. All I had to plug in was my own content. The instant riches that were promised have yet to come to pass. But I definitely have a solid foundation on which to build. I just need traffic.

Do you mind telling us the name of the course you bought?
It was the Infomastery course by Ryan Deiss and Jimmy D. Brown. It was a physical product consisting of CDs, manuals and DVDs. It cost around $500 as I recall. It was extremely detailed. They promoted the theory that affiliate marketing is ok, but having your own product is where its at. I wouldn't recommend the course to beginners. I think the course assumes that you are at least approaching an intermediate level of knowledge about the internet.

I know you also have a website related to funerals. Can you tell us about that?
It's actually a Squidoo lens called Your Final Answers. It came about as a result of a video script that I developed for a series of educational videos about funeral pre-planning. I was going to market the tapes to funeral homes. I got it 75% in the can when some unexpected problems halted the production.

How long ago was this?
This was in 1998. It drove me crazy because I thought the information needed to be disseminated. I had been supplementing my video production income by working at the funeral home part time. I saw, first hand, the havoc wreaked when people hadn't made even the simplest of arrangements.

The Internet was pretty much in its infancy at the time. I taught myself html and developed a site called The Funeral Advisors. The domain cost me $75 back then. But I didn't know a thing about SEO (search engine optimization) and no one was teaching it. So the site languished until a couple of months ago when I found Squidoo. I still have a couple of content modules to add.

What advice would you give someone wanting to set up a home business?
Do it. Turn a deaf ear to any nay sayers. Just do your homework. There’s plenty of “how to” information available. Pick a business that plays off your natural talents and abilities. Then, persist, persist, persist.

What advice would you give someone wanting to make your type of product?
Again, there’s plenty of information and assistance available…especially online. You can also contract the project out. Plenty of “pens for hire” out there.

What was the best move you ever made in relation to your business?
The best move I made was to establish the company in my name. My brother moved on years ago and I still have the business.

The worst move you ever made?
The worst move I made is the move I haven’t made. I still haven’t learned how to properly market my business. I’m so confident in all other areas of my job, but marketing scares the you-know-what out of me.

Anything you’d do differently knowing what you know now?
I would have dived head first into learning the basics of marketing. My first year was so easy that I got spoiled. Not such a lucky thing to have happen, when I look back on it.