Business Plan

, , , ,

Website Roksprocket Mosaic Services Process

, , , ,

Mosaic process: C-A-M  (CAM is the process used for publishing on Joomla)

C- first there has to be a category (stay away from K2!!!) For each of Film, Video, Photo, and Audio I created a root category for each.

A- then there has to be an article; this article will be blank, more a placeholder than anything else, but because we want to be able to  switch between all mosaics this article will need to show the shortcode buttons for each respective Service category: Film, Video, Photo, Audio. This makes these mosaics all look alike and interact with each other.

M- then the Menu creation will tie everything together, uniting the article with the menu, the menu is the driving force whereby calling any other module on the page; ie. the header, everything else that goes on all pages, including the specific mosaic. The menu type is single article. Each mosaic will only be assigned to it's menu page; otherwise there will be a rocksproket error on the pages it is not meant for.

-The details tab must be finished first and then saved before moving on to the Modules Assignment tab, otherwise the correct menu page for the modules to be assigned will not show up when following through and clicking on their link in the list of various modules need for that page. If you link specific modules to other pages as well, an error will result on those pages that module is not intended for, these pages will need to be unlinked within in module manager; as an error page will show up and will try to direct you back to the Control Panel.

-So again, remember to associate the menu location and Parent (menu) Item, and then SAVE before moving on to the modules.

-in Page Display tab; DO NOT  Show Page Heading! It will already be in the headerbar, and so is not needed.

 

 

What is a "Techno Monkey"

A Techno Monkey:

  • a manager, able to help direct and focus the work of TMM employees (not techno monkeys yet but hopefully they will develop into them)
  • is able to accomplish anything when they put their mind to it.
  • knows there are "no limits"
  • is always eager and enthusiastic
  • is always yearning to learn; never stops learning
  • has a passion for working with media
  • solves problems without imaginative limitations - creating economically viable, creative, high quality, exciting solutions
  • excels in a team environment - collaborates well with others sharing knowledge and experience to help design innovative work
  • has entrepreneurial visions of new ways to leverage media production and technologies to satisfy customer needs better and faster
  • has a node-based mindset (explained below)
    • a node can be anything - a technique, a piece of equipment, an idea, a technology, a computer program, and many more
    • node-based thinking is being able to envision how to assemble nodes to solve seemingly complex problems (in our case customer media needs) in an efficient manner
    • any number of nodes can be linked together including multiple or single inputs or outputs along with usually many modification nodes along the way in order to achieve the desired results
    • node-based thinking is thinking both in and outside the box, plugging ideas and methods into each other to provide what others dismiss as "too hard" or "too complicated" or "too expensive
    • understanding the nodes is important since then they can be re purposed for maximum usability to satisfy clients' needs instead of being limited by the same setup or not knowing how to adjust to the nuances of each clients' work
  • understands how to document good node-tree structures with recurring usage into procedures so that they can be reused and practiced by TMM employees to complete jobs without expensive schooling but with the enthusiasm to learn

Product or Service Description

(draft) The company will provide complete service for consumer video productions and media transfers. The video productions can include subjects such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, dance recitals, video biographies, and other special occasions. TMM can handle everything from creating or assisting with the script, filming, editing, and final distribution.

With some products such as dance recitals or theatrical productions TMM will film the event, edit and produce a DVD and then sell copies of the DVD’s to the dancers or players or audience.

Other events, such as weddings or anniversaries or video biographies, TMM will sell the final product to a single customer.

Slideshows are very common for special events. These shows are a collection of photos, slides, negatives, film, and video put together in a video collage and put to music. These shows can be for events such as anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, or funerals.

Media transfers include transferring old media such as super 8 and regular 8 film, or VHS tapes, or slides, or negatives to a more current media such as DVD’s or computer hard drives. These transfers are generally done for either archival purposes or just to be able to view the material with ease (it’s easier to view DVD’s than to pull out the old projector to see slides or film).

Business Goals

Update this! TMM will go to 2 networking events each month.

By the end of the 1st quarter TMM will create a demo DVD for dance recitals and one for weddings. By the end of the 2nd quarter TMM will create a demo DVD for video biographies and one for theatrical productions. Also by the end of this quarter the company will have added 4 additional dance school recitals. TMM will be processing 200 media transfers per month by the end of the 2nd quarter. Within the 1st year TMM will contract 2 video biographies and will produce 12 weddings.

Industry Overview

Industry DescriptionThe video production, videotaping, photography, and photo editing services fit into the services industry.

Industry Segment Within the services industry, video production and videotaping services form a growing segment. TMM will be targeting video and photo production for dance recitals, dance competitions, theatrical productions, weddings, and video biographies.  Most of the consumer spending for this segment comes from the recreation category and according to the Canadian “Market Research Handbook 2005” this spending category grew by 4.9% between 2003 and 2004 which is a continuation of a longer trend where spending rose by 39.3% between 1998 and 2004 to total $721.2 million dollars.

Growth and Trends The last 5 years have seen video and computer technology become much more affordable.  Rather than requiring $20,000 for professional cameras or computers, they are now available for less than $5000.  Professional internet forums also give access to resources and accomplished people like never before.  This means that one can learn from the experts from home.

Rapid changes in technology offer not only challenges but also opportunities.  Opportunities come when one is prepared for change. Preparedness comes from keeping in the information loop such as online forums, industry conventions, and industry associations.

The next wave of technology will include Hi-Definition (HD) cameras and the other associated hardware, such as Blu-Ray disks and more software to support HD.  Managing the change to the new technology will be an exciting challenge.  When discussing these industry changes with competitors, forums, and others in the business the general consensus is that conversion to HD for most businesses is still two years away.

Barriers to Entry The low cost of equipment now makes it easier for someone to get into the video production business.  The barrier to getting into this type of business is skill and knowledge. One needs the creative and technical skills to film and edit and these skills take some time to develop.  One also requires great marketing skills otherwise the business will never make it beyond a hobby.

Description of Business Venture

Techno Monkey Media (TMM) is a 50/50 partnership between John Romein and Paul Romein formed to provide video and photo production services to three market segments. The first focus is corporate video which consists of making videos of conferences and company events, documentaries, biographies, and commercials. The second focus is on dance studios in the lower mainland. For several years, TMM has been providing video services to dance studios, recording their recitals and competitions for distribution on DVD. The final focus is providing wedding photography and video bundles to younger couples. Our business is powered by young team members with excellent commitment to creativity, technical skill, and quality. We innovative ways to use today’s readily available communications technologies to provide extra value to the consumer such as same day online project management for corporations, one hour turnaround for dance competition DVDs at the event, and wedding video edits ready to display at the reception. We are also a one-stop company that can create the desired end product that a consumer or company wants like finishing and printing a wedding photo album, formatting video to deploy on the web or duplicating DVDs.

The company has been operating seriously for 2 years and in this time it has continued to see business growth even though the pricing is middle to high for the type of business and end products. Positive word of mouth referrals are provided in abundance. TMM has realized that it has unrealized growth potential and has undergone branding for the first time, making it more recognizable. The company has established its core vision and mission which is passionately shared between the current team members and primary contractors.

Executive Summary

Techno Monkey Media (TMM) is excited to be working to realizing its true growth potential. The company has undergone branding to increase recognition of its quality services. TMM provides video and photo services to three market segments. The company provides high end corporate services like documentaries, commercials, and training, solutions to recording dance studio recitals and competitions, and weddings. TMM has enjoyed financial and product success with large scale projects such as organization anniversary documentaries and smaller intense projects like same-day one hour turnaround photo and video media at dance competitions. TMM has also experienced success with mid range projects such as weddings. As a side effect of documentaries, we are also able to offer media transfers from film and other older media to DVD as an ancillary stream of income.

The consumer dollars spent on video productions and media transfers comes out of the growing recreation industry segment which topped $761 million in 2004.  From 1998 to 2004 this segment grew by a staggering 39%.  TMM’s quality work has resulted in many work-of-mouth referrals.  This signature of quality will be used by the company in its marketing to achieve revenue targets.

John Romein and Paul Romein are the partners in the company.  Both have experience in videography from running this business as a hobby for a few years.  John’s strengths are marketing, accounting, and organization, while Paul’s strengths are filming and editing.  Their combined skills and their determination to deliver quality products will contribute strongly to the success of the company.

The startup costs of the business have been fully financed by the partners. The company’s current year saw a gross income of approximately $70,000. The company has analyzed projects from this last year to determine which revenue streams were the most profitable and ways to increase profitability of some others. The forecast for 2009 is $180,000-$250,000 gross income.

Current Company Structure

The following is a list of staff that work within the company, with a list of their primary roles below. The percentages are estimates on how much of their time they are expected to devote to the specific role.

John Romein

  • Office Manager [30%]
  • Corporate Sales Lead [20%]
  • Dance Sales Lead [20%]
  • Wedding Sales [20%]
  • Fullfillment [10%]

In the early months of 2009, we are shifting the Wedding Sales over to Tim, and in early 2010 we plan to bring in a position to take over corporate sales, moving John off of it, freeing John to increase focus on Dance Sales.

Paul Romein

  • Video Production Lead [90%]
  • Technical Support [5%]
  • Web Design [5%]

Paul is the team lead for any video production needs in regards to pre-production, production, and post-production. His other skills range all over the map from graphic design to web design, to technical management.

Tim Schafli

  • Wedding Sales [45%]
  • Photography Lead [30%]
  • Video Editor [5%]
  • Web Design [20%]

Tim specializes as our photography lead, and is being trained as the wedding sales lead. His other skills are in graphic design, 3d modeling, and web design.

Spencer Rieu

  • Video Editor [80%]
  • Graphics Design [10%]
  • Sound Designer [10%]

Spencer specializes in sound design.

Corinne Giraud

  • Video Editor [100%]

Corinne is a skilled video editor and more.

Company Vision

The following document headings are the target dates for achieving the goal described.
Document last updated: December 2008

December 2009 (One Year)

  • Increase company GROSS income to $210,000
  • Maintain three full-time staff
  • Estimated one half salary in contractors

Our goal for 2009 is to leap the company forward with the goal of exceeding $200,000. We spent a great deal of time in the end of 2008 structuring the company and designing things such as this knowledge base, a project management tool, a new logo, and more back-end documenting like a mission statement, our values, a marketing strategy, and really dove into documenting processes and procedures. We believe that with all these new tools, we will be able to focus on driving our business to new heights, and the $200,000 range is completely within our grasp.

Early 2010

  • Bring in full time position to take over corporate sales
  • Move into office building

By the early months of 2010, we plan to bring in a fourth full-time position, with their sole focus to take on larger corporate contracts. Over several months, we would move John off corporate sales, allowing him to focus on the dance division.

At this point in the life of our company, we see it fit that we will need to move into an office building in an industrial park near Port Coquitlam. Specifics on this expansion should become a focus towards the end of 2009, as we see ourselves reaching our goal.

December 2010 (Two Year)

  • Increase company GROSS income to $420,000
  • Maintain four full-time staff
  • Estimated one full salary in contractors

With the new expansions in staffing and a new office, we see ourselves being able to double our GROSS income this year.  

December 2011 (Three Year)

  • Increase company GROSS income to $840,000
  • Maintain five full-time staff
  • Estimated two salaries in contractors

Again, with the increase in staff, we plan to continue doubling our GROSS income.

December 2012 (Four Year)

  • Increase company GROSS income to $1,500,000
  • Maintain seven full-time staff
  • Estimated two salaries in contractors

By the end of 2012, we can see ourselves breaking into a million dollar company, pulling a total of 1.5 million by the end of the year.

December 2013 (Five Year)

  • Increase company GROSS income to $2,437,000
  • Maintain nine full-time staff
  • Estimated three salaries in contractors

Continuing along our path of growth, we see ourselves doubling our GROSS income once again.