The Business of Video Production

The video is delivered, but the invoice hasn’t gone out. Client feedback is scattered across messages. Finding something from an old project means digging through hard drives.As your production business gets busier, these small gaps can take up a lot of time.Michael and Marnu from South Africa’s CoolerBox Brothers know this experience well. They built CoolerBox Tracker to bring their production workflow into one place. When Michael showed it to me, I wanted to hear the story behind it.In this episode, we talk about:Where their existing spreadsheets and software were falling short.How they manage call sheets, crew, client feedback and invoices.Keeping past projects organised for when clients come back.What was involved in turning an internal tool into a product for other production companies.If you’re spending too much time chasing information across your business, there’s plenty here to think about.Explore CoolerBox TrackerVisit CoolerBox Brothers(I have no commercial involvement with CoolerBox Tracker. I invited Michael and Marnu on because I was impressed by what they’d built)

A lot of video production business owners tell me they’re working harder than ever, yet not always moving forward the way they want.Over the years, I’ve noticed a set of patterns that often seem to hold people back. I’ve seen them in my own work, in colleagues, and in the clients I coach.In this episode of The Business of Video Production Podcast, I’ll share what these patterns are, what they look like, and why they matter. See if they sound familiar, and more importantly, think about what might change for you if you could get on top of them.And if you’re serious about taking your video business further, check out my coaching at ⁠ryanspanger.com⁠. It’s where we go deeper into these ideas and put them into action.

I’ve been working in video production for 27 years, and I’ve never seen this much change happen so quickly.Recently, I watched AI open Premiere, move into After Effects and make a client’s changes. It even opened Illustrator to create something it needed. I just sat there watching.In this episode of The Business of Video Production Podcast, I share how I’m using AI to run my production company, what’s still frustrating, and the things I’ve decided to keep doing myself.I also talk about how I’m helping my coaching clients put these tools to work, including people who don’t consider themselves particularly confident with technology.Some of the things I cover:Using an AI assistant to keep track of commitments, sales conversations and projects.Creating landing pages, and why following a professional design process makes such a difference.Turning client meetings, emails and briefs into proposals, call sheets, shot lists and storyboards.Building repeatable workflows for tasks you do regularly.Creating interview paper edits and rough cuts in Premiere.Improving the tone of emails while keeping your own voice.Why I’m still writing my own social media posts.The mix of excitement, uncertainty and loss that can come with such a big change.One rule guides how I use AI: the result needs to be better than what we would have created without it. That means staying involved, asking questions, giving feedback and using your judgement.If you run a video production company, this episode will give you practical ideas to explore and a starting point for deciding where AI fits into your business.If you’d like help putting these workflows into practice, get in touch to find out about coaching.

Most of your video production work comes from word of mouth. In some ways that's good. But do you know where the next job is coming from?When I talk to video business owners, referrals are often their biggest source of work. Happy clients recommend them, new projects come in, and things tick along. Until they don’t.In this episode, I explore how to make referrals a little more predictable, and how to ask for an introduction without making it feel awkward or transactional.I cover:What makes clients want to recommend you, beyond the quality of your videos.Why asking for an “introduction” can feel more natural than asking for a “referral”.The words you can use to ask a happy client who else you should meet.Finding opportunities with other teams inside an organisation you already work with.Why offering a commission can sometimes get in the way.Who to approach, and why the best time to ask is often when you don’t need the work.If you’ve been doing good work and hoping people will spread the word, this episode will help you take a more deliberate approach. Start with the relationships you already have, make a list, and have a few honest conversations.

Should Your Video Business Specialise or Offer More Services?Are you building the video business you actually want, or just taking whatever comes your way?Saying yes to everything can help you get started. But at some point, you need to decide what you want to be known for, who you want to work with and what you’re prepared to turn down.In this episode of the Business of Video Production Podcast, I explore how to make those decisions, drawing on my own journey from taking any video work I could find to building a more focused production company.We look at:Why starting broad can help you discover the work you’re best suited to.How to specialise around a type of client or problem, rather than one type of video.The difference between adding a complementary service and starting a separate business.What to consider before bringing a new service in-house or contracting it out.A useful question to ask before expanding: would your ideal client naturally expect you to be good at it?There’s no single formula that suits every production company. This episode will help you think through what belongs in your business, what doesn’t, and how to keep refining those decisions as your clients’ needs and your own priorities change.