It’s the end of the workweek here at The Reid Effect Production Studios.  Like you, I’ve spent my days trying to accomplish as much as I possibly can, trying to make my work excellent and effective.  It’s been a good week, but I’m tired.

If you’re a small business owner, your week has not only been about producing an excellent product or service.  You’ve likely spent as much or more time agonizing over a way – THE way – ANY way – to get the word out about what you do.  Me too, and it’s been tiring.  Since I work closely with several businesses consulting with them on Marketing strategy, my brain occasionally nears overload as I also try to translate someone elses WHY into an effective WAY to reach the public.

The hard part for us small business owners is that there are so many options when it comes to marketing our business, and the options are growing every day.  It’s a blessing and a curse that we all understand.  New technology or social media allow us to work faster and more efficiently, but finding the right fit can take time we don’t have.  Most of us can’t afford a marketing director to lead the way, so we attend conferences, read books and listen to podcasts to learn their job too.  And one day soon we’ll carve out some quality time to implement all the new knowledge we’ve accumulated.   Right?

Here’s where this particular blog entry may take a turn for the worse, because unfortunately I don’t have a solution to this problem.  The truth is that it’s hard work.  And it’s going to stay hard work.  The challenges of a struggling economy, difficult employees, too much competition, and how to spread your message will visit you again next week – same time, same station.

So here’s what you do.  You finish up for the week and head on home. Take some time out to appreciate the beauty of life and demand from yourself a few moments that aren’t consumed with the complexities that are your job!  Maybe spend a few minutes remembering the passion and calling that brought you to where you are today and remember that there really are some very good reasons you love what you do!

Monday morning will roll around again soon enough.  And you won’t be like the vast majority of the population, trudging their way through heavy traffic on their way to a job they hate.  You, my friend will be trudging your way through heavy traffic on your way to a job you L.O.V.E.   Because this is not a job, it’s a calling. It’s what you were made for and you are great at it!

So tackle those challenges as they come. You’ll take them on and come out the other side victorious like you have with everything else. Refresh yourself this weekend and then get back to your regular, awesome programing.

Fade to Black.

We just finished putting together an updated client list from this year to go out with new quotes. We want people to see not only the number of clients we’re working with, but also the range and variety. It’s not exactly a rock-solid litmus test as to the vitality and raw talent of a company, but it does give a nice little, ‘20 words or less’ profile of a company. As an example, here are the first ten on our list:
Xbox/Microsoft
American Design, Ltd.
Laser Spine Institute
Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation
Structural Grace
CFS Mortgage
Insight Global, Inc.
Financial Design Group
Calvary Christian Center
Mountainside Fitness

What does that list tell you? For us, it’s confirmation that we’re not allowing ourselves to be relegated to a particular niche in the industry. We never want to be just the ‘commercial go-to guys’, or the ‘documentary production company’, or the ‘really-great-at-graphics guys’. Does our creative, innovative team make us a great fit for low budget doc’s? Yeah, for sure. But our ability to work with people also makes us a great fit when your small business is wanting to capture some real-life testimonials from customers.
As long as we keep working with such a broad spectrum of clients, we know it will keep us moving forward. We hate the word template! Templates get as boring to make as they get to watch.
Variety of customers means variety of content and creative out-flow, and that suites us just fine!
Are you ready for 2012?

Ever been body surfing?  You know that feeling when you’re on the crest of the wave and it’s just about to go plunging down, vaulting you forward while you struggle to keep balanced and in control?  Then you know how things feel here at The Reid Effect.  It’s not just lots of spinning plates, or overloaded workloads.  It’s that feeling that you’ve reached the  corner and you’re going into the turn – and it’s not just more of the same when you round the bend. It’s an entirely new road.

Don’t get me wrong -we LOVE what we do here. We’re passionate about each project because this is what we love to do.  I think that is in fact what is bringing about these changes.  For years now we’ve worked hard to approach each production with this mindset;  What can we do that we haven’t done before?  What can we improve on, where can we learn, and how can we make this client absolutely certain they got MORE out of this project than they anticipated?    I firmly believe that this mindset, along with the awesome talent of our team, is what has brought us better and better jobs, better clients, and opportunities we weren’t even dreaming about several years ago.

Not to say that it’s a foregone conclusion.  Climbing the wave is the easy part.  Not getting crushed as you ride it down is the part that requires hard work, careful attention, and perfect execution using all the skills you’ve developed up until this time.    With pilots for two TV shows being finished up, potential work with company’s like Xbox and some large, local clients, we’re more aware now than ever of the need to excel in everything we do.  So what can you look for when it comes to The Reid Effect in the future?  I’m not sure of the details yet, but whatever it is,  we know it will be infused with the attitude of someone who is passionate and committed to their talent and trade.  As always, stay tuned and check back often.    If you’ve not already, join us on Facebook to keep up to date with the daily details of what’s going on!

As we head quickly towards tax time, The Reid Effect has, like everyone else, taken a look back at the past year to see where this recession left us standing.  On the radio and TV, all we hear is layoffs and cutbacks.  I admit to even hearing about budget cuts from a number of my clients.  All signs were pointing to bad business – all signs that is except for all the new, good business we were doing at The Reid Effect.  We saw a growth of nearly 50 percent!  How is it that we avoided participating in this recession?  I think like most – we just kept on working hard, putting out quality video productions and treating our clients like we would want to be treated.  We focused on what we could do, and didn’t spend a lot of time on what we couldn’t.   People  and businesses don’t tend to plan way ahead for the kind of projects that we produce, so we still get nervous wondering what’s around the corner for us, but for now we’ll continue to do what works – working hard to stay relevent and at the top of our game in the field we’re in.  By the end of 2010 we may not even have the time to turn on the radio or the TV – who knows what we could accomplish then!