This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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As you are no doubt well aware, remote work is here to stay. At least for many people in many fields, even as some companies have encouraged or sometimes mandated their employees to return to the office, plenty of others have found resistance with lots of employees saying, you know, no, thanks. I think I'd like to keep up this remote gig. And the trend has even made it to some industries where you might imagine that working from a distance would be impossible. For example, today's caller is a videographer who hopes to go fully virtual with his filming services.
And if you think about it at first, you're like, well, how could a videographer work remotely? Now, especially for someone who's filming a commercial or an instructional course, doesn't the videographer need to be in the room? Well, it's not as crazy as you might think because LinkedIn and some other companies have been doing this recently. They found a way to film remotely. And so this freelancer is thinking, well, I'd like to do that because then I could work with people who are not just in my town, but really anywhere, right?
So if you are a videographer, or even if you're not, and you're thinking, what is a service that I could provide remotely? Or how could I adapt this idea to something I'm thinking about? That's what we're gonna talk about in this episode. So what does this aspiring remote videographer need to know? His question and my answer coming up after this quick sponsor message.
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Hi, Chris, this is Jake. And I've been listening to the show for a couple of years. I'm a videographer in a medium-sized city. And before the pandemic, I was building my portfolio and getting ready to possibly go full-time. But for the past year, I've just been working my day job, which is now remote.
I'd like to get back into video work. And I'm wondering about the possibility of doing it remotely as well. It might seem a little crazy, but I know several other studios that are doing exactly this. Basically, they send out a kit to people who are filming a course or commercial and then guide the person through the filming remotely by Zoom. It does require some investment since I'll need to buy extra gear to ship to people.
But on the upside, if it worked, I could serve clients wherever they were instead of just in my area. How can I show potential clients the benefits of this method as well as overcome any objections they might have? Thanks for your help. [Music]
Jake, thanks for the question. So I have heard of this too.
I actually had a friend who filmed a course this way. And she said the same thing that as an instructor, it seemed a little bit overwhelming at first. She was like, "How is that possible? I've always gone to a studio and worked with a team." But then as she went through the process, it made sense. So I think what's key, it really helps for the videographer or the producer, whoever is guiding this process, therefore Jake in this question or whoever our freelancer is, whoever is guiding the process to be very hands-on, at least remotely.
So you can actually be physically hands-on, but very hands-on remotely in terms of a lot of attention to detail. And consider this a small cost you pay for the big benefit of being able to serve clients wherever they are. Now, I also talked with another friend recently. I was kind of on the other side of this where I needed some video work done. So I reached out to a friend, George, who's done some stuff for me in the past.
He's always done a great job. And he wrote me back to say, he and his wife recently had a baby. Congratulations, George. And so because of COVID, he switched to doing almost all of his work remotely, basically the same model that Jake is talking about here in this question. And George also works with lots of big clients.
So it's totally possible. And perhaps it's one of those interesting side effects of everyone having to learn to work differently in recent years. But as for the objections, which I think Jake mentioned as well, and that's smart, again, being hands-on or lots of attention to detail is key. You want people to understand how this is possible. You tell them very specifically what they need.
If you are sending them a kit, that loaner equipment, whatever it is, make the instructions very, very simple. I would say include a printed copy of the instructions as well as whatever digital copy they have access to. Talk them through each part of it from afar. Even something as simple as turn on the power button or connect this to your computer, whatever it is, and going through it from there. Just very simple step by step.
It's also great to have some examples you can show. So my friend George, the videographer, he sent me links to two videos he had made remotely, including one that he did for Facebook. So that showed me he has experience doing it this way and that big companies have trusted him with the process. So if they've tried it and it worked out for them, why shouldn't I try, basically? So Jake, I think it's totally possible.
I think anybody else out there who's doing work that you assume, at least you always have assumed, needs to be done in person. Just consider if there might be some option because all kinds of industries are transitioning and I think we'll continue to transition in years to come. Good luck. Listeners, if you have a question, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. You can also subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcasts.
A new episode goes out every single day. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the "Onward Project."
