We were lucky to catch up with Jeffrey Gordon recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jeffrey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Starting a business was never a dream of mine. When I was a kid, I once thought I wanted to have my own restaurant. However, after working in restaurants for years in my early 20’s, I realized I definitely didn’t want that, most specifically the evening and weekend hours.
Based on that experience, I told myself to get a corporate 9-5 job, which I landed right out of college. It was great; perfect hours, benefits, vacation time, what else could a new graduate want?
As the years rolled on, I had created a solid in-house video production department in my company. Now, when I say “department,” I am referring to the output, systems, and equipment because I was the only employee in that department. This was great for a while, but eventually, I wanted the department to grow. I pitched idea after idea for expansion plans, but was met with resistance every time. I’d come to realize that while the company had a video department, they didn’t see the value in video for their future plans. This caused tension between myself and management, and so I began searching for jobs.
The job search was tough. I must have applied to a hundred jobs over the next few years. I had many interviews with a variety of different companies. Some decided not to offer me a job and some I decided not to accept for one reason or another. I didn’t want to just leave my job for another job I wasn’t going to enjoy, there needed to be a great fit.
At this point, I had been at my company for 12 years and I felt stuck. I was unhappy, unmotivated, and resenting my time there. I didn’t know what to do. It was around then that my wife began talking about starting her own business on the side of her main job. The more she talked about it, the more I started thinking about going into business for myself.
So after much discussion and planning, we decided I should put in my notice and start the journey of becoming a business owner. I knew it would be challenging, but I was confident in my skills making videos and my skills with people so I felt like I could do it. Things were going well for the first 20 months and I was bringing in a livable revenue, then COVID hit.
Like so many others, I thought this was the end for my company. However, 2020 and 2021 turned out to be very good years. Because of my networking and the relationships I had made over the years, the work kept coming in. This work was mostly in the form of editing for other video companies, but that didn’t matter to me, work was work, and I was creating more and more credibility for my business.
Having done well during a very uncertain time, I thought this small business thing would be no problem. Things changed however, as those companies hired in-house editors. I was now back to finding my own clients. I found that locating clients and performing all the production work for those clients all while trying to complete business tasks was becoming unmanageable. I wasn’t able to complete jobs in the amount of time that I expected and wasn’t able to make regular connections for new clients. Having no business background other than my current business, I needed help.
As a result of that, I have recently hired a coach to help me with business decisions, systems, and goals moving forward. While the business has been successful, bringing in revenue, and gaining new clients, it has been at a plateau for the past two years, even declining slightly.
I have learned that I need to trust other people. I have learned that I’m not the only one who can edit videos at a high level. I have learned that I am happier when I am “working on the business, and not in the business.” We are almost 6 years old as a company and I feel like we are just starting to catch our groove. Of course I would have preferred this happened earlier, but life is a constant learning process.
I tell you all of that to say that I’m not sorry for taking the risk. All of the experiences I’ve had have led me to where we are today. I’m happy and have a very good feeling about the future.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I was one of those people who took a long time to figure out “what I wanted to be when I grew up.” I went to college right out of high school because that was what you are “supposed to do.” I didn’t complete college the first time around, instead I withdrew and began working in restaurants. I had a lot of fun in that lifestyle, but it wasn’t the long term plan I wanted. During that period of my life, I liked to watch a lot of WWE (wrestling). One night, there was a remembrance piece about a wrestler who had passed away. For some reason, that piece really struck some emotions within me. The way it was edited with music and interviews, it resonated with me more than I remember anything else had. I thought I might like to create something like that, something that people would watch and have a connection too.
So that’s where it began. I volunteered at a cable access station to try it out and really enjoyed it. From there, I went back to college and received my Bachelor’s in Digital Recording Arts, landed my job, then got my Master’s Degree in Education Media Design.
My company, Ideal Video Strategies, now provides video marketing services for small businesses and nonprofits. Our main goal is to save our clients time. What types of videos can we make for them that save them time. Is it a sales video, a process video, a training video, an impact video? Do they spend hours on the phone explaining what they do? Do they receive a lot of calls about how to use their product? We can create videos to explain all that in a clear concise manner saving them time and money.
Our other goal is to personalize our clients. Everyone has a story, goals, and a style about them. We try to let that shine through in a genuine way so potential clients can really see who they will be working with. We like to do this through interview based videos. We interview the business owner (s) and weave their answers into a compelling story about their business. This can be an intimidating thought process for some, but we pride ourselves on a low pressure, easy going experience for our clients…even with the lights, cameras, and mics set up.
Ultimately, we strive to be easy to work with, fully transparent and communicative, and deliver an amazing product that exceeds our clients expectations.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
The best source of new clients for me is referrals and my actual work. People see the work I’ve done for someone they know, or on social media and reach out to me.
I’ve found that networking and being involved in the community has also been a great source of new clients. Making relationships, enjoying conversations, offering small pieces of advice all goes a long way for some people. They see who you really are as a person and trust you to represent them and their brand.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’m currently at a juncture in my business where I am starting to outsource. It started with hiring a business coach. Now, I’m tasked with outsourcing video editing, blog writing, and bookkeeping. Hopefully, this allows me enough time to network more and gain new clients. You could say the entire business is currently pivoting in order to grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.idealvideostrategies.com/
- Instagram: @idealvideostrategies
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/idealvideostrategies
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordonjeffrey/
Image Credits
Christine McShane Creative