We were lucky to catch up with Nate Forshee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nate, appreciate you joining us today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

The idea of running my own video production business was never really a goal of mine. I hate the business end of things and the paper work that goes along with it. After I graduated from Full Sail University, I returned to Northeast Ohio. Probably wondering why I returned well it was because of girl who I am lucky enough to now call my wife. I ended up working for a small local video production company. After about 2 or 3 years there I was laid off. It was a month before our wedding. Fortunately, my time at the local company I developed some really good relationships with my clients there. One specifically. She was so upset that I had been laid off that she managed to get in contact with me and set me up with another job. Another local guy only he was more of a 1 person show. He couldn’t put me on payroll but could bring me on as a freelancer. He helped teach me some of the business so that I could make a living. While doing this I started reaching out to other contacts I had which led to more work. The jobs in the beginning were mostly weddings. I’ve since worked my way away from weddings. In doing so, an amazing group of people who I work with now sort of just fell into place. Now we do multi cam remotes, live streams, industrial videos, promo videos, and the list goes on. We’ve had graphic design work published in international publications. It really is amazing to see where it all started, how everything fell into place and where we are now.

Nate, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Cameras and technology has always fascinated me. My mom has a picture of me somewhere where I’m about 1 or 2 years old and I’m sitting on our kitchen floor playing with a camera. Really, I started my career when I was in high school. I took a video production vocational course my Junior & Senior year high school. Which is where I picked up my first payed gig. I did a simple video about insurance information for medical call center. Now I operate and run Forshee Media. We focus on video production, however we do offer some other services as well such as photography and graphic design. We produce a variety of videos each year and it really depends on the client and what they are looking for. It could be a simple video of a machine running to a more complex promo video with many moving parts. One of the projects that we are most proud of is a multi cam remote we do each year for The Patriot Project. We do a 3 camera set up at their annual fund raiser The Patriot Ball. The 3 cameras feed 2 large screens. I couldn’t pull it off without the crew Bob Aman, Joe Vitale Jr. Jeremy Wagner, and Bill Dewald. Something new we recently got into last year that we are getting into this year again is live streaming oral surgery for dentist’s continuing education.

How’d you meet your business partner?

When it comes to the true definition of the term business partner I really don’t have any. However, I mentioned earlier the crew I work with. We all have our companies but we all work together. Whoever brings the project in is the one who is charge. We all met in unique ways as well. Joe Vitale Jr and I met at a Christmas party and we started arguing about a game of “Shout About Movies”. Then it was a couple months after that I picked up my first wedding and needed a second camera operator and remembered Joe. We’ve been friends and co workers ever since. Bob Aman is another unique story. Joe actually worked with Bob for many years. I first met Bob when I was in high school. He helped run the production truck for Friday night football games. However, after high school I moved on and lost touch. Then Joe brought us together for a project and then it was the 3 of us for a while. Bill Dewald was actually one of my high school teachers for video production. He retired from teaching and Bob suggested we bring him on for a project. Then we needed an extra camera person and I believe it was Bob again who suggested Jeremy. We tend to keep folks around who show up, follow “the code” we have, and represents everyone well.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

When I first started out on my own. Someone told to treat everyone like a client and never speak ill of your competitors. By using this strategy I have found that word of mouth has been my most effective strategy of getting clients. All of my long term clients have been word of mouth clients. Sometimes when a contact leaves a position to go to another position they have taken me with them. So now, I have 2 clients because I’m still working with the old company.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.forsheestudios.com
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/forsheemedia
• Other: https://vimeo.com/forsheemedia

Image Credits

Lauren Forshee
Joe Vitale Jr
Bob Aman
Heather Marks