Surviving the Biz

Just wanted to tell you how much I appreciated Bill Miller's piece in the magazine (“The Freelancer's Survival Guide,” May, page 66). After spending the last 25-plus years of my life “in the business” I finally saw an article that could really help people in our industry. Perhaps you could provide a sequel on how to determine what to charge a client for services rendered.

One of my pet peeves is that clients always expect you to make their call time, regardless of when it might be, but ask them to make good on the bill and watch them try to squirm out of it.

I've actually had clients “disappear” just as soon as the show was over, or even though I had faxed them our standard pay requirements prior to accepting the job, had clients try to pay with a credit card instead of a check or cash as stipulated in the agreement. I've told some of the freelancers in this area that my next position will be to come back as a shop steward for them to make sure they get treated fairly (especially by the ad agencies), and paid quickly.

Creating videos and films for clients is a great opportunity to serve others with our talents and energy. Thanks again for the survival guide article. I'm going to pass it on to every newby who's looking for a job in this industry.
Bill Wislen
Pro-Image
Seattle

Thank you to Bill Miller for sharing his experiences in the refreshing and honest survival guide article in Video Systems. I worked happily for 22 years at Texaco — most of that time in its video center. Last fall, Chevron purchased Texaco, and I was sacrificed on the altar of synergy in December.

While in a wildly optimistic mood, I countered by going into business, creating a full-service video communications company. To date, the company has more experience than clients. My first marketing mailing was a formal letter to 65 public relations firms. Only one person responded. Now, after reading your article on freelancing, I'll send postcards and work more on networking.
Bob McCarthy
Ridgefield, Conn.

Video Systems magazine is one of the few of the 30 or so I get each month that I can hardly wait to read cover to cover. I especially enjoyed the article by Bill Miller, “The Freelancer's Survival Guide.” I found that most of the suggestions he gave not only applied to technicians, but also to companies.

Please thank Bill for including our organization as an example of groups to join for networking opportunities. However, I need to point out that about a year ago the organization changed its name from ITVA (International Television Association) to MCA-I (Media Communications Association-International) in order to be more inclusive of the new media formats.

Our chapter in Southern California is very active and has a new website (www.mcaisc.org) that advertises its members and meeting schedules. Our meetings are lively with industry and technology news, and they allow plenty of time for networking, as you pointed out in your article. Again, thank you for a great article and for including us as one of your examples.
Beverly C. Turner
President, MCA-I
Orange County chapter

I have to say that this publication is, from my point of view, consistently packed with great and useful information. Your equipment reviews are obviously written by people who know the business and the products, and are not the recycled news releases and what I call the “don't want to insult the manufacturer of this piece of junk” reviews that other trades often serve up.

Any magazine that features my old friend Bill Viola on the cover has got my attention! Well done.
Kevin Sio
Videographer/editor
Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.

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Video Systems
P.O. Box 12901
Overland Park, KS 66282-2901

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