What I do is help small business entrepreneurs get what matters on video and help tell their stories of the amazing work they are doing.

I thought it would be a good time to look back, reflect, and share progress so far.

Here is some of what I learned in the first six months of being an entrepreneur:

I love being creative and collaborating with clients to get their best stuff out in the world.

It makes me extremely happy to be able to provide a useful service that can do this.

I love designing my days and having the freedom of working when I want to, on my own terms.

I appreciate that I’ve gotten to work with the most awesome clients so far.  They continue to inspire.

It takes time and a lot of effort to grow a successful business.  I am learning to be more patient and enjoy the process.

Money is coming in, but I’m not making the amount of money I want to… yet.

It’s perfectly fine for me to do freelance TV gigs (my background is working as a tv post-supervisor) to help with cash flow when necessary.

This doesn’t mean I am not successful at my small biz.  To me it means I have resources, skills and experience that come in very handy.   In reality, the money from these TV gigs is what enabled me to start the business in the first place.  For this I am grateful.

You learn a ton about yourself when you start a business.  One thing I can share is that even though I enjoy my alone time, its definitely been an adjustment to spend most workdays solo.

I am getting more comfortable with the unknown, and letting go of the need to know exactly what’s up next.

It’s beneficial to have a mindfulness or meditation practice, or some activity that grounds you and calms the mind. This can be just sitting quietly for five minutes, taking a walk, going to a gentle yoga class.

Doing exercise and moving the body is crucial.  It helps my stuck energy get flowing and re-sets my mood.   Last weekend I attended a dance workshop/retreat and didn’t realize how much creativity could be unleashed through the fingers, toes, elbows and feet.  Awesome!

Also time spent in nature, at the movies, seeing art, or meeting a friend for coffee all contribute to more creativity and ideas when I return.

It’s beginning to feel like I made the right choice to take the leap into entrepreneurship.

It’s beginning to feel like I can make a difference.

I am committed to the journey, to this path that probably has no end, but has many bumps and twists along the way.

What talents and passions do you have to share with the world?  I’d love to know.

The other day I was preparing to do my taxes and was going through credit card receipts when I noticed that I joined Pamela Slim’s Quickstart to Self Employment http://www.escapeseminars.com/ in May of 2009.

I am thrilled that just under a year later I have partnered on a product with Pam along with the talented Christy Risser-Milne http://onlinesoundadvice.com/ and Kelly Kingman, http://stickyebooks.com/.  We all met in the Quickstart Program.

Together we created a multimedia product called Escape From Cubicle Nation Workshop in a Box http://escapeworkshopinabox.com/ with footage recorded at Pam’s New York Workshop.  There are also cool bonus additions with Colleen Wainwright http://www.communicatrix.com/ and Tim Berry http://timberry.com/. Included are videos, audios and a fantastic workbook!

It feels soooo amazing to have worked on a project that can really motivate and help people live the ideal life they desire and do the work that matters most to them.

Its funny how the right people and things start to come together when you choose to move beyond your fears, and begin to open up to exploring new ideas, trying new things.

I am getting going with my small video biz and am forever grateful for the coaching, support and guidance I received from Pam and folks in the Quickstart Program.   I highly recommend finding positive-minded people to surround yourself with as you begin the path to entrepreneurship.

Also huge thanks and a shout out to musician Rich Goodhart http://www.richgoodhart.com/.  His beautiful music is the theme for the sneak peek and all the videos.

I really loved putting together the short sneak peek for this project.  I find these so fun to do.  This really shows Pam’s enthusiasm as well as the excitement of the participants.

Was an awesome experience all around!

If you or anyone you know is contemplating becoming an entrepreneur and escaping the cubicle, I invite you to share this with them.

http://escapeworkshopinabox.com/

By ship, he means deliver, publish, upload, finish.  He calls it a discipline and says its essential in the path to becoming indispensable, a Linchpin.  He uses the example of how Saturday Night Live goes on each week, ready or not.  He goes on to say “while the projects we do are never really finished, they must ship.”

Making videos and especially editing can be the same way.  We can tinker and tweak forever, but at some point we just need to finish and deliver.  We need to ship.  This is fighting the resistance, not giving in to the fear that our thing isn’t perfect yet.  By doing it, we get better at it.

Editing is also fun and really creative.  In this post, I will cover the basics of the video editing process.

I truly hope this is helpful to you making your awesome videos!

1. Getting the footage into the computer:

If you’re using a Flip, iPhone 3G or other “tapeless” camcorder, you’ll plug a USB cable from the camcorder to the computer and copy over the digital video files to your desktop.  From here you can import the clips into your desired editing program.

With the iPhone 3G the clip will be imported as a Quicktime file (into iPhoto) when you sync your iPhone.  With the Flip it will be imported as an MPEG-4.  Both are good quality file formats for editing and eventual uploading to the web.

For Mac users, you can copy the Quicktime file from iPhoto to your desktop and then import the Quicktime into your editing program and begin editing.

Note: For Mac users, importing certain video formats other than Quicktimes may require downloading MPEG Stream software.  This software allows you to convert just about any digital file format to a compatible format for Mac-based editing.

If you are using a MiniDV camcorder, MiniDV tapes can be purchased for about $5. each.  The process of importing footage from MiniDV tape is almost the same as the “tapeless” format.  You will need to connect a firewire cable from your camcorder to the computer.

You’ll use your camcorder as a ‘deck’ to import the footage.  First, you’ll cue the MiniDV tape to the beginning of the clip you want to import.  Your camcorder should be set to PLAY/VCR mode, not camera mode.  You’ll hit PLAY on the camcorder and then ‘import’ or ‘capture’, depending on which editing software you’re using.  Once you’ve captured the desired clip you can hit stop on the camcorder and cue up to the next part on the tape you want to import.  If you’re using iMovie or Final Cut, you’ll open the editing program first, then import your clips directly into these programs.  Once the clips are captured,  you’ll name the clips.

Tip: When importing footage, try sticking with shorter 5-10 minute clips.  This makes it easier to scroll through when you’re screening and choosing your selects.

• Mac users: Macs are great for editing videos.  They come with free, easy to learn editing software, iMovie.  For more in-depth editing you can add Final Cut Express.

• PC users: Movie Maker is Window’s free video editing software, which comes installed on new PCs.

2. Logging and Editing the footage:

Once the footage is captured into your desired editing program and the clips are named you are ready to begin.

Most editing programs have a similar layout – there’s a timeline (usually at the bottom) that displays your edited sequence of clips.  There is also a clip viewer or clip window where your captured clips are located.  From here you choose a clip to edit, mark  an ‘in’ and ‘out’ point for the clip and then drop onto the timeline.

The first editing pass is called a ‘stringout’.  You are roughly putting clips in the timeline and seeing how it plays.  During this stage, you rearrange the clips, experiment with music, extend or shorten clips.  You are assembling the pieces until it feels right.

A few things to keep in mind: Is your story or message being communicated?  What do you want people to do after watching your video? Is that crystal clear?

Once you have the clips in the order you like best, you ‘cleanup’ the piece, removing ums, adding any visual effects, dissolves, titles, music, VO.

• Adding voiceover: In iMovie, there is a built-in mic.  Good idea to read your copy and time it out first.   
• Adding music: Make sure to use music that is not-copyrighted, cleared cuts only.  Some royalty free music houses with affordable songs are:
• www.audiojungle.net
  
• http://musicbakery.com/
  
• http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/
  
• garageband has a selection of free music themes in all types of genres, and also the ability to create your own music.

3. Uploading your Video

When you have finished editing your video, you’ll export the video file to a self-contained file compatible with the video hosting site of your choice.    This is your movie.  Quicktimes are widely used for Mac users.  If you are editing and exporting from a PC, I recommend checking the specs from the video hosting site of your choice for the best file format to use.

Popular Video Hosting Sites:

http://blip.tv/

http://www.vimeo.com/

http://www.viddler.com/

http://www.youtube.com/

http://www.ustream.tv/

Please do let me know of any questions you have on making videos.   And anything more I can add on editing, definitely let me know.

I’d love to hear from you!

Coming soon, Christy from http://onlinesoundadvice.com/ answers audio questions for us.  She is awesome!