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Startup Corner: Ben Clayton, Double Jump Media

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Minimally viable product …
Double Jump Media is a video production company that creates video content for businesses, organizations and ad agencies.

Problem solving …
You know that your business or organization needs compelling video content to implement in your marketing strategy, but you may not know where to start. We can spearhead a video campaign from concept to completion or produce a script developed by your in-house creative department.

Seed money …
$0. It has been slow but steady growth, and I can mostly attribute that to not having much overhead or endless streams of payments on production equipment. Profit, aka wages, didn’t exist early on, but it was a short-term sacrifice that was well worth it for the future health of the company.

Hurdles overcome …
Building a solid portfolio is tough. When you are starting out in a creative field you probably won’t have a great one. However, we’ve treated each project like it will be the next crowning jewel of our portfolio no matter the size of the client or project budget. That has led to a very strong portfolio and bigger clients [Murney Associates, Wilkinson Dental, Redneck Trailer Supplies, Hamels Foundation and Australian Broadcasting Corp.].

Next phase …
The next phase is continuing to grow our presence in the nonprofit world with international charity organizations as the focus. I love to travel and capture the stories of good causes around the world.

Pivot …
I (used) to limit the scope of any project to what I could handle as a one-man band. Even though I was saving crew costs, it severely limited creativity and also massively increased my stress level. Now, we shoot almost everything but the simplest projects with multiple people on set and that has made our workflow more smooth, professional and fun.

Biggest mistake …
I undervalued the power of networking for too long. I am an introvert (an INTJ for you Myers-Briggs junkies) but I’ve learned that hiding out at home is not where effective business leaders spend all of their time. That being said, I’ll have lunch with you if you buy.

Worst advice …
Fake it till you make it. Entrepreneurs aren’t always the cash-and-bourbon fueled, Scrooge McDuck stereotypes that we are popularly portrayed as. In order to not fizzle out, you need a community of other business leaders willing to be vulnerable with each other and share real frustrations rather than trying to come up with superficial answers when they hear the age-old question, “How’s business?”

Greatest need …
We are always looking to expand our list of freelance videographers, editors and animators to help fill gaps when we get overloaded.

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