Throughout the 14 years that VFX Technologies has been around, we have witnessed many clients launch their own creative shops with varying levels of success. If you're starting a creative business in 2022 or if you have an established business already, we want to relay two common mistakes our clients have made in order to help you find success.
Invest in your digital infrastructure
Regardless of industry, it 's important to establish a solid foundation that you can build upon as your business grows.
When starting a creative business in the media and entertainment industry, this foundation revolves around the infrastructure supporting your creative work and assets. This means that you should invest more in your data infrastructure, like your firewall, network switches, and servers, rather than purchasing the latest VR technology or whatever else is trending at the time.
One of the biggest mistakes that we have seen make or break a creative startup is poor digital infrastructure. Now that we are a couple years into the pandemic, it has become even more important.
What typically happens if you don't invest in your digital infrastructure?
Once your creative studio starts gaining traction and early success, you won't be able to scale properly in order to handle the influx of work coming in. You will also find that your business has weak security, which makes it susceptible to hacks and crypto extortions schemes.
According to this article from The Conversation, cybercrime costs will grow by 15 percent every year in the US. They also cite that cybercrime has increased by roughy 500 percent during the pandemic.
What if your team is working on a large production project and your servers are hacked or malfunction?
This has happened to a few clients, but one in particular didn't have their assets backed up. They cut corners when investing in a central server and firewall. When their servers went down after being hacked, they lost countless hours of work.
Having a secure firewall and a well-maintained central server would've saved this particular client a ton of time and money.
If you're not familiar with the benefits of having a central server for your creative studio, here's a helpful article.
Retain Key Employees
The second mistake we noticed several of our clients make revolves around managing talent.
It's important to retain your key creatives that are bringing your clients back for more.
Our clients who have invested in their artists and treated them like rockstars have all continued to find success.
Although these creatives are employees, they provide the skills and services your clients come to know and love, so it's important to understand what motivates them and how to meet their needs.
It's also very important to note that compensation is usually not the most important factor to keep them happy. and with teams all working remotely now, its even more challenging to keep all your key creatives connected, inspired, and happy.
Here's an insightful article on how to manage remote employees during this time to ensure that their needs are met.
The above are just two of the many observations we've made throughout the years as we've helped clients starting a creative business.
If you have any questions for us, feel free to contact us or comment down below. We wish you a prosperous 2022!