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what's up film jammers this week we're taking a look at something that I don't think gets talked about enough film schools don't teach it and a lot of people getting into film and photography ask me about it I'm talking about the business of film and photography work so we're doing it right here right now in a new segment we're calling biz jams so in future episodes we'll cover some different aspects of running your own production company or photo studio today I'm gonna show you how to create a world-class quote to get more jobs and you can quote me on that so the business side of filmmaking or photography the belly of the beast knowing more about the business side is something that can set you apart from other people competing for jobs and it's what can either help you pay your bills or have you eaten shrimp flavored ramen noodles ever done of the week I've been there and it's just flavoring it's not real shrimp creating a quote or a proposal is oftentimes your first interaction with a potential client it might not seem important but they're seeing how you present yourself and how you present the image of your company I recommend using a professional accounting software like QuickBooks to generate your quotes this will enable you to add your logo and will look more professional than just creating something in Microsoft Word or Excel I don't even want to talk about WordPad don't go there okay I'm gonna give you five tips when creating a quote for a new job is it time for five tips I think it is so when I'm interacting with a potential customer I like to ask them if they have a budget in mind before I begin working on my quote I'd say about 50% of the time clients do have a rough budget in mind and they'll share that with me use this information to your advantage if they give you a ballpark price you can now use it to create your quote so you know not to be too high or too low if you're competing with other vendors they might not ask this so use it as an edge to help you get more business one thing that I like to do early on in the conversation with a new client is clarify the scope of the project I always like to know a few basic pieces of info before I send my quote one how many days of shooting are involved is it a one-day shoot or am i traveling to Mexico on a cruise ship for a week - what are the final deliverables is it fifty edited photos or one three-minute video does it need voiceover is it 1080p or 4k knowing these deliverables will greatly help you define the parameters of the project three what crewmembers and equipment are needed is this a one-man-band type of project or one lady band or is the client expecting a full film crew do they need just one camera or are they expecting a multi-camera setup sometimes clients don't know the scope and that's okay having this conversation allows me to figure out with them what their needs are and oftentimes helps them better understand the costs I get a lot of calls while people say I need a two-minute video how much does that cost and the answer is it could cost 2,000 it cost 20,000 it could cost 200,000 depends on what they want and what their expectations are so they want Orlando Bloom to lather his luscious locks in their shampoo commercial add a decimal point well three been there oh yeah me and Big O we go way back hey so define the scope of the project early on the client will know what they're getting and you will know what you need to deliver okay so now that you've got your scope and you have a rough idea of the budget now it's time to sit down and plug into your quote what you're gonna be doing when I'm putting a proposal together I like to itemize everything I'm bringing which means listing each crew member and piece of gear that I plan to use itemizing like this does two things one it gives the client the option to add or remove items from the quote for example maybe if they decide they didn't need a second camera they can remove that from the quote once removed your quote may not be less than john-boy's photos down the street who only offered one lump sum in his quote sorry Johnny congratulations you got the job but no you didn't actually get the job it was just hypothetical but you might in the future mmm follow these tips hey James that was my job I'm Johnny from Johnny boys photos and I approve this message subscribe Johnny boy's photos or go on YouTube cuz then you can come check me out number two itemizing your gear may set you apart from other people quoting the job for example if they're using outdated equipment and you're using a brand new cinema camera now the client can look at your quote and see apples to apples what you're offering when you itemize it if they find out the other company was planning to shoot on an iPhone 3G and you're coming in with a nice new cinema camera that's only gonna help your cause on the flip side if you're the guy with the iPhone well so letting your client see exactly what you're offering by itemizing and what other companies are quoting will let them know who offers a better value I always like to be transparent with my clients so they know exactly what they're getting and it normally works out better for everyone that way so itemize your quote and make sure your clients know what they're getting from you [Music] okay so after I've tallied up my quote and I've itemized my crew and my gear I always add on disclaimers to my quote these disclaimers will let your potential client know what you're expecting from them and any notes about working with you I put a little asterisk and make sure that they see it on the quote for example I always add a disclaimer that I require a 50% deposit up front for all work I also add on it that if the shoot goes over six hours that my crew will be fed and you can add on other things that fit your business for example maybe insurance requirements for rentals or defining the length of your work day or what payment forms you accept etc by adding these disclaimers you'll have less confusion later and your client will know what to expect and if there's any issue you can talk it through with them before you get to set always have a signature section and a date so you have a place where your client can sign when they approve the quote having a signed document in hand is extremely important I learned that the hard way I did a job for a client and didn't have a signed proposal and I lost almost $10,000 I had to pay all of my crew and all of the equipment rentals for a three days shoot the client never paid I hired a lawyer I hired a collection agency nothing so I did have emails and text from the client but nothing held up because I didn't have a signed agreement always always always have a signed quote or proposal before you begin your work even if you have to bring two set with you before you start and whether it's for a friend or a huge company I've come across crazy situations and a variety of circumstances so protect your shelf another benefit of the sign proposal is you have everything in writing it's not always as extreme as the other example but I've had situations where the client thought we were working a 12-hour day but we had agreed to a 10-hour day so I showed them the proposal that they had signed and we were able to earn our overtime after ten hours as detailed in the quote sometimes people forget conversations but signed quotes are forever also diamonds Dallas hmm any you fellas want to give me one my size is a big seven all right well I hope this look at creating a successful quote was helpful may it shower you in many jobs and keep a lookout as we'll be doing more of these biz jams in the future to help you on the business side of things for film and photography let us know down in the comments if you found it helpful and if you have any other tips I invite you to like and subscribe for new videos every Tuesday and Friday will you subscribe to me beep boy oh yeah are you robbing us are you robbing us today I'm gonna show you how to create a world-class quack a well classical a WebQuest quote