Emblem Inc, the company powering this website, has worked with businesses of all sizes on their stories, their videos, and marketing their videos. When speaking with small business owners across the United States, there was a common theme that kept popping up. Owners understood how important video is to part of their plans moving forward. But it's too expensive. Or they had a bad experience in the past. So the plans got bumped. And bumped. And bumped. 

 

We never want to see a business give up on video, no matter what their budget is or who they've worked with in the past. It's hard enough trying to stand out against larger competitors, but without video it's nearly impossible these days. One bad experience can ruin the taste that it's not worth the investment.

 

Video production generally falls in four main stages. The hobbyist stage, artist stage, freelancer stage, and business/agency stage. Each have their own pros and cons, and we've been through all four.

​

• Hobbyists work full time, so they may have the money for newer equipment but they don't have the time to assist you if it's during normal business hours. Their response time is generally slow and your deadlines may have a hard time being met.

• Artists love their craft. They will put all of their time to make each video as perfect as possible, but generally get burnt out. They don't have enough work to pay the bills because all of their time is spent on the craft and not finding new work. Artists and hobbyists can bounce back and forth.

• Freelancers pick up as much work as possible, and then move onto the next. They are the opposite of artists, in that they churn out projects as quickly as they can get them. That isn't to say they do a bad job, but they are primarily focused on the technicalities of the craft or the payment, and less on the customer/client; you.

• Businesses/Agencies have the ability to shrink and grow as demand is needed because much of the video world is outsourced to contractors and freelancers. They generally put the client first, figure out systems for meeting deadlines while staying profitable, and many focus on keeping up with the latest technology. However, businesses have employees (even solo owners are employees), and employees must be paid whether or not there is work coming in. Throw in taxes, office space, supplies, legal, and everything else that costs to run a business and everything adds up. So while the most dedicated, they are the most expensive of the four.

​

We came up with the idea for Video Ladder to combine the best of each stage. This gives small businesses (who are often forgotten or ignored due to budgets or other hurdles) the opportunity to grow with video. Wherever you're at on your video journey, there are always next steps you can take.