Build for the conditions you’re working in

I’m not building my business on the assumption that the old market is coming back. Some pressures may ease, but I think clients’ expectations about cost, speed and what they can do themselves will keep changing.

It’s tempting to bunker down and wait for things to improve. The risk is that you spend too long waiting while your clients find other ways to get the work done.

I’ve always preferred to focus on what I can do about my situation. I can look at who I’m selling to, whether my offer fits what they need, how efficiently we deliver it and whether there’s enough profit in the work.

Start with your recent sales conversations. Are projects being delayed? Are clients asking for smaller scopes? Are you losing work on price, or are people struggling to justify doing the project at all? Those are different problems. Find out which one you’re dealing with before changing your offer.

Help the client justify the project

When budgets are under pressure, a client needs a clear reason to spend. Production quality matters, but it won’t always be enough to get a project approved.

Bring the conversation back to the business problem. Is the video helping sales explain a complicated service? Does it support staff training, recruitment or internal communication? What does the client need people to understand or do after watching it?

Ask those questions before recommending the production. Then make the connection clear in your proposal: what needs to happen, how the video will help and what you’ll produce to support it.

That gives your contact something useful to take to their boss. It also helps you decide what belongs in the scope. If the budget changes, you can work together on protecting the parts that matter most.

Offer a smaller scope that still makes business sense

When my long-term client raised the budget issue, they were clear that they valued us and wanted to keep working together. The problem was that the existing package had become too expensive for some of their smaller jobs.

I tried to put myself in my contact’s position. She might have been asked to reduce costs. She was probably feeling pressure to show value inside the business. Taking the conversation as an insult would have made it much harder to find a useful answer.

We worked out a smaller package with fewer filming hours, fewer rounds of changes and a more efficient production process. For higher-value projects, we kept the existing package.

They were happy with that arrangement and have already booked jobs at both levels.

You might have a client who can’t justify a $20,000 production but could proceed with a focused $8,000 version. The question is what you can deliver well at that budget while protecting your margin. It might mean fewer locations, a shorter shoot, fewer deliverables or a simpler review process.

Cost the revised scope properly. Be clear about what’s included and what would need a separate quote. A smaller project can be worth doing when the production effort is smaller too.

Know when to hold your price

The agency conversation was different. They told me they had underquoted their client, the scope had grown and the client wouldn’t pay more. They asked me to reduce our price substantially while keeping the deliverables the same.

I said no and suggested they work with another production company. Within a day, they came back and booked the job at the original agreed rate.

I was comfortable with that decision because their quoting problem didn’t change what it would cost us to do the work.

When a client asks for a lower price, find out what they’re asking you to change. Are they open to a smaller production? Can they reduce deliverables or simplify approvals? Or are they asking you to absorb the difference?

You can be helpful and still have a limit. Work out that limit before you’re in the conversation, including what the job needs to return for it to be worth taking on.

Keep selling while you’re busy producing

It’s much easier to hold your ground when there are other jobs and sales conversations in the pipeline. If one production is the only thing you have going, the decision becomes more difficult.

A full pipeline gives you room to make better decisions. That takes ongoing work, including during the weeks when you’re busy delivering projects.

Set aside time each week to follow up open proposals, contact past clients and start new conversations. Look at the next action for each opportunity. If you’re waiting for someone, decide when you’ll follow up rather than leaving it indefinitely.

Pay particular attention to clients who already know your work. Ask what they’re planning, what has changed inside the business and whether there are other teams you could help. Useful conversations can start well before there’s a brief.

Alongside that, look for organisations with ongoing needs and the ability to invest. Healthcare, education, government, utilities and established corporates are areas I think are worth exploring. Each has its own budget pressures, so do your research into the organisation and the people buying the work.

Choose a group you understand, identify a recurring problem you can help with and build your approach around that. A vague promise to make great videos is harder to act on.

Use AI to improve the way you deliver

Over the past few months, I’ve been using AI agents to help with the work of running my business, including keeping track of sales conversations, preparing quotes and organising client information. I’ve also been exploring how it can help with editing.

The difference has been substantial. But it still needs me overseeing the work, exercising judgement and checking what comes out.

Look for a task that regularly takes time or gets put off. You might be gathering information for a quote, preparing a production document or working through an interview transcript. Give the AI the context and an example of a good result, then review its work closely.

Try it on a real job and look at the whole process. How much time did it save once you’d checked and corrected it? Was the result useful to the next person working on the project? Keep the parts that help and improve the instructions where it falls short.

I want the result to be better than what we would have produced without it. There are still jobs where an editor, contractor or team member is vital. Understanding when to use each is part of managing the business.

Apply the same care to cutting costs. Start with things you’re paying for that aren’t helping you win, deliver or manage the work. Before removing something useful, think through who will do that job and what the change will cost in time, quality or reliability.

Choose your next move

You don’t need to change the whole business this week. Pick the problem that is having the biggest effect on your sales, profit or ability to deliver.

  • If clients are struggling to get approval: rewrite a proposal around the business problem and the outcome they need.
  • If your usual package is too much for smaller jobs: cost a reduced scope with clear limits on filming, deliverables and revisions.
  • If you’re relying too heavily on one opportunity: follow up your open proposals and speak to past clients about what’s coming up.
  • If admin is eating into your week: test an AI workflow on one recurring task and check the time and quality of the result.
  • If costs have crept up: review what you’re paying for and identify something you can remove without making delivery harder.

Give the action a date, do it and look at what happened. That will tell you more than another week spent wondering when things will pick up.

I remain optimistic. For me, optimism means believing there’s a way to work through problems, then being prepared to try, learn and make a better attempt. That’s the attitude I want to bring to running my business through whatever comes next.