Starting a Media Production company in Nigeria could be daunting; more so situating it in Lagos is another kettle of fish.

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You must first of all answer the following questions before proceeding to plan out your media Production Company.

Firstly, what is the need that I will be filling with my own model?

When Gbedustreet was borne, it was created out of the desire to give upcoming musical acts a platform to showcase their act.

(See our About Page)

Then it used to be a music promotion blog, and I literally promoted the young acts free of charge unlike the other Music Promotion Blogs and Websites.

Gradually the site began to get some traction, and via word of mouth other musical acts recommended our services to their friends and colleagues in the music business.

At that time I understood that competing against the likes of Naijaloaded, Notjustok and tooxclusive was tantamount to swimming against the tide; so I decided to give my clients another kind of service that was only unique to us as a brand.

I used my poetic and descriptive writings to craft music narratives that would get them so enthralled whenever I am writing press releases for the musical pieces of the artist whose song was being promoted on Gbedustreet.

The Artistes were so blown away that in no time we endeared ourselves to many other acts in the industry.

So that was the initial void I filled as a budding music blog and future Media Production Company.

Where do you intend to locate your Company?

Location is Key in every business, even in a post covid 19 World where telecommuting is fast becoming a norm.

The need for a physical office can never be overemphasized, so getting the perfect location for your company is truly one of the most important decisions that could make or mar your progress as a business especially as one in the media production world.

So while choosing a location you need to bear in mind the proximity to different places, accessibility, ease of commuting, and most importantly ease of locating it.

You also need to consider some other factors like the price of renting the property especially in the long run, availability of amenities especially Electricity, Water and outrageous utility bills, and other miscellaneous bills.

Then- What are your Production Team roles and responsibilities?

This is hiring and trust me is the most difficult part of the decision-making process and brand development plans for any company.

Earlier, I was solely in charge of the entire production activities of the company, but as time went by I discovered that I needed to bring in more skilled hands to enable me attain the mission statement of the brand:

“To meet the needs of our clients and customers by providing services that are unique to their needs thereby granting those solutions that will surpass their expectations.”

I started out by consulting with friends and former colleagues who identified with my brand ideals.

Most came on board and were willing to go the entire gamut without charging a dime for their roles.

But again this model was kinda temporary as some left to pursue their other goals and responsibilities.

I proceeded to hire family members; this was also counterproductive too because it was more like attracting liabilities who had this belief that you owe them since they are family.

The other reason why this model was an instant failure was that some family member staff felt they could get away with anything ranging from redundancy and in extreme cases financial fraud and misappropriation.

Indeed I was a victim of the above!

This was going for a long time till I found out that I was losing more than I was gaining, rather I was busy funding the lifestyles of these people to the detriment of the company and brand I was building.

While I was planning out my company- a friend of mine who was into photography advised me on how I can sustain the brand.

He said to me during one of our chats after an experience that left a sour taste in my mouth.

“Hire and Build your Team,” He said, and this remains one of the most important Lessons I Learnt when Building My Media Brand

I resorted to outsourcing and Hiring via Facebook.

Facebook brought in some of the amazing people to the platform and also some of the most toxic people that I hired and later fired.

I will do a treatise soon on my experience hiring of Facebook-

But the takeaway here is this:

• Experience might not be everything as most people will lie to boost their CV or Resumes in the bid to impress you.
• Hire those who you see the hunger in them to get the job done. I discovered along the line that some of the people I hired only came to fill a financial or vocational void and to them, it was just about being rudimentary while lacking in foresight and innovative tendencies and abilities.
• Test their loyalties- I discovered this quite late and it almost resulted in something that cost me a great deal of business. Staff should not even be loyal to the boss but to the ideals of the brand.

These are some of my findings and rude awakening when I embarked on a Hiring Drive.

Another very Salient and important part of building a media production brand is the tools and resources.

In our case, we started out with one Canon EOD 750 DSLR Camera, a beginner-friendly and mid-range Camera with a fantastic display and creative ability.

In my subsequent writings, I will be talking about the Best High, middle, and Low-End Cameras for starting out as a media production company in Nigeria.

Then we discovered we had an Audio problem- I spent a fortune in procuring both Boom Mics and Body mics (lapel Mics).

Audio Production is the most important aspect of media production and it is sad that most Mediapreneurs do not understand this.

I invested in almost all the best Audio Production tools you can think of in the market. From a Rhodecaster pro to lapel mic and then we decided to up the ante by procuring a Zoom H6 Recorder.

With all these tools in place, you head to the most important phase of Media Production.

I mean this poses a question and if you do not understand this then you are as good as out of business.

How do Media production companies make money?

Up until now, I am yet to answer this question, and trust me the very big companies are re-strategizing on how to stay afloat by reinventing the wheel of money-making in this business.

From experience we have made money in so many ways both within our own scope and without.

Every day you are inundated with ideas and calls from clients on how to help them do this or that.

I will be listing some of the ways we have made money as a media Production Company below.

I cannot go into detail in this discourse but if you want to get the full story, I will do a full article talking about this.

Having stated that, I’ll now proceed to list some of the ways we make money in this business.

• Product & Service Promotion
• Covering events
• Promotional Interviews
• Behind the Scenes for Music and Movie Shoots
• Technical Assistant to other Media Production
• Branding
• Creating Talkshows
• Shooting advertorials

These are some, but going forward we have tried our hands in Movie Production and we in collaboration with Papagei Inc coproduced a movie that will be in theatres soon

There are tons of other ways to make money as a media production company, however as we explore the rivers; we will be sure to update you on what our findings are.

I have talked about some of the things that need to be sorted out, but permit me to also talk about some of the unpleasant things you will encounter as a media production company.

• Nasty clients that you can never satisfy- as a matter of fact, we deal with this all the time. We even refunded a client for who we made so much sacrifice to cover her wedding.
• Equipment Malfunction: buying a very expensive camera or audio equipment does not mean you will not face this issue. We have had bad days that one of our pieces of equipment malfunctioned that it even made us look like amateurs. So my advice here is always to come with a backup camera, Audio recording or transmitting device, SD cards, Lights, and just about anything that can make you panic in the course of a production.
• Arriving Late at Events: the traffic situation in Lagos can be chaotic and could change the course of events for the worse when you arrive late at a function. I try to enlighten my Team on the dangers of this, however, we’ve had bad days that even with all the plans we put ahead we still find ourselves in such situations. My Two cents here are always to go ahead of your hosts or if possible come a day to the event. We do this all the time trust me it keeps you ahead of the curve.

Before I end this article, let’s have a recap of how, what, where, and why of starting a media production company especially in Nigeria.

1. Have a need or void to fill in one that complements your mission statement
2. Location is paramount, ensure you carry out a proper survey of the plausible locations that will bring your business more visibility
3. Understand and delegate roles and responsibilities to your Team and Staffers and most importantly learn to hire right
4.  Learn to reinvent yourselves by learning new skills and ways of getting the job done. The more you learn, the more you earn.

Well, I believe I have touched on some of the most important aspects of starting a media production company in Nigeria.

Do you want to learn How to Start a Media Production Company or wish to host an event?

Or do you require any Media production assistance? Just call on us.