Pondering Remote Business Opportunities

Alright... as expected, I cannot stay away from the entrepreneurial cravings bound to my persona for long. Today I slept in till 7:30 (lazy! I know!), ate a relaxed breakfast (though I was disgruntled by the lack of peanut butter), and left for the community center (two whole blocks away from the battalion area--adventurous, I know) to ponder expansion of Wolfsteps. For those of you who don't know what this is (I'm not really sure who visits this blog since half the time I am simply using it to mark things for myself that I want to remember later), Wolfsteps is my wedding deejay services company. I have superior JBL sound, recording studio and stage mics, dance floor lighting (never used my strobe or fog since I'm not a fan, but I have those things too), and all that jazz.

Expansion is actually possible with very little investment at all. You see, without me present, there will probably be no Wolfsteps weddings next season at all! However, this need not be the case, and I'm sure my staff would like some work... especially my staff that happens to be expecting a new baby. This initiative has some prerequisites to really get rolling and some extras might be in order if my peoples are up to the task!

1. Wedding shows: I'll need to have Wolfsteps make an appearance at wedding shows. I'm thinking that Grand Rapids is a sure bet. Lansing and Ann Arbor might be alright too. Wedding shows can cost $600 to $2400 per show. A good display and good staff meeting a client in person is really the only way to win the confidence of an aspiring bride, so the price is necessary. It's also possible that the Sword of the Spirit Community would allow an advertisement in their newsletter. I'd have to ask someone before counting on that. I'm done with Facebook advertising, though.
2. Name change: Wolfsteps made a ton more sense when I thought I'd be teaching swing dance. Somehow the company morphed instantly into an event services category company. Maybe a name change is in order. Suggestions? Take my poll!
3. Videography services: I have a number of film and video friends who don't get enough work. Tom H. would be the most experience by far, and he read this blog the other day, so maybe he'll see this entry! I'd love to help my friends get some work, though I will need to own most of my equipment since being low on work generally means not having thousands to spend on video equipment. There's some very inexpensive video stuff out recently, and the quality is very high. 
1. I like this specific camcorder from Canon. I would probably need two. They're $600 each. I've read professional opinions that are very enthusiastic about using something like this instead of using a mammoth camera that costs 4 to 15 thousand dollars. This camera has great high definition resolution and works well in limited light due to the sensor quality. Larger cameras decrease mobility and bloat filesize more than necessary. http://www.amazon.com/Canon-VIXIA-Memory-Camcorder-Optical/dp/B001OI2Z2I/ref=pd_cp_p_3
2. I'd want one big fluff-coated shotgun mic ($145) to mount on top for guest interviews and that sort of thing. http://www.amazon.com/Canon-2591B002-Directional-Microphone-Camcorders/dp/B0012ILNK0/ref=pd_bxgy_p_img_a
3. I'd need a second tripod (already have one) for about $40.
4. I'd need a couple spare batteries at $95 each.
5. I'll need more memory for the camcorders. Maybe $30 to $100 worth. It depends on how long I wait to invest. Flash memory halves in price every few months it seems.
6. I'd like a wide angle lens as well, but I'd be timid to even comment on lenses without Ben's wisdom. These seem to range from $50 to $350 (or much higher since a company doesn't set maximum prices).
7. Total cost of investment: $1700 to $2000. Very reasonable! I might even want to throw in some lighting besides what I have for dance floor lighting. You never know when you'll need that for pictures or video.
4. Photography services: Ben is busy but also very talented. Joe is a prime potential photography, though when Josh moves to Bangladesh, Joe will need to be the primary audio tech as well. Jess H. and some old GV friends might be able to step up for some wedding photography gigs. Serious photographers with a marketable portfolio already have their own cameras, so there is no monetary investment here beside possibly helping photographers assemble portfolios for display at wedding shows.
5. Marketing materials: I need to have some marketing materials for wedding shows. I have prepaid graphic design due to a wedding I deejayed. I think I'll go with something postcard size. I like Digital Room for printing. Prices and quality are good there. Sometimes they send me offers for really great sales on postcard sized printing.
6. Printer: I should probably spend a little money on a working printer, though I'll let that wait till I have an apartment. It'd be bulky to move from barracks to barracks but will make more sense come next summer.