Exposure

It began with him and a couple of mates making stuff in the shed out the back.

They too were retired and enjoyed carpentry as a hobby. Word got around, and over time their numbers grew to a dozen or so likeminded people joining the workshop. It became a sort of club, with no rules to speak of. Members were always expected to carry out any woodwork projects safely and clean up after themselves. Some pieces were sold occasionally, with him acting as a sort of treasurer. From time to time more tools and pieces of equipment could be purchased for the shed. Then came the suggestion that a video could be made to be put online to promote their activities. It would advertise their making and selling products to the local community at very reasonable prices. The video would say that everything, from wooden toys such as cars and trains, along with chairs, small tables and storage boxes could be made. Also, that orders for custom-made pieces and repair jobs were welcome.

One of their members, with previous knowledge about producing commercials was tasked with establishing a programme for planning and producing a video with what little funds they had.

A date was set for a single-day of filming. They would need to have an idea of its proposed length. He was told that he would need to be named as the contact person, with is phone and email given. The place would need to be cleaned up to make it look safe. It would start with an exterior view of the shed, followed by a look around the workshop with some of its pieces of machinery and equipment. Inside filming would rely on letting in as much natural light as possible with additional inside lighting, if necessary. Where possible, it should show members of different ages. It needed to show a series of ‘activity shots’, to show the range of work that can be taken on; this being the main content of what was being offered to the public.

When the time came, the video was launched online and to everyone’s amazement within a few short months business was going gangbusters! Pretty soon they were selling their products and sending them off to buyers all around the country. Their prices were proving to be very attractive, with their items consisting mainly of wooden toys for children with a smaller number of things being made to order.

This led to a second building being constructed behind the shed to facilitate the dispatching of products.

Financially, they were doing extremely well, with the treasurer feeding back the details of bank statements to members, at regular weekly meetings. They were now online sellers, following all product safety laws and displaying a registered business certificate on the wall.

Towards the end of their first year of growing in numbers, increasing their output and making a great deal of money, a special meeting was called. At this, one of their members, who had previously worked for a major finance company, suggested that they were now well and truly ready for international exposure!