This job requires neither an audience nor expensive equipment. It requires three decent videos, an administrative decision taken early, and steady prospecting.
What a week looks like
That is what nobody describes, and it is what decides success.
A typical week splits into three blocks. One shooting day, filming several products in a row. One editing and delivery day. And three half-days of prospecting, quoting and following up.
The ratio is constant: the time spent looking for work exceeds the time spent doing it, during the first months.
That is also what distinguishes a business from a hobby. Shooting is the visible part, prospecting is the part that pays.
What to decide before the first video
Four decisions, all quick.
The starting category: cooking, cleaning, beauty, pets, DIY, sport. Only one to begin with, chosen from what you already use.
The shooting place: a window, a wall, a table. The set matters less than its consistency.
The sound: that is the only non-negotiable technical point. An average image with a clear voice passes, the reverse does not.
And the status: when to declare the activity, and in what form. The answer depends on your situation and is prepared with an adviser, before the first invoice rather than after.
The first three months
A simple plan, which works better than most strategies.
First month: three videos shot on products you own, in the same category. No prospecting, no paid publication.
Second month: forty messages sent to small companies already selling online, with two examples attached and a written rate.
Third month: the first jobs, invoiced, with a three-line quote and rights limited in time.
The figure to follow is not the number of views: it is the number of replies obtained per ten messages.
Starting rates
They are built, not copied.
A simple video, product supplied, shot at your place, with no advertising rights, forms the entry level. A batch of three videos from one shoot is better than a single video, for you as for the client.
Two rules from the start. Always state whether your amounts are before or after tax, because the client will ask. And never give away advertising rights in the entry offer: it is the one line that will raise your prices later.
What counts here more than elsewhere
| Element | Local expectation | What reassures |
|---|---|---|
| The quote | Detailed, firm | Every line priced |
| The contract | Expected from the first order | A ready template |
| The data | An explained processing | A clear sentence, not a link |
What is prepared before the first contact
A set of three samples, a firm price grid, a contract template and a page explaining how data is handled.
What to ask a professional
The status to choose, the filing obligations, the tax treatment and the data protection rules, to be confirmed with an accountant and a lawyer.
What makes it last
Three habits, and none of them is spectacular.
Delivering on time, systematically. That is what produces the second contract, more surely than the quality of the edit.
Writing down what is agreed, even for a small job: deliverables, deadlines, rights, price.
And keeping the rushes sorted by product and by date. They will serve again for a second version, another language, or a client in the same sector.
Add an annual review of your rates, on a fixed date. Nobody will suggest it for you.
Sources
Checked on 4 September 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
