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STORY FORGE
COMMERCIAL RENTAL STUDIO
MY RoleS
FOUNDER
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
SERVICE DESIGN
UX / UI
MARKETING
FACILITY MANAGEMENT
BACKGROUND
Story Forge Nashville is a rental production facility for commercial visual arts-related projects and events.
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Opened early 2017 and closed mid-2020 due to Covid restrictions.
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During operation, revenue increased over 50% every year, on track for break-even revenue by the end of 2020.
TOOLS
Gear:
CANON BODIES / LENSES
ON / OFF CAMERA STROBE
GRIP / ACCESSORIES
Social Media:
X
Creative Software:
ADOBE SUITE
LIGHTROOM
I-MOVIE
FINAL CUT PRO
CAMTASIA
Productivity Software:
PAGES
NUMBERS
GOOGLE SUITE
SLING STUDIO
Web Development/Design:
WIX
Payment Processing:
STRIPE
SQUARE
Scheduling & Booking:
ACUITY SCHEDULING
File Transfer:
WE TRANSFER
LAYING THE FOUNDATION
CONCEPT RESEARCH AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
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INTERNET SEARCH FOR SIMILAR FACILITIES, SERVICES, AND PRICING
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INTERVIEWS WITH STUDIO OWNERS / REPS
I interviewed several studios to gain insight into their business operations, their unique offerings, how Story Forge could meet a market need they weren't already meeting, and whether there was sufficient market to justify the expense of such an endeavor.
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EXPLORING COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS
I wanted to know how Story Forge could work with these existing studios and be a collaborative support for the local arts community.
Based on this research I determined that there was a market niche that wasn't being met that could support a successful studio business.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - FOUR PART PLAN
PART ONE - PROFIT / CODB ANALYSIS
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It was determined that up to 100k / yr would be initially necessary to cover the CODB + LOC servicing, and would be met through incoming revenue and credit, until all CODB was met through revenue (Break even)
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Efforts would be made to reach break even in the shortest time possible, 3-5 years being the max time window to hit this goal
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Product offerings were developed that included Hybrid one-off facility rentals and recurring membership subscriptions for production use.
20k
40k
60k
80k
100k
0k
JAN 2017
Y2
Y3
Y4
Y5
CODB
REVENUE
PROJECTED REVENUE
JAN 2017
JUL 2020
ACTUAL MONTHLY REVENUE
This chart depicts monthly revenue through our payment system integrated with Stripe on the back end of the website.
$9236 highest monthly total.
Projected to break even by end of 2020, one year before planned five year window.
PART TWO - INFRASTRUCTURE / FACILITY BUILD OUT
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INTERIOR DESIGN PLANNING - Since investment was limited, I completed all of the interior design and decor planning myself
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COMMUNITY VOLUTEER RECRUITMENT - I recruited community volunteers to help with build out efforts and contributed my own labor and tool supply
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PHASED BUILD OUT Build out was ongoing in phases after initial studio opening as revenue permitted
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DECOR ACQUISITION - I acquired all furniture and decor in keeping with the studio design theme
PART THREE - DIGITAL PRESENCE / BRAND IDENTITY
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STUDIO CONCEPT - I developed the initial studio concept in conjunction with feedback from the original investor in the studio project
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BRAND COLLABORATION - I hired a designer to collaborate with on the brand materials
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STUDIO WEBSITE - I built the studio website myself and added SEO
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SOCIAL MEDIA/OUTREACH - I created and maintained social media accounts such as FB, IG, X, Algnable and others
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HIGH VISIBILITY - Story Forge organically achieved first page rankings on internet search by year two
FULL LOGO
SUB-MARK
WEBSITE
X.COM
ALIGNABLE
PART FOUR - OPERATIONS / MANAGEMENT
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Day to day operations
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Building maintenance / janitorial
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Client feedback / issues
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Marketing / outreach
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Hiring / volunteer efforts
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
I developed a product offering that fell into three categories:
1. One-off facility rentals for productions
2. Recurring membership subscriptions for production use
3. Event, Equipment and Storage rentals
I based pricing on standard market rates for similar products/services. A set of client contracts and terms was developed to go along with each product, as well as FAQ for planning purposes.
ONE OFF RENTALS
MEMBERSHIPS
EVENT RENTALS
MARKETING / UX / SEO
MARKETING / UX / SEO
It was important to develop a robust presence in a highly competitive environment.
I took a three pronged approach:
1. ORGANIC, IN-PERSON MARKETING
This was done through heavy outreach to local arts organizations including civic, community, and colleges/universities, letting them know about our offerings and finding ways to collaborate with them in various avenues, such as hosting free art events, workshops, outreaches and other activities.
Over time, I also reached out to record labels, studios and agents in major arts markets such as Atlanta, Chicago, L.A. and NYC which raised visibility even further and led to national business.
2. GOOD USER EXPERIENCE
I view UX as HOSPITALITY. I worked on making Story Forge Nashville easy to find online as well as creating a good user experience once they visited the website with easy to find FAQ and contact info and well laid out categories of information. Then, making sure the guest was taken care of and felt welcome from the time they made first contact until they had finished using the studio. This applied to one-off usage as well as long term members.
As part of this I solicited CLIENT FEEDBACK while they were on site to see how we could improve our services, products, and facility to better meet their needs in the future. This approach was very helpful in determining what continuing improvements to make (for example, drawers in the dressing rooms for make-up artists).
3. ROBUST SEO
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Filled the alt tags and back end of the website with loads of search friendly terms.
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Listed the studio with several different search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others
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Created accounts on different social media sites
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Listed the studio on aggregate space rental sites such as Peerspace and Avvay.
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Utilized other aggregate community review sites such as Yelp and Alignable.
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Utilized a blog on the Story Forge Nashville site
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Reached out to local magazines and newspapers in the art scene to post blurbs about various events
All of this was cross-posted with complimentary information to boost internet visibility. This contributed to a strong rise in search page results on Google.
We also created BTS media clips during studio use that were tagged and distributed immediately on our website and via social media to boost engagement online.
WEBSITE DEMO
WEBSITE DEMO
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