Getting clients, SEO, and
starting a video production business.
Jacob joined the Open Shutter Live podcast to talk about how Hen's Bread Productions got started, how to build a client base from zero, and what actually moves the needle on local SEO for a video production company.
Hen's Bread Productions · Open Shutter Live Podcast Feature
The podcast.
Open Shutter Live is a podcast for photographers and videographers building their businesses. Jacob was invited to share the story of how Hen's Bread Productions went from a one-person operation to a full-service production company in Austin, TX — and specifically to talk about the unglamorous parts: finding clients, building a web presence, and staying consistent when the work is slow.
The conversation covers what actually worked in the early days, what didn't, and the difference between building a business around getting discovered versus building one around doing work worth talking about.
Getting clients
when you're starting from zero.
The honest answer is that the first clients came from doing work for less than it was worth, showing up when it wasn't convenient, and making sure the people who hired you once had no reason not to hire you again. That's not a strategy — it's a starting condition. You trade margin for reputation until the reputation makes the margins possible.
What moves faster than most people expect is referrals from other vendors. Photographers, event planners, venues, AV companies — they talk to the same clients you're trying to reach. Being the person those vendors recommend when their clients ask about video is worth more than any advertising spend in the early stages.
The clients who started with HBP in 2020 are still clients. That's the real metric. Not how many new inquiries come in, but how many of last year's clients came back.
What actually works
for local SEO.
In 2022 when this podcast was recorded, the SEO conversation was simpler. In 2026 it's more competitive but the fundamentals haven't changed: Google wants to understand what you do, where you do it, and whether people trust you. Everything else is execution.
What HBP looks like
four years later.
When this podcast was recorded in 2022, Hen's Bread Productions was two years old with a small local client base and a website that needed work. The fundamentals described in that conversation — referrals, consistency, transparent pricing, showing up prepared — are the same ones that led to covering Axios Mixing Board Live, SXSW panels, and multi-day corporate conferences across Texas.
The gear got better. The crew grew. The clients got larger. The approach didn't change much. If you're early in building a video production business in Austin — or anywhere — most of what's in that podcast conversation still applies.
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