Selling yourself and your business

By Eileen Lauster

My name is Eileen Lauster. My business is producing video content for the web. I am a film maker. I make videos. I used to make documentaries about artists, community groups, and dramas. Now I make promotional videos for businesses. I have travelled to Belarus and Connemara, worked with individuals and groups, produced, edited, and taught others. Now I teach businesses to use the power of video to promote their products and services.

I survived a move across the Atlantic and a career change but they were nothing compared to the recession. In October 2009 my business was dead in the water. All the funding and commissions had dried up. I started applying for full time work and I was not even getting rejection letters! I was deflated.

Then I heard about WIN and started attending the meetings. I learned how to do the Elevator Pitch and after one of these sessions, an Enterprise Ireland staff member said: “Video skills are needed in business.” This was news to me so I learned more, retrained and upskilled. and now have a business that uses the skills I love: making films, but for business instead of art. I was a film maker again. And I learned no one else was getting rejection letters! It wasn’t just me.

Gathering up all my notes and reviewing what I have got from WIN I am struck by the fact that it was all free. WIN is so effective in helping people, employed or self-employed. Yet it is run on a small charitable donation from the St Vincent de Paul with in-kind support from the Galway County and City Enterprise Board and Enterprise Ireland. With long term, secured, funding, so much more could be done.

In addition to the regular meetings, I attended special once off events like the WIN launch where I met Minister Richard Bruton and other business people, filmed other members doing their elevator pitches, and a special training on how to be a mentor. Through WIN I was referred to three different work opportunities, gained experience networking, retrained, and learned to focus my message which is: My Business is to put Your Business Online.

Eileen Lauster of busterdrive.com will be presenting “An Introduction to YouTube for Selling Yourself or Your Business” at the next WIN meeting tomorrow May 18.