This month marks 10 years of being in business.
It started with an email to the CEO of the grocery store I was working for back in December of 2005. I had just gotten married two months prior and had purchased my first "professional" video camera with the majority of the money we received as wedding gifts: a Sony VX2100. I told Stew Leonard that I was going to school for Media Arts at Western Connecticut State University, that I shoot video, and that the mozzarella video he had playing on a loop in his stores was not up to the level of quality his brand is known for. I could do it better.
Long story short, I reshot that mozzarella video for free to show him what I could do, and Stew Leonard's quickly became my biggest client for the next few years as I grew. That video, in fact, is still looping in all of the stores.
Since then, I have quit my 9-to-5 job, traveled the country filming for clients, built up a small army of freelance talent that I call upon when needed, and most recently expanded into a full digital agency.
As I write this in my office, with my old VX2100 sitting on the shelf next to me, long retired, I am filled with gratitude for those first clients who saw potential when I had nothing to show, and humbled by the repeat and referral business sent my way over the past decade. I could not be where I am if it was not for you, and I am beyond thrilled to continue the journey as Empire Studios carries on its upward trajectory. Big things are planned for the months and years ahead.
Thank you very, very much. Here is to the next 10 years.
–Chris