The optimal software stack for running a lean video agency
You could theoretically scale up to several millions of dollars in revenue with just this set of tools (we never did that, but it’s possible).
I ran a very lean video production business for a long time. This wasn't always the case, but over the years, we figured out the perfect set of tools we needed to keep clients happy and continue to produce at a high level. This curated stack of applications powered every critical aspect of our creative and business operations.
It would've saved us a lot of time and money early on if we had known the exact things we needed to get our video business going. That's why I wanted to share the tools that became the foundation of our operations, showcasing not just their utility but the surprising affordability that allowed us to continue to grow and produce at a high level with minimal friction. I'll touch on the core functionality of each tool, and how much we exactly paid (whether it was per month or per year). At the end, I'll share the total monthly and annual cost that we took on across all of our subscriptions. I think you'll be positively surprised.
Collaboration and Productivity Tools
Google Workspace*:
Functionality: A suite of cloud computing, productivity, and collaboration tools, software, and products developed by Google. It included Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, and more.
Cost: Plans started around $6/user/month for the Business Starter plan, up to $18/user/month for the Business Plus plan. Annual commitments offered discounts. We used the Google Business Standard plan, which cost $12/user/month and we paid for four users, so it came out to $48/month.
Month: $48 | Annual: $576
Notion*:
Functionality: An all-in-one database-driven workspace for note-taking, project management, and task management. Notion was INCREDIBLY powerful. The ability to customize our Notion workspace to what best suited our needs made it a critical component of our business. We used it for project management, task tracking, and note-taking. We spent quite a bit of time developing custom workspace templates to accommodate core business needs.
Cost: Offered a free Personal plan; the Team plan was about $10 per user/month when billed annually.
Month: $30 | Annual: $360
Zoom Pro:
Functionality: Video conferencing software with meeting and webinar capabilities. Having the pro plan took any stress away from meetings timing out.
Cost: Pro plan started at $14.99/month/host, with additional costs for webinar and large meeting features. We paid annually for one account, so it was a bit cheaper.
Annual: $149.90
AirTable*:
Functionality: A cloud collaboration service combining a spreadsheet and database for project management, data tracking, inventory tracking, custom CRM, and a few other very specific use cases. AirTable was highly customizable like Notion, which allowed us to build custom-functionality that was ideal for specific business workflows. AirTable was one of the most valuable tools we used.
Cost: Free for basic use; Plus plan at $10/user/month, and Pro plan at $20/user/month, billed annually. We paid $720/annually for three seats.
Slack*
Functionality: A messaging app for businesses that connected people to the information they needed.
Cost: Free for small teams; Standard plan at $6.67/user/month, and Plus plan at $12.50/user/month, billed annually.
Month + Annual: Free.99
Creative and Design Tools
Adobe Creative Cloud*
Functionality: A collection of 20+ desktop and mobile apps and services for photography, design, video, web, UX, and more. We primarily used Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, and Acrobat.
Cost: Individual plans started at $59.99/month, with specific app subscriptions and business plans varying in price. We had two accounts that we used in total.
Month: $119.98 | Annual: $1439.76
Milanote
Functionality: A tool for organizing creative projects into beautiful visual boards. It supported notes, images, tasks, and files. We primarily used Milanote for ideation, concepting, and mood boarding, but it was also helpful for developing flow charts and thought diagrams.
Cost: Free for the basic plan with limited boards; we used the Pro plan which was $9.99/month per user when billed annually.
Month: $9.99 | Annual: $119.88
DaVinci Resolve
Functionality: A professional video editing software, primarily used for Color Correction and Grading.
Cost: Free for the basic version; Studio version was a one-time purchase of $295. We had one studio license.
One-time license fee: $295.00
StudioBinder
Functionality: Production management software for video, TV, and film.
Cost: Free limited plan; paid plans started at $29/month, with several tiers depending on features.
Annual: $300.00
Frame.io
Functionality: Video review and collaboration software.
Cost: Started with a free plan; paid plans began at $15/user/month with additional features. We used the Pro plan, which cost $156/year (+tax) and covered our needs.
Month: $13 | Annual: $156
Financial and Operational Tools
QuickBooks*
Functionality: Accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses. Quickbooks made invoicing, bookkeeping, payroll, and reporting so simple for us. It was a must-have.
Cost: Plans ranged from $25/month for the Simple Start plan to $180/month for the Advanced plan, but could range up past that if used for payroll and reporting. We used Quickbooks Online Essentials and Payroll Premium.
Month: $220 | Annual: $2,640
NordPass
Functionality: Password management tool for individuals and businesses.
Cost: Personal plans started around $2.49/month; business plans required contacting for pricing. We used the cheapest option.
Month: $2.49 | Annual: $29.88
Marketing and Sales Tools
Webflow*
Functionality: Webflow was a web design and hosting platform that allowed users to design, build, and launch responsive websites visually, without writing code. It empowered designers to build professional, custom websites in a completely visual canvas with no coding required.
Cost: Webflow offered a variety of pricing plans. For site plans (hosting only), prices started at $12 per month when billed annually for basic sites. For account plans (for designers who needed to build multiple projects), the pricing started at $16 per month when billed annually. Business plans and higher needed custom quotes, especially for more extensive traffic and more significant project needs.
Monthly: $29 | Annual: $348
Apollo
Functionality: A sales intelligence and engagement platform. Apollo enabled us to do thoughtful networking and outbound email marketing with specific customer profiles. It was incredibly helpful expanding our footprint and sales efforts for a low cost relative to other tools like it.
Cost: Free starter plan; paid plans required contacting Apollo for pricing. We paid for two professional seats at $99/month.
Monthly: $198.00 | Annual: $2,376
Pitch
Functionality: A collaborative presentation software designed for modern teams.
Cost: Free for basic use; Pro versions started at $10/user/month, with custom pricing for larger teams. We had one account that we used.
Month: $10 | Annual: $120
Vimeo
Functionality: Video hosting, sharing, and services platform.
Cost: Plus plan started at $7/month, with higher tiers for more features and storage. We paid for the starter plan annually, which let us post up to 60 videos a year on our page.
Annual: $108
Media and Content Creation
Storyblocks
Functionality: Stock media service, offering video, images, and audio.
Cost: Subscriptions started around $30/month for unlimited video downloads and varied for other media types.
Annual: $386.10
PremiumBeat
Functionality: A curated royalty-free music library.
Cost: Music tracks could be licensed individually, starting at around $49 per track.
We paid per track.
Artlist
Functionality: A subscription service offering unlimited downloads of royalty-free music and sound effects.
Cost: Started at $199/year for the music subscription, with additional costs for sound effects.
Annual: $199
Automation and Integration Tools
Zapier
Functionality: Online automation tool that connected our favorite apps, such as Gmail, Slack, Mailchimp, and more. We used Zapier to connect apps like AirTable, Slack, and Quickbooks to automate updates between different platforms to keep everyone in the know and make sure nothing got missed.
Cost: Free for basic; Starter plan at $19.99/month, with higher tiers for more tasks and features. We paid for the Starter plan annually.
Annual: $239.88
Storage and Remote Access
SynologyNAS*
Functionality: Network-attached storage (NAS) products for a variety of data storage and multimedia applications.
Cost: Hardware costs varied widely depending on the model and capacity, starting from around $150 for basic models to over $1,000 for advanced setups. No monthly fees unless opting for additional cloud services.
Month + Annual: Free.99, after setup
JumpDesktop
Functionality: Jump Desktop was a secure and reliable remote desktop app that let us connect to any computer, anywhere in the world with incredibly low latency. It offered features like full keyboard support, live previews of all sessions, and supported various protocols like RDP and VNC.
Cost: The cost for individual users was a one-time purchase of approximately $29.99 (for iOS and Android). For businesses, Jump Desktop offered Jump Desktop for Teams, which required contacting them directly for pricing.
Monthly: $42.88 | Annual: $514.56
AI Tools
ChatGPT+
Functionality: An advanced version of ChatGPT with priority access to new features and improvements. It was hard to describe in words how valuable this tool was.
Cost: Around $20/month, depending on the specific offerings and updates.
Monthly: $20 | Annual: $140
Midjourney
Functionality: An independent research lab exploring new mediums of thought and expanding the imaginative powers of the human species. Midjourney was primarily used by us for text to image generation for mood boarding, concepting, shot listing and storyboarding.
Cost: Membership costs varied, and specific pricing needed to be checked directly based on our needs.
Month: $8 | Annual: $96
Miscellaneous Tools
Amazon Prime
Functionality: Offered fast free shipping, streaming of movies, TV shows, and music, exclusive shopping deals, and more. Necessary for purchasing things for business use throughout the year.
Cost: Approximately $139/year or $14.99/month.
Month: $14.99 | Annual: $139
One-Time Purchase or Unique Pricing
Spotify Premium
Functionality: Music streaming service with no ads. We usually all had music playing in the background while we were working. It was mission-critical.
Cost: Individual plans at $9.99/month, with Duo, Family, and Student plans offering different benefits.
Monthly: $16.08 | Annual: $192.96
Monthly total cost: $832.99
Annual total cost: $11,201.02
*Asterisks indicate absolute necessity for business operations.
Not bad, eh? You could theoretically scale up to several millions of dollars in revenue with just this set of tools (we never did that, but it’s possible).
Shoutout to the amazing teams of people that created these companies. They enabled us to make our business better every day. If you have any questions about how we leveraged these tools, shoot me a message and I am more than happy to hop on a call to explain / consult. Good luck!