|
Video workshop company
comes to OKC: Flicko's rents equipment, offers self-serve or
professional services in editing
When they left the hotel to return to Oklahoma City, Novalyn grabbed one of the copies to read during the trip home. In that paper, she read a classified ad seeking franchisees for Flicko's, a young video workshop company based in Louisville, Ky. She liked the Flicko's concept - offering self-serve and professional services in editing, duplications, format transfers, slide transfers and video rental equipment. Novalyn Greff liked the concept so much that on May 1 she opened the fifth Flicko's Video Workshop franchise location, at 9030 S. Sooner Rd. in Oklahoma City. She and her husband went to Louisville, where Flicko's was founded in 2003, for two weeks of training before the store opened. "We cater to both individuals and businesses," Novalyn Greff said. The company can help individuals, businesses and institutions preserve, edit, copy, transfer and convert film, video, and other media. Flicko's charges for the time customers use the store's equipment or does the work for a fee, she said. "People can bring their photos and other materials to us and we can estimate the cost and do the work," Greff said. Equipment available for rent includes video cameras, wireless microphones and digital still cameras. Flicko's business plan was developed to provide customers more control. "At most places, you drop your pictures off and what happens, happens," she said. "Our customers have more control over the finished product. "We digitize the photos and often you can see the faces better on the video than in the original photo," she said. One of Novalyn Greff's early projects at the store was producing a video of her daughter's wedding. Her daughter, Lyndsey Cleveland, was married April 7. Other early customers at the store requested videos for Mother's Day and graduations, Novalyn Greff said. Flicko's also can be used for sports videos, orientation videos for businesses, and special events. Editing services include adding music or voice-overs, she said. Facilities at the store include a sound studio. "Voice-overs can add a personal touch and make a video more meaningful," Greff said. Flicko's also has music available for customers to use. Novalyn and Lyndsey are the store's only employees. Rick Greff plans to help out, but he also operates the couple's Merry Maids franchise. They started operating the Merry Maids franchise after Rick Greff retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1994. The Greffs decided to stay in Oklahoma after his retirement even though he is from North Dakota and she was raised in the Kansas City, Mo., area. "We just like it here," Novalyn Greff said. "It just felt like home." Currently, there are just six Flicko's, including a corporate store. The other four franchise stores are in Chattanooga, Tenn.; Tucson, Ariz.; Raleigh, N.C.; and St. Cloud, Minn. "Flick's hopes to open 25 stores this year," Novalyn Greff said.
|
