EMERGING ENTREPRENEURS: Turning a lifelong passion into a career

Heather Graves

Staff

October 19, 2023

OSHKOSH – Growing up, Devin Meeuwsen said a career in law enforcement or human services were paths he thought he should pursue.

“I may have mentioned the idea of being a police officer one time, and (those around me) often said, ‘yeah, we’ve always liked the idea of that for you,’” he said. “I never really thought of myself outside of a career (in those fields).”

After attending Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and later Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) for criminal justice, Meeuwsen – now 22 – said a career in law enforcement didn’t go as he had expected.

And though he currently works in the human services field – working with teenage boys in a group home – Meeuwsen said it isn’t something he sees himself doing long-term.

“The human services field is demanding,” he said. “Though I wouldn’t say I mind it, it’s definitely not something I can do forever.”

Recognizing this, Meeuwsen said he began taking a deeper look at what he enjoyed doing.

“I started pursuing other ideas, other avenues that would make me happy doing the work I’m doing,” he said.

The Bay Port High School graduate said he’s always had an interest in videography and website design.

“I took classes in high school,” he said. “It’s been something I’ve always been interested in before the focus on law enforcement and human services careers took over.”

Ironically enough, Meeuwsen said it was when he was pursuing a law enforcement career at FVTC, that he truly found his passion with videography.

“While I was going to school, I made an academy video about the experience of pursuing a career in law enforcement,” he said. “I had that realization I could see myself (pursuing a career in videography) because I enjoyed (doing that video) more than I have enjoyed any other aspects of any of my jobs prior to that moment. That helped give me the nudge I needed to invest the time and energy into pursuing the idea.”

At that point, Meeuwsen said he began researching the possibility of starting a small videography and website design company.

“I contacted a few people trying to gauge their interest because I didn’t want to invest a lot of time or money for something if I didn’t know there was going to be a desire for it,” he said.

Meeuwsen said the positive feedback he received from small business owners – and “hearing the excitement in their voices” – prompted him to pull the trigger and launch Oshkosh Productions (oshprod.com).

Getting things off the ground
Recognizing the need, Meeuwsen said Oshkosh Productions fills a niche in the Fox Valley – providing affordable video production and website design services for small businesses. 

“When I looked at other video production type work, I saw prices of $6,000, $7,000 or $8,000 for a 30-second ad sometimes, and to me, that’s not a realistic price range for small businesses,” he said. “When they say it’s priced for small businesses, it really isn’t.”

As a small business owner himself, Meeuwsen said Oshkosh Productions aims to provide those services at an affordable price to other small businesses.

“There’s certainly a need for it,” he said.

Meeuwsen said Oshkosh Productions has a straightforward mission – “assist our local community with website development and video production.”

 “So far, it’s been good,” he said. “I’m currently working with a few small businesses to make them videos.”

Meeuwsen said he is also working with a handful of clients with website design services – which includes development and ongoing support.

“I manage their website for them, make any updates they need and make their life a heck of a lot easier at a pretty affordable price,” he said.

Under the Oshkosh Productions brand, Meeuwsen said he had two pillars – website design and video production.

“As part of the website design services, I also host clients’ websites,” he said.

Through Oshkosh Productions, Devin Meeuwsen provides affordable video production and website design services for small businesses. Submitted Photo

In terms of video production, Meeuwsen said it comes down to what each individual business needs.

“So, if that’s a quick promotional video – promoting a certain product or a specific service or something new – I can help them do that,” he said. “I am also currently working with a business on several TikTok reels. Anything they need, I can help them with it.”

Sometimes, Meeuwsen said the two pillars of his business overlap naturally.

“A lot of times, the video production aspect of the business links back to the website development side because clients can include the pictures and video I take on their website,” he said. “So, it’s helpful for clients that do both video production and website development through Oshkosh Productions.”

A second branch
Getting engaged to his long-time girlfriend recently and starting to plan the big day, Meeuwsen said sparked the idea for a second branch to the business – Oshkosh Wedding Productions (weddings.oshprod.com).

“When I was looking at the wedding video scene, I was like, ‘wholy goodness, these prices are outrageous,’” he said.

Meeuwsen said though he recognized similar affordability hurdles in the wedding industry in regard to videography as he did with small businesses, it was important to him to keep the two entities separate – complete with their own websites and pricing packages.

“Because when it comes to those two things, they don’t mix all that much,” he said. “When one person goes on the website looking for wedding videos and someone else goes on a website looking for small business services – they are definitely different fields. So, I try to separate them in terms of (websites, services, etc.).”

Balancing it all
With the new business and still working at the group home, Meeuwsen said in order to effectively balance his time between the two “I’m realistic with my timelines.”

“I make sure I am not promising too much in too little time,” he said. “So, my timelines and my processes that are put together and given to my clients – they are realistic for me and I’m not going to be rushed in a way that’s impossible for me to fulfill.”

Meeuwsen said he is also cognizant of the number of clients and projects he can effectively work with and on at any given time.

Organization, he said, is also a key component of his balancing puzzle.

“I use monday.com – I know there’s plenty of alternatives, but that program helps keep me organized 110%,” he said. “It helps me keep track of the 30 different projects that are scheduled for this year and next.”

As a newbie in the realm of entrepreneurship, Meeuswen said it’s humbling to be part of a community full of motivated individuals focused on bettering the community they all live in.

“Most small business owners I talked to, that’s exactly what they’re doing,” he said. “They’re not trying to be the next big business. They’re focused on their little niche – something our community personally needs to make it better. That’s what I enjoy about being a small business owner and working with other small business owners.”

Most of the work Meeuwsen said he does is business-to-business.

“Being able to be a supporting branch for small businesses, especially with my business specifically, is something I find super rewarding,” he said.

Looking to the future, Meeuwsen said he hopes for continued growth both with clients and projects – as well as build on the quality of work he produces.

“I think the next step is going to have somebody else assist me – so potentially hiring people down the road,” he said. “And then focus on continually improving our craft.”