John Willetts
Posts: 227
Location: Bath, United Kingdom
Registered: 13 Mar 2008
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Re: Concentrate on marketing
Posted: 3 Feb 2010 at 18:04 GMT
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It's foolhardy to even consider starting such a business until you have mastered the hardware and software.
Then, after a year, take Pete's advice. Concentrate on marketing - with the confidence of being able to come up with the goods.
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NYCreate
Posts: 486
Location: North Yorkshire & Northern England, United Kingdom
Registered: 21 Aug 2005
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Re: I'm starting a panoramic business - HELP
Posted: 3 Feb 2010 at 18:07 GMT
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I've not read all of the thread but would like to say a few words. There have been MANY people before and sure to be many after who think they can have a soley 'Virtual Tour' business.
I think this is almost as hard as climbing everest. purely because of the amount of work available and OVER saturation of 'soley vr' photographers.
After being in the 'trade' for over 6 years now we offer virtual tours as a 'part' of the business. Some people can make a full time living from it but this is rare. There are that many people willing to undercut you with inferior poor quality virtual images and panoramas.
To get ahead in any trade you need to be at the top of the game able to offer the best products etc.
I see Tourweaver being mentioned, we use this in approx 50% of tours as its very easy, and quick to produce excellent quality virtual tours. The pro version is quite expensive, but it will pay for its self with the amount of time it saves. We also use others such as FPP, I suppose it depends on the job.
Good look with your virtual tour business but don't expect to get rich 
Regards
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 2589
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: I'm starting a panoramic business - HELP
Posted: 3 Feb 2010 at 18:13 GMT
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John and Rudders are right, especially about running a business on just virtual tours
I look at what I do as a broad set of media; stills, virtual images, floorplans for Realtors, video for golf courses and ski areas, panoramic posters and virtual tour websites of Albuquerque & Santa Fe.
Later
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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Trausti
[Flashificator]
Posts: 1081
Location: Lima, Peru
Registered: 30 Jul 2009
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Re: I'm starting a panoramic business - HELP
Posted: 3 Feb 2010 at 20:10 GMT
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Smooth said: ..... would like a working example please forward me the "test" panorama image.
Thanks for the offer to help out. I have sent you a mail with a link to the 3 sets of images, and a medium sized rant
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Trausti
[Flashificator]
Posts: 1081
Location: Lima, Peru
Registered: 30 Jul 2009
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Re: I'm starting a panoramic business - HELP
Posted: 3 Feb 2010 at 22:31 GMT
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Doug Aurand said: You guys may hate and dismiss iPIX, but there are still thousands of .ipx images being viewed on the Internet every day. On my site alone the iPIX Java Viewer was loaded 2498 times in January 2010
So with viewers like FPP and Pano2VR adding more "Tour Type Features", I think it makes sense that Tourweaver should be included as a "viewer" as should the iPIX Java Viewer
As much as I dislike everything "iPix", I have to agree that it should be available in the comparison project...
And that is why I ask if you are willing/able to prepare the 3 different sizes of images and deliver in iPix format?
The rules for the comparison were to have only one button present (fullscreen). If that is not possible and the interface comes complete because the player is limited on editing, then it can be accepted anyway.
Please let me know and I'll link you to the image package.
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swoolley
Posts: 16
Location: Canberra, Australia
Registered: 1 Apr 2008
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Re: I'm starting a panoramic business - HELP
Posted: 5 Feb 2010 at 1:56 GMT
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Thanks everyone. I have no problems producing very high quality panoramas and have done it as a hobby for a number of years for kicks. Everyone loves them and I believe businesses and government agencies will pay for the service.
My website is very new and is a bit of an experiment at the moment. I run my own webserver out of my shed so hosting is very simple and quick once the site is setup.
I have a full time IT job currently that pays well but the day that the panorama business makes more - I'll focus on that 100%. I understand that marketing is a priority and I have friends in marketing and media who can help me out. I also have friends in the real estate business so that should help.
Doug Aurand - was just wondering what software you use for your real estate virtual tours??
I am loving this forum it is full of people willing to help each other to further the panoramic community as a whole and not as an individual.
Trausti - I bought Flashificator the other night not realising you need to buy FPP as well. You should do a bundle deal on buying both. I only bought your software due to your posts here to see what it was about but you need to do some work on you website - it doesn't explain much about Flashificator. Yes the forums do but most people want to have it on the main page. Also your links on the main page didn't seem to work.
Thanks all
Simon
Canberra Australia
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Trausti
[Flashificator]
Posts: 1081
Location: Lima, Peru
Registered: 30 Jul 2009
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Re: I'm starting a panoramic business - HELP
Posted: 5 Feb 2010 at 2:15 GMT
updated: 5 Feb 2010 at 2:16 GMT
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swoolley said: Trausti - I bought Flashificator the other night not realising you need to buy FPP as well. You should do a bundle deal on buying both. I only bought your software due to your posts here to see what it was about but you need to do some work on you website - it doesn't explain much about Flashificator. Yes the forums do but most people want to have it on the main page. Also your links on the main page didn't seem to work.
Hi Simon, and thank you for joining up. Indeed the homepage is a complete disaster, working partially on some browsers, and not at all on other browsers... I did hire someone to make the page nice and functional, but that person left the country last week, so I think I can write that job off his schedule.
One thing I have tried to make absolutely clear on the homepage and on the vending service, is that people should be aware of the need to have FPP as well.
The bundled package has been in the planning right from the start, but due to FFC being in endless development, I have not done anything on that front until now. When FFC will be closer to the final and stable version, I think it would be better to prepare the bundle, that Denis (the creator of FPP) is fully supportive of.
As many times before, I can state again that if I was a greedy money grabbing bastard, I would put all the focus on having a nicely looking and functioning website, and put less into the software itself... but that's not me. Of course the website has to be informative and functional... which it is NOT by ANY means right now, but hopefully it will get there in the remade version... whenever that will be.
Again, thank you, and should you ever need help with anything, you know where to reach me. I will do my best to help out.
Trausti
flashificator.com/
flashificator.com/forums
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 2589
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: I'm starting a panoramic business - HELP
Posted: 6 Feb 2010 at 16:37 GMT
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swoolley said: Doug Aurand - was just wondering what software you use for your real estate virtual tours??
Simon
Currently I use a hosting and distribution service run by the same company that runs Realtor.com called PicturePath.com
They have a simple, plain template that I've used for a few years. I've stayed with them because they are the lowest cost for hosting, $5.00 per tour, and distribute directly major real estate franchise websites that the other services don't.
I'm in the process of learning to use Tourweaver 5 Standard and will be offering it as a Premium Virtual Tour that will have full screen viewing which none of my competition here in Albuquerque has.
I'll still have to pay PicturePath to post the tour link I host to Realtor.com
In the USA the local Multiple Listing Services are very interconnected with Realtor.com and the major real estate franchise wesbites as well as offering MLS database access to the local real estate websites owned by local companies and indidividual agents.
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 2589
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: I'm starting a panoramic business - HELP
Posted: 6 Feb 2010 at 16:57 GMT
updated: 6 Feb 2010 at 16:59 GMT
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"Trausti said
As much as I dislike everything "iPix", I have to agree that it should be available in the comparison project...
And that is why I ask if you are willing/able to prepare the 3 different sizes of images and deliver in iPix format?
The rules for the comparison were to have only one button present (fullscreen). If that is not possible and the interface comes complete because the player is limited on editing, then it can be accepted anyway.
Please let me know and I'll link you to the image package."
Trausti
The problem is that I let my iPIX Interactive Studio expire in September
I could provide "watermarked" images
This older tour uses the old iPIX Java Viewer 3.22 that Mac users may have some problems with, but I like it because the small but complete Nav Bar
www.vabq.com/highrez/index.htm
The current iPIX Java Viewer is ver 5.0
This example is one of my first attempts at HDR/Tone Mapping so the image has a lot of noise
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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Smooth
Posts: 2688
Location: Mount Panorama, Australia
Registered: 21 Jul 2004
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Re: I'm starting a panoramic business - HELP
Posted: 6 Feb 2010 at 18:01 GMT
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Trausti said: Smooth said: ..... would like a working example please forward me the "test" panorama image.
Thanks for the offer to help out. I have sent you a mail with a link to the 3 sets of images, and a medium sized rant
I made the three samples up and sent them to Keith so hopefully the Easypano Tourweaver comparison samples will be up soon. I have stuck to the single one button for fullscreen (though with Tourweaver flash panos you can select this from the right click menu or double click anywhere on the panorama viewer to change states). You will notice the fullscreen button is aware of it's state regardless on how you make the switch between standard size and fullscreen.
Regards, Smooth 
www.smooth360.info
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Trausti
[Flashificator]
Posts: 1081
Location: Lima, Peru
Registered: 30 Jul 2009
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Re: I'm starting a panoramic business - HELP
Posted: 6 Feb 2010 at 19:00 GMT
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Thank you Doug. Watermarked will do just fine, since it also shows the limitations of the iPix business model.
I will send you a download link with the images that are used in the comparison project (same images are used in order to provide the same conditions for all the viewers).
Trausti
flashificator.com/
flashificator.com/forums
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vn2009
Posts: 180
Location: duluth mn, United States
Registered: 24 Sep 2009
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Re: I'm starting a panoramic business - HELP
Posted: 6 Feb 2010 at 19:25 GMT
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swoolley said:
My website is very new and is a bit of an experiment at the moment. I run my own webserver out of my shed so hosting is very simple and quick once the site is setup.
I have a full time IT job currently that pays well but the day that the panorama business makes more - I'll focus on that 100%. I understand that marketing is a priority and I have friends in marketing and media who can help me out. I also have friends in the real estate business so that should help.
Simon
Canberra Australia
simon you and I are very alike. i am full-time IT for 5 years. been doing panos for 2 and am just now confident enough to concider a business. in fact thursday i confronted my boss and said i was 1000% serious and asked him if we could start a VT company under the companys shell. we also own an ISP and wireless boradband company. he told me to come up with a business plan and present it! i would love to keep my vacation and insurance and still do this full time without the rist of no tours coming in. i can always fall back on fixing pc's. only down side is i have to share the profits which in some tours could be alot.
i wish you luck!
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