Around The Corner Productions, Inc. is a full service production house serving the Cedar Valley with customized video production services. The company was launched in 2006 by two University of Northern Iowa college students after a college project morphed into a series of video production jobs.

Founders Michael Rueber and Eric Braley were college seniors when they introduced a campus-wide broadcast called “Panther Sports Talk”. The show was designed to provide a forum for sports discussions among UNI students, but after only three shows the City of Cedar Falls’ public access television channel expressed interest in airing an enhanced version of the show on their public access station.

Over the next year, “Panther Sports Talk” became a solid hit in the Cedar Valley among students and fans of the UNI Panthers. Host Eric Braley became a regional on-air personality while Michael Rueber worked the video production side of the operation. The quality of their work attracted the attention of several area businesses and soon they were doing custom video work almost full-time. The pair realized they had a substantial business opportunity.

While Rueber and Braley were experts in video production and marketing, they had limited business skills. “We didn’t actually know how to start a business,” laughed Rueber. “We didn’t even know where to start.” They approached the University of Northern Iowa Small Business Development Center for guidance. Both men recognized that it was important to learn as much about running a business as possible before pursuing their venture. SBDC Regional Director Mike Hahn pointed the men to a number of SBDC services. He encouraged them to enroll in the center’s Smart Start class and eventually they set up their fledgling enterprise in the center’s business incubator.

In the incubator, Around the Corner Productions received a wide array of services, customized to their stage of business growth. Both men were paired up with various professionals in marketing, human resources, and finance over their first year of tenancy. In addition, they participated in FastTrac® comprehensive entrepreneurship classes and met regularly with Hahn to discuss business growth issues.

In January 2008 the company graduated from the incubator, moving into a reasonably priced commercial district in Cedar Falls. Their 2007 sales growth was up over 20 percent and the firm added their first employee during the move. Currently, Around The Corner Productions employs three full-time staff members and subcontracts out with several small firms for animation and acting needs. “The market was pretty much untapped in creating local content for television stations,” explained Ruebner. “We keep good relationships with our clients, and we’re the first people they call. We’re always thinking of solutions ahead of time, and that’s how we anticipate growing the business.”

Owning their own business has certainly been a challenge, but with help from the UNI SBDC, Rueber and Braley have been able to parlay their passion into a satisfying career. Plans for the future include the development of specialized video productions, such as industry training or trade show videos. Their web site is www.atc-p.com.

“When we started our business around our TV show we had no doubt that we could do it; both of us have been producing TV content for years,” says Rueber. “What we didn’t know is how to run a business. With advice and guidance from the SBDC we are slowly learning the right way to do things.”