Entrepreneur Bio with David Hand

David Hand in Ireland 

This Q&A is with my dad, David Hand, who started his own business "Hands On Video" with a focus on videotaping and editing local sports games in the area. 

 

Describe your background prior to starting Hands On Video: 

I started in video when I took a class up in Rockport, Maine about video production and operating a video camera. This started my interest in video production and I started doing things ... part time, doing weddings, working for the Chamber of Commerce. I job shadowed Tom Meagan in Concord as a tape operator to see if I liked it ... and I did. I started working full-time, on my own inn 1994, or '95 after working at a local cable station doing replay, a station that covered local sports. There was a segment called "Coaches Corner," we did a show called Pitstop about auto racing, and this, this is what I think sparked my interest in local sports. 

Is this when you saw that there was a need in the community for ways for viewers to see local sports?

I think so, yeah. I think I noticed that there were many different ways I could have gone, many sports that people wanted to see, locally. Anyone can turn on the TV and watch a Red Sox game, but for many people, a lot of what they want to see is local. They want to see their kid playing baseball when they can't watch the game; they want to re-watch a game that they weren't able to record. 

Sometimes to be an entrepreneur, you have  to go off the beaten path 

So would you say that Hands On Video explores the niche of local sports?

I would say so, yes...yes. Hands On Video was never a full-time gig for me, I was still doing freelance work on the side with local programming, but as something that I figured I could explore to make some extra money and do something that I was interested in, local sports seemed like a pretty good outlet for that. 

What's your favorite part about owning your own business? 

Well, I think that it's nice to make money doing something I love [laughs]. It's not bad when you're getting paid to watch a decent sports game and then edit together the best parts of it. I've always been a sports fan, and having this ability, this prior knowledge about local sports, and the talent to be able to edit things together has made a huge difference in being able to be a part of my kid's athletics over the years. 

What are you up to right now? 

Right now I am working with a buddy of mine, Greg, who has been a friend and occasional business partner over the years. We're, um, we're doing local programming in the Sunappee and Vermont areas with local sports. This is a little more official because we have a commentator usually right there with us, so it's my job essentially to videotape these local sports games and get them ready in time to air on local television. I usually have, what, a day, a week to do it? It varies. 

And the name, Hands On Video. Where did that come from? 

Honestly, it was so long ago I can't even remember [laughs]. I had it throughout the '80s, even when I hadn't "officially" started my own business yet. It seemed like a good name, and well, if you have a last name like this, why not play off of it?