Asheville – Ralph Squiers says it all started in 1979 when Mel Squiers’ uncle was on a cruise and overheard corporate executives talking about the next great thing, which turned out to be one-hour photo processing. As they spoke about the equipment being developed and the concept, the uncle soaked it all in.
He and another uncle thought it sounded like a great business idea and were well-capitalized for the venture. They brought in Mel as a partner because of her knowledge and understanding of photography and management. The business launched the first one-hour photo store east of the Mississippi and soon grew to multiple locations.
“Family businesses always seem to have their problems and growth pains, and disagreements over the direction of the company resulted in Mel selling out her share of the company,” Ralph recalled. The process of transferring old home movie film to videotape was just emerging in the photo industry, so the decision to move to Asheville and start Videomaster Productions was hatched in 1986.
They started out transferring 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm films to VHS and Betamax videotape, and they took in work from dozens of camera stores and photo labs across the Southeast and up through the Midwest. Over the years, the business evolved in the ever-changing video industry. “We began doing VHS duplication, editing, and video production. Eventually, that evolved into mass producing DVDs and CDs as well. If you needed to distribute a video in those days, you had to send out a VHS or a DVD, so consequently, tape and DVD duplication and distribution were our main business for a long time. These days, you simply upload to a website and send a link to share video information.”
Ralph shared, “My wife and I have been married for 48 years, and we’ve been working together for 38 years without killing each other.” The secret to their success was recognizing their complementary talents and staying in their lanes. He was experienced in sales and setting up accounts, and she was skilled in production and bookkeeping. “She knows all the tax laws, so we’ve never had to hire a bookkeeper. Additionally, we each have our own areas of audio and video production.”
Ralph said he’d been told, “‘People can duplicate their own tapes. You can’t make a living doing that!’ but 38 years later, and after putting three kids through college with advanced degrees, I think we proved them wrong.” They had thought about expanding, maybe franchising, but after managing multiple locations in the one-hour photo business, they decided to keep it simple.
Ralph was happy just serving Western North Carolina, an area he says has the population of Atlanta. Companies like Legacybox and iMemories serve the whole country and do a lot of advertising, but most people don’t like the idea of shipping off their precious memories in a box to someone they don’t know.
The nationwide advertising of the big companies helped to raise awareness of the process, but it was through web advertising that customers became aware of the local option. “This is what keeps us in business. People can come in and hand their tapes to someone they meet in person. This, and the fact that we have 76 years of combined experience in the video business, means we are able to accomplish things with video transfers that the big companies can’t handle.”
While speaking to him at the Videomaster Productions office, he revealed that the paperwork had been signed, “and we are ready to turn the business over and finally retire.” He and Mel were on premises, helping to ensure a smooth transition. Videomaster’s new owner is Elliot Kulwiec. “He’s the owner of Ball Photo in the Innsbruck Mall, and he intends to consolidate that business with Videomaster at 569 Merrimon Avenue and eventually close the Innsbruck Mall location.”
Looking back, Ralph feels he has never worked a day in his life. “I make people happy. I’m not writing parking tickets. We’re miracle workers for a lot of people. You get to see people’s eyes light up. It’s very rewarding, saving people’s priceless memories for future generations to share.”