Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Durgin.
Hi Steve, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hurricane Harvey in 2017 was a rough time for the Houston area. Our family was very lucky; no flooding, no damage. As I watched reports of devastation and seemingly endless interviews of people suffering loss one thing stood out. After being thankful for their safety people shifted to talk about the sadness of losing their photos… the loss of their memories. I would be saying the same if we were less fortunate. We had many shoe boxes in various places full of pictures and old videos. I decided to have them transferred to digital, yet it was not as easy as I thought. With the pharmacies and big box stores, what I found was concerning. They all shipped to another state or country, and all had legal fine print about not being responsible for any loss or damage. I investigated digitizing our memories myself and quickly found that I would have to commit a significant amount of time along with a significant amount of money purchasing equipment to have quality digital images. All of this led me to Memories 4ever… saving people’s memories in my home-based digital transfer studio using state-of-the-art equipment and expertise in digital transfers, I have expanded my business from digitizing photos, slides, videos, and film to include photo restoration and photo book design. I cannot think of a job more rewarding than bring back memories for people and preserving those memories for future generations.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’m not sure it is possible to have a smooth road when starting up a small business; however, I found many resources to help me out. The University of Houston’s small business workshops was a great help in setting up my business, and the International Association of Photo Managers provided me with access to extensive training and networking resources. Becoming a certified photo manager required a lot of work as well but gave me the credentials needed for this line of work. I encourage anyone looking to start a small business to reach out to the community and related associations for help. There are a lot of great resources available.
As you know, we’re big fans of Memories 4ever. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
I am in the business of saving memories, digitizing photos, slides, VHS/Camcorder tapes, audio, and film as well as doing photo restorations. I understand these things are irreplaceable and handle everything with great care. People entrust me with their precious memories, and I take that responsibility very seriously.
Often people are overwhelmed with the volume of materials they have; I can help sort through materials, review videos, and organize everything. I am a partner in this effort and will work to overcome any obstacles.
This is more than just a job to me; I care. I have received all 5-star ratings with my Googles reviews, and I do not plan on ever getting less than 5 stars, so you can be assured that I will provide high-quality services in saving your memories.
Alright, so before we go, can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
I am a business partner with the Houston chapter of the North American Organizing Professionals (NAPO) and would love to partner with any business that is involved in helping people organize, downsize, or move as often during this process; people will come upon old photos, slides, videos, etc. I provide a 10% referral fee up to $75 for any referral work. I am also available, at no charge, to do presentations to groups that are interested in physical photo/video preservation as well how to manage all of those digital photos.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.memories4ever2u.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SafelySavingYourMemories/
