Biz of the week: C2 It Multimedia

Since he was a teenager, Chris Catalano has worn many hats - musician, recording engineer, web designer, and video director/editor among them. And for the past decade, small business owner and president.

Catalano, 44, owns and operates C2 It Multimedia out of his home in Holtsville. Registered in 2001 and employing three freelancers, it grew from mostly web consulting work to include web design, audio production and video production services.

Catalano, whose initials inspired his business's name, previously worked as director of corporate quality for Verizon, having moved up within the company since its NYNEX days upon graduation from college. He graduated from Hofstra University in 1987, majoring in computer science with a double minor in music composition and communications.

The rapid expansion of wireless technology, and what he said was the consequential decline of opportunities in his particular department, which dealt largely with residential land-line service, finally swayed Catalano to strike out on his own. He added that his experience working for the telephone industry impressed upon him the importance of quality of service.

"The key learning lesson back then was that we couldn't continue to compete on price alone," he said. "Could you really charge less than three cents a minute for long distance and still be profitable? So the goal was to deliver a better quality product."

Toward the end of his career with Verizon, he'd begun working web-consulting jobs on his vacation time. Today, his web clients include the Carpet Cleaning Guy in Bohemia; the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook; the Little Sunshine Play Center in Sayville; Jumpstart Associates in Deer Park and the Alpharetta, GA-based Magic Wand Foundation, an organization dedicated to youth empowerment through education.

"He's straightforward and hard-working," said Carpet Cleaning Guy owner/president Ken San Pedro, who first met Catalano five years ago through the Holbrook Chamber of Commerce, where San Pedro is currently a director. "He's just a good guy."

"We looked for area web designers because we wanted to keep it on Long Island," said Angela Demmer, director of information services at the Long Island State Veterans Home. Catalano was drafted to build its website in 2007.

"It was a project where I didn't feel we had the expertise in-house," she added. "I have to say overall it was very pleasurable. I'd recommend him to anyone."

His web development experience dates back to the mid-1990s, when Catalano was put in charge of an ad hoc team to build a departmental intranet for his former employer (Bell Atlantic at the time). The information technology department eventually took over its maintenance, but being relatively new then meant it was beyond its purview.

"It was kind of a weird time," he said. "Traditional IT departments didn't yet do that. It was pretty much fly by the seat of your pants."

Though his client base has diversified considerably, web design work for Catalano was at first mostly for fellow musicians, including for another band he'd been with at the time. Audio production officially became part of C2 It's mission thereafter, though Catalano first got the bug during his high school days recording songs as a guitarist in a band. Word of mouth soon led to recording gigs for other bands, and he continued recording on a part-time basis during the intervening years.

Though the fusion of computers and music was still in its infancy during his time at Hofstra, Catalano said he was "aware that that's where the capabilities were going." However, the increasing availability and falling prices of digital recording equipment have allowed greater amounts of music to be produced faster and cheaper as well, but without, he said, the level of expertise of the past.

"That's our modern-day challenge, really," he said. "The democratization of technology. Knowing how to use it is a separate thing."

Video production is the latest offering from C2 It, and like his audio and independent web work, this too had roots in musical interests - while playing with a band named New Call, Catalano started filming gigs with a VHS-C camera.

Fast-forward to today: Now using digital video cameras, Catalano shoots and edits clips for web and television.

His video customers have included Smithtown-based America's Vet Dogs, which used his footage as B-roll on an episode of CNN's Larry King Live, and psychic medium Kathrine Mitchell of Islip, whose presentation entitled "Awaken the Spirit" was filmed by Catalano in December 2008 in the now-shuttered Islip Theater and Performing Arts Center. Catalano also designed Mitchell's website.

Mitchell praised Catalano for his work, his prompt communication and his business ethics.

"He directed me where not to spend money," she said. "I respect the person who does that, as I would do the same."

With the growing market for video - especially on the Internet where video content often translates to more hits - Catalano said he hopes to continue to offer greater video services in the future, including interactive content and more high-definition (1,080p) video capability.

Despite a slight reduction in numbers, the economic downturn has not had a drastic impact on C2 It, and Catalano remains upbeat about the opportunities to work with other small businesses. In the current climate, a larger business client that would have built a website costing tens of thousands of dollars, he explains, now may find itself in a position of delaying such projects out of budgetary concerns.

"All things considered, we're pretty lucky," he said. "It's created a shift in what we're doing. The question is what's your investment level? Because it's not an expense, it's an investment in your business. That's the message we have to put out."

Working from home in an extension he had built specifically for C2 It, Catalano said the limited overhead was a definite benefit, adding that having a storefront never made much sense, as multimedia content businesses don't generate much walk-in traffic. He said he is somewhat concerned with the perception that an at-home business may have on potential clients, though seeing the bigger picture is important in overcoming any prejudices.

"But it really comes down to can you deliver the product or not, and that's the approach we take," he said. "So, so far it hasn't been a problem."

Though he enjoys his livelihood, Catalano said that he never thought of or spoke of his work as hobbies that became professions, taking a more pragmatic view.

"I really looked at it as a convergence of technologies that offered some opportunities to those that embraced it," said Catalano, adding that the increased cross-pollination also bodes well for client retention. "Every customer is a potential customer for something else."

For more information including rates and quotes, go to www.c2-it.com or call (631) 472-1744.