The NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center and North Iowa Area SBDC are proud to announce Eric Burt of EB Edits in Mason City, Iowa as the July 2026 Entrepreneur of the Month.
EB Edits provides photography and videography services for sporting events, teams, businesses, organizations, concerts, livestock shows, FFA events, races, and community events. “I do a wide variety of video and photo projects,” Eric said. “Initially I got started doing sports photography, videography and that moved to team photography, including work with content creation like athlete college signings, posters, banners, team senior banners. The entrepreneurship program at the NIACC Pappajohn Center led me to get into some more event-based videography and it’s gone from there.” While sports remain the foundation of Eric’s work, each new project has expanded both his experience and the services he provides.
Eric picked up photography as a hobby after his son was born. Wanting a quality camera to document family memories, he soon realized he could also use it to photograph local sporting events. As a high school coach, he already knew coaches, athletes, and parents who wanted action photos, so he began taking pictures at games and reinvesting every dollar back into better equipment. “I’ve always had a little bit of a side hustle,” Eric said. “I like to make extra money.”
One of Eric’s first business breakthroughs came from recognizing a gap in the market. While school sports and recreation leagues traditionally offered team photos, many travel sports organizations did not. Seeing an opportunity, he began providing photography for those teams, giving families keepsakes they otherwise would not have received while creating a steady stream of business. As his client base grew, Eric wanted to strengthen the business side of his operation. After encouraging many of his own students to participate in entrepreneurship programs through the NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, he realized it was time to take his own advice. “I kind of did a little self-reflection and thought, maybe you should practice what you preach,” he said. Eric enrolled in the Spring 2024 cohort of Venture School, the University of Iowa’s statewide entrepreneurship program offered through the NIACC Pappajohn Center.
In Venture School Eric gained practical guidance on pricing his services, understanding the value of his equipment and experience, and building confidence in his business decisions. “One of the bigger things was getting pricing figured out, not just coming up with numbers out of thin air,” he said. “It gave me a ballpark and a way to figure out what my time is worth, what my equipment is worth.”
The experience also connected him with fellow entrepreneurs, mentors, and business leaders who continue to serve as resources today. “It pushed me out of my comfort zone,” Eric said. “The networking and the people I met in the program has led to so many different jobs. It was also really nice to have a group of people that I could ask questions to who I knew had my back. To have those people in my corner really built confidence and helped me out big time.”
For Eric, entrepreneurship is about more than building a business. It’s about creating something meaningful for the people he works with and preserving moments they can revisit for years to come. “There’s nothing better than having somebody watch a video I made and say, ‘You captured what I was hoping it would’ or ‘It exceeded expectations,'” he said. “To be able to do that and then provide that to them and know that it’s something they can reflect back on is something I definitely take pride in.”
For others considering entrepreneurship, his advice is to start, ask questions, and take advantage of the support available. “Just go for it,” Eric said. “It takes work. But when you’re doing something that you enjoy it literally doesn’t seem like work.” He also encourages entrepreneurs to lean on the relationships they build along the way. “When you’re starting something new… you think that kind of you’re on your own,” Eric said. “But when the class ended, those relationships don’t end. You can still go back and ask questions, and you realize that you’re not alone.”
