A tech entrepreneur from North Wales is helping people say goodbye to their loved ones by live streaming funerals in the USA.
Jose Nunes, 39, who lives in Llanrug, in Gwynedd, helps a company in Indiana called Glazebrooks Funeral Services, that films funeral services and broadcasts them via the internet for mourners who aren’t able to attend.
He began doing business with the owner of Glazebrooks Funeral Services, Robert Glazebrooks, through his American business partner Darrell McCutchen, who is based in the Midwestern state.
Jose explained: “A lot of people have moved from the area to find work, and when a loved one dies it can be hard for them to get there in time.
“So, we set up a camera in the church, and then we stream it on the website. People can then be given the website address so they can access it. It’s the closest thing you can get to actually being there. It makes a world of difference to people who can’t make it to the funeral.”
The father of five, who is originally from the coastal town of Cascais in Portugal, is also an internet celebrity, who has received millions of hits on his YouTube channel, accessed by searching for jnuness How to Video and Marketing. He makes the videos at home, using a green screen.
On average the channel receives between 50,000 and 100,000 hits per week, and his most popular video has received over half a million, his total channel views to date are over 2.5 million and fast approaching 3 million views.
Because streaming video on the internet was so expensive, Jose, who is now an official YouTube partner, developed his own service in order to teach marketing to people all over the world.
Ex-carpenter Jose decided on a change of career after nearly slicing off his own thumb with a saw seven years ago.
He said: “I had an accident with a handsaw when I was trying to saw a three by two piece of wood. I severed a tendon. It was hanging off and you could see the bone. I thought that I’d lost my thumb.
“I had to have reconstructive surgery. I needed the operation to get the tendon to work again.
“I took that as a sign to do something different so I stayed at home to look after my youngest daughter Mia, who was a baby at the time. I think it happened for a reason.”
During that time, Jose began to teach himself about internet marketing. Then he created a YouTube channel that he used to pass on his knowledge to others.
He said: “I was making videos for two years before I started making any money, but over that time I built an audience.
“I received an email from Google who own YouTube and they asked me if I wanted to be a partner.
“Being a YouTube partner means you’re producing engaging content that YouTube users want to watch, and you can make more money through advertising. In order to be successful on YouTube or on the web in general, you must produce unique, original and non-deceptive content, this will create happy viewers who return often to see your videos, and as a final result, advertisers will bid for placement on your videos.
“I now sell marketing DVDs all over the world to places like America, Germany and Australia. I also design websites for people.
“I have built my own computer from scratch. It would have cost £15,000, but because I bought all of the parts and put it together myself, it cost a £1,000. There is a video of me putting it together on my channel and that’s got over 100,000 views. With this video, for example, computer parts suppliers compete for advertising space.
“I was always into computers. I got my first one when I was about nine years old. It was a Spectrum zx8. It was just a keyboard, and you had to connect it to the TV because you didn’t have monitors in those days. It was pre Amstrad – the computers made by Alan Sugar. They’re now collectable and sell for hundreds of pounds.
“So it’s always been a hobby of mine, and now I am making money with it. Some people on YouTube are making millions of pounds a year.”
For more information about Glazebrooks Funeral Services visit www.glazebrooksfs.com.
For more information about Jose visit www.marketingvideodiy.com.
