A Small Business Owner’s Tale
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. – Oscar Wilde”
We’ve all had a fleeting thought or ten that seems like it would be an amazing career. Compounded with the sentiment that if you just go out and follow through with a plan, you’ll be successful or at least “ahead of the field” - whatever that means. But my truth is, a. unfolding moment to moment, and b. that it took more than an idea and follow through to start my own small business. To birth my baby agency, I needed to call on something I hoped was still hiding deep down inside: a dream.
My first love is and always will be storytelling. Since my debut as Dorothy in the second grade production of The Wizard of Oz, I’ve been hooked on inviting audiences into new worlds. Crafting narratives that reach people is my way of connecting to others. When working with such precious material- human stories- you (the royal) face challenge after challenge. Are you portraying the truth of the moment? Are you capturing the passion within the person? Are you breathing life into work that will evoke audience engagement? Most importantly, are you being true to yourself?
The theater was always a place that I could be the most me. Not “extra” or in authentic, but rather the most genuine version of myself. After studying at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and working at one of New York City’s top theater companies for years, my interest in taking hold of the narrative and directing deepened. Quickly, I started producing video segments and interviewing emerging arts. That segment producing morphed into freelance work and eventually blossomed into creating my own creative agency/ production house, Cherry Orchard.
Why the name? Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov was the very first play I ever worked on when I moved to NYC at age 18. The play is reflective of societal changes (of the period- but relevant today more than ever), what it means to morph expectations, and the simple truth that the cherry tree’s will always blossom and have a chance to grow again- year after year. They adapt and so do we.
I launched Cherry Orchard Creative because I uncovered my childhood dream in it’s adult form: to be the storyteller of your dreams. We aim to take your brand, company, product, and passion- and share it with the world.
So, what’s the business model for sharing dreams? So far, it’s a unique formula of heart and humility. The client is always the expert. I am the interpreter. Creating a video , whether it is branded content, an event piece, or an interview, is a collaborative process. Storyboarding, executing on set, and delivering a beautiful package that reflects your desires, is my absolute epitome of success. But how does that actually happen? How do you take that plan and put it into action?
It starts with one project. Make the work. Do it for free (ahh). Get people to trust you and your team. Then repeat (probably for free again). Then repeat (probably for free again)- not a typo. Then, just when you’re about on that last sip of 2 buck chuck, take stock of the hundreds of people you’ve reached out to and reach back out. Develop your connections by careful, thoughtful repetition and persistence. Show people who did not respond or who responded with a “This is not the write timing, but we’d love to incorporate video into our plan in the future” a sample of your work. Yes, you did it for free (or really at a cost to you- your team always needs to be paid properly- not to mention time is $), but you did it to have something to show. You did it to become an expert. You did it to build a brand. After all, you can’t be trusted with somebodies dream until you’ve started curating your own.
Seems like a pretty basic concept, right? Do work you love and then try to get paid to do work you love. In some regards, it really is that simple. On the back end, learn how to bookkeep (big one), further develop your skill set with advanced education, go to events in your community, develop a team of freelancers (until you can afford that coveted first employee), reach out to people that seem like a long shot, get scared and go wild.
The absolute best decision I made when revving up was to talk about my business with every single person that would listen. The biz was not going to grow if it was only a teeny dreamling in my imagination. Nourish your ideas with action. Be relentless. Get scared. Get motivated. And remember- the cherry trees are only just starting to blossom.