We had the good fortune of connecting with Janice Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Janice, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Hands down the biggest thing that’s led to our success and growth as a business is our customer service. In fact, we don’t even talk about it as ‘customer service’, I’ve just always hired people who care as much about building relationships as I do. Yes, part of that is professional, and ensuring every one of our clients is delighted by the final product and it’s always delivered on time, but another part is creating an experience from start to finish that is not only painless, but enjoyable! We as humans like having fun, and when you can hire a creative partner who not only helps you meet your goals but also makes the process joyful from start to finish, well that’s a huge win in our book. It’s a point of pride that so many of our past clients are now friends, and who doesn’t love working with their friends?!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We are a boutique filmmaking agency based in downtown Durham, obsessed with telling compelling stories and helping businesses grow their impact. While we care deeply about high quality films, we care just as much about the process and experience we offer our clients. We want to take as much work off their plate as possible, while helping them tell the RIGHT stories to compel their audience to take action.

Figuring out where we fit into the market for video production has taken us time. I’ve always loved the idea that beautiful films can do more than just combine a bunch of beautiful visuals, and instead help viewers connect emotionally to a business, organization, mission and other humans. But figuring out how to center that in our business, when clients often want to tell you what they want (not necessarily what will actually get the results they desire) has been a lot of work. This work has centered around a solid process, that we have tweaked and improved over the last 12 years. I now believe what we do differently is guide clients through this process in a way that helps to uncover the strategy that will work best for them, while producing films that drive results and make them proud to share them with the world.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As a vegan, my favorite spot in Raleigh is Fiction Kitchen! While a lot of cities have vegan options, it’s often just vegan versions of regular meaty dishes. And while Fiction Kitchen has a couple of those (I highly recommend the ‘Chicken’ and Waffles!), they also have a super creative menu with lots of things you can’t get at other restaurants. Plus their cocktail menu is outstanding!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost I want to shout out my mom. I started this business as a fun side hustle when I was teaching, and just really enjoyed learning how to shoot and edit in a way that told stories. I wasn’t very good (I promise- you should see some of those early films!), but every time I made a new film she would watch it and just ooze pride. She would send me really encouraging emails back, she would brag about it to her friends, and she always made me feel like I had discovered a hidden talent I didn’t know I had. Without her encouragement in those early days, I don’t think I ever would have had the confidence to even dream that this could become a business. I lost her back in 2016 to cancer, and while imposter syndrome is real for every creative entrepreneur I know, it became a bigger challenge for me after I lost her, and I think it’s because I no longer had my biggest fan reminding me that I could do this, and that I was good at it!

Along with her, when I started my business I immediately found a local co-working space to rent a desk at, and this community was absolutely game changing for my business. Called Mercury Studio at the time (and later The Mothership), this space connected me with so many other creative entrepreneurs in Durham, and gave me both a support group and a cheerleading squad at the same time. The community was constantly there to talk through challenges with, inspire me with their own work, have Friday beers in the middle of the day (the perks of self employment) and gave me my first ‘coworkers’ in this lonely world of business ownership. Looking back on the trajectory of my business I can guarantee it wouldn’t be where it is now without these people, that community and the space they provided us to grow.

Website: www.bigdoglittlebed.com

Instagram: @bigdoglittlebedproductions

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-smith-9aa0279/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigDogLittleBed

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/big-dog-little-bed-productions-durham

Youtube: https://vimeo.com/bigdoglittlebed

Image Credits
Faith Teasley Photography Radian Photography Carolyn Scott Photography Joanna Sue Photography

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