Today we’d like to introduce you to Quaniece Fish.
Hi Quaniece, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. I started this company out of my friend’s studio apartment. I had an e-commerce store at the time and I recruited so many brand models that we would set up his photography equipment and invite all the models. I met most of the brand models on campus, I was still in college at the time. The photoshoots I was organizing started to grow bigger and bigger.
One day, I jokingly said that I should start a production company with all of the resources I suddenly had. Fast forward, I did start that production company. When I first started the company, we mainly focused on casting other productions. We had so much success with that, that now I have an actual studio that I rent monthly for our use!
From networking and grinding, I have been able to produce so many amazing productions that help tell the unique story of different people and brands. We have even worked with Google! This whole thing started in the living room of a studio apartment in Durham, NC.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way? One of the challenges I faced throughout was a lack of funding and clients. For the first 3 months of business, the company did not make a single dollar. So that consisted of me spending money on different content development things, with no return for a while.
I also found it difficult to run the majority of aspects of my company by myself. I tried to get friends to help but they had their own lives and businesses in mind. I also had some struggles with mindset. At a certain point last year, I was buried under back-end paperwork and being on set every other day.
I no longer had relaxation time or self-care days. Eventually, I was able to find a better work-life balance.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others? This is always such a hard question for me because as a creative, I do so much! I love to create in as many different ways as possible. I wear many hats these days. I am a producer, creative director, actress, content development strategist, digital ad specialist, and casting director.
It’s hard for me to say what I’m most proud of because I love all the different things I do, but if I had to pick something it would be my casting department. I worked so hard to become a person who can help bridge the gap between productions and black/brown talent. Being a casting director has allowed me to meet and work with some of the best upcoming talents in the southeastern region!
I also started a training program to teach new models how to build their portfolio, personal brand, and education to start landing bigger auditions! Sometimes, when I look at our Instagram page it blows my mind that without my company I would have never met most of the talented people I’ve worked with or still work with!
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey? The most important lesson I’ve learned is to believe in yourself when no one else does. When I told people my vision for this company, they thought I was crazy. I had family members encouraging me to go to graduate school rather than chase my entrepreneurial dreams.
I had friends who would say things like “ but how you going to get clients” “How are you going to find talent”, I just experienced a lot of people placing their doubts and fears on me. Now, all those same people say they are so proud of my journey.
So the lesson is sometimes you have to be your own biggest support until others can finally see your progress.
