We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeanette Aguilar Harris. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeanette below.
Jeanette, appreciate you joining us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
As an actor, I have always been fascinated by all the other aspects of film making. When on set, I love just watching all the crew members working so hard at their individual jobs, working together to create an amazing film. Everyone on set is important and I just love the collaboration that is necessary to make a film come to life. I wanted to be a part of it all
I took some film, writing, editing and directing classes and my interest just continued to grow.
I am older and figured if not now, then when. So I co-wrote my first film for a class and continued from there.
I have owned a wellness business for almost 25 years so I always see things with an entrepreneurial mind. I also know that if I put my mind to something, I can generally make it happen. So, if I am making films, why not have a production company? That is how Nettybugg Productions LLC came about.
My most recent project is something I came up with while in my daily dance class. My father had dementia and as I get older, I, as probably most people, have a fear of getting Alzheimer’s or dementia. Dance is my passion and I thought, what if I were to get Alzheimer’s and not be able to dance. And what if I forgot my children or my faith? What would that feel like? I wrote the script and Dancing Through the Darkness was born.
As I mentioned before, I think it is a common fear for people that we might get dementia and we all have a passion for something. I felt that the story was relatable and touched on a topic that is often taboo. A topic that should be talked about.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started out as an actor and dancer and graduated from UNM with a BFA in theatre and dance. I moved to NYC and worked Off-Broadway, in Regional Companies, National tours and Improv Comedy. I moved to Los Angeles for film and landed a recurring role in a CBS procedural that took me to Portland Oregon. While in Portland, I continued to work in film, taught at the Northwest Children’s Theatre, choreographed and directed for the professional local theatres, toured with the Brainwaves Comedy Improv group and had my first child. I quickly realized that my work in the theatre and film required me to be away from my kiddo more than I wanted, so I decided to take a leave from that and work in my next love, the fitness industry.
We moved back to New Mexico, where I had another child and I started my fitness and wellness business, Total Body Wellness. Total Body Wellness offers Pilates, Gyrotonic, Functional Training, Cranial Sacral Therapy and Reflexology. We work with people of all ages and fitness levels but our niche is working with chronic pain, injury and scoliosis. I love my clients and I love this work even after 23 plus years.
After my children were grown, I decided to return to my first love and have been involved with the film industry since. I have been fortunate to be cast in numerous movies and TV shows as well as partner with people on film projects around New Mexico.
My father instilled a work ethic in me and I believe that is the reason that I have been able to succeed in business and in the film industry. My dad had big dreams and was able to achieve so many things by working hard and never giving up.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
When putting together my Total Body Wellness business which requires big, expensive pieces of equipment I think the smartest thing I did was to just add equipment as I went along. I started out going to people’s houses and taking fitness to them. The equipment was portable and inexpensive and I had no overhead so it was a great way to start. Gradually, I started offering Pilates mat classes and would rent rooms at yoga or spiritual centers. After paying for a month in advance at a center only to show up and find out that the owners had left the property without a word, I realized the only person I could count on to make sure my clients had a place to go was myself, so I decided to rent my own space. I continued going to people’s houses and doing more mat classes at my new space until I was able to afford my first piece of equipment. Since the new space was small, I started taking private clients at my house as well. Gradually, I was able to afford more equipment, rented the space next door to my present space and moved my equipment to my studio. And that is how I continued to grow. I never went in debt for my equipment. If I couldn’t pay cash, I didn’t buy it. I eventually moved to a large studio and had both a large equipment area and a group yoga/pilates class room.
When creating films, I sort of keep the same idea in mind. I was given advice for writing my first film: write based on a location you know you can have. That way, you don’t create a world in which you have to spend a fortune on locations. This was a great piece of advice and I continue to keep that in mind. Don’t spend before you know you can cover the expense. It really helps the stress level. For films, I look for in-kind donations for space and work with other creatives who understand how important it is to share their space, knowledge, time and energy. And of course, if they share with you, you share with them. Again, collaboration and relationships are key.
Also, we are very lucky to live in a time where we can get people to donate to our projects through social media and the internet. It is so much easier for us to share our vision with the world.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
In my Total Body Wellness business, I think what helped me to build my reputation is that I really listen to my clients and treat each one for their individual needs. There is no cookie cutter method for helping people with pain or injury. I look at every body differently because every body is different and functions in a different way. What works for one person, may not work for other people. I also believe in different modalities, so no session is the same as the last. It might sound trite but honesty, respect and caring are core values. My clients and any one who has ever worked for me know that I truly care about them and their success and that I will always be honest with them and treat them with respect. I have clients that have been with me for 15 years or more and I think that says a lot.
As I build a reputation in the film industry, I believe that everything I have said above applies. When building a team, you are working with individuals with different skill sets and without any of them you can not be successful. Everyone on your team should be valued for what they bring and honesty and respect must always be a part of the collaboration process.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jeanetteaguilarharris.com www.totalbodywellnessnm.com
- Instagram: @jeanetteaguilarharris @dancingthroughthedarknessfilm @totalbodywellnessabq
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TotalBodyWellnessPilatesGyrotonic/ https://www.facebook.com/jeanetteaguilarharris
- Youtube: @totalbodywellnesspilatesnm @NettyBuggProductions
Image Credits
@markgarrett (image in kitchen)