We were lucky to catch up with Joan Montreuil recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Joan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear you experience with and lessons learned from recruiting and team building.
Starting your own company can be exciting and scary, but those aren’t the only emotions new entrepreneurs experience on the job! Entrepreneurship is more than a career choice—it’s a life calling. It’s common for new business owners to experience fear, uncertainty, or a rush of excitement just as I did. I always knew that wherever I was in life, I would be content and I would put my best foot forward to finish the task at hand. In the 90s, I started writing stage play in the church. It started off as skits then it grew into stage performances. At that time, it never dawned on me that I could get paid for doing this! After years of writing for stageplays for the church, my pastor at that time, had sown a $300 seed into my ministry and the first lady had given me luggage to travel the world. This was the very day, I started to really believe in my ability to carry the load. I was also more confident that had something to offer to the world and to honor GOD by writing material that gives hope to others. My pastor believes in the GOD in me even at my lowest points. Having this kind of faith in a little poor girl from the St. Thomas projects gave me the confidence to continue to pursue writing. When I started writing, I partnered with other members of the church and the rest was history. There were no interviews, just passionate individuals coming together, who understood the assignment. Training the team was easy since we all had a passion to learn, this uncommon art at the time and I would go on to write plays for over 10 consecutive years, spreading the message of hope with the very same team! I would not change anything, it was perfect.
Joan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a seasoned playwright, scriptwriter, and author with a strong passion for the Arts. I truly believe that I stumbled upon this blessing after being introduced to self-expression. One Christmas my mom bought me and my sister’s diary notebooks with a lock and key. It’s amazing how I was able to release all the clutter and thoughts in my head from the whole day, writing it down helped me control them and understand myself better. Writing in my diary as a young girl made me feel safe to express my emotions privately. Who would have known that this practice would lead me to write several featured films and self-help books? Born and raised in Louisiana with a poor school system left little room to imagine outside of the system. But through life experiences and a whole lot of lessons, I achieved the craft of storytelling. To this day, I am truly grateful that my beloved mother for introducing me to the art of writing and self-expression.
Moving to Houston in 2005, made me realize that I could do more than just write, direct, and produce. I can also edit, film, cast, write contracts and become a showrunner. As of to date, I provide several services for Writers, Filmmakers, and Media. For instance, I am a showrunner for Wp Writer’s Room, and a Film Editor for Featured | Short Films | Talk Shows | Documentaries | and Actor’s Reels. I am Graphic Designer and I host an annual Film Festival with Brilliant Women In film I will be launching my film academy online this winter season. In addition, I am dedicated to my calling and committed to those who are committed to me. My clients believe in my work and work ethic and therefore I feel that I owe it to myself and to them to continue on making myself better by sharpening foundational skills, learning new skills, or experimenting with new approaches and trends. My goal is to provide professional services at a reasonable fee no matter what everybody else is doing. I am most proud of my family, starting with my husband, Byron who supported me when I resigned from my 9 to 5 job to pursue filmmaking and funded every witty idea and project that I felt God wanted me to bring attention to. He is my number one supporter along with my sons, who are my creative life partners. Sean Johnson, Jr, of Down By The River, LaMarcus Tinker of Friday Night Lights, Devin Brown of Simply Imaginative, and Byron Brown my right-hand administrator. Each one of these creatives which happens to be family is always willing to assist me with my GOD-given assignments! Yes! It was a family affair!
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Nothing is more exciting than coming up with a business idea you believe in. But bringing that idea to life typically requires an investment — and funding a business can be tricky for entrepreneurs without a perfect credit line. A traditional small-business loan likely won’t be possible until you’ve been up and running for a few months, and gain an audience and people who believe in you. Sometimes seeing is believing; if you are into filmmaking, it is slow to no profit. I’ve been lucky to live in residues but for others, they are exhausting their bank account.
I too used personal funding to get the project done, or I will barter with someone who needed my services, but I’ve started extending my film shoots to use residues to fund the next project. Is this a career a sacrifice? Yes indeed! This is not for the weak. Only the strong shall survive. In addition, Remember that when you pursue an investor they may want complete control of your work, so to avoid giving up control or paying high interest on debts, put money aside for filming and bypass the middle man if you can. You may save money, save relations
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Excellence, not perfection, is the secret to growing a successful clientele. My customers are referred to me by word of mouth. The #1 strategy for growing customers is digital marketing but in my field, there is a lot of competition, and I am not willing to post content all day every day. Its time consuming and I am willing to pay the price for little to no business. My goal is to concentrate on the creative side and not the marketing side as of yet. I believe that many businesses fail because we have too much on our plates. We are a jack of all trades but not truly completing the task at hand in a spirit of excellence. The most effective strategy I believe to grow clientele is to have a clear vision of what you want and a strategy on how to execute one task at a time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wisdomproductioninternational.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joantmontreuil/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joan.montreuil.1
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joan-montreuil-0b133834/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz85C1kSZFv9mYHj9KKVTBA
Image Credits
Devin Brown. Deloris Hervey Tania Washington