Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Addie Bondhus (aka Silent H) . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Addie, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
As a single mom in 2006 I quickly realized I had a choice to make in terms of raising my daughter. I could enroll her in childcare full time as I worked for someone else and sacrificed all of my time with my kid. Or I could work for myself doing what I’ve always loved, photography. Growing up as a model in southern Florida I was always on the set of some print shoot or commercials. I would spend hours watching the photographers and directors work, imaging myself older as one of their co-workers. It was the one things I truly enjoyed about being a child model. It was a way to escape the abuse I was going through at home and it kept my mother happy that she had more money flowing through her bank account. One fond memory from those days was getting to develop my own photos in my darkroom as a young teen. Once I became a mother myself I knew I wanted to provide a happy experience for those who wanted to break into the modeling world. I started working with local talent agencies and before I knew it I was at auditions with multiple women holding composite cards and headshots that I photographed. Shortly after, I started photographing live music. It felt like a dream to work with people I grew up admiring. The Monkees was my first major band I shot. Right before Davie Jones passed away. Followed by bigger names such as Motley Crue, Gym Class Heroes, Yellow Card and so many of my favorites. Years later I would find myself with an opportunity to work in Los Angeles. I left my production companies, my five year gig at Home Shopping Network, and hugged my childhood friends goodbye. My first weeks in LA I shot with Hallmark Networks, multiple recording studios, and landed a part time job as a assistant and nanny to Al Pacino. Which, years later, would push me right into the heart of Las Vegas. A place I proudly call home today.
Addie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
After burning myself out in LA, and realizing I wanted nothing to do with the entertainment industry, I left to move to Las Vegas. A place I never even imagined visiting. My time working with Al Pacino was wonderful. I learned a lot about people and how to manage multiple chaotic personalities. The 6am conversations Al and I would have made me realize I was young and had ambition to do more in life than work for others. When I wasn’t working for him, shooting on other sets, working on my live Sirius XM show, or being with my daughter, I was on a stage somewhere telling dirty jokes for an extra hundred dollars. Some of the LA comics would visit Vegas on the weekends and invited me. I fell in love with the city. Telling jokes at casinos, I felt like it was my Rat Pack era. I quickly fell into the cannabis industry as I started stand up at cannabis cups. I was dubbed The Chronic Queen of Comedy. I was the only female stoner comic during those years. We would tour back and forth through Nevada and California. Once I met my husband, we both realized we grew cannabis and wanted to get into the legal side of it. We assisted in the legalization of cannabis and helped the start of The Dispensary. It didn’t take long to realize we needed quality media to market our retail operations and desperately needed an educational program for staff and customers. That’s when the second round of my photo and video career came alive. I became the first media company to cater to the legal cannabis industry. Cannabis is the most highly regulated industry, every photo or video I create is created with such intent and purpose to convey proper messages but also maintain legal standing within the state’s regulatory system. Silent H Productions is a nod at my husband who first introduced himself as, “Ryan Bondhus, silent H.” After seven years of producing cannabis mainstream media and managing seventeen major brands, I started seeing others copy my work. They would create their videos exactly the same. Started using voiceovers, a specialty of mine. Hell, one local photographer even started dressing like me, wearing the same colors I wear, and quoting the same Wu Tang songs I quote. I found myself one night in my studio, depressed and feeling like I was done in cannabis media, I asked myself, “What hasn’t been done yet? We’ve only been legal for less than a decade!” And just like that, cannabis romance books came to mind. I started researching as much as I could and I could not find one solid book that could be categorized in the genre I had in mind. So at the start of 2020, Vegas Budtender Diaries: A Cannabis Romance Series was born. I sit here now in 2024 just months away from my release date. The book encompasses some of what I’ve gone through since moving from Florida. Everyone has always said I should write a book and it also gives my copycats a challenge.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
In all of my years working in cannabis retail media, I’ve realize two things. One, that 90% of the customer base knows more about the product than the Budtenders do. Two, marketing only matters if it benefits the customer. That’s why I prioritize customized educational media for each brand I represent. Finding out what the customer wants and how to get it to them while still maintaining profit margins is key. Creating educational videos for my clients has been one of the most important aspects of what Silent H Productions provides. The countless hours of pre-production, the mandatory 4am shoots, the torturous editing and re-edits, and more re-edits, it’s all exciting to me and gives me such a rush! I come from sets with two hundred crew members and here I am doing every job alone in my production company. When I shop at a dispensary and hear them say something that obviously came from one of those educational videos, I know my job has purpose. My clients have become like family and friends. Just treating them with respect, giving them the most honest feedback, and mostly remembering their likes and dislikes is what keeps our relationship alive. Having a good CRM helps but going above and beyond with things like birthday gifts for their kids or just being there as a friend when things are tough, it goes a long way. The cannabis industry is very competitive so providing my clients with different experiences is how I stay loyal to their brands. Following brand book guidelines is essential.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
I’ve always said if you want something done right you have to do it yourself. I think it rings true especially when building up your clients. If you want something, go out and get it. When it comes to clients, I find if I attend events and become a part of the community that is the only way to make sure that I am relevant and on the forefront of their minds. Offering free photos or a free promo video is usually what I do. If I am at an event for a specific vendor that I have yet to work with, I will send my footage to them with a one sheet breaking down my services and prices. Nine times out of ten, I book the client that way. Sending an email is great and all, but meeting someone in person can seal the deal a lot faster.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.SilentHProductions.com
- Instagram: @addiewrites420
Image Credits
Silent H Productions