We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caletta Harris. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caletta below.
Caletta, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.
Today, there are millions of people in need in America. By serving the underserved community, it really shows how many people are being left behind and hidden throughout our streets. Although serving takes care of their immediate needs, it is dire that we have more housing solutions for those that are unsheltered. I decided to create a documentary series entitled, No Address, to expose what is actually happening in the backyards of America. Since the eviction moratoriums have been lifted from the COVID-19 pandemic, sources are projecting a 40% increase in homelessness. My goal is to bring awareness, break down the stereotypes and create change through this documentary. It is going to take the community, compassionate people and a different mindset to be the change we want to see.
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 background and context?
Caletta Harris is the owner of Reel2Real Productions. She received a vision to start her own production company while attending the University of South Carolina. While studying broadcast journalism, she was fascinated with the creative aspect from behind the camera and the process of producing videos.
In 2006, she founded Reel2Real Productions, a full service video production company that was originally founded in Tampa, FL and now has two locations based in Columbia, SC and Atlanta, GA. Reel2Real directs, produces, films and edits TV commercials, sizzle reels, marketing videos, corporate videos, live/virtual events, documentaries, indie and feature films.
What makes us stand out is our personality, our creativity, our knowledge of the industry and our retention rate. We’ve been in the business for over 15 years and are constantly evolving as the industry evolves. We create your vision or just your thought and turn it into a reality!
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
I guess I would say I had two side hustles with one turning into my main career path. I bartend while I was in college at the University of South Carolina then I moved to Florida 10 days after graduation. I went right into my career as the Production Director at mega church in Tampa, FL. I really wasn’t fulfilled so I decided to start my own production company. I thought I could jump right in and start making money fast but I only had two clients, one of which was the mega church. I really had to learn about business side. It was challenging being a woman in this industry. Many of the men wanted me to do the work to “prove my worth” before they would compensate or they just wanted a date. Naturally, I declined. I was tired of wasting my time so one of my friends gave me the idea to charge a consultation fee before I met with someone to see if they were serious about doing business. I eliminated a lot of people by doing such action. It’s ironic now because 90% of my clients are males.
During that time, the money wasn’t consistent like bartending so luckily, I could fall back on it. I recommend everyone having some type of “side hustle” or plan before you go head first into your entrepreneurship career because anything can happen.
I bartend for another 7 years and in 2013, I officially moved into my first office on Main St. in downtown Columbia, SC. We haven’t looked back and we are still thriving in the midst of all the madness in the world. We are truly grateful. Just know that if you are passionate, persistent and patient, you can manifest anything! We have been in existence for over 15 years and counting…
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy for growing our clientele has mainly been word of mouth. The advantage is that we’ve been doing this work for a while, therefore we have a diverse portfolio. As the times have changed and to gain new clientele, we must follow the social media path and market our work in various ways. It wasn’t a challenge to adapt onto this new digital marketing stage since we dabble in the tech field as well, but it did pose much time to create and share to a new audience. While there are so many platforms out there, we see results through Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Our strategies are based on what areas we need to market for a specific project. For example, the No Address Documentary series is a passion project for our Director so she must be in the forefront by presenting this issue to the media to get the message across. As far as our video production branding services, it requires networking, social media targeting, newsletters and experience in the industry through our visual work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.R2Rpro.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/r2rpro
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/calettalease
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/r2rpro
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/r2rpro
- Youtube: youtube.com/r2rpro