We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dametreus Ward. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dametreus below.
Hi Dametreus, thanks for joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?
Where do I begin? Its been a long journey to where I am now. Lots of losses but a whole lot of Wins. Id have to take it back to Milwaukee where it started. See back then I would never imagine I am where Im now. Milwaukee was the root because it opened my eyes to want more. I was about 16/17 when photography became something that I really wanted to focus on. Sure Ive had cameras all my life since I was a baby but at this age at the time I had the opportunity to be able to purchase a professional Dslr. It started with just shooting friends, scenery then fashion shows which led me more opportunities. Those that have read or heard about why “213” was a big change in my life knows that was the push. Not knowing “213” was the area code to Los Angeles it made me realize I can increase my opportunities in life. So at that moment I begin to strategize me living else where.
California was the dream but my pockets was not ready for Cali at the time. So I narrowed it down to 2 places which were Texas & Atlanta. I would study creatives and the market to get a scope of how its moving. I also had to consider future growth. Which market do I see myself growing and how rapidly? Texas was my choice since I had Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antoni to network. So I gave myself till December as a deadline in 2013 to move. I moved in December & since financially I wasn’t there I decided to just transfer colleges to help me. So im here & I worked at Wal-Mart overnight to help with income. I stopped senior year & just knew photography should be my focus. I continued to work several other jobs such as Belk, Glasses repair and create, Nightlife event photography, Cable repair technician etc. I didn’t have much time because I was working multiple jobs. I sacrificed a lot of my sleep days to shoot with people on the days I was off because that was the only option.
Fast forward after my boss had sat and talked to me (which you can find details in the last article) that sparked more of how I can scale up. I found myself driving to Houston and Austin all the time shooting with different models and brands. At that time we’re in my 3rd year living in Texas. I told myself if California is still not in my budget what can I do to get me there? Traveled 15 times in LA, 7 in New York & 3 in Miami it was time to make a decision. Year 4 and I chose to just go for Cali. Many don’t know that a lot of the times I traveled I barely had anything to my name. I wasn’t going to let that stop me because If I dont see for myself i’ll also wonder “what if.” Many would probably think im crazy but I knew that I was going to sacrifice to make sure I could do the things I wanted to. I think many of us look at the moment and automatically shut down. We tend to erase the thought because where we are financially. Its a smaller percentage of people that are risk takers and often times become the most successful because of taking the chance. I say this because if you have the chance to do something, DO IT. I had about $8000 in my account & once the move happened I had about $4000.
2018, Im in Los Angeles & I set myself a 6 month goal of being able to survive in LA. Surprisingly things took off in 3 which early opportunities came. I financially was ok and had begin to start buying more gear as apart of growing is investing. I believed more in myself and knew I’d make the costs back. Upgraded gear and I noticed more people started to reach out to work with them. I was full time doing what I love and things were going great. I had consistent clients and new clients very rapidly. Yes, I had moments that were down because I was still adjusting to a new place but what helped was the earlier dedication of traveling to build my name/brand. I encourage many to build their personal brand along with their brand as much as possible. This is how The Meech LLC became a business.
Boom and now the pandemic. Confused on what was happening and how this was going to effect me. Being limited to work just sounded like things were not in my favor. Luckily & Thankfully I still was getting work while the pandemic was happening. Landed a great gig that was for 2-3 months 3-5 days out the week. Making the most money I ever had I used that to upscale my gear again. The pandemic opened my eyes because I really had to think strategically to survive. With the new gear I realized what was holding me back more and that was having a consistent place to shoot. The building I used to go to I stopped going to and many had very limited hours. A STUDIO! That’s what I was missing.
How was I going to be able to afford a studio on top of what I was already paying. For many years I think I convinced myself that it was going to be tough. So time goes by and the pandemic is almost over, I was plotting how I could be a studio owner. Studio was something that I knew I needed as many times I’d be there for work or just creating. I also was able to get my credit in great shape during the pandemic which led to more opportunities for me. I knew this was going to challenge me so I had to make sure I was covering all grounds. I checked out a few studios and the perfect one came along. That was the sign to take the chance since I had been in the position to do so.
The Meech Brand /Meech studios. My next business has involved owning a 1300 sq ft studio in DTLA Arts District. I already had a lot of gear but I also wanted changes done to the studio. With renovations still in the works soon, I have been able to upgrade the studio providing the best experience for every guest. I allow people to rent my space on peerspace (@MEECHSTUDIOS) as well as clients can personally email me to book. I did this because I knew what it was like not having a place that I could create at consistently & so by providing a space and my own set hours allows people to have options come to another event like the pandemic. Closing in on a year the studio has been great. I focus on a lot of marketing and how I can raise awareness to the studio. With everything things take time and I’m a walking testimony. Once the renovation happens I know Meech Studios will evolve and scale. The most important to remember with having a business is thats your baby. What you put in is what you will get.
So whats next? Currently I am studying areas to open up my second studio. I have set a target to have by the end of 2024. Having a business is non stop work but very rewarding when you do the proper things to scale the business. The Meech Brand is a business that offers multiple things. Meech Studios is branched under but I have many things to come, merchandise being one of them. In order to survive you have to teach the mind to always think ahead because things happen that we have no control of. Im thankful to be able to have these business & I’m looking forward to what both of my brands will scale up to.
Dametreus, 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?
My name is Dametreus Ward Also known as Meech. Im from Milwaukee Wi, left in 2013, moved to Dallas TX for 4 years and now living in Los Angeles California. I got into photography at a young age and immediately wanted to explore more. Once I was able to purchase my own professional camera I began to take photos of scenery first. I realized that it wasn’t challenging me and thats when I found a passion in photographing people. We all are unique and different in so many ways and Its a skill to be able to photograph people in a way they feel best represents them. I wanted to shoot for this designer back home and at the time my work was not on the level as the designer. It pushed me to work harder to improve my portfolio. The designer noticed my growth and allowed an opportunity to shoot a fashion show. From there I began to work with the designer on creative projects, lookbooks etc. I found that Fashion & Beauty was what I wanted to focus on.
From there it was about growing. I moved from Wisconsin to Texas. Texas was a new market as it opened up a new light of creativity. I was consistent with shooting and hungry to grow. I got to know many fast especially with shooting night life at clubs. Its not something I really wanted to do but it allowed me to meet people and I used that to my advantage. So going through different jobs I had one in particular where my boss wanted to talk to me. It was about me doing photography. He asked to see my work and was impressed and told me that I wasn’t meant for a 9-5. My work spoke to him and he could see the passion that I had behind it. That was the moment I took the risk of going full time into photography. Which from there I did more networking within the state of Texas and other states such as Cali, NYC & Florida.
So I am a photographer, cinematographer & studio owner. Getting into the industry took consistency, investing, dedication, passion and discipline. I think many think they can skip steps or their are short cuts and I promise their are no short cuts. You have to put in the work along with endless of investing. Believing in yourself goes a long way but if you have those traits as well in believing in yourself you will go very far. Your work will do all the talking for you and people will notice it. I believe what sets me apart is my drive despite any obstacles that I face. I am always thinking of a solution versus just the problem.
What im most proud of is taking the risk. Had I not I would not be where I am today. What I want you guys to know is that I not only do this for myself but for you all. I think of ways I can impact people/the world and this is one of them. You will have tough times but the easy times will overweigh. Dont focus so much of when you will blow up but focus on what you’re currently doing. Are you doing enough ? Could I be doing more? Essential questions we all need to ask ourselves. We all have different timing for things to happen so dont compare yours to the next.
All I can say is thank you to any client, brand, thank you for believing in me and consistently supporting me.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Social media is huge in todays world. It can help us in a tremendous way to elevate/scare ourselves and or brand. I built my following early. At this time I was active on facebook, Myspace, Instagram etc and enjoyed the early years. I went to school for marketing and Finance and so I think the marketing had always played significant role in my life. How can I grow? So at the time I would utilize all platforms, use hashtags and try to study when the best times were for posting content. It required alot of time and consistency but as I traveled I did alot of networking which allowed to bring awareness to social media. I think another thing that has helped me grow my audience, social media was to find your identity. What separates you from everyone? What do you want people to see or know about you. That was the pivotal moment because in Texas much of my growing was done there. Once I reached the LA market it became easier because Im in the mix of the industry and where opportunities happen. So to new people building stay consistent and don’t give up.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy for growing clientele would be a mix between social media and investing. Both play big parts. Social media has more of a national reach which you can put yourself in a position to growing your clients and investing allows you to stay ahead to attract new clients. They both are needed when we talk about growing.
Contact Info:
- Website: meech213.com
- Instagram: @meech213 @meechstudios
- Youtube: meech213
- Other: Peerspace https://www.peerspace.com/pages/listings/64a1310870383c000e84a2bc
Image Credits
1st 4 are my studio @meechstudios bottom the 5th is Clara Wilsey 6th is Danielle 7th is Kelly Rowland 8th is Elizabeth Wood