We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dawan Harrison a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dawan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

My mother always said, if you want something to happen, WRITE IT DOWN!!!

It took me years to realize not just what she was saying, but the why behind what she was saying. I would have ideas upon ideas every day about a potential business. Transforming my passions into something fruitful. Having an enjoyable career using my skills and gifts. However, having ideas in the mind only mean those ideas exist in the mind only and not reality. Those ideas have to exist in the real world for them to be manifested, therefore writing them down achieves this. Their physical existence in this world on a piece of paper would now be its’ evidence in reality. The moment I wrote down these 5 words, was the moment my ideas went from a dream to an attainable reality, “Music production program for students”.

I wrote down this idea a year after college while I was producing music for myself and other local artists. 5 years had passed nothing had come about yet from those 5 words, but it’s amazing how the world works. An old college friend who had seen those 5 words in my notebook back then and who I hadn’t seen in years, called me out of the blue and told me she was now a teacher. She said, “I remember you had that idea about a music program back in the day, and my after-school program needs something new for the kids, are you still interested in doing it here?” The answer was of course yes, because now I get the opportunity to prove my concept and see how it worked. The biggest thing that she didn’t know, but I did, was that I had none of the equipment to start the program. At this time I had mostly editing equipment as I was a freelance videographer and editor, but I used others’ music equipment to record. I confidently told her, “I’ll write up a proposal and when it is approved, I need a check for the total cost of the 12 week program before I start.” The proposal was sent on a Thursday, and my check appeared that next Tuesday for the program to start that Wednesday. With that check I went out and purchased everything I needed to start the media production and recording program, and called it the Write M.I.C. MOVEMENT. 8 districts and 18+ schools later, My business in media production with students is going well and continuously growing. Now besides the Write M.I.C. MOVEMENT program. My production company March Forth Productions also has Video Club which is a music video production program, My Broadcast: an interactive Broadcasting program, as well as MEye Photograph: a beginner Photography class.

I was afraid to do a lot of what I’ve accomplished in business. Speaking to people, writing proposals for new ideas, and asking for large amounts of money in negotiations were really tough for me. These were all fears I had, however once I realized that if you can do it once, that means it can be done because it was, so there’s no need to think different. Also, all of the learned lessons, opportunities, and experiences I’ve had in business all came about through one act of obedience. Writing it down!!!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Dawan Harrison and I am the owner of March Forth Productions, LLC. I also am an educator at Muskegon Heights Academy where I instruct Media Production, Broadcasting, and Journalism classes for grades 7-12. My company, March Forth Productions, is a media production company that offers all media production from audio to video. We produce podcasts, offer music production and recording, social media content creation, event video production and editing, however our main focus is media-based programming for schools. The goal of our school programming is to encourage students to try new things, instilling confidence and pride in their work while they gain hands on experience in different areas. The programs we currently offer are: Write M.I.C. MOVEMENT- songwriting and recording program where students record a full album that is released for free online.. Video Club – where students create and shoot a music video production for one of the songs they made in the Write M.I.C. program. My Broadcast – an interactive Broadcasting program where students create their own news show. MEye Photograph: a beginner Photography class where students learn the functions of cameras and how to take professional pictures.

My school programs led to me becoming a Co-Onsite Coordinator for Discovery Quest which is a 10-week summer program in collaboration with West Shore Community College in Ludington, MI, I am able to have a few of my programs there and try out new ideas. Discovery Quest is a great summer program in Northwest Michigan where youths from ages 8-14 engage in numerous fun outdoor activities as well as learn skills such as welding, outdoor survival skills, and photography – to name just a few.

I have over 20 years of media production experience and music production and songwriting experience, as well as over 15 years of experience in education, creating educational programs, working with all grade levels of students (K-12), This experience has allowed me have a career helping others in this field while making the experiences enjoyable and valuable. I was a leader of a band and performed for many years. I have IMDB credits for audio production on films. I take all of this into every class taught and engage the students in a way that most others cannot. Having the knowledge is cool, but conveying that knowledge to all grade levels in a way that keeps them engaged is a talent and that is why we excel in this area. To see the work that students have created in our programs, check out www.marchforthproductions.com

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The biggest goal driving my mission is the creation of a Media Production school where students can earn credit towards graduation. We need more schools that teach a trade and give hands on experience to our youth like was had in the past. Not all students are great at academics, but they have a keen interest in social media and other forms of media production and can really excel in it. So we want to cater to those students and give them a way to make a career for themselves if college doesn’t end up being a part of their futures.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

The most important thing that helped build the reputation of my business was a good product. In my 1st year I had to visit each school and sell my program/workshops to them. By the 2nd year, my schedule was filled by word of mouth publicity throughout the district. While expanding to different cities and districts, I now had a catalog of product on my website to show other schools of what is achieved by the students by the end of my programs/workshops. The majority of my business comes from word of mouth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marchforthproductions.com
• Youtube: March Forth Universe Channel and Just For Kids JFKTV Channel
• Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/writemicmovement

Image Credits

John Harris
Dawan Harrison (self)