We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jonah Fry. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jonah below.
Jonah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
I’ve always wanted to have a company. Specifically focusing on video production and short form content. Earlier in my life i wanted to be a director, but after being in the film industry I lost a little luster for it and wanted something that i was truly manning the ship, as selfish as that sounds, lol. Once the shift of social media really started affecting creators, I noticed that the way people consume content changed as well. Vertical was slowly creeping in and i figured why the hell not, let’s start making content mainly for vertical posting and traditional ratios second. I think adapting helped me adjust to the new normal of content. It’s not always 60k budgets for 1 video ad, or perfect lighting, good audio for that matter. It became more about relatability and quantity with lower budgets. With that comes a huge trade off, needing more clients but also sacrificing some quality and crew. That was a huge ego check for me as far as how i learned filmmaking and video production. But i had to, in order to service my local area that had to become the focus. So i began to think about “how can i give the best quality content to local businesses, and still maintain quantity. Wanting that content to still look very polished and professional while still checking the boxes of content that people like watching. Once i started doing this with my business partners and honestly figuring out what works and what doesn’t it became clear that whatever we do for businesses has a clear distinction that we created it and that it stands out in our community, which is fucking cool honestly. I’m proud of what we’ve done so far and what we’ll do in the next few years!
Jonah, 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?
I’ve been in the industry since I was really able to work. It’s all i really know. I learned film photography and developed my own film, which was just a hobby, then I learned from my brother that photo and video can be not only a job but a really well paying job. It was then i started to do weddings, work with my brother (for free lol) and eventually made so many shitty videos I finally got good to where people woulds inquire about my services. I then worked at a mega church producing films and content for the congregation, after that i went back to freelance and wanted more financial freedom on my own terms. I met a group of incredible people in that lonely stint of freelancing, fast forward a year later and we started Lettuce Media servicing the Greater New Orleans area! We do podcasts, brand videos, commercials, real estate, testimonials, story driven content. Literally anything video we pretty much handle for our clients. We solve a few problems, one of those is a lot of smaller business’s don’t have the time to put time into creating content, and if they do, *most* of the time it misses the mark. We fill that gap and make their business look top notch. Another thing we do is make ourselves very accessible, I always tell my clients to call me at any time, and I truly mean that, a call on sunday does not bother me, I want my clients to feel like we are a part of their team, supporting them at all times. We have a studio for podcasts and talking head content that our clients can walk in, press record, and hand off to us to edit, then their done. We go through a whole storyboarding session. as well as additions in business devolpment with our business law partners to really get to the vision and values part of the business so the content can reflect that properly if a business doesn’t have that figured out yet. I think we stand out amongst others due to me being so devoted to the industry for as long as I have. Really maintaining quality with the content we create and telling a story in everything we do. I’m really proud of what we’ve done since march 2023, servicing our local business community and giving them an art form that actually benefits their business, that’s incredibly gratifying.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
It’s funny, because now, I’m also heavily in the business side of our company, I wear both hats, sometimes one or the other, and mainly both at the same time. When i got more into the business side of it I really realized how much of a beautiful and complex and nuanced playground the creative flow state is. Especially how that flow state of creativity needs to be channeled. Often times when I’m deep in the business side, I want to run to that playground, to have a sense of being in the clouds where everything is possible and I can stay there for as long as i want. Long story short, it’s so rewarding to understand that the creative realm inside our brains is one of the most beautiful gifts I think humans have, and the fact that I get to go there and am able to make a career out of it makes me very grateful. I would be a very depressed person being in a cubicle. No offense to the 9-5 folks its just not for me.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
This is a tough one, mainly because so many businesses do it differently. For us, we’re all about relationships. I really make every client we have like their in the family now, that they can call me for anything they need. I talk with clients just asking how their day is, sometimes their like “Hey I got the invoice, I plan on paying it today, and i laugh because it’s more than just an invoice or our goals internally as a company. I want to be there for our people and be a friend to them. Maybe down the line we’ll have some CSM’s but i never want to be disconnected to the client. I like providing for people no matter how small.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @lettucemediaco
- Facebook: Lettuce Media
- Linkedin: Jonah Fry