Two Dogs Barking

Striving to Serve: Giving without expectations

THE POINT IS...

We all have mortgages to pay.  We are all trying to make a living.  Small businesses are difficult to keep afloat.  In our case, we are a service business so we are also working daily to educate the world on the value of what we have to offer.  Still, for us, there is no greater joy than to take the skills we have and use that to support organizations whose goal is really the greater good.

"Find a non-profit you believe in and offer to help them in any way you can.  Non-profits always need support from small businesses.  But do it because, in your heart, it is the right thing to do, not because you have any expectations for what your partnership will do for your company."

This advice was given to me when we decided to open our office in Tacoma.  It has guided Two Dogs Barking Productions every day for over six years.

THE PROCESS WAS...

We wanted to get entrenched in our community after working in the Seattle TV market for many, many years.  We are residents of Tacoma and we love this town!  I read about the Dugan Foundation in the Tacoma News Tribune not long after I was given this advice.  And I am very proud to say Two Dogs Barking and Dugan Foundation have enjoyed a fantastic relationship since the very first time Julie Dugan and I met at Meconi's for a glass of wine.  During that meeting, I told her what we do and asked her how we could help.  She had zero budget for video.  It didn't matter to us one whit.  We believed in the Dugan Foundation mission, and that was enough.

THE FINAL RESULT...

In the years that have followed, and we believe it is partly due to the non-profit education we've received from the Dugans, we have had many opportunities to work with other non-profits in a variety of ways - from videos to event management.  Every time we partner with a non-profit, we walk away with a sense that we have had played some very small role in helping them reach their goals.  There is a euphoria that comes with that ~ a feeling that doing what we do is more than a job, it can change lives.

I don't want to make us sound more philanthropic than we really are.  Over time, the Dugan Foundation managed to find a budget for having us produce videos for the Fur Ball.  And somehow, Julie persuaded me to stage manage the event... which I do with gladness in my heart as an unpaid volunteer.  But also through that relationship we have formed life-long friendships.  We have been given free access to the ups and downs to starting, growing, and managing a non-profit.  We have also developed a trust with them that allows us to be an on-call creative brain trust.

A LITTLE PIECE OF DUGAN...

A couple of examples of what a great relationship can look like...

First, this was pulled from a larger video produced for their main fundraising event, which included a peak at a PSA we produced for them.

This one helped the Dugan Foundation raise around $15,000 during the fund-an-item portion of the Fur Ball in 2009.  Not bad for a day's work.

MAY I OFFER THIS ADVICE...

Business is about relationships.  Go out and find a non-profit that stirs your soul.  Give freely of your talent and skills.  Do it without expectation.  You will be the one in the long run that reaps the greatest benefits.

Two Dogs Recipe for a Successful Video Shoot: Bramble Berry Soap Making

Ingredients for a Successful Video Project

Start with a forward thinking business owner

The most difficult challenge of operating a small video production company is finding new clients who understand the power and multi-uses of video (dvd, streaming, etc.).  Fortunately, there are those occasions where just such a person crosses my path. 

Anne-Marie Faiola is the brains, the beauty, and the business-owner behind Bramble Berry Soap Making Company.  I met Anne-Marie after I booked her on a pilot for the program 'Maximum Living with Randy Alt.'  From that meeting, the idea of creating a 'Learn to Make...' dvd was born - which you can buy on the Bramble Berry website, or on Amazon.

Mix equal parts: client who knows her product  and
producer who knows her role
Anne-Marie is the Soap Queen. She is ridiculously knowledgeable about her product because she is so passionate about what she does.  The key to our working relationship was the mutual respect we had for each other's knowledge in our respective fields.

Slowly stir together a collaboration of ideas
Anne-Marie knew what she wanted the end result to feel like for her customers.  But, she also was open minded and eager to hear about how, as a producer, I was going to get us there.  In the end, the final project is a balanced mix of both our ideas and vision - as it should be in any video project.

Add a detailed, formulated shooting plan
My job as the director/producer on this project was to make sure that we had a strong plan when we went to shoot.  As a producer, my number one goal is to do all the pre-production work so the actual production will go off seemlessly.  It starts with a strong script, add a great crew, and finish with a second, third, fourth check of all the details.


Blend creative crew with room for new ideas
Hand-picking a crew to suit the particular shoot allows me to bring in the right mix of creative energy to the shoot.  Each member of the crew adds a different perspective based on their own experiences on past shoots and projects.  To allow the crew to have a voice elevates any project.  It is the role of the producer to check the ego at the door and ask for input.

Sprinkle in a dash of humor
Production is hard work.  There's never enough time.  There's rarely a big enough budget to hire enough people.  Every one there knows that every shoot is a learning experience as every shoot is different.  To be successful, both client and producer must find the humor in the moment, roll with the problems and have a positive outlook on finding the solutions.

Thank you Anne-Marie and your staff for a great experience!  Learn more, follow Anne-Marie, here:

supplies: www.brambleberry.com

blog: www.soapqueen.com

retail store: www.otionsoap.com

learn: www.soapqueen.tv

2 'Great Start' lessons learned at Two Dogs Barking

Two Dogs Barking Productions has been in business for a number of successful years. Very early on, we learned two important lessons that have guided and defined our work.

LESSON #1: Sometimes the obvious answer is the best solution. 

Many years ago my husband and I were outside and our two cocker spaniels were in the house and each gave out a quick bark in unison.  It was one of those serendipitous moments when we both said 'two dogs barking' and in the next breath one of us replied... 'that'd be a good name for a production company.'  Of course there is some ongoing debate on who actually said it.  Nonetheless, it was at least another 4 or 5 years before the shingle was hung... and there was only one obvious name to go with:  Two Dogs Barking.  

One of two things happen whenever I'm asked the name of my company.  Either the next question is:  How did you come up with the name? Or, I'm told 'Oh I've heard of you.'  I remember being at a funeral a few years ago when one of the attendees made that comment after we were introduced.  As flattered as I was, I knew it wasn't likely she had heard about Two Dogs Barking.  She had flown in from rural Alabama to attend the funeral.  I'm not arrogant enough or naive enough to believe we had reached her neighborhood with our work.  But, the conversation did make me realize that we had chosen a company name that resonates with people.  It is unique enough to pique interest while being clever enough to stick with you.  And isn't that the goal for any small business to stay in the minds of our customers and potential customers.  Now I don't know if that woman will ever need any video production done, but I'm sure if she does, she'll remember our name.

The best choice for us in choosing the name of our company was the most obvious one.  And it has served us well.

LESSON #2: To be your creative best and do your best creatively, surround yourself with the most creative people you can find.

Through a series a unlikely events I was fortunate enough to meet Michael State of m.state design in Seattle.  The first time we worked together on a creative setting was for the L'Arche Tahoma Hope  2005 auction.  I could see he was a creative genius immediately and that he has a gift for understanding the imagery needed to tell a story.  When we met about Two Dogs Barking,  Michael was very inquisitive about our vision for the company, but also very deliberate in his questions.  It was through the incredibly  eye of Michael that our logo was born.

For many years prior to opening Two Dogs Barking, I worked for a variety of sizes of broadcast companies with any number of layers of management.  And as anyone in the creative field knows, it is difficult to get 'suits' to understand the environment in which creatives shine.  We need  to feed off one another.  What I quickly realized after working with Michael was, that as a small business owner, I could chose who I worked and collaborated with... so why not choose the best?  Since that time, I have had the opportunity to join forces with many amazingly creative and brilliant people.  In future blogs, I will be sharing information about these people as my way of saying 'thank you' for making me better at what I love to do:  tell stories.