About Today’s Subject:
Gregg & Elise Jaffe
Creator of: Big Teeth Productions
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Website: Big Teeth Productions, Fooditude
Twitter: @bigteethvideo, @fooditudeTV
Being Decisive About Launching a Business
Gregg & Elise Jaffe launched their own video production company, Big Teeth Productions, back in 2005 in Chicago. They provide video production, animation, commercials, etc. In addition to being business partners, they’ve been happily married for several years and just recently became parents to a beautiful baby girl named Carmen. They had the idea for the business after they had been dating for about 6 months, and just 3 months later they officially launched. They do some very cool work – be sure to check out their reel!
“The Best 4 Years of My Life”
Their desire to launch the business grew partly out of attending numerous rehearsal dinners for weddings and watching boring video montages. They thought they could do something cooler than what they were seeing, so they decided to start their own company. At the time, Elise was working at an ad agency and Gregg was bartending. Gregg didn’t really want to work for anyone else, and Elise liked the idea of doing something different from her 9-5 job. While Gregg’s been working full-time on Big Teeth since 2005, Elise has also been able to focus on it full-time since 2007 and she calls the time since then “the best 4 years of (her) life.” Elise handles the producing duties, and Gregg oversees creative. Their decisiveness to dive right in is really inspiring, and it’s pretty encouraging to hear that Gregg was learning everything as they went along; he’s self taught and never had a formal film school education.
Fooditude, a Children’s Show About Food
For several years now, Elise and a longtime friend of hers who’s a dietician have been producing a children’s show about food called Fooditude. The show is a true passion for Elise, and it’s a great example of finding a way to pursue your passion within your work. It’s all volunteer-based, but they produce videos through Big Teeth. Almost everyone who works for Big Teeth has been involved in Fooditude in some capacity.
A Few Insights from My Conversation with Elise and Gregg
- It’s okay to learn as you go. When they launched, Gregg wasn’t an expert on editing. In fact, he cautions against reaching a point where you feel like you’ve learned everything you need to know because we’re always learning. Each day.
- Don’t be afraid to be decisive and dive in, but have the best plan you can. Gregg and Elise decided to take the plunge just a few months into their relationship and a few months after coming up with the idea. But they also had a game plan. When they launched, Elise stayed in her full-time job and even when she quit that, she continued to freelance. Altogether, Elise continued working until 2007 – two years into their business – before working full-time for Big Teeth.
- Good ideas can come from recognizing a need. It seems the idea for Big Teeth Productions grew in large part from recognizing a need for better wedding videos. If you’re stumped for ideas of how to spend your time or what business to start, one approach is to look around you for any unmet needs that you can solve.
- You don’t have to do everything yourself; sometimes it’s best to hand off and delegate. One of the biggest lessons it seems that Elise and Gregg have learned is that it’s important not to be stubborn and think you’re the only person who can get the job done. They’ve grown their staff out of necessity as work has picked up, and their new hires have brought their own talent, ideas, and perspective that has helped the business grow. Plenty of entrepreneurs think they need to do it all, but often, real growth comes when you can delegate and hand off certain parts of your business to others.
Option #1: Just a Taste – a 3-min. Clip
Option #2: The Big Enchilada – the full 16-min. Interview
Want Free Updates from Create the Map?
If you’d like to receive free updates, you can subscribe to my email list, subscribe to the RSS feed, or connect on Facebook or Twitter.
Comments on this entry are closed.