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Life and Work with Shawna Schultz

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawna Schultz.

Shawna, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve loved making films since I got a video camera for my 11th birthday. I would make one-woman shows using in-camera editing, cutting the camera, changing outfits and delivering each line before doing it over again. I loved math, science, music and sports, and I was pretty good at all of them. Which is why it surprised all of my teachers who expected me to head off to some fancy school and become a doctor or engineer when I reported I wanted to go to film school.

I met my (now) husband and business partner, Matt, in high school on the drumline, and we both headed off for film school, pursuing our passions. We loved to work together. We made films together: musicals, documentaries and experimental films (since we went to CU-Boulder).

When we got out of school, we worked for a publishing company creating weekly short documentaries, which was like storytelling bootcamp. Even though two and a half years of that much content created by just two people was burnout-city, it gave us the grit and creative drive to pursue everything that was coming next.

We decided to start our own business, Mass FX Media, and test the waters of entrepreneurship. We left our full-time jobs and shared an office in our little one-bedroom rental. Going from a creative to a business owner was a slight shock to the system, but I made us promise that we wouldn’t get lazy. We would set our alarms, we would wake up the same time every day, we would work normal hours and end our day with the majority of the working world. We were in it to win it.

We were invited to join a 10-person documentary crew for Unreasonable at Sea, an experimental accelerator for social startups to test out their businesses on a global scale by sailing with Semester at Sea around the world in 4 months. Our crew documented the journey and turned it into a web series. I was a field producer and editor, and Matt was a cinematographer and did the graphics for the series.

When we got back, we went through a little bit of travel withdrawal and found ourselves restless. We decided to move from Northern Colorado to Denver to give our business the boost it would need to grow. We had to go where the talent wanted to be.

Here we are, 6 offices later, 8 employees larger and 9 years later, enjoying the challenge of running Mass FX Media, a boutique motion design and animation studio based out of RiNo in Denver.

Has it been a smooth road?
Becoming an entrepreneur is never an easy road. I might call myself an accidental entrepreneur. Matt and I loved our craft, and we were constantly pushing the limits of what we were capable of, so it only made sense for us to embark on forming our own video production company. We have very complementary skills, so it was natural for me to take over the business side of things, but I had a certificate in arts and media and a bachelors degree in film production, what did I know about running a business? Turns out, not enough.

About three years in, I was ready to throw in the towel. Our funds were in the red month-over-month, and I just couldn’t figure out how to why. We were busy 24/7, working weekends, long nights, never getting a break, so what was going on?

I reached out to a local small business development center, and they told me to bring in our P&L statement. I was like, “what’s that?” And they wrote back, “You’ll need to get in sooner than we thought.”

I went through a couple of years of business counseling, business courses, HR training and creative firm accelerator programs to make sure we were running an efficient, profitable operation. The resources that are out there for small business owners are invaluable. A huge shout out to the Small Business Association as brilliantly effective use of taxpayer money. It only makes sense to give business owners the knowledge to succeed!

My biggest advice to people starting out, no matter what kind of business you’re starting, is to get mentors. Plural is important! Get the point of view of various people from multiple industries to help you in all aspects of your business and your work-life balance. Find a business you admire and ask for a meeting, use the Small Business Development Centers near you, take classes and ask questions! Never stop learning and never stop working.

Also, you’ll have to have grit and discipline. It is hard work owning a business, and anyone that tells you otherwise has figured out something I haven’t. It gets easier with experience, but as your company grows, so do the challenges you need to handle. You have to be able to push through the hard times, and sometimes you’ll have to do things yourself to save a little money, but it’s worth it.

My last piece of advice would be, as soon as you stop enjoying it, check-in with yourself. Why are you burned out? What part aren’t you enjoying? How can you delegate? If the answer keeps coming back as “I don’t enjoy this anymore,” move on. You’re allowed to love what you do, and if it doesn’t keep you up at night and get you up in the morning, find that thing that does!

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Mass FX Media – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
At Mass FX Media, we are purveyors of delight. I love that moment when a client, friend or stranger sees something that me or my team has created, and they react exactly how we had hoped.

First, we specialize in non-fiction feature and short documentaries, both production and serving as the animation team to create great opening titles, data graphics or character animations to enhance the story. Our very favorite type of project to work on is documentary, in whole or in part. Recently, we’ve worked on Chasing Coral which was purchased as a Netflix Original, The Love Bugs, which is a delightful short doc making the festival rounds and Into the Canyon, a feature film bought by National Geographic.

Secondly, we serve brands, large and small, local and national, working together to visualize their product or service so their customers will get on board. My strongest skill is taking words on paper and turning it into a visual language that anyone can understand.

Lastly, we serve non-profits. We always joke that our commercial work supports our documentary habit because no production company will sustain on docs alone, but we have a passion for non-fiction storytelling, and non-profits need their stories told. We’re always honored to be able to use our powers for good, so we keep a healthy flow of non-profits on our roster.

Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
I feel the biggest barrier to female leadership right now is ourselves. I think we were raised in a culture that told us to be polite, quiet and to conform, and I think that translates into our work as being subordinate and not asking for what we really deserve. I found it hard to stand up for myself when it comes to credits on films or when I know I can do something, but pretend I don’t because I don’t want to hurt the feelings of the person above me. I think it’s important to have a healthy mix of males and females in leadership because leadership should reflect the population they are leading. The best way to get more females in leadership is to give them a chance and let them lead, and right now, some might just need a little more encouragement. I hope I can offer that as I continue to run my business.

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Image Credit:
Images by Thom Schultz, Larissa Rhodes and screenshots from Mass FX Media’s work.

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