Meet Brian O’Connor of Terrace Creative in Rino District

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian O’Connor.

Brian, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Mindset is Everything. The decision to launch Terrace Creative stems from a variety of experiences. These experiences have shaped who I am today. A couple of years ago, after graduating college, my contract expired with the agency I was working for. My lease was up on the house I was renting and I had $120.00 in my bank account. I packed up my car and moved in with my parents that summer of 2019.

I unpacked my car, got settled into the bedroom I had grown up in for 18 years and looked at myself in the mirror. The only thought that came to mind was, “How the hell did I end up here?” The next few months taught me a lot. When I wasn’t spending my days working odd jobs or sending out job applications, I was in the mountains. I began filming different aspects of the mountains and sequencing video clips together of myself trail running, ice skating, fishing, hiking, etc.. I started to post these videos out on Instagram and Facebook for myself, so I could look back 20-30 years down the road and remember these experiences. I started to film more with my phone even though I was fairly new to creating and producing videos from scratch.

Friends and family started reaching out to me sharing their feedback and responses to my videos. I was so intrigued by the opportunity to tell a story through video in any given moment, I moved forward in buying a camera and a couple standard lenses that came with. The more videos I created, the more rare it became to continue submitting countless job applications and cover letters.

I moved forward and continued investing in camera equipment and editing software that allowed me to take my videos up another notch. During this time, my intent was solely to document, create, and simply enjoy doing it. Family friends started to reach out to me asking me to document what they were currently working on (weddings, events, business promotion, etc.). 

The next step was to take this creative hobby to the next level and move forward with it. Therefore, Terrace Creative was born.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Struggle = Valuable Lesson. There have been many valuable lessons that I’ve learned from other entrepreneurs, business leaders, friends, and family since starting this journey. When launching the idea of Terrace Creative, I knew I needed to build a portfolio of creative, professional work. As with any new idea or business, you want it to be successful. Early on, I wanted success very quickly. This was something I had to learn over time as my portfolio grew. I was constantly reminding myself that “the work I am putting in now will pay off in the end.”

If it weren’t for my three other brothers (Chris, Ed, Kevin) putting me up in their space as most of my clients were in the Greater Denver area, I would not be in the position or have the client base as I do now. I struggled to find a good balance between work-day priorities and life outside of Terrace Creative. After months of calculating how to manage my time, I concluded there is time for each in the 24 hours we are given in a day. If I spent more time outside of current business, I had to learn to make time for it and vice versa, no matter the hour of day.

Knowing my value of work and what to charge clients was harder to work out than I originally thought. At certain times, I would juggle 4-5 projects a month. Some projects took longer than others, and since each project is uniquely different along the spectrum of visual storytelling, I had to learn what I could offer to the client that would still allow me to produce my best work. This process was only learned through multiple client relationships and exchanges.

Please tell us about Terrace Creative.
Terrace Creative is a multifaceted content creation business which specializes in communicating digital media to the buyer persona. Meaningful content keeps people engaged, informed, entertained, and plays a major role in the decision making process. As the Founder of Terrace Creative, it is my job to ensure the client receives the highest quality content package to which that business can maximize its distribution and performance.

From corporate events to brand promotion, Terrace Creative creates content that works and that’s different. We tell stories for clients that leave an impact.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was heavily interested in being in the outdoors. Shoot, I’m still growing up. If I wasn’t playing a sport, or in school, I was doing some questionable things with my friends or brothers. I grew up in a small ranching town called Westcliffe, Colorado. There wasn’t much to do, luxury wise, so that forced myself and my friends to create our own experiences.

When I could, I would grab my family’s video camera and make sure the battery was juiced up to document a full day of shenanigans. Even if there was no goal or purpose of the day, my friends and I would find a way to do so…and I got it all on camera. If I wasn’t in school, I was playing a sport or outside with friends. I was surrounded with a great group that loved the outdoors as much as I did. If it meant creating memories that we could all reminisce on many years later, that’s what we would do. That was our motivation to hang out.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 719-323-8344
• Email: brian@terracecreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terracecreative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terracecreative/

Image Credit:
Alec Savig (Black & White Photo, Me Jumping Into Water)

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