Dan Fisher With Bottle Rocket Media

Intro: [00:00:03] Broadcasting live from the business radio studio in Chicago, Illinois. It’s time for Chicago Business Radio, brought to you by firm space, your private sanctuary for productivity and growth. To learn more, go to firm Space.com. Now, here’s your host.

Max Kantor: [00:00:21] Hey, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Chicago Business Radio. I’m your host, Max Kanter. And before we get started, as always, today’s show is sponsored by firm Space. And thanks to firm space, because without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. And we’ve got a good one for you today. On today’s show, we have the principal and director of Bottle Rocket Media. So please welcome to the show, Dan Fisher. Welcome to the show, Dan.

Dan Fisher: [00:00:45] Thanks for having me.

Max Kantor: [00:00:46] Me. Let’s jump right in. Tell me a little bit about bottle Rocket media.

Dan Fisher: [00:00:52] Well, Bottle Rocket Media is a company that my partner, Brett Sager and I, we started 11 years ago. We’re a video production company that work in the advertising and marketing space and internal communications, which is basically to say we do everything but feature films.

Max Kantor: [00:01:11] Gotcha. How did you guys get into that industry?

Dan Fisher: [00:01:14] So I’ve been in this business forever prior to prior to starting this business. Brett and I, we both met, we were working on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and when the show ended, we were looking for what’s next, and we decided to take matters into our own hands and just start this company to bring broadcast quality work to the private sector.

Max Kantor: [00:01:36] And what year was Bottle Rocket Media founded?

Dan Fisher: [00:01:40] 2011.

Max Kantor: [00:01:41] Wow. Okay. So you guys are like ten years old. So over these ten years, like, what are some lessons that you’ve learned? Because I’m sure along the way things have gone smoothly, Things have gone poorly, you know, what have you learned over this decade plus of experience you now have?

Dan Fisher: [00:01:56] Yeah. You know what? What’s interesting is that for me, this is a this is my second or third iteration of my career. And so starting a business later in life has sort of given me perspective that I might not have had otherwise. Whereas colleagues and friends of mine who start a business younger, you know, they just grinded it out from the very beginning because they learned kind of, you know, learned on the streets for us. You know, we had a little bit of perspective and we knew from the beginning we wanted to create create a community where where the work life balance was good, where the work was quality. And the clients that we work with were of a certain standard. I’d say for me, there’s a few things that come to mind. One is be honest, no matter how uncomfortable it might be, is important these days. I learned through through a couple of relationships that when when you’re not honest up front, it’s just kind of festers and then things become challenging later on. I’ve I’d say another one that comes to mind is there’s no substitute for just doing the work. It’s hard work to to start and run a business. And there’s only so much that you can farm out and have other people do. And, and to really understand what’s what’s going on under the hood, you got to get your hands dirty and take risks, which is a common trope that people say all the time. But it’s true. You have to you have to push yourself to take risks in order to in order for the company to grow, in order for business to move forward.

Max Kantor: [00:03:36] So what does a client have to think for them to go, You know what? I could use bottle rocket media right now. What’s going through their mind?

Dan Fisher: [00:03:45] Well, today, today it’s easy. It’s an easy sell because video is ubiquitous. Everybody needs it everywhere all the time. You kind of can’t get away from it. So I would say that if you have if you have any sort of communications that you want to get out there to more than a handful of people. Video is what my clients are using. I have, like I said, I have internal clients on the larger side that need to communicate with thousands of employees at once. There’s no better way to do that than with video. I have product based clients that need to show off their products to millions of customers. Potentially. There’s no better way than that. There’s no better way to do that than with video. And I have educational clients that are trying to teach people how to. Well, it depends depends a lesson about how to teach people. And there’s no there’s no better way than than video. I mean, personally, I’m a fan of of reading in the written word, but I acknowledge that in order to communicate with with large groups of people. Communicate your message. Communicate who you are. There’s no better way to do that than with video. So kind of anybody that’s in business or marketing that wants to communicate wants to do something with video.

Max Kantor: [00:05:12] So what does a client need when they come to you? Can they come to you with just a concept for a video? Can they come to you with absolutely nothing and you’ll help them build it out? What do they need?

Dan Fisher: [00:05:23] Yeah. So basically. Basically a client can come to us with anything they need with. I’m sorry. Basically, a client can come to us with a fully baked idea or or just a notion that they need a video. We we pride ourselves in being able to step into the process at any at any part of the at any part of it. So. So we have a lot of agency clients and of course, advertising agencies and marketing agencies often typically come with the idea already baked and ready to go. And we have a lot of client direct clients that know they need a video, they want they have a message, but they don’t have the ability to translate that into a creative idea. So at Bottle Rocket Media, we are writers, directors, editors, producers, motion designers, and so we have all these creative people at our disposal, and we build a team to fit the client’s needs.

Max Kantor: [00:06:27] Now, you’ve been doing it for so long. You’ve gone through so many experiences. Do you have a favorite shoot over the years, one that sticks out to you for being maybe unique or fun?

Dan Fisher: [00:06:40] Yes, and not really. There’s just so many. Let me think what comes to mind. So we we we’ve done a lot of work over the years with American Girl. I really enjoy I really enjoy working with them because I like the organization. But also Kid Energy on set is a lot of fun. We did a shoot a handful of years ago that was maybe a dozen kids on a stage dancing with a choreographer. That was a lot of fun for me. The energy was just incredible. The kids were having so much fun. The client was was was really enjoying the results. So that was one. But then we’re in the middle of a project now. We’re working on a series of videos for a client that revolve around conflict resolution. So it’s the almost the opposite. It’s docu style, it’s super serious and educational, it’s super engaging material. And that will definitely be one of my favorite one of my favorite shoots, because the conversations that were had were just enlightening for sure.

Max Kantor: [00:07:55] And I can imagine, you know, doing that wide range of content at Bottle Rocket Media, it just keeps you on your toes. You know, you’re learning every day dealing with different subject matters and how to make it look its absolute best.

Dan Fisher: [00:08:10] Yeah. I mean, I think one of the things that Brett and I did really well was we’ve assembled a talented team of people that have overlapping skills but also individual talents. And so I have, you know, in the design space, if I have a great three D person, I have a great two D person in the in the directing space. I’m I’m a documentary person. But, but Brett and and other other people we work with Mark are might do more scripted work so we’re able to sort of stay stay versatile because people bring different different skills and different talents to the party and we find a way to engage those as opposed to putting our content in a certain box and only doing that thing.

Max Kantor: [00:09:01] Now, I was on your website to learn more about you guys and what you do, and I saw this phrase the bottle Rocket Media rocket sauce. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Dan Fisher: [00:09:15] Yeah, I mean. To me, the the rocket source is something that’s individual to each of the team members, which is what makes it kind of like a secret sauce, I think. You know, Dave, our lead editor, would would look at it very differently than than I might on any given day. For me, the sauce is transparency, both with my clients and with my team members. Authenticity. And mostly, I think it’s this desire to listen and learn from others.

Max Kantor: [00:09:58] Hmm. That’s awesome. I mean, I was reading it and I was like, This is such a fun phrase. And I think it after hearing you explain it, I think it perfectly describes what you guys are going for. And I love how you keep going back to the team, because at the end of the day, especially with what you’re doing with film shoots, the team is so critical and it sounds like you put together the perfect one.

Dan Fisher: [00:10:19] Yeah, I love my team. You know, our philosophy, Bret’s and my philosophy has always been, let’s find smart, talented, creative people. Put them in a room together and get out of their way. And it took us a while to do it since the company started with him and I and a camera. So it took us a while to hit our stride, to get our vision. But now that we’re there, I mean, we work with you know, there’s just under 15 of us at Bottle Rocket Media and probably another ten regular freelancers that are that are with us every week. And then when when we have crews, our crews sizes could be anywhere from three people, a small documentary project to 20 people and above. If it’s more of a commercial shoot. And, you know, it’s just really important to find what what makes people passionate and let them thrive in that space and everybody wins. The creative is better, the content is better, the experience is better. And it’s really how we how we approach every project.

Max Kantor: [00:11:30] Now, this next question is a question I ask every guest that comes on Chicago Business Radio, and you’ve touched on it a little, and I kind of have a feeling of what you’re going to say, but I still want to know for you, Dan, what is the most rewarding part of what you do at Bottle Rocket Media?

Dan Fisher: [00:11:50] Thank you for asking that. It is the impossible question, and I have what I think is a reasonable answer. The. I started this company to make videos and support my family, of course. And so the most rewarding part was the creative process going through, going through an idea with a client, figuring out what it’s going to look like. Maybe it’s a shoot, maybe it’s an edit only project. Maybe it’s all graphics and watching it come to fruition and seeing the joy on their faces when when it looks, feels and communicates what they want. I still love that. Of course. That’s what we do every day. That’s our product. That’s our service. But I think things have shifted for me personally in the last couple of years. The pandemic has, of course, given us a lot of time to think and rethink and overthink how we do business and the way we do business. And I think for me, the shift has come in the area of building the team where it’s no longer about making the video. For me, it’s about assembling a great team that makes the video. I really enjoy working with other people and so I think for me, the greatest joy I have is when my team is thriving.

Max Kantor: [00:13:18] I love that. And Dan, if people want to learn more about Bottle Rocket media or maybe we have someone listening that wants to utilize what you guys do and, you know, pay for your services as a video company, how can they learn more about you guys?

Dan Fisher: [00:13:35] Well, probably the best place to go is Bottle Rocket Media, dot net. That’s our website. And we’re all over social like everybody else. So on Instagram, we are Bottle Rocket three, one two. On Facebook, I think it’s just bottle Rocket media. And we’re on LinkedIn, of course, and I’m all over the place in all those places as well. So but certainly if you want if you want to get the full experience, the website is the best place to go. We have we have a great team that. We have a great sales team that on boards and takes care of everybody and makes sure that the process is seamless.

Max Kantor: [00:14:18] Awesome. Well, Dan, thank you so much for being on Chicago Business Radio. It was great talking to you. And you guys are really doing some really great work, so we appreciate all that you’re doing.

Dan Fisher: [00:14:27] Hey, thanks. Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me.

Max Kantor: [00:14:29] And thank you to listening for another episode of Chicago Business Radio. I’m your host, Max Kanter, and we’ll see you next time.

Intro: [00:14:38] This episode of Chicago Business Radio has been brought to you by firm space, your private sanctuary for productivity and growth. To learn more, go to firm Space.com.