Interested in starting your entrepreneurial journey but not sure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tania Sarra - Founder of Hot Sauce For Film - based in Toronto, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Filling a much-needed gap in the film industry, I created Hot Sauce after spending 13 years as a film executive watching talented filmmakers and incredible producers with amazing stories fall through the cracks without any hope for distribution. It wasn’t so much their ideas that weren’t resonating, but how they presented and packaged them. The other thing missing was access – to information and a network. There was nowhere to find reliable advice about the business behind the film business – how to navigate it and reach the right people to navigate it with. So, I decided to create a company that solved both problems. Using my years of expertise and vast network of contacts, I provide a dedicated service that offers workshops, educational resources, and one on one, tailored services for feature film and TV projects to help great creative ideas find their audience. Hot Sauce allows companies in the early stages of development to completed products, align their thoughts with market economics, secure the best distribution, and do it all without compromising their identity, beliefs, or creative merit.

Tell us about yourself

I’ve always had a passion for helping others – whether that be through philanthropy, mentoring, or finding small ways in my day-to-day life to make a bit of a difference. When it comes to the film industry, I know firsthand how daunting it can be. Like many industries, it’s tough, grueling, and incredibly competitive. I also know how powerful storytelling can be – to entertain, escape, dream, and change the way people see the world. But none of this can happen if great stories don’t find their audience.

With my passion for helping, I realized I could take my commercial sentiments, combine them with my business acumen and help people with extraordinary stories navigate a daunting industry. This thought process led me to the idea behind Hot Sauce, and it has since been the most rewarding experience. Giving my clients the knowledge to feel confident in their ideas and help drive the power of storytelling is the single-most factor motivating me to continue doing what I do every day. In essence, their success breeds my success. There’s nothing that makes me happier than being able to make that little bit of a difference so that others can make a more significant impact on the film industry and propel their careers forward.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Honestly, survival is one, and growth would be the other. I knew there was a market for my idea – not just based on what I witnessed throughout my years as a film executive, but I also surveyed the market before launching to truly build a case for what I wanted to set out to create. I took the time to learn what my prospective clients wanted, to understand what they needed and the best way to deliver it. It allowed me to speak more directly to them, and it provided an opportunity to craft products and services that would be successful. The more I created that dialogue with them, the more I built trust and tailored what I do to facilitate growth across my business.

My educational content grew interest in my workshops, my workshops brought in one-to-one clients, my one-to-one clients proliferated across complementary services, and over time those one-to-one clients became retainer clients, creating consistent income I could rely on month to month. The great thing about being an entrepreneur and business owner is that every day brings a new opportunity to learn and new opportunities to grow. The more I educate myself and continue to listen to my clients, the more innovation I can bring to my business, and the more I can build upon what I’ve created. Thinking about where I was just over a year ago when I launched Hot Sauce to where I am now is a huge accomplishment. And I know it’s just the start!

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

I think most business owners would say insecurity. It's definitely the hardest thing for me. When you have a salaried job, there's this illusion of security. I say illusion because, I suppose, at any time, you could be let go, but most people don't think about that. They know they have a paycheque coming in every month, which gives one a sense of security. Also, if something fails in a salaried job, there's usually a company's safety net. The company won't fold if you make a mistake, but one small mistake could jeopardize your business as a business owner. It takes a lot of trust in oneself, belief in what you set out to do, and passion.

But it can truly be scary to think about where your next paycheck will come from at times. For me, it's been both a challenging experience but a rewarding one. Nothing gives you more validation than succeeding through fear. I've learned that fear, healthy fear, is necessary sometimes – it creates a need for action and when harnessed properly can create an environment of proactivity.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Survey your prospective market. Don't go into your idea blind or with over-confidence. Learn and re-learn from the ground up to make sure your product or service will stand out amongst the rest, fills a gap in your target market, and is something your target market is asking for/needs. Don't go it alone. Although I run my business on my own, I have a vast support network that I rely on for advice, to run ideas by, and in general, to help when I need it most (see the answer to the previous question)! As the saying goes, it takes a village…which leads me to my next point -- Use all the tools at your disposal. I almost answered time management to the previous question, but the reason I didn’t is because I use many different business management tools to help make my day more accessible and more organized to help automate processes and accelerate production. There are business growth tools too, which is why I find what Subkit is doing so interesting. This isn't a plug but an example of one of the many tools available to small business owners.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

This quote from Christopher Nolan resonates as I have always dreamed of achieving great things since I was a kid. At many points I doubted myself and at many times I still do. But the ability to dream is a beautiful thing, and I imagine anyone reading this might have their own dreams too. And because, sometimes, dreams do become a reality. “I have been interested in dreams since I was a kid. I have always been fascinated by the idea that your mind, when you are asleep, can create a world in a dream, and you perceive it as though it existed.”

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.hotsauceforfilm.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hotsauceforfilm/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.