Meet Natalie Perez: Co-Founder of She TV Media

We had the good fortune of connecting with Natalie Perez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Natalie, what’s your definition for success?
Success, to us, is found in the small every day wins. Yes, it’s cheesy, but it’s the truth! Being a young start-up business, our company, She TV Media, has been on the fun rollercoaster of business development — with all it’s twists and turns, wins and fails. And let us tell you, there’s no bigger plot twist than finally getting to a place of steady work and strong client relationships followed by the dreadful news that a global pandemic has cancelled all our hard-earned work for the next 6-12 months. It would have been way easier for us to believe that that was the end of She TV Media. That this was all out of our control, and maybe we’ll have better luck next time. But no. We couldn’t accept that. We put too much darn work into this company for some *measly* global pandemic to rain on our parade. We pride ourselves on our aggressive optimism, and Covid-19 provided us the perfect opportunity to really put it into practice. Over the last year, what we accomplished took lots of mental, physical, spiritual, and managerial work. It wasn’t easy, but we were able to overcome, pivot our workflows, and build a stronger business foundation than ever before. That, in itself, is a success. But even more so, we found success in the every day small wins: the virtual high-fives, occasional Friday’s off, every time we said “Go Team!”, and the continual gratitude for our partnership together and the clients who trust us with their vision. That’s what motivates us to wake up every morning and create stunning visual video content for companies and non-profits who are doing the most good.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
She TV Media is a female-owned, full-service video and virtual event production company focused on telling untold and inspiring stories of empowered women and minorities through stunning video content. We created She TV Media because we saw a lack of diversity and inclusion in the media, both in front of and behind the camera. We decided that in order to change the media for the better, we were going to have to become the media. Thus, we started our own company and have been working for over three years now to produce stellar, important, and powerful content. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth it. As graduates from Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television, we knew nothing about business, finance, and entrepreneurship going into this company. The first three months of our creation, we took advantage of every free class or seminar on building a business that we could find, and dedicated ourselves to learning from and asking questions to everyone who was willing to help us. We did not let our ego stand in the way, and asked for help from numerous mentors, business advisors, financial advisors, and fellow business owners.
The biggest lesson we learned along the way was to share all the information we learned. It was such a big lesson that we made it one of the core values of our company: what we learned, we will not keep to ourselves. We grew so quickly because people gave us good advice and mentorship, which allowed us to move past big hurdles– like how to create an LLC, or what type of bank account to open for your business– so that we could focus on what we were good at: telling important stories, and including women and minorities in the entire process.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We love Los Angeles, and LOVE showing people around town. Some of our favorite spots include: – the beach (obviously)
– our favorite iced matcha green tea spot, Bardonna in Santa Monica
– a classic, local restaurant that is perfect before or after you’ve just hopped off a plane, Melody Bar & Grill in Westchester
– if you’re in the mood for dinner, salsa dancing lessons, and relaxed nightclub vibes, The Warehouse in Playa del Rey
– a nostalgic restaurant to remind us of the good old days of studying abroad in Germany, Wurstkuche in Downtown LA or Venice
– To be continued!! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I 1000% agree that success is a shared accomplishment. Nothing about success is individual. So much of who I am today, and the business I co-run, is a result of the mentorship, support, love, and encouragement of some pretty fantastic people. First and foremost, I would not be the Co-Founder of She TV Media if it wasn’t for Meredith Yinger, my business partner, pitching the company to me, and trusting me to build this dream alongside her. Together, we have built a business from the ground up, and we have learned a lot about ourselves along the way. It goes without saying that the love and encouragement from our families was integral to partnership and commitment to our business. We joke that for the first few years, our business felt more like a family-run business. We have never been afraid to ask for help, or graciously accept when people offer to help. It truly takes a village to run a business!

Here are a few people we owe a great heap of our success to:
Wiley B. Oscar (of Oscar Media Group “OMG”), thank you for your unwavering confidence in our dream early on. Not only are you an inspiration to us with how you navigate your careers in the entertainment and tech industries, but also you are a prime example of how to lead and manage a team of people, entrusting them with the vision you set forth. Thank you for providing the resources we needed during our first few years, so that we had no excuse but to get the job done.

Deb Goldfarb (of Biz Made EZ), thank you for being our first Business Advisor. When we first met with you years ago, you broke us down completely. You told the harsh truth of everything about us that was wrong. And then, you gently put us back together, and helped us build a strong, stable, and confident business. Our work will never be over with you (you’re not getting rid of us that quickly!), and we’re so thankful for you on our journey.

Jess Josswick (of Backbone Business), thank you for your stellar business coaching throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We came to you lost, confused, and a bit hopeless, and you helped us realize our strengths, validate our worth, and redeem our confidence in our business! We would not have rebuilt our business last year if it wasn’t for your continual encouragement, good advice, and homework (you know we love homework!).

John Marias (Small Business Association Mentor), thank you for your constant support with our often wild and crazy film/documentary ideas. We appreciate your enthusiasm with every new project we pitch to you, and for your honest and constructive criticism. We value your opinion and believe that it has benefited our projects tremendously.

Website: www.shetv.me

Instagram: www.instagram.com/shetvmedia

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/she-tv-media

Twitter: twitter.com/shetvmedia

Facebook: facebook.com/shetvmedia

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/she-tv-media-westchester-2

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChgUnHVugx8SQZ-j0xLGTww

Image Credits
Michael Bezman Photography