Reality TV bites for some local entrepreneurs

Vancouver is known as one of North America’s top spots for movie and television productions, thanks to its diverse terrain and enticing tax cuts.

However, in the last few years, Vancouver has been increasingly used as the backdrop for reality television. More specifically, reality television focusing on entrepreneurs: The Cupcake Girls, At the End of My Leash, The Stagers and The Last Ten Pounds put the spotlight on business owners around town, detailing what they do, both inside and outside of the office.

Jason Dussault, owner of the clothing line Dussault Apparel Inc., branched out into television in an effort to expand his brand. He had been on several reality shows before, including Gene Simmons Family Jewels and the locally shot Chop Shop, and believed he had a compelling story to tell.

A few years ago, the clothing designer approached Paperny Films and pitched his idea; Dussault Inc. is now in its second season, although it’s currently based in L.A.

Dussalut says the best part about having a televsion show is its reach. For instance, he wanted to expand his brand to sunglasses. In order to create a good storyline, the producers helped him find collaborators, so he didn’t have to do the grunt work.

“The contact base grows expediently,” he says. “It doubled the size of my company by having the production team on my side.” He says his show also gave him “opportunity and access and a little bit of star power” that he wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Michael Procter, co-founder and co-owner of Chop Shop, agrees that exposure from having a show based on his business helped with exposure. Unlike Dussault, producers approached Procter and his partner Daniel Hudon about doing a show based on their rock n’ roll-themed hair salon. It lasted for one season in 2008 and is still in reruns.

“I don’t like or respect reality TV, but we couldn’t argue it was an excellent marketing tool for our brand,” he says.

Although they shot the show with the main goal of boosting their business, having the cameras around ironically put a stop to the way they ran things. “While filming happened, we couldn’t operate as an actual hair salon. It was more of a set. It was uncomfortable for our clients,” Procter says. “They’d have to sign waiver forms or cancel their appointments.”

When asked if they made money off it, he responds: “Are you kidding me?”

The owners were paid for time and use of the salon, but in the big picture, Procter says they made money through national exposure. “When you break it down, it’s 13 half-hour commercials for our company,” he said.

Not everyone is enticed by the idea of national television exposure or getting paid to do their jobs, albeit at the expense of producers telling them how to do their jobs.

Jane Brookes owner/operator of Sugarbox, a Yaletown “waxing boutique”, was approached by an Ottawa-based production company after they read about her business in an entrepreneurial magazine.

“It immediately felt wrong but I told her I’d sleep on it,” she said. “We don’t have drama here and I didn’t want to introduce it.”

Her main concern was over the “delicate nature” of what she did, (ie. maintaining women’s private parts) yet the producer was very “positive and charming that we could work around it.”

Before Brookes opened her Yaletown location, she shared a space with the Chop Shop, and experienced the drama it created first-hand.

“They’ve got this way of getting you to do stuff they don’t want to do,” she said of the producers.

Although she made it clear that she didn’t want to be part of Chop Shop’s show, they still managed to get her involved, on a particularly integral part of her life. The day they were shooting the demo reel was the same day Brookes got engaged.

When the camera crew saw her getting an excited congratulations hug from a client, they convinced her to redo the moment several times, while they were rolling. She says the process was “invasive.”

Although Brookes turned down the television producer's offer even before money was discussed, she says it wouldn’t have mattered.

“Money couldn’t have sold it,” she said. “What a crappy reason to sell out.”