July 1, 2019

Meet Ian Starks of Starks Enterprises in Pasadena

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Starks.

Ian, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Since I was about two years old, according to my mother, all I talked about was getting a chance to be on Sesame Street. She was afraid, for good reason, to allow me to go into the entertainment industry at such a young age so it was always kind of gently laughed off and subject changed. My parents did fortunately allow me to do school plays which then lead to after-school performing arts programs. I’m an only child so I had a lot of alone time, and what I enjoyed to do most in that quiet time was to write songs, poems, and most importantly, screenplays. I eventually sat down with my parents and ended up striking a deal with them around 15 years old that once I graduated high school I could have their blessings to pursue the passion to get into the entertainment industry. My parents reluctantly but lovingly obliged. My father wanted me to go the military route and my mother wanted me in politics or law. They both had good stable careers. My mother was a court reporter for Superior Court, and my father, after the military, landed a good government job.

So at 17, after completing high school, I “officially” started my journey. I enrolled at Pasadena City College in the TV and Radio program and after about two semesters in college, I landed a gig at LA’s top Hip-Hop and R&B radio station at the time. So, of course, I did what any young kid would do after really feeling himself because he landed his dream gig and first job ever: I dropped out of school. But with this extreme high came the extreme low of suddenly losing my father in the very same weekend. This kind of foreshadowed my life of extreme highs and extreme lows that, through faith, I have learned to navigate, overcome and push through. Over the next 13 or so years, I worked at various top LA radio stations, landed some small but pretty cool acting gigs, and created some amazing jingles with a close producer/rapper friend.

Scripted TV and Film is where my heart has been from the beginning, so with the encouragement of my wife, I left my last radio gig and went back to school. This time I attended the Pasadena City College Cinema program where I found my true passion to produce, write and direct scripted content. Upon completion of the program, I landed a job working at Pasadena Media, a local public access facility, where I ended up becoming the Studio Coordinator. The five years I spent at Pasadena Media were so valuable because my knowledge grew and I gained invaluable experience as well as received the opportunity to teach others in the community how to produce their own TV shows.

Honestly, I must give credit where credit is due and state that it is because of my wife that I am pursuing my dreams. I have a wife of 13 years and five children so I was unwilling to step out there and subject them to the roller coaster of my pursuits. I was willing to give it up for security for them, but she wouldn’t let me and encouraged me to step out in faith. She is a huge part of the reason I am where I am now, the head of my own video production company.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would definitely say my road has not been smooth so far. I had to crash on couches, sleep in my car from time to time and battle with depression, and self-doubt because of this pursuit. Aside from the things I just mentioned, though, life has been great! LOL!!!

As far as business is concerned, the main struggle as probably with all small businesses is generating enough clients to stay in business. When it comes to video production, most people don’t realize how much goes into it. It may appear on the outside like a “small” five-day shoot, but the possible weeks it could take to complete post-production is where a small production company takes a lot of losses when it first starts out. Learning how to properly budget a project was the hardest part of the puzzle for me as an independent. As a creative you just want to create; but as one of my mentors told me, “… it’s not show business, it’s the business of show.” And I still at times struggle with that because, hey, I just want to create.

Please tell us about Starks Enterprises.
At Starks Enterprises we provide video production services to small businesses, artists, and honestly whoever wants to create good quality content. I created this company to service “the little guy” by bringing quality production to the independent and small business market, and we specialize in the three phases of production, pre thru post.

What I think separates us from others that do what we do is our affordability, quality and turnaround time. I’ve been told so many times by clients how impressed they are with how efficient the production ran and the timely manner in which the finished product was completed. I had one music artist tell me how a previous music video took over eight months for him to get the finished product. The one we shot was a two-day shoot and we had it done and submitted to him in two days. Basically, four days total. I understand how important it is for clients to be able to promote their businesses and/or brands, and I refuse to be the hold up in that process.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I really can’t pinpoint one favorite memory from childhood. All the quality moments I spent with my father and my mother are my favorite memories. I lost my dad young, and so I would say those family times with my parents were the best. I had a really loving, stable but extremely structured upbringing, and I believe that is what makes me the man, husband, father, visionary and entrepreneur I am today.

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