An Inspired Chat with Angela Wolf Quaintance of South Philadelphia

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Angela Wolf Quaintance. Check out our conversation below.

Angela, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
I love being creative – that’s one reason why I started my videography company. So when I’m looking to relax, my favorite thing to do is to put on an audio book and do a craft. I love getting lost in a story, imagining myself living different lives. And while I’m listening, I like to crochet. It gives my hands something to do that I don’t have to think about. After getting lost for hours, I end my day with a new story and a new project done.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My mother likes to tell the story of a time when I was four years old. She walked into my bedroom to find me sitting on the floor, in the dark, with all of my stuffed animals lined up in a row. She asked me what I was doing. I explained, “I’m telling them a movie!” I spent most of my childhood with a camcorder in my hand. To no one’s surprise, I decided to go to school for film. After college, I found the video world was just another industry where women were not taken seriously. After working internally at a variety of companies, I knew I could do better. In 2016 I started Angela Wolf Video, a brand video company. Our mission is to help businesses grow and reach new audiences through video content creation while promoting women in the video industry. In today’s digital world, small businesses need video to compete with larger brands. Angela Wolf Video gives personality to their content by creating affordable and professional videos for small to mid-size businesses. As a certified woman-owned business, Angela Wolf Video strides to teach, hire, and promote women in video.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
Both of my parents are incredibly hard workers. My mother was a special ed teacher who taught high school students during the day and taught college classes at night. She ran events for her students – like a county-wide para-olympics. My father worked as a field service provider who traveled the country every week. Although his job meant he was away from home five days a week, he always made sure to spend the weekends with his family. I learned from both of them that hard work is part of life. You can either work hard at a job you hate or work hard at something you love. I chose my path not because it was easy – there are a lot easier ways to make money than being an entrepreneur – but because it is my passion. That’s the one of the biggest lessons I learned from my parents.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
February 2024 was the grand opening of video studio. It was an amazing event, celebrated with family, friends, and the community. Getting to the grand opening, however, was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I wanted a space dedicated for my clients. Based on my business’s needs, renting wasn’t going to be an option. I needed a space I could completely customize. I thought finding a space would be the hard part – but that was only the beginning. I spent over four months working with my CDFI to secure funding and get through compliance. Once the building was purchased, I jumped into months of construction to retrofit the space into exactly what I needed. From start to finish, I spent a year preparing the studio before I was ready to open it. There were a lot of times I wanted to quit. Was I making the right choice? Should I be spending all of this money? What if I was going to fail? But if I decided to quit, that would be me failing. With the love and support of my friends and family, I pushed through the unexpected chaos to be able to take my business to the next level.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
I think starting a business is one of the best thing someone can do. When someone tells me they are unhappy in their career, my advice is always to quit and start their own business. It really does take a special kind of person to be a business owner – it’s not for everyone. But I think that society tells us that it’s better to take the “sure” thing and work for a big company than to take a chance on yourself. If you are willing to put in the hard work, being a business owner is the best thing you can do.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
Part of being an entrepreneur is never being satisfied. I wasn’t satisfied at my 9-5 job, so I started my own company. I wasn’t satisfied with having five clients, I wanted ten. I wasn’t satisfied working out of my spare bedroom, I wanted a studio. I wasn’t satisfied working alone in my studio, I wanted an employee. Every time I hit a new business milestone, I want more. I want to grow my company into something that not only supports my family, but supports our local community.

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Images by Peregrine One LLC

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