Meet Simone Bonser | Mother and Film Producer

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

Hi Simone, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I love this question. I think that risk is a huge part of business, especially small business and when you are just starting out. You have to first take that leap of faith to start your business that you have dreamed of for so long. I left a full-time job to start working for myself as a graphic designer, I enjoyed having my own clients and working my own hours. It’ s risky because you have to gain clients, it takes a lot of hard work. Now as a film producer, we take risks on scripts that we feel would be successful and on employing people to make the film, you hope that the director has the right creative vision for the film. Making choices on the right people to work with can be detrimental to a project or it can make the project flourish.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Before I finished my design degree I travelled around the world for 2 years, traveling and working in many different countries and had many different jobs, lots of different experiences. When I returned I worked in design for a while and ran my own business eventually. Then I moved into events, event producing live events, live music, I was even a band manager for a time. I would run huge conferences and outdoor music events. I loved music and was passionate about that scene. But I also was working with my natural skill set which was time management and coordination. I used to say my job was just problem solving. People always ask how did you become a film producer or how did you arrive at that. I never set out to do this, I think what I learnt along the way was trying to gain as much experience in many different fields along the way. You learn as much as you can, expose yourself to many different jobs and always ask yourself – what was the lesson here, what did I learn from this? Someone once told me you can always learn at least one thing from each experience. I think the lessons along the way are so many but mostly you learn from your mistakes. But don’t let the mistakes stop you but let them move you forward and propel you further into where you want to be. Move towards what your natural skill set allows. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Life is learning what those are.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I really like nature and road trips, I don’t mind driving far to go somewhere nice. I would do a hike with a view and then grab a really good healthy smoothie. I’m currently living in L.A, I love the Malibu Pier. But I also visit W.A (Western Australia) a lot because my family is there. I love the South West area, I have a place near Yallingup, it’s beautiful there. Australia has a really amazing cafe lifestyle, way too many with gorgeous views on the beach. But shhh.. don’t tell anyone, I like the remoteness of the west coast.

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 would say the biggest influence for me in business would have been my Dad. I recently lost my dad in December, but he was a very hard worker, entrepreneur and risk taker, I was brought up with that as an example of how to get the most out of this one life we have been given. He was a very successful small business owner who started many companies and grew them gradually and had a lot of success. After selling his Spring Water business at around 60 years old he continued to buy property and renovate houses, he never retired; he just kept working. He renovated over 20 houses in his lifetime. I think it’s a very different up bringing growing up in a household that has a family business rather than a parent that has a 9-5 workday. I never desired a 9-5 job, but instead I always wanted to run my own business. :]

Website: https://www.lamaentertainment.com

Instagram: @simonebonza

Image Credits
Doug Jones Angus Benfield Marc Furmie Steven Lafferty Lainey Bonza JUDAH BONZA Jessica Rae