Ten Four Films
"Me3" production still, showing Amber Higgins.
The Fort Worth Business Plan Pitch Competition several weeks back ended with a jury of judges deeming Lauren Kutschke’s Salted Pages the winner.
Runner-up was Amber Higgins’ Ten Four Films LLC, a small business that specializes in storytelling for small businesses, with a focus on film production, photography, branding, website development, and social media marketing.
For her place, Higgins won $5,000.
The event was organized by the city of Fort Worth’s Economic Development Department, and sponsored by Frost Bank.
“I have found my life’s work. I am so grateful,” said Higgins, 35, in a phone interview. “I wanted to live a life of purpose. It hasn’t been an easy path to find it, but it’s been worth it. Just because you might face obstacles or resistance, it doesn’t mean it’s not for you. You could be going in the right direction. I like going against the grain. That’s what I like to do. That’s when you can make the most impact.”
Higgins’ trek to this time and place was a traveler’s tale, beginning in Abilene.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Abilene Christian, she married and moved to Dallas with her new husband. She took a job with a home health company as a marketing and sales analyst.
“Three years into it, I didn’t feel fulfilled,” Higgins said.
At that time, she and her husband “felt a pull to Los Angeles.”
“Through a lot of miracles, we were able to transition out there pretty easily,” said Higgins, who had done modeling while growing up. She had taken an acting class while in Dallas and enjoyed it.
“I just loved getting out there and doing the art,” she said. “The class was so safe, I didn’t feel judged. Just really fun. I thought, even if this isn’t a career, it’s a very therapeutic thing for me.”
In Los Angeles, where there exist more movie stars than angels, Higgins jumped into this totally different world in the art of storytelling. But it was here that Ten Four Films was born.
“I hit the ground running out there,” she said. “I was very green, but I worked really hard. Through a lot of prayer and support I really made an imprint in Los Angeles.”
Higgins and her husband Bryan stayed out there for 61/2 years.
She has 11 credits as an actress on her IMDB page, including “Me3,” produced by Ten Four Films. Though she hadn’t a clue how to start a production company, she did so, raising $20,000 to shoot the short film directed by Jason Baumgardner.
She “fell in love with the art of storytelling,” she said. “I act because I want to connect with and inspire people.”
She put Ten Four Films on pause as her acting opportunities began to pick up again. Then, the couple felt a pull back to Texas. It was a “God moment,” she is convinced, moving right before the pandemic’s grip could take hold. She was by now a new mother and in Fort Worth she could be near here parents.
While the pandemic shutdowns went on, she figured she would simply “settle in, become a mom, and figure it out.”
It was a blessing to be here, she said.
It didn’t take long for a stirring to pick Ten Four Films back up.
Projects, she said, began flooding in.
Currently, all of her employees are contract, but hiring an in-house team is part of the plans for the future.
“We’re in the business for excellence and quality,” she said. “We’re not here to just do a project. I’m here to do it well, go big or go home, and impact the audience, impact the person it’s been made for.
“I believe there is so much treasure in Ten Four Films. Storytelling is the most powerful tool out there. From the beginning of time, storytelling has been a big way to connect with people. I’m just thankful for the Fort Worth Pitch Competition. I really appreciate them giving us this platform and opportunity to see what we do.”