Ask Michelle Caluneo what people get wrong about content creation, and she'll tell you: they think it's easy. What started in 2022 as a free marketing channel for her dog grooming business has become a multi-platform comedy brand with 200,000 combined followers; one she writes, shoots, edits, and produces herself, often working around the clock. A dental hygienist turned dog groomer turned creator, Michelle has built her following on clean, relatable humor and videos that go viral for all the right reasons.
She recently teamed up with us on a video imagining dog breeds as your favorite on-set crew members, and it's exactly as accurate as you'd hope.
Fresh off a collaboration with ProductionHUB, Michelle joined us to share how she got here, what brands misunderstand about working with creators, and her advice for anyone trying to get discovered.
PH: _Tell us a bit about your journey into content creation. Was there a moment when it shifted from something you were doing to something you were building?
_Michelle Caluneo: In 2022, I started a dog grooming business, and in my attempt to keep overhead low, I decided to go straight to Instagram for marketing. This way I could advertise my business for free by introducing myself to the community and posting pictures of my work. I figured this would help me get new customers, plus spotlight the pups I groomed — and my customers really loved that! Within a year, this little Instagram business page turned into a full-blown content creator page that expanded to TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.
PH: How would you describe your content style to someone discovering you for the first time, and how has it evolved since you started?
Michelle Caluneo: I've always loved comedy. I'm pretty silly. My favorite thing is to make you burst out laughing. I like to keep it pretty clean. I always say I'm professionally funny… most of the time. Now, almost four years later, I have 200,000 followers combined across my platforms, and that number continues to grow every day.
PH: Walk us through your creative process. When you get an idea, what happens between that spark and hitting publish?
Michelle Caluneo: My creative process usually starts with some silly script idea. Once I start thinking about it, I'll write the script pretty fast. Then I brainstorm what I need to create the video — setting, props, things like that. Once I've filmed it, I can't wait to sit down, edit, and get it posted. So I would definitely say my creative process moves pretty quickly.
PH: What's one piece of content you're most proud of, and what made it work?
Michelle Caluneo: We're always most proud of the videos that do well — anytime you hit 1 million or more views, that's really exciting. Honestly, I'm most proud of the ones that go viral for all the right reasons. Often, content creators will post controversial videos or clickbait, and a lot of the comments are not great. I'm most proud of my videos when they go viral because people just genuinely loved them — they made them laugh, and they're sharing them with all their friends and family because they thought they were that funny and relatable. A good example is my recent Fourth of July video. That one did really well, so I'd definitely say I'm pretty proud of it.
PH: Content creation is often seen as a solo pursuit, but collaboration seems central to how you work. How do partnerships and collabs fit into your growth strategy?
Michelle Caluneo: I love collaborating with people, especially when their niche is completely different from mine. Often the algorithm doesn't know what to do with those videos, so sometimes it takes a little bit for them to take off — but it's exciting to have different audiences looking at your stuff, and it's a great way to attract new followers.
PH: What's the biggest misconception people — especially brands and production companies — have about working with content creators?
Michelle Caluneo: That what we do is easy. It isn't! It's a lot of work to be a content creator. It's a constant job that's often hard to turn off. You don't leave the office at 5 o'clock and call it a day — I think most content creators work around the clock, myself included. You think of an idea, create and edit a video, and post it, which takes a lot of work — but you're not done yet, because now you have to continue to engage and answer comments. When you've worked really hard on a video, you want to make sure people see it. I find myself answering comments first thing in the morning, and it's the last thing I do before I go to bed. So yeah, I'd say the biggest misconception is that people don't understand the time and energy that goes into content creation.
PH: What does a great brand or platform partnership look like from the creator's side? What makes you say yes to a collab?
Michelle Caluneo: My best suggestion is to always work with a company you believe in. I get brand offers all the time that I ignore. If working with companies is something you want to do, be patient and don't sign up for just anything. When a company reaches out, and I love what they do and support their mission, I'm definitely open to working with them. As far as collaboration videos go, that often has nothing to do with money or brand deals for me — I just love collaborating with other people because it's fun and it makes my heart happy. I work really hard on my videos, so I obviously want more people to see them, and that's where collaboration can help.
PH: You recently joined ProductionHUB and collaborated with us on a video project. What drew you to the platform, and what are you hoping it opens up for you?
Michelle Caluneo: Well, first off, you folks at ProductionHUB are absolutely lovely! I was so honored to have you reach out, and I loved the idea we came up with for our dog-on-a-production-set video. I never would have thought of that if it wasn't something we had discussed together — that's why collaboration is so much fun! You meet new people and reach a whole different audience. I'm not sure where this crazy journey is taking me, but I definitely know I love acting and making people laugh.
PH: What advice would you give other creators about making themselves discoverable to brands and production teams looking to hire?
Michelle Caluneo: If you're growing as a creator, continue to do what you're doing. You're building an audience of folks who like to watch whatever it is you're delivering. If cooking in your kitchen and posting about it is your thing, keep doing it. I like to be funny, so I stick with that, and that seems to be working for me so far. When it comes to getting discovered, I truly believe it's just about being yourself! If you stay consistent with creating and posting, eventually somebody's probably going to notice you.
PH: Where do you want to take your content over the next year or two?
Michelle Caluneo: I would love to just continue to grow on social media. It really brings me joy to make people laugh every day.
PH: If you could collaborate with anyone or work on any dream project, what would it be?
Michelle Caluneo: I would love to hang out with Kristen and Jen from I Mom So Hard! I just absolutely adore these ladies. They're so funny, and they're just real moms talking about real stuff — I love it!
Also, I would give anything to have Nala the Golden Retriever come to my shop! Golden Retrievers are hands-down my number one favorite breed, and I'm so in love with this dog!
Want to see more of Michelle's work? Check out her ProductionHUB profile to connect with her for your next project, and follow her on Instagram for a behind-the-scenes look at her content.
