Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Billings.
Hi Lauren, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
The Dinosaur Company rents animatronic dinosaurs to zoos and other venues for an extended period of time. The dinosaurs are made to be outdoors and work really well when partnered on the message of conservation. After all, we all live on Earth, and it’s all our responsibility to take care of our home for future generations to come. Learning about the past and extinction can really inspire someone to do more for their environment. We pride ourselves on our education so everything we do has an element of education. Entertainment is cool, but when you teach someone something that they genuinely enjoy, it stays with them forever.
I have spent over half my life around dinosaurs, so I had a pretty interesting upbringing. My parents started Billings Productions (parent company to The Dinosaur Company) in 2003. We had just moved back to our hometown in McKinney, and my parents were always busy. My father, Larry Billings, was very passionate about the animatronic dinosaurs and loved how the children reacted to the dinosaurs. My dad grew up in rural McKinney working on the land with his father. He learned how to drive as soon as his foot could touch the pedal and was always doing something with his hands. Within the first year of business, my father built 60 animatronic dinosaurs. My mother, Sandra Billings, supported my father 1,000% and loved seeing how passionate he was towards his work. She handled the finances and kept my father reigned in.
We started in a warehouse in McKinney that used to be an airplane hanger. I was still in high school at the time, but I really admired how hard my parents worked. Unfortunately, my father passed away in 2007, but rather than quitting; it drove us to push forward with his dream and continue the legacy of love. We operated out of the warehouse in McKinney for nearly a decade until we had so many dinosaurs that if they were in the warehouse at once, the doors wouldn’t close. We moved to Allen, Texas in 2012 in a mixed-use building. We continued to make dinosaurs, and the company expanded. We started with about a dozen employees and had grown to about 50. Our dinosaurs were going everywhere all over the world.
Allen welcomed us with open arms and accepted us and how different we were. It was a blessing to have such wonderful support from our community for such a small business. We always had inquiries to do tours, but we were such a small staff that it was hard to create the infrastructure to build dinosaurs, send them all over the world, and have families go through our building to see what we do. Larry had always wanted us to have a community space where kids could have their birthday with the dinosaurs. He also wanted a place to inspire kids because he believed that not everyone was meant to go into college like him. He wanted to emphasize that anyone could follow their dreams and make it a reality.
We have a wonderful partnership with the City of Allen, and they helped us get our own piece of land. We are living the American dream. My parents grew their business and finally own their own building with the Billings name proudly on the side. I’m saddened my father isn’t here to see it, but I’m sure he’s proud. We opened to the public in 2021, where we have 50,000 sq ft of space and a special room for the community. We host birthday parties, events, workshops, and it’s even able to be reserved as a rental space with the dinosaurs. Today, we continue to build dinosaurs, and they travel all over the world; plus, we have more community interaction. We’re finding new ways to carry on my father’s legacy by using the dinosaurs to help people either through fundraising or giving the underprivileged opportunities they can’t get elsewhere. Sandra Billings is the President of the company, and I support my mom as her VP of Operations. We have a wonderful staff, and we’re really excited for what the future holds for us.
Alright, 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?
We are the only company in America that manufactures animatronic dinosaurs in America. That sentence alone confuses a lot of people. The business is very niche and our competitors receive their products from China where they can produce it faster, but also inaccurately and unsafely. When someone supports Billings Productions, you’re supporting American labor; your neighbors, someone you possibly went to school with, and you’re also supporting your local city’s economy. We are not the cheapest dinosaurs, but when you want quality, reliability, accuracy, and heart, go with us. There is a reason that we have been in business for 20 years and are continuing to grow.
Another struggle we face is the prejudice my mother and I face in numerous aspects. Besides the complexity of the business, we often experience racism and sexism. As if being a woman in a STEAM-related field isn’t hard enough, being a woman in leadership and a minority also makes it difficult. I still have days where it’s assumed I’m not a “Billings” because of my features. But at the same time, it’s my superpower. I advocate for the fair treatment of people in this space, and I do it by running The Dinosaur Company. Women run this world. We are smart, hard-working, and we deserve a place at the table. My mom and I know what it feels like to be looked over, and we don’t want that for anyone else in the world.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
You can book a tour with us and visit our factory and get inspired! We also have excellent birthday party packages, space rentals, and can even bring a dinosaur to your house! We love to partner with our community and put on public displays. Besides that, we still build dinosaurs 5 days a week and have shows locally, nationally, and globally! We’re the only place in America where you can actually visit a dinosaur company!
We’re a business with heart. We’ve experienced hardship, heartbreak, loss, and we see you. Whether you’re coming through our doors as a guest to go on a tour, or you’re running a multi-million-dollar property, and you want to rent dinosaurs, we see you. And when you choose to work with us, know that you are supporting our staff and the people of the community. We’ve been doing this for 20 years, but we’re nowhere near our potential. My father had a dream to inspire the children to make learning fun, but for me, it doesn’t stop there. It’s not just the children who need us; it’s everyone. Learning never stops, and it’s fun. Especially with what we do, not only dinosaur education but the animatronics field is exceptionally interesting and has helped many people change their problem-solving process. We believe our limits are just our imagination. Dinosaurs are simply for everyone.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
A lot of people assume I love dinosaurs. They’re pretty cool, but what I really love is you. I love people. What I get out of this business is the sparkle in your eye when you start putting the puzzle pieces in place, and I see the gears moving in your head. Not just the children, but the adults, too. You stop living in your world and come play in mine. You stop accepting the world as it was given to you and start asking questions, delving into what could be or might be, and playing in the imagination space. We all did that as children, but as we grow up, we lose touch with that space. It’s part of growing up, but seeing adults reconnect with their imagination or have the wonderment of a child is what really keeps me going. You should never stop wondering. Never stop dreaming. Never stop playing. But most importantly, never stop learning.
Pricing:
- Dino Friends Expedition Tour Child- $9.50
- Dino Friends Expedition Tour Adult- $12.50
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.billingsproductions.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_dinosaur_company/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedinocompany/
Image Credits
The Dinosaur Company
