The Future of Podcasting with Ray & Sarah Smith
Emily and Aimee meet with Ray and Sarah Smith, founders of Speakerbox Media and producers of Born in the Bend, to discuss starting their own podcasting business, finding a niche in Houston, and understanding the importance of an audio strategy.
In this episode, Aimee, Emily, Ray, and Sarah cover:
- How Ray and Sarah met and started their lives together
- What drew them towards entrepreneurship and podcasting
- Where they found their niche and developed their services
- How they formed a partnership with Expansive
- Where they see themselves going and their goals as a business
Important highlights:
Finding the inspiration to start podcasting
There’s nothing quite like being the first at something, and Ray and Sarah can say that they’ve created the first full-service podcast production studio in Houston. However, neither of them set out initially to do that, respectively focusing their education and careers on audio engineering and sales. When someone in Ray’s life finally recommended podcasting as an outlet, the pair did their research and realized just how much of an opportunity this could be for them.
“Audio is kinda always secondary, but now audio has taken the lead ahead of video in this day and age.” – Ray
Developing Speakerbox Media as a brand
Being the first isn’t Speakerbox Media’s only focus; prioritizing clients and customer service puts them on the map as podcast producers. By creating a solid customer feedback loop and genuinely searching for the best options available for what the industry needs, Ray and Sarah developed Speakerbox Media to include not only production, but also video production, social media marketing, and guest booking services.
“When you step out on good foot and you come in with good intentions, there’s so much that can happen from that that you cannot predict.” – Sarah
Searching out partnerships and collaborations
With clients coming in and the pandemic shaking things up, Speakerbox Media needed a partner to give them an edge and to help them pursue their podcasting goals. Enter Expansive, a company that could provide Ray and Sarah with an opportunity to set up a rentable podcasting space for additional clients and prospective podcasters. Reaching out to Expansive has been a huge help in Speakerbox Media’s goal of creating a podcasting network.
“I think you are defined by what you say no to, not what you say yes to.” – Ray
Thinking about the future of audio
Considering starting your own podcast? Ray and Sarah think you should be! In a tech-focused world with communication changing and evolving, it’s important to put an audio strategy together for your business, no matter what you do! Podcasting has become a personal media for so many people, connecting stories and conveying ideas on demand, right into people’s ears. Speakerbox Media would love to provide you with the chance to speak your mind.
“There are no boundaries if you can find something that you can provide value to people with.” – Sarah
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Tune in to Speakerbox Media on their website and Instagram.
Check out the Blockhouse Coffee commercial Ray made here.
Take a listen to Speakerbox Media’s podcast, B2B Growth Hacks, here.
Find out more about Expansive, Speakerbox Media’s partner, on their website.
Keep up with all things Blockhouse Coffee on their website, Facebook, and Instagram.
Learn more about the Guild on their website, Facebook, and Instagram.
Say hello to our sponsor for season two, The Development Corporation of Richmond.
