This article is sponsored by Wells Fargo.
What does it take to run a “Small but Mighty” business? As the Founder of Crystal Room Studio — a premiere recording studio based in Los Angeles — Kasey Phillips recently aimed to answer that question for Madame Noire as one of our highlighted Black business owners whose company is making strides.
In a clip detailing how he created Crystal Room Studio, the Trinidadian born and bred music producer shared that expanding his business from there to the U.S. has just been the first step in his greater mission “to take music from the Caribbean — specifically Trinidad and Tobago — and push it to all the corners of the globe.”
Regarding what keeps his business different from the rest, it boils down to the design aesthetic Phillips says has been streamlined to inspire people into having clear-minded, creative, and productive sessions. According to him, it was important his company broke away from the norm of regular recording studios.
“The designer aesthetic was very unique in being a lot of clean vibes, crystals, plants, a lot of wood tones,” Phillips said as he spoke of his business. “It’s visually pleasing so that when someone comes here to create they feel ready to create.”
Although his fairly new business faced challenges when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, his company took things digital and pivoted “from a rental-based studio to a service-based studio,” so all the mixing, mastering, editing, production for his clients could still get done without them actually having to come into a brick and mortar location.
Thanks to his “perseverance and drive” — which he highlighted as the two main qualities someone needs in order to run a successful business — Phillips said having 100% dedication is the only way to ensure you’ll reap your company’s profits and achieve your goals. “You have to be able to put in that work for years before you even see a profit which [is something] a lot of people get discouraged by — but once you stay in there and you work, it will come.”
As words of encouragement to other future “Small but Mighty” Black-owned business owners, the founder simply highlighted that if he could do it — going from living on a small island to now running his own recording studio in Los Angeles — then anyone else who’s inspired by a story like his can too.
“Don’t limit yourself. Push through any boundaries and you can do it.”
Watch Madame Noire’s full interview with Crystal Room Studio founder Kasey Phillips above.
