The B word / #1 - Fulcrum

The fulcrum is one of the most powerful tools an engineer has in their arsenal.

A pressure-point by which all things pivot.

A simple leaver that can make children teeter on the brink of space or take them down to a dangle boards certain grounding.

With a proper fulcrum in the right position, mountains can be moved, tides can be turned, hearts and minds can be manipulated.

Recording studios are a teeter-totter for musical artists. They can teeter them toward the sky or rush them toward the ground. 

 The fulcrum establishes the amount of effort you'll have to apply to achieve your goal ... the decision-making process a business owner, an artist, anyone employes to operate and grow their efforts. 

Who, what, when, where and how:

The answers to those specific questions help place the fulcrum of any endeavor. Leaving those questions unanswered, or less than a concise understanding of what the answer means, is to leave to chance the placement of the fulcrum a business will balance itself on. When a business's survival is left to chance the obvious question becomes …why.

Who is the ideal potential customer for your business? Are they plentiful in your business area? If that's the case, how many similar businesses are competing for their dollar?

What makes your business different from the others competing with you? What service do you offer that they don’t? Are those differences as obvious to your potential customers as they are to you?

If every studio in your area provides the same type of recording console, it's crucial to differentiate your business in other ways. It's then reasonable to assume that the choice of recording console isn't the deciding factor for customers when selecting a studio.

When are you? This question relates to your and your customers' experience level and the level of technology you provide.

Establishing a studio with outdated technology in an era and region dominated by high-tech advancements may impede your business's competitive edge, especially if your rivals provide cutting-edge solutions at similar prices. Your leverage could be misplaced if attracting clients requires more effort than your competitors.

Example:

If constructing a studio for the clientele of a small, low-tech Midwestern town, a modest semi-professional system will not only meet the clients' needs but will also likely be highly regarded by its users. This marks the start of customer loyalty, enabling the business to expand alongside its customer base. Identifying your current customer demographic is crucial. Plan and evolve organically for the future. Just because you build it doesn't mean they will come.

The place where you establish your business moves the fulcrum.

People like fresh, new things. If a shiny new bobble such as the latest and greatest Digital Signal Processor, costing fractions less to own and operate, is placed against massive amounts of vintage iron sucking gallons of electricity hourly to run …a studio owner must ask; how does my potential customers view of my studios console choice define us? When you are in time, and in technology, will move the fulcrum of your business.

Most everyone likes their home, their city. Most cities are not entertainment business hubs. There is only a couple of those in the United States, only a handful of them globally. Most big record deals and the manufacturing of entertainment content are done in these locations. It’s a simple process of access to tools, services and talent.

To quote a world-famous Nashville publisher …” If you want to be in horse racing, you’d be best served by establishing your business where they racehorses.”
To use Mr. Williams analogy; They don’t produce as many broadcast quality record projects in San Francisco as they do in Los Angeles. They don’t record as many of those projects in Seattle as they do in San Francisco. 

Finally, is how. Not so much how do you conduct your business as how do you feel about it? Pride is good, fear is bad.

To move in fear of … it cobbles a business from enjoying the moment they have worked so hard to achieve, survival. More importantly, it prevents a business from truly understanding the unacknowledged needs of their clients. When a business helps their customer achieve unrealized expectations ... the business can evolve into one producing more than happy customers. It creates an evangelical type of sales force helping the business place the fulcrum that is critical in leveraging the mountain of their business skyward.