My Two-Part Interview on the Mixing Music Podcast

Dee Kei and I go through 14 things mix engineers need to know about business. Not the surface-level stuff. The real reasons talented engineers stay stuck, how selling hours keeps you broke, and what it actually takes to build a sustainable career.

Key Moments

"Every single mix engineer is honestly really good at mixing and that's not the problem. There's a time where that sort of caps and it's not really that important anymore. And other things become even more important."

"Clients aren't buying your time. They're buying your ability to care, your understanding, your confidence, your ability, your momentum, even your network and your accolades."

"I have a post-it note on my screen at all times which says 'accept help.' I look at this every day. I'm just as flawed as anyone else."

"The exact place you feel insecure is usually the next thing you need to grow into. If you're saying 'not enough people have said my work is good enough,' then cool. Maybe we need to find more people. Start solving for it."

The 14 Things We Covered

1. Your mixes aren't the problem. Your systems are.
2. Mindset can make or break your career
3. Stop selling hours, start selling transformations
4. Know your numbers
5. 80% of work comes from relationships, not ads
6. Most engineers don't know what a brand is (and that's the problem)
7. Outreach works when it's personal
8. Sales is serving, not convincing
9. Boundaries protect your creativity
10. Think like a CEO, not a technician
11. The industry isn't impossible. It's misunderstood.
12. Most famous engineers were lucky, so stop copying them
13. Your imposter syndrome is a compass
14. You are enough, but you are not done

Watch If...

• You're technically solid but financially struggling
• You've been at the same rates for years
• You know something's off but can't identify what
• You want to build an actual business, not just trade time for money
• You're ready to hear why talent alone isn't enough

Dee Kei brought real depth to this conversation, pushing past the surface-level mixing talk to examine what actually creates sustainable careers in audio. If you're not listening to Mixing Music Podcast, you're missing conversations that go beyond plugins and into the reality of this business.