The diagnosis
You probably already know what feels wrong.
Most engineers don’t come in with the wrong problem. They come in with the wrong order.
- “I need more clients.”
- “I need to do more outreach.”
- “I need to charge more.”
- “I need better positioning.”
- “I need to be more consistent.”
Each of those can come from a different place in the business. Two engineers can say the same sentence and need completely different fixes. You can’t tell which from the outside, and neither can I until I see your numbers. That’s why the hour doesn’t start with tactics. It starts with how your business is built.
“Michael turned my questions around.”
“Michael doesn’t give generic motivation. He asks for the exact figures, finds where the business is leaking, and gives you concrete homework. If you just want to hear that your mixes sound good, this isn’t it.”
Business coaching built only for audio professionals.
- 6,000+ conversations with audio professionals
- 500+ one-to-one business calls
- 350+ audio professionals taught or coached
Worked with and featured by
How it works
Before
You fill in the intake. I read it.
A structured questionnaire across your whole business: your work, your numbers, your offer and rates, your market and proof, outreach, delivery, and capacity. About 20 minutes, and it saves as you go; the link arrives after you book. Have these on hand too:
- How much money you need to make each month
- Your current rates, and the last 24 months of sales if you have them
- The top three things you want to cover
“I found the mentorship canvas intake beforehand super helpful to analyse my current situation and to prepare for the actual call.”
Philipp Winter · Mixing engineer During
One private hour on your real numbers.
- 1
Map the current state
We start from your intake: services, rates, project volume, where work comes from, how projects move, and how much capacity you actually have.
- 2
Model the numbers
We look at survival, baseline, stable, and ideal numbers, adjusted for taxes, time off, slow periods, and realistic monthly output.
- 3
Diagnose the constraint
We name the constraint underneath the problem you came in with, and which of the nine stages it lives in: Observe, Shape, Position, Attract, Communicate, Sell, Manage, Retain, or Compound.
- 4
Build the assignment
We write your next moves as a two-week assignment, your Action Map, with a metric to watch and something to stop doing.
- 1
After
A record of what we found, and the work that comes next.
The full recording, a transcript, and written notes, plus your Action Map on your own page: the assignment, what done looks like, and the metric to watch.
What you leave with
- 1
Know what’s actually wrong
A diagnosis of the constraint underneath the symptom, and a health read across the nine stages of your business. You see the whole system, not just where it hurts.
- 2
Know what matters first
An order, not a list of twenty things you could be doing. The few moves that shift the business, a rate decision built from your real costs and capacity, and what to stop doing.
- 3
Know exactly what to do next
Your Action Map: a two-week assignment with a definition of done and a metric to watch, plus outreach, follow-up or rate-conversation scripts where they help.
Also included: The structured intake before we meet · Rate and money modeling on the call · The full recording · A transcript and written notes · Your own page for the assignment
Client results
What Intensive clients wrote afterward
Clear tiers, clear pricing, and new projects from presenting them
What helped most
“Understanding what I’m offering, creating my different tiers with Michael, and having a clear path to present my pricing to clients. What is included, what isn’t, and having solutions if my pricing isn’t working for their project.”
Since the call
“Multiple times I was able to present my offer more confidently and explain my pricing clearly, leading to multiple new projects.”
Cut the side services, put bookings in one place, and has new leads
What helped most
“Learning how to best narrow my focus and trim the fat that is wasting time and energy. Also understanding my offer, how to dial it in, and how to better position myself for the clients I want to work with.”
Since the call
“I have eliminated services that were not my main intention, narrowing the focus. Implemented my own website for bookings in one place instead of 4 different places. Doubled down on outreach daily and social media presence. Now I have a few leads I plan to follow up with.”
Used it in a negotiation with a major label
What helped most
“Facing the reality of running the business side of things and getting my finances properly organized.”
Since the call
“I recently had the opportunity to apply some of the concepts I discussed with Michael during a negotiation with a major label, and I can confidently say that I would not have been able to achieve the terms I negotiated without Michael’s advice in mind.”
Stopped underselling, with a tiers sheet he checks every time
What helped most
“Spending some time talking about tiers really opened my eyes to the value we actually add and the hats we wear. That was unexpectedly what built my confidence the most.”
Since the call
“I use our tiers-sheet every time for my own reference, so I don’t undersell myself.”
Who this is for
Most engineers who book are already working. The income is real. It just isn’t steady yet, or it has stopped growing.
The working mixer whose income is still inconsistent
“I’m getting work, but I can’t predict where next month comes from.”
We find out why it isn’t steady yet, and what to change first.
The established engineer who has hit a ceiling
“I’m working, but the clients and the rates aren’t moving up.”
We find what is actually holding the clients and the rates where they are.
The multi-hyphenate who needs to choose a lane
“Mixing, recording, production, mastering, teaching. It all works, but nothing leads.”
We work out what the business should lead with, from your numbers and your work, not a guess.
The engineer turning this into a real business
“I know how to do the work. I need the business to hold up.”
We find the piece everything else is waiting on, and build your first moves around it.
Just starting out? You can still book. We’ll set the numbers to aim at, a direction to start from, and the first move to make.
Common questions
Before we meet, you fill in the intake and I read it. On the call we map where the business is now, model your numbers, name the constraint underneath the problem you came in with, and write your Action Map. You leave knowing what is actually wrong, what matters first, and what to do next, with the recording, transcript, and notes afterward. Every business is different, so we spend the hour on what will move yours most.
A structured questionnaire you complete before we meet. It takes about 20 minutes and saves as you go. It covers your work and income sources, your numbers, your offer and rates, your market and proof, outreach and conversion, capacity, and delivery. The link arrives after you book. It is what lets us spend the hour solving instead of catching up.
Yes. After the session you receive the full recording, a transcript, and written notes, alongside your Action Map.
You are not paying for an hour of general advice. Before we meet, I read your intake, so I already know how the business is built. On the call we work from your actual rates, the money you need, where clients come from, your positioning, and your capacity. Afterward you have a record of what we found and a specific assignment for what to change first. The point is not to cover everything in 60 minutes. It is to keep you from spending the next three months solving the wrong problem.
One session is not meant to rebuild your whole business. It is meant to decide what gets rebuilt first. We use the hour to find the constraint, make the decisions we can make on the spot, and set the work that comes next. Some engineers take the Action Map and run with it themselves. Others come back for another Intensive, or continue into the Private Mentorship.
Both. I will ask questions to understand the business properly, but I will also tell you what I am seeing, what I think matters, and what I would do next.
Most mixing businesses have different details but similar underlying constraints. Rates, markets, genres, credits, geography, and client types vary. But the core questions are usually the same: Who are you trying to reach? Why would they trust you? What do you charge? How does work come in? What happens when someone shows interest? What system keeps opportunity moving? The strategy should adapt to your situation. The business still needs a system.
No. If the Private Mentorship seems relevant, I may mention it. But the intensive is designed to be useful on its own. The goal is clarity, not pressure.
The Business Reality Check is an automated diagnostic tool. The Intensive is a private 1:1 session where we work on your actual business and you leave with a diagnosis, an order of priorities, and your Action Map. Start with the Business Reality Check if you want to find out where to look. Book the Intensive when you want someone in the room making the call with you.
The Intensive is one focused session that finds the constraint and sets the first moves. The Private Mentorship is ongoing 1:1 support where we build, test, and refine the whole system together over two months. The intensive points the way. The mentorship walks it with you.
If ongoing mentorship makes sense, we can talk about it, and $100 of your Intensive comes off the Private Mentorship if you apply within 30 days of your session. If not, you take the plan and implement it yourself. There is no pressure either way.
Start with the Business Reality Check or the free writing. The Intensive is for when you want a custom plan for your situation and someone in the room building it with you.
$400
- The structured intake, read before we meet
- A private 1:1 hour on your real numbers
- A diagnosis and a health read across the nine stages
- Your Action Map: what matters first, and a two-week assignment
- A rate decision, and scripts where they help
- The full recording, a transcript, and written notes
No pitch. No pressure. Just a custom plan for what to do next.
Have a question first? Message my team on Instagram. Not ready for the intensive? Start with the Business Reality Check ($29).