September 8, 2023 • 27 mins
Join us in our inaugural episode of "Fired Up" as we dive deep with Keith Parish, the driving force behind StudioME. Listen in as Keith shares the raw, unfiltered journey from StudioME's humble, scrappy startup roots to its current stature as a beacon for the Pittsburgh production community. Discover the hustle, heart, and sheer tenacity it takes to ignite an idea and transform it into a thriving hub for creators. Don't miss this tale of perseverance and 10X growth! Get ready to be inspired and, as always, get "Fired Up!"
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Episode Transcript
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(00:27):
Hi, everyone.
Welcome to the
Fired Up Podcast.
I'm your host, Brad Ryba,
and we're excited to have
a guest in the studio today,
Keith Parish.
So let's talk a little bit
about the format here.
Fired Up is a podcast
where we're going to learn
from entrepreneurs,
day in the life, real
stories, and that's what
(00:48):
we do at Ryignite.
Ryignite is about Ignite Your
Journey and Fuel Your Fire.
And this is a program
for entrepreneurs trying
to grow their
business and scale
and go through all
of the breakpoints that
typically challenge us as
business leaders.
And so we want to learn
from the experiences of
real business owners that
(01:09):
are living this every day
and figure out what
worked and what didn't
and what we can learn
from and apply.
So I'm really excited
to talk to you, Keith.
You and I have worked
together on some different
projects and I think have
a good history together
and just really watched
your business thrive and
grow and really interested
to sit down and talk about
your story.
So I'm excited we
(01:29):
have you here today.
For those who don't know him,
Keith Parish is
the owner of Parish Digital
Video Productions and this
wonderful StudioME.
And Keith has been
a video production expert,
a storyteller.
He is a dedicated
entrepreneur and husband
and father to three.
So I think really a great
person to speak to and talk
about the journey
(01:51):
of entrepreneurial life.
And so if I missed anything,
let me know.
But I think the point is
to kind of get to
know you and your business
and your story.
That was great.
And I really appreciate
being on this podcast.
I also appreciate you
were one the early
supporters of StudioME.
You always came to our
networking events
and referred us to people,
and because of people like
you, we made it through
(02:11):
the early years.
So thank you very much.
Absolutely.
It's great.
I love to see every time I
come in here, I feel like
you guys have something
new and innovative and a
new tool for creators to
use, and I want to get
into that.
But take us back
to the beginning, because
you've had a very successful
production career,
parish Digital's done.
I've seen some really high
(02:32):
quality campaigns for some
really well known brands,
and so you've already had
some success in that era.
What started the idea?
Or why is Studio Me something
that's important to you?
Yeah, I mean, this goes back
to 2015, so we're in our
7th year, which is crazy
to think about, but yeah.
So back in 2015, the
landscape was a little
(02:52):
different, and sometimes
it's hard to remember kind
of how things were then,
but there was traditional
media, which is large
crews, large productions,
that was sort of phasing
out to these smaller
productions, which smaller
crews equipment was just
getting more efficient and
easier to use.
And also because of phones,
people were doing
it themselves a lot.
And I saw this shift
(03:13):
happening, but things hadn't
really caught up
to speed yet at that time.
And I don't know, I've always
been somebody who just likes
things to be very efficient.
And I felt like there was
a lot of waste in a lot
of these productions.
We'd have clients that would
call us and hey, can you do
an interview with just one
of our CEO or something?
So we pack all our stuff
(03:34):
up into the van, drive
to location, set it all up.
Then when you'd deal with
phones ringing, people
walking in the hallways,
like all these other
issues, fixing the light,
and so it'd be like a four
hour process to get a ten
minute interview, and
they'd be paying that
whole time for that.
And I was like, if this
was already set up, if
there's a place that we
could go, I would pay for
(03:56):
that, and I'm sure other
people would pay for that
too.
So in a way, it was
scratching our own niche.
That idea was kind of like
on the back burner
for a while, while I had my
production company.
Never really thought too much
of it, but around this time,
Joe, my co founder, and I
became really good friends.
We thought we had very
similar mindsets.
(04:17):
And at that time I had
just gotten married.
We were in our
early thirty s.
Joe unfortunately lost his
father a year prior,
and we just wanted to both
sort of build something
bigger than ourselves.
And my other production
company is called
Parish Digital Video.
It has my last name,
Parish, in it.
So I'm always very tied
to that business.
(04:37):
It's almost like
a lifestyle business.
And I wanted to try my hand
at building something that
was an actual business,
where we would just make
the thing, it would live,
and people would use it and
we would just kind of watch
it grow.
And we both wanted that
sort of thing, and we
knew we'd be good business
partners together.
So before that,
(04:58):
we looked at all different
other businesses.
He was looking at a brewing
company for a while,
and we looked at storage
units, just all different
things, and nothing really
struck a chord with us.
And then one day we were
just at the gym and I
was like, I wonder if I
could talk Joe into this
idea that I had about a
(05:18):
more efficient studio
space.
And I was like,
studio spaces haven't really
evolved in 30 years,
and media is evolving a lot.
Why not?
Instead of having a large
open warehouse space to
do productions, like break
it up into smaller,
more specialized spaces.
And at first he's like,
I don't know about that.
And then by the end of
the gym session, I finally
had him talked into it.
(05:38):
You wore him out.
Yeah.
And we're like, all right,
let's try this thing.
And the other thing is,
there was another person
that we're like.
If we can convince this
person that it's a good
idea, then I think there's
some likes to this.
So we talked to that person
and they love the idea.
So we're like, okay, maybe
this has something there,
(06:00):
but we're still iterating
seven years later and trying
to figure out the perfect
business model for it.
Obviously, we survived
this long, so it's going
just fine, but it's
just something like we're
always working
on and building towards.
Yeah.
You not only survived,
you thrived through a lot
of challenging times
growing the business.
And like you said, each of
(06:22):
these rooms has a purpose.
And I think that's
something unique that I
found about the studio
versus sort of a general
space, and it's all sort
of stripped down and
figure out how to use it.
But you've got real design
and intent around this,
which I think is unique.
And I think that's in my
mind, what's allowed you
to scale at a time where
other businesses are
(06:43):
pulling back, especially
you kept the studio going
during COVID I mean, you
guys are still here, and
that's hard to say for a
site based business that's
brick and mortar.
There's a digital aspect
to it, so I imagine
you could do that.
But that may be one
of the challenges.
But other ones I'm interested
to hear along the way.
If you broke it down to
sort of the one or two
pivotal things that were
(07:04):
really those roadblocks,
those challenges to get
to the next breakpoint,
do you have those in your
mind?
Are you still going
through them?
How much time do we have?
There's been a lot,
and the challenges now
are a lot more fun.
The early challenges
were just surviving.
When we opened this space,
we sort of vastly
(07:24):
under anticipated how much
the startup costs would be,
how much the overhead
was going to be.
So the first year was
scary because it was just
about surviving.
And the way I describe it is,
imagine going to your
job every day and working
60 hours a week and not
getting paid for it.
But not only that,
you're losing money.
(07:44):
That was what the first
year felt like.
And that's the only way
I can describe it, is like,
eight months of,
like, are we crazy?
What did we do here?
We're just losing money.
Luckily,
that was before I had kids.
Joe was pretty level headed
and was able to walk me
off the ledge a few times.
But the first years
were challenging just
in survival mode.
(08:05):
The challenges were all
how do we pay our employees,
how do we pay the overhead?
And little by little, we
kind of made our dug our
way out of that hole and I
think it was around August
of the first year we were
in business, we finally
started getting some bigger
stuff in and we're having
(08:27):
more consistent users and
somehow ended up breaking
even for the year, which
was a miracle.
But yeah, that was
a scary time and those
are the challenges
we used to face.
And still, I mean,
that pain is still there.
If we have a slower month,
it's still like then you
start getting back into that
survival mode of like,
okay, how do we generate
(08:47):
some immediate revenue?
But now I get to take sort
of a longer term approach
to things and try
to think a couple
months or years ahead.
My challenge now is really
just like, how do I devote
my limited time
and resources to do I focus
(09:08):
today on customer service?
Do I focus on which I mean,
we have studio managers
so they take care of a lot
of the day to day stuff too,
I should say.
It's like the early days
we were kind of doing
both and now I don't have
to worry about the day
to day as much.
But I still have time that I
want to devote to improving
customer service, improving
the sales process, how we
(09:31):
get new customers in,
improving the technology in
the room.
And so there's all of these
buckets to devote your time,
energy and resources to and
money to, but choosing which
route to go and that's been
the biggest challenge, is
like, where do I put my time
into and what's the
priority?
So trying to be more
(09:51):
strategic about the
investments you're making
or the direction that
you're going with the
studio versus sort of the
day to day operations
piece, which you're still
pretty involved in the
studio, right?
Yeah.
So people always ask,
how do you split your time
between the two companies?
And I kind of just prioritize
whichever one needs me
the most at the moment.
(10:12):
And like I said, the studio
kind of runs its day to day.
And again, that was kind
of our vision was like
to build this thing and just
sort of watch it grow.
And I feel like now finally,
seven years later,
we've kind
of gotten to that point.
We have a really great
studio manager, Peter Regan
and a part time manager,
Maria, and they do an
excellent job and they're
better than we are know,
(10:32):
dealing with the customers
that come through day to
day and they actually know
more about what's happening
than we do at this point,
but we still want to be
there to see the next.
Like our big vision is to
have a studio meet kind of
in every city that's great.
And just potentially build
out studio spaces inside
(10:52):
of other companies.
So we have all these bigger
plans that we're
working towards.
But yeah, it's just
splitting the time is kind
of just as needed.
Yeah, and I want to get
into that sort of like,
what's next and how you're
scaling, but you touched
on something interesting.
So talk about the team,
because the team you've
assembled really is
(11:13):
what's allowed you
to scale beyond yourself.
Because before, like you
said, you and your
partners are sort of just
doing everything, and
it's just a matter of
what fire do I need to
put out today?
When you get some
specialized team members
that really have a talent,
and you even said they do
it better than I do, they
can fill in the gaps right
where we have operational
(11:34):
strengths and blind spots,
we need people to sort of
play off of those.
And talk to me about, first
of all, the team that you've
selected, if there's some
things that stand out, but
also, how did you know what
you needed as you built that
team?
Yeah, so that was something
when we started, actually,
(11:54):
we knew we would need a
good studio manager, but we
didn't anticipate how good
of a studio manager we
would need.
We're like, yeah, we're
going to just make the
studio so efficient that
it'll just run itself, and
we'll just have basically
a person there that just
pushes the buttons and
that's it.
But there's so much
more to the role.
And Peter, luckily,
has so many talents.
(12:15):
He's a great filmmaker.
He's really good
with customers.
He gives excellent tours.
He's better speak,
he'd be better to sit here
and talk than I am.
But he's got just talents
in so many different areas,
and that's like,
what we needed.
There were so many
times where we had
when we first started,
we had split the role
up into three
different managers,
(12:36):
and we realized that just
doesn't work.
Because if somebody's
working two days and then
they don't work again
until the next week, it's
like they miss so much
stuff, and they just
don't know what's
happening in the studio.
And that was vastly
more important
than what we realized.
And also just having somebody
who's great with customers
makes them feel at ease.
All that stuff has been
very important for us.
(12:57):
And so we luckily now
have studio managers
where I don't worry
about the studio.
If a customer came in,
I'd always be looking
over the manager's shoulders
and trying to see
if everything was okay.
And now I don't have that,
and it's a huge burden
off of my shoulders.
That's great.
(13:18):
And that's so important
to be able to fully delegate
that over to somebody else.
Do you have a process that
you set up for them?
Is it something where they're
following what you would do,
or did they develop
that or did it just kind
of happen organically?
Apparently, if you just
find this one high school
in Pittsburgh that breeds
these types of managers
because where is that?
(13:40):
It's called Eden, but it's
two of our best studio
managers and another
freelance guy that I know.
They all came from that same
high school, even though
there are only like 25
people in their class, which
is kind of crazy, but I'm
saying that jokingly.
But yeah, all of the good
managers we had just came
from referrals and it takes
some time to figure out what
you need in that role.
(14:02):
What we pictured for that
role when we started
is vastly different.
Actually, one of our
original studio managers,
he works now for
Paris Digital, and he's
amazing in that role.
The studio manager role
wasn't the right fit for
him, but he's excellent in
the role that he's in now.
So finding what people's
strengths are and placing
(14:24):
them in places where those
strengths will flourish,
that's really important.
And it seems like it's
definitely been a good
match with the team that
you've built for you.
It'd be great if the studio
could run itself.
I mean, you've got AI in
here, so we should mention
that as well, that it's
really cool you've been
able to incorporate
technology for things like
(14:45):
switching and managing the
flow of the production,
but there's just some
things you can't have.
They have to have a person
that you trust,
and that is part
of the business operation.
And so it's great that you've
got that thinking about
what's going well, I'm going
to flip it for a little bit.
And is there anything that
(15:05):
you would do differently
and think about what those
might be along the way?
Is there something
I don't know.
As you think about
the journey that you've
taken,
if you had it to do again,
would you do it differently?
And if so,
what would that be?
Yeah, I mean,
it's a hard question because
it's hard to say.
If I were to do something
(15:25):
differently, like what
other new challenges would
we have faced or sure.
We really thought we knew
what we were doing when we
started, but we didn't.
And so the studio costs
way more than we anticipated
because we had
a contractor we consulted
with who turned out to not
know what he was doing.
And he gave us one price,
and then we just took his.
Word for it and then already
signed the lease and already
(15:46):
had things in motion
when we found out.
Like, oh, he doesn't
know what he's doing.
And these other contractors
were like, it's actually
literally ten times.
It was going to be really
what we thought it would be.
So we ended up spending
ten times more
than we anticipated.
And so things like that,
it's like, if I could go
back, that would relieve a
lot of stress for me to
have known that up front,
but then would we have made
(16:07):
the decision to even go
through with it?
Maybe not.
Right?
So there's things that I
would do differently, sure,
but where would we end up?
I don't know.
Maybe we'll be better
than what we are now,
but maybe other challenges
that we can't foresee or
we don't know what
we don't know arrive.
And that's where that could
really perhaps we'd end
(16:28):
up in a worse position
or the studio wouldn't
have made it, right?
Yeah, that's interesting,
too, because it's almost
like you want to have as a
business leader, you want
to have all the information
about the costs, the risks,
but sometimes when you
don't have those and you go
ahead anyway, you make a
better decision.
Right.
You sort of take those
self imposed limits off.
And it sounds like in this
(16:49):
case, it might have been
a blessing in disguise
that you didn't know all
the things that were
entailed when you did that.
And that's actually kind of
my mode of operation anyway.
I have a really hard time
learning stuff up front
where I have no context.
So the only way that I
learn is I do it, I find
out what I don't know,
and then I learn the
stuff I don't know, and
that's the only way I
can operate.
(17:09):
And so I don't know
that it would work
for me to even go.
If I went back in time
and talked to myself,
I would have just not
listened to myself.
I would have been like,
I need to try this
to understand what
you're even saying.
Right.
So, yeah,
that's a tough one for me.
I know there are some
people that are analytical
and they can learn stuff
in advance and then
follow the instructions.
I just can't do it.
(17:30):
If I get an Ikea furniture
to build, I just have
to try to build it myself.
And then when I figure out
why I did something wrong,
I just have to
usually unbuild it and then
look at the instructions
and rebuild it.
So it's just my mode
of operation.
Yeah, you commit to what
you're doing and then
you sort of figure it
out as you're going.
And that works, too.
I mean, sometimes having
too much information
is a bad thing as well,
(17:51):
so it's a good balance.
And obviously
it's worked out.
You've got a really great
studio operation here,
just top of the line in
terms of the quality, in
terms of just the
different things that you
can offer for creators
that want to come in and
use the space.
And I've seen it used in
very professional sort of
business settings as well
as very creative and sort
(18:12):
of open types of
productions where it just
really suits a lot of
different ideas for what
you can do with
entertainment and video
media.
And that probably goes back
to your experience.
But of all the things that
you've got specifically
with the studio, more so
than your digital business,
everything that's here, is
there anything that stands
out that you're most proud
(18:32):
of today?
Well, right now I'm really
proud of the fact that
the dream from
the start was to have a one
button press studio.
And so now, with the help
of AI, we've achieved that.
So this podcast, I don't know
if you'll do some additional
editing to it, but typically
you can just push
the start button and the AI
knows who's speaking.
It'll cut to the right
(18:53):
camera angles and it
looks very human like.
If you compare it side
to side, you might be
able to tell, but it's
pretty hard to tell.
It's probably going
to be a better editor
than I would.
Right.
I just leave it,
let it do its thing.
But yeah, literally,
you're right.
You come in here
and we should say that you
don't have to have a crew
in this operation.
(19:13):
One button, press it,
it's set up to go, and it's
a very easy experience.
Yeah, and it frees up
your time, frees up costs,
because you don't
have to pay us to sit
in here and operate.
Every studio has a DIY
option, and we've made it
where it's a couple of
buttons, like you can press
to make it work.
But in a podcast situation,
you don't want to be
talking and operating it.
(19:34):
So usually you'd still have
to bring somebody with you.
So now this is a case
where it's like,
you can just push a button,
let it go, and it's ready
to upload when you're done.
And then if you do have
that extra time, you can
always add all the bells
and whistles you want
and cut it down into
reels and all that kind
of stuff.
Yeah, it's great,
and I think it suits
this format so well.
(19:56):
But even your other studios
and the rooms in this place
have their own purpose
and function, and they're
sometimes multipurpose.
I've seen where you can sort
of flip the room around
and have a different look.
If we had someone that was
on Zoom or wanted to Skype
or bring somebody in, you've
got that capability as well.
So it's just so versatile.
I think it's really unlike
(20:17):
any space that we have,
not just here in the
Pittsburgh area, but
having traveled around to
other places and been on
other people's studios and
stages, it is something
that is unique.
And I think if you're
looking at what's next and
wanting to build others,
you certainly have a gap
and a need in the
marketplace for a
(20:38):
specialized type of studio
space.
Like, that was that was
our intention, and that's
something that's cool.
Who knows what would
happen if Joe and I opened
up like a storage unit,
but I just don't think
I would be excited to
run that every day.
And this space is like
a playground for us.
(20:59):
We can just go
in and try ideas.
Like I said, I learn best.
I just try it and I observe
and I learn, and then I
just iterate and that's kind
of what we did here.
And these spaces are
specialized, but like you
said, we can kind of
customize it to different
looks and we have a green
screen that comes up here,
so if you don't like the
bookshelf, you can always
(21:19):
replace it with something
else.
We can change
the lighting in here.
You could do a four
person set up here.
So yeah, we just try to
make it versatile so that
it just makes sense for
people to come here versus
trying to set it up in
their home and figure out
how to hook all the
cameras together and then
do all the editing.
Again, I like efficiency, so
(21:41):
I'm all about just like how
do I make it more efficient?
Very efficient, for sure.
Next steps is you talked
about potentially looking
at other locations, other
geographics and trying to
build the next studio me.
Is that what's next or
what is your plan?
Yeah, our whole concept here
(22:03):
was let's try to figure out
a really good model here in
this space and then sort of
take that in other spaces
and hopefully this AI thing
will be the next leap for us
to be able to kind of take
things.
And we could operate
a room like this.
We could open one of these
spaces and just let it sort
of sit there and people can
(22:23):
book it almost like renting
an airbnb, come into the
space and not have to have
anybody actually physically
there.
Like anything we would help
with would be remote
or even just build this out
in corporate company.
A lot of times corporations
like, they want to do
podcasting and they want a
podcast space, but they're
like, we don't have anybody
that has time to run it and
we don't want to have to
rely on a third party to
(22:44):
schedule time with them to
come in.
And it's like if I have
an idea, I want
to just sit down and talk.
So this would hopefully allow
them access to do that.
So that's kind
of our next step.
I mean, this is still very
new and Joe and I have a lot
going on our personal lives.
I have three kids and I have
my other production company,
so we're not in a huge
rush to get this going.
(23:05):
And business always seems to
kind of operate where you're
sort of falling up an know
in a yes, but then you hit
sort of like this plateau
and it's nice to just sort
of stay at that plateau for
a minute just to get your
bearings.
You don't want to stay there
too long, but just enjoy it
until the next cycle of pain
(23:25):
going up the escalator.
So that's kind of
where we're at now.
We're sort of like at that
nice peak and we're just
letting this ride for a
second, figuring out how
people are going to use
this, who's using it, and
then kind of take it from
there.
It's great.
Yeah, well, it's been a great
story to see and just
watching your journey has
been inspiring for sure.
I think like I said,
you've built something
(23:45):
that's unlike any other
space that I've seen, and
it's a lot to be proud
of, and I think it's a
really great testament to
your vision for it, even
if that vision sort of
evolved as it grew.
I don't know if there's
anything else that you
want to share about this
as we've gone through
this, that you were
like, I got to come back
to that.
But I think it's great.
No, it's a really
(24:08):
cool feeling.
Like, despite all the
hardships, the thing that's
cool is this was once just
a red pen drawing on a
napkin, and now it's an
actual thing people use and
get value from.
And that's what I'm
definitely the most proud
of, that we were able
to just take something
from your mind and make it
into reality.
Which is the same reason
(24:28):
why I like filmmaking.
It's like,
you start with nothing.
You write a script, it's
just words on paper, and
then that somehow
becomes a thing that
people watch and enjoy
and get some kind of
emotional reaction from
and value from it.
So business and filmmaking,
I feel like,
are the same in that sense.
There's a lot
of similarities.
It's true.
Yeah.
It's a great story.
(24:49):
Yeah.
As you know, because you
had a production company.
Yeah, I did.
Yeah, I did.
And certainly didn't grow it
as you did with yours.
But I think you have
a purpose and a drive
and a passion behind it that
I think is really what
sets apart everything you've
done, including the studio.
So one of the things that
we do at Rig Night is
we're Ten X business
coach, so we try to
(25:09):
provide value and
learning for
entrepreneurs and
business owners.
If you had someone sitting
here that had they were
trying to think about
whether it's creative
business or starting a
studio or that next thing,
what advice would you give
an entrepreneur who's
thinking about taking that
next step?
Yeah, man, this is I think
the thing that you have
(25:30):
to kind of realize is
everything happens on a much
longer time horizon.
We're so used to just, like,
instant gratification,
or you get hungry, you eat,
and then that's solved.
But that's not how
business or a lot
of things in life work.
It's like a lot
of the stuff you do takes
a long time to actually
see any results from.
And so I'll give you some
advice that a mentor of mine
(25:51):
in high school gave me,
which is just keep your head
down and keep grinding.
And I think kind of what
I took from that is
if you are looking
up every day and like, okay,
where are my results?
You're going to be miserable,
because I did
that for a while.
But if you look back
if I look back a year or
two years ago, like,
wow, a lot's changed
and a lot's better.
(26:12):
But you don't see that day.
To day.
Most of the time, day to day,
you just focus
on the problems and you just
got to ignore all that.
Ignore like, I'm going
to work and it's going
to give me this result.
Just work and just work
towards something that
you care about and
eventually that'll lead
to results and you just
have to trust that
process and you stay
committed to that
process.
(26:32):
It sounds like yeah,
it's great.
And you have that's
a testament to
what you've built.
Thank you.
Yeah, absolutely.
Great.
It's been a great
conversation.
I really appreciate you
sharing all this with us,
and I think this is
something that hopefully
we'll get to revisit and see
where you are next.
But we're going to have a lot
of opportunity to talk
to business leaders in this
studio, so thanks, Keith.
(26:54):
Really appreciate it.
Thanks for coming on.
All right.
And then maybe in a couple of
years, I'll be interviewing
you about the success
of your Ten X business.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate that and yeah,
absolutely.
Be glad to.
Cool.
All right.
Thanks for having me.
Thanks.
My crew is all fired up y'all
better just wise up
(27:15):
everybody getting size up
before we all rise up start
running your times up cause
when my crew ride up the sky
gonna light up everybody I
(27:44):
come out.
Hi, everyone.
Welcome to the
Fired Up Podcast.
I'm your host, Brad Ryba,
and we're excited to have
a guest in the studio today,
Keith Parish.
So let's talk a little bit
about the format here.
Fired Up is a podcast
where we're going to learn
from entrepreneurs,
day in the life, real
stories, and that's what
(00:48):
we do at Ryignite.
Ryignite is about Ignite Your
Journey and Fuel Your Fire.
And this is a program
for entrepreneurs trying
to grow their
business and scale
and go through all
of the breakpoints that
typically challenge us as
business leaders.
And so we want to learn
from the experiences of
real business owners that
(01:09):
are living this every day
and figure out what
worked and what didn't
and what we can learn
from and apply.
So I'm really excited
to talk to you, Keith.
You and I have worked
together on some different
projects and I think have
a good history together
and just really watched
your business thrive and
grow and really interested
to sit down and talk about
your story.
So I'm excited we
(01:29):
have you here today.
For those who don't know him,
Keith Parish is
the owner of Parish Digital
Video Productions and this
wonderful StudioME.
And Keith has been
a video production expert,
a storyteller.
He is a dedicated
entrepreneur and husband
and father to three.
So I think really a great
person to speak to and talk
about the journey
(01:51):
of entrepreneurial life.
And so if I missed anything,
let me know.
But I think the point is
to kind of get to
know you and your business
and your story.
That was great.
And I really appreciate
being on this podcast.
I also appreciate you
were one the early
supporters of StudioME.
You always came to our
networking events
and referred us to people,
and because of people like
you, we made it through
(02:11):
the early years.
So thank you very much.
Absolutely.
It's great.
I love to see every time I
come in here, I feel like
you guys have something
new and innovative and a
new tool for creators to
use, and I want to get
into that.
But take us back
to the beginning, because
you've had a very successful
production career,
parish Digital's done.
I've seen some really high
(02:32):
quality campaigns for some
really well known brands,
and so you've already had
some success in that era.
What started the idea?
Or why is Studio Me something
that's important to you?
Yeah, I mean, this goes back
to 2015, so we're in our
7th year, which is crazy
to think about, but yeah.
So back in 2015, the
landscape was a little
(02:52):
different, and sometimes
it's hard to remember kind
of how things were then,
but there was traditional
media, which is large
crews, large productions,
that was sort of phasing
out to these smaller
productions, which smaller
crews equipment was just
getting more efficient and
easier to use.
And also because of phones,
people were doing
it themselves a lot.
And I saw this shift
(03:13):
happening, but things hadn't
really caught up
to speed yet at that time.
And I don't know, I've always
been somebody who just likes
things to be very efficient.
And I felt like there was
a lot of waste in a lot
of these productions.
We'd have clients that would
call us and hey, can you do
an interview with just one
of our CEO or something?
So we pack all our stuff
(03:34):
up into the van, drive
to location, set it all up.
Then when you'd deal with
phones ringing, people
walking in the hallways,
like all these other
issues, fixing the light,
and so it'd be like a four
hour process to get a ten
minute interview, and
they'd be paying that
whole time for that.
And I was like, if this
was already set up, if
there's a place that we
could go, I would pay for
(03:56):
that, and I'm sure other
people would pay for that
too.
So in a way, it was
scratching our own niche.
That idea was kind of like
on the back burner
for a while, while I had my
production company.
Never really thought too much
of it, but around this time,
Joe, my co founder, and I
became really good friends.
We thought we had very
similar mindsets.
(04:17):
And at that time I had
just gotten married.
We were in our
early thirty s.
Joe unfortunately lost his
father a year prior,
and we just wanted to both
sort of build something
bigger than ourselves.
And my other production
company is called
Parish Digital Video.
It has my last name,
Parish, in it.
So I'm always very tied
to that business.
(04:37):
It's almost like
a lifestyle business.
And I wanted to try my hand
at building something that
was an actual business,
where we would just make
the thing, it would live,
and people would use it and
we would just kind of watch
it grow.
And we both wanted that
sort of thing, and we
knew we'd be good business
partners together.
So before that,
(04:58):
we looked at all different
other businesses.
He was looking at a brewing
company for a while,
and we looked at storage
units, just all different
things, and nothing really
struck a chord with us.
And then one day we were
just at the gym and I
was like, I wonder if I
could talk Joe into this
idea that I had about a
(05:18):
more efficient studio
space.
And I was like,
studio spaces haven't really
evolved in 30 years,
and media is evolving a lot.
Why not?
Instead of having a large
open warehouse space to
do productions, like break
it up into smaller,
more specialized spaces.
And at first he's like,
I don't know about that.
And then by the end of
the gym session, I finally
had him talked into it.
(05:38):
You wore him out.
Yeah.
And we're like, all right,
let's try this thing.
And the other thing is,
there was another person
that we're like.
If we can convince this
person that it's a good
idea, then I think there's
some likes to this.
So we talked to that person
and they love the idea.
So we're like, okay, maybe
this has something there,
(06:00):
but we're still iterating
seven years later and trying
to figure out the perfect
business model for it.
Obviously, we survived
this long, so it's going
just fine, but it's
just something like we're
always working
on and building towards.
Yeah.
You not only survived,
you thrived through a lot
of challenging times
growing the business.
And like you said, each of
(06:22):
these rooms has a purpose.
And I think that's
something unique that I
found about the studio
versus sort of a general
space, and it's all sort
of stripped down and
figure out how to use it.
But you've got real design
and intent around this,
which I think is unique.
And I think that's in my
mind, what's allowed you
to scale at a time where
other businesses are
(06:43):
pulling back, especially
you kept the studio going
during COVID I mean, you
guys are still here, and
that's hard to say for a
site based business that's
brick and mortar.
There's a digital aspect
to it, so I imagine
you could do that.
But that may be one
of the challenges.
But other ones I'm interested
to hear along the way.
If you broke it down to
sort of the one or two
pivotal things that were
(07:04):
really those roadblocks,
those challenges to get
to the next breakpoint,
do you have those in your
mind?
Are you still going
through them?
How much time do we have?
There's been a lot,
and the challenges now
are a lot more fun.
The early challenges
were just surviving.
When we opened this space,
we sort of vastly
(07:24):
under anticipated how much
the startup costs would be,
how much the overhead
was going to be.
So the first year was
scary because it was just
about surviving.
And the way I describe it is,
imagine going to your
job every day and working
60 hours a week and not
getting paid for it.
But not only that,
you're losing money.
(07:44):
That was what the first
year felt like.
And that's the only way
I can describe it, is like,
eight months of,
like, are we crazy?
What did we do here?
We're just losing money.
Luckily,
that was before I had kids.
Joe was pretty level headed
and was able to walk me
off the ledge a few times.
But the first years
were challenging just
in survival mode.
(08:05):
The challenges were all
how do we pay our employees,
how do we pay the overhead?
And little by little, we
kind of made our dug our
way out of that hole and I
think it was around August
of the first year we were
in business, we finally
started getting some bigger
stuff in and we're having
(08:27):
more consistent users and
somehow ended up breaking
even for the year, which
was a miracle.
But yeah, that was
a scary time and those
are the challenges
we used to face.
And still, I mean,
that pain is still there.
If we have a slower month,
it's still like then you
start getting back into that
survival mode of like,
okay, how do we generate
(08:47):
some immediate revenue?
But now I get to take sort
of a longer term approach
to things and try
to think a couple
months or years ahead.
My challenge now is really
just like, how do I devote
my limited time
and resources to do I focus
(09:08):
today on customer service?
Do I focus on which I mean,
we have studio managers
so they take care of a lot
of the day to day stuff too,
I should say.
It's like the early days
we were kind of doing
both and now I don't have
to worry about the day
to day as much.
But I still have time that I
want to devote to improving
customer service, improving
the sales process, how we
(09:31):
get new customers in,
improving the technology in
the room.
And so there's all of these
buckets to devote your time,
energy and resources to and
money to, but choosing which
route to go and that's been
the biggest challenge, is
like, where do I put my time
into and what's the
priority?
So trying to be more
(09:51):
strategic about the
investments you're making
or the direction that
you're going with the
studio versus sort of the
day to day operations
piece, which you're still
pretty involved in the
studio, right?
Yeah.
So people always ask,
how do you split your time
between the two companies?
And I kind of just prioritize
whichever one needs me
the most at the moment.
(10:12):
And like I said, the studio
kind of runs its day to day.
And again, that was kind
of our vision was like
to build this thing and just
sort of watch it grow.
And I feel like now finally,
seven years later,
we've kind
of gotten to that point.
We have a really great
studio manager, Peter Regan
and a part time manager,
Maria, and they do an
excellent job and they're
better than we are know,
(10:32):
dealing with the customers
that come through day to
day and they actually know
more about what's happening
than we do at this point,
but we still want to be
there to see the next.
Like our big vision is to
have a studio meet kind of
in every city that's great.
And just potentially build
out studio spaces inside
(10:52):
of other companies.
So we have all these bigger
plans that we're
working towards.
But yeah, it's just
splitting the time is kind
of just as needed.
Yeah, and I want to get
into that sort of like,
what's next and how you're
scaling, but you touched
on something interesting.
So talk about the team,
because the team you've
assembled really is
(11:13):
what's allowed you
to scale beyond yourself.
Because before, like you
said, you and your
partners are sort of just
doing everything, and
it's just a matter of
what fire do I need to
put out today?
When you get some
specialized team members
that really have a talent,
and you even said they do
it better than I do, they
can fill in the gaps right
where we have operational
(11:34):
strengths and blind spots,
we need people to sort of
play off of those.
And talk to me about, first
of all, the team that you've
selected, if there's some
things that stand out, but
also, how did you know what
you needed as you built that
team?
Yeah, so that was something
when we started, actually,
(11:54):
we knew we would need a
good studio manager, but we
didn't anticipate how good
of a studio manager we
would need.
We're like, yeah, we're
going to just make the
studio so efficient that
it'll just run itself, and
we'll just have basically
a person there that just
pushes the buttons and
that's it.
But there's so much
more to the role.
And Peter, luckily,
has so many talents.
(12:15):
He's a great filmmaker.
He's really good
with customers.
He gives excellent tours.
He's better speak,
he'd be better to sit here
and talk than I am.
But he's got just talents
in so many different areas,
and that's like,
what we needed.
There were so many
times where we had
when we first started,
we had split the role
up into three
different managers,
(12:36):
and we realized that just
doesn't work.
Because if somebody's
working two days and then
they don't work again
until the next week, it's
like they miss so much
stuff, and they just
don't know what's
happening in the studio.
And that was vastly
more important
than what we realized.
And also just having somebody
who's great with customers
makes them feel at ease.
All that stuff has been
very important for us.
(12:57):
And so we luckily now
have studio managers
where I don't worry
about the studio.
If a customer came in,
I'd always be looking
over the manager's shoulders
and trying to see
if everything was okay.
And now I don't have that,
and it's a huge burden
off of my shoulders.
That's great.
(13:18):
And that's so important
to be able to fully delegate
that over to somebody else.
Do you have a process that
you set up for them?
Is it something where they're
following what you would do,
or did they develop
that or did it just kind
of happen organically?
Apparently, if you just
find this one high school
in Pittsburgh that breeds
these types of managers
because where is that?
(13:40):
It's called Eden, but it's
two of our best studio
managers and another
freelance guy that I know.
They all came from that same
high school, even though
there are only like 25
people in their class, which
is kind of crazy, but I'm
saying that jokingly.
But yeah, all of the good
managers we had just came
from referrals and it takes
some time to figure out what
you need in that role.
(14:02):
What we pictured for that
role when we started
is vastly different.
Actually, one of our
original studio managers,
he works now for
Paris Digital, and he's
amazing in that role.
The studio manager role
wasn't the right fit for
him, but he's excellent in
the role that he's in now.
So finding what people's
strengths are and placing
(14:24):
them in places where those
strengths will flourish,
that's really important.
And it seems like it's
definitely been a good
match with the team that
you've built for you.
It'd be great if the studio
could run itself.
I mean, you've got AI in
here, so we should mention
that as well, that it's
really cool you've been
able to incorporate
technology for things like
(14:45):
switching and managing the
flow of the production,
but there's just some
things you can't have.
They have to have a person
that you trust,
and that is part
of the business operation.
And so it's great that you've
got that thinking about
what's going well, I'm going
to flip it for a little bit.
And is there anything that
(15:05):
you would do differently
and think about what those
might be along the way?
Is there something
I don't know.
As you think about
the journey that you've
taken,
if you had it to do again,
would you do it differently?
And if so,
what would that be?
Yeah, I mean,
it's a hard question because
it's hard to say.
If I were to do something
(15:25):
differently, like what
other new challenges would
we have faced or sure.
We really thought we knew
what we were doing when we
started, but we didn't.
And so the studio costs
way more than we anticipated
because we had
a contractor we consulted
with who turned out to not
know what he was doing.
And he gave us one price,
and then we just took his.
Word for it and then already
signed the lease and already
(15:46):
had things in motion
when we found out.
Like, oh, he doesn't
know what he's doing.
And these other contractors
were like, it's actually
literally ten times.
It was going to be really
what we thought it would be.
So we ended up spending
ten times more
than we anticipated.
And so things like that,
it's like, if I could go
back, that would relieve a
lot of stress for me to
have known that up front,
but then would we have made
(16:07):
the decision to even go
through with it?
Maybe not.
Right?
So there's things that I
would do differently, sure,
but where would we end up?
I don't know.
Maybe we'll be better
than what we are now,
but maybe other challenges
that we can't foresee or
we don't know what
we don't know arrive.
And that's where that could
really perhaps we'd end
(16:28):
up in a worse position
or the studio wouldn't
have made it, right?
Yeah, that's interesting,
too, because it's almost
like you want to have as a
business leader, you want
to have all the information
about the costs, the risks,
but sometimes when you
don't have those and you go
ahead anyway, you make a
better decision.
Right.
You sort of take those
self imposed limits off.
And it sounds like in this
(16:49):
case, it might have been
a blessing in disguise
that you didn't know all
the things that were
entailed when you did that.
And that's actually kind of
my mode of operation anyway.
I have a really hard time
learning stuff up front
where I have no context.
So the only way that I
learn is I do it, I find
out what I don't know,
and then I learn the
stuff I don't know, and
that's the only way I
can operate.
(17:09):
And so I don't know
that it would work
for me to even go.
If I went back in time
and talked to myself,
I would have just not
listened to myself.
I would have been like,
I need to try this
to understand what
you're even saying.
Right.
So, yeah,
that's a tough one for me.
I know there are some
people that are analytical
and they can learn stuff
in advance and then
follow the instructions.
I just can't do it.
(17:30):
If I get an Ikea furniture
to build, I just have
to try to build it myself.
And then when I figure out
why I did something wrong,
I just have to
usually unbuild it and then
look at the instructions
and rebuild it.
So it's just my mode
of operation.
Yeah, you commit to what
you're doing and then
you sort of figure it
out as you're going.
And that works, too.
I mean, sometimes having
too much information
is a bad thing as well,
(17:51):
so it's a good balance.
And obviously
it's worked out.
You've got a really great
studio operation here,
just top of the line in
terms of the quality, in
terms of just the
different things that you
can offer for creators
that want to come in and
use the space.
And I've seen it used in
very professional sort of
business settings as well
as very creative and sort
(18:12):
of open types of
productions where it just
really suits a lot of
different ideas for what
you can do with
entertainment and video
media.
And that probably goes back
to your experience.
But of all the things that
you've got specifically
with the studio, more so
than your digital business,
everything that's here, is
there anything that stands
out that you're most proud
(18:32):
of today?
Well, right now I'm really
proud of the fact that
the dream from
the start was to have a one
button press studio.
And so now, with the help
of AI, we've achieved that.
So this podcast, I don't know
if you'll do some additional
editing to it, but typically
you can just push
the start button and the AI
knows who's speaking.
It'll cut to the right
(18:53):
camera angles and it
looks very human like.
If you compare it side
to side, you might be
able to tell, but it's
pretty hard to tell.
It's probably going
to be a better editor
than I would.
Right.
I just leave it,
let it do its thing.
But yeah, literally,
you're right.
You come in here
and we should say that you
don't have to have a crew
in this operation.
(19:13):
One button, press it,
it's set up to go, and it's
a very easy experience.
Yeah, and it frees up
your time, frees up costs,
because you don't
have to pay us to sit
in here and operate.
Every studio has a DIY
option, and we've made it
where it's a couple of
buttons, like you can press
to make it work.
But in a podcast situation,
you don't want to be
talking and operating it.
(19:34):
So usually you'd still have
to bring somebody with you.
So now this is a case
where it's like,
you can just push a button,
let it go, and it's ready
to upload when you're done.
And then if you do have
that extra time, you can
always add all the bells
and whistles you want
and cut it down into
reels and all that kind
of stuff.
Yeah, it's great,
and I think it suits
this format so well.
(19:56):
But even your other studios
and the rooms in this place
have their own purpose
and function, and they're
sometimes multipurpose.
I've seen where you can sort
of flip the room around
and have a different look.
If we had someone that was
on Zoom or wanted to Skype
or bring somebody in, you've
got that capability as well.
So it's just so versatile.
I think it's really unlike
(20:17):
any space that we have,
not just here in the
Pittsburgh area, but
having traveled around to
other places and been on
other people's studios and
stages, it is something
that is unique.
And I think if you're
looking at what's next and
wanting to build others,
you certainly have a gap
and a need in the
marketplace for a
(20:38):
specialized type of studio
space.
Like, that was that was
our intention, and that's
something that's cool.
Who knows what would
happen if Joe and I opened
up like a storage unit,
but I just don't think
I would be excited to
run that every day.
And this space is like
a playground for us.
(20:59):
We can just go
in and try ideas.
Like I said, I learn best.
I just try it and I observe
and I learn, and then I
just iterate and that's kind
of what we did here.
And these spaces are
specialized, but like you
said, we can kind of
customize it to different
looks and we have a green
screen that comes up here,
so if you don't like the
bookshelf, you can always
(21:19):
replace it with something
else.
We can change
the lighting in here.
You could do a four
person set up here.
So yeah, we just try to
make it versatile so that
it just makes sense for
people to come here versus
trying to set it up in
their home and figure out
how to hook all the
cameras together and then
do all the editing.
Again, I like efficiency, so
(21:41):
I'm all about just like how
do I make it more efficient?
Very efficient, for sure.
Next steps is you talked
about potentially looking
at other locations, other
geographics and trying to
build the next studio me.
Is that what's next or
what is your plan?
Yeah, our whole concept here
(22:03):
was let's try to figure out
a really good model here in
this space and then sort of
take that in other spaces
and hopefully this AI thing
will be the next leap for us
to be able to kind of take
things.
And we could operate
a room like this.
We could open one of these
spaces and just let it sort
of sit there and people can
(22:23):
book it almost like renting
an airbnb, come into the
space and not have to have
anybody actually physically
there.
Like anything we would help
with would be remote
or even just build this out
in corporate company.
A lot of times corporations
like, they want to do
podcasting and they want a
podcast space, but they're
like, we don't have anybody
that has time to run it and
we don't want to have to
rely on a third party to
(22:44):
schedule time with them to
come in.
And it's like if I have
an idea, I want
to just sit down and talk.
So this would hopefully allow
them access to do that.
So that's kind
of our next step.
I mean, this is still very
new and Joe and I have a lot
going on our personal lives.
I have three kids and I have
my other production company,
so we're not in a huge
rush to get this going.
(23:05):
And business always seems to
kind of operate where you're
sort of falling up an know
in a yes, but then you hit
sort of like this plateau
and it's nice to just sort
of stay at that plateau for
a minute just to get your
bearings.
You don't want to stay there
too long, but just enjoy it
until the next cycle of pain
(23:25):
going up the escalator.
So that's kind of
where we're at now.
We're sort of like at that
nice peak and we're just
letting this ride for a
second, figuring out how
people are going to use
this, who's using it, and
then kind of take it from
there.
It's great.
Yeah, well, it's been a great
story to see and just
watching your journey has
been inspiring for sure.
I think like I said,
you've built something
(23:45):
that's unlike any other
space that I've seen, and
it's a lot to be proud
of, and I think it's a
really great testament to
your vision for it, even
if that vision sort of
evolved as it grew.
I don't know if there's
anything else that you
want to share about this
as we've gone through
this, that you were
like, I got to come back
to that.
But I think it's great.
No, it's a really
(24:08):
cool feeling.
Like, despite all the
hardships, the thing that's
cool is this was once just
a red pen drawing on a
napkin, and now it's an
actual thing people use and
get value from.
And that's what I'm
definitely the most proud
of, that we were able
to just take something
from your mind and make it
into reality.
Which is the same reason
(24:28):
why I like filmmaking.
It's like,
you start with nothing.
You write a script, it's
just words on paper, and
then that somehow
becomes a thing that
people watch and enjoy
and get some kind of
emotional reaction from
and value from it.
So business and filmmaking,
I feel like,
are the same in that sense.
There's a lot
of similarities.
It's true.
Yeah.
It's a great story.
(24:49):
Yeah.
As you know, because you
had a production company.
Yeah, I did.
Yeah, I did.
And certainly didn't grow it
as you did with yours.
But I think you have
a purpose and a drive
and a passion behind it that
I think is really what
sets apart everything you've
done, including the studio.
So one of the things that
we do at Rig Night is
we're Ten X business
coach, so we try to
(25:09):
provide value and
learning for
entrepreneurs and
business owners.
If you had someone sitting
here that had they were
trying to think about
whether it's creative
business or starting a
studio or that next thing,
what advice would you give
an entrepreneur who's
thinking about taking that
next step?
Yeah, man, this is I think
the thing that you have
(25:30):
to kind of realize is
everything happens on a much
longer time horizon.
We're so used to just, like,
instant gratification,
or you get hungry, you eat,
and then that's solved.
But that's not how
business or a lot
of things in life work.
It's like a lot
of the stuff you do takes
a long time to actually
see any results from.
And so I'll give you some
advice that a mentor of mine
(25:51):
in high school gave me,
which is just keep your head
down and keep grinding.
And I think kind of what
I took from that is
if you are looking
up every day and like, okay,
where are my results?
You're going to be miserable,
because I did
that for a while.
But if you look back
if I look back a year or
two years ago, like,
wow, a lot's changed
and a lot's better.
(26:12):
But you don't see that day.
To day.
Most of the time, day to day,
you just focus
on the problems and you just
got to ignore all that.
Ignore like, I'm going
to work and it's going
to give me this result.
Just work and just work
towards something that
you care about and
eventually that'll lead
to results and you just
have to trust that
process and you stay
committed to that
process.
(26:32):
It sounds like yeah,
it's great.
And you have that's
a testament to
what you've built.
Thank you.
Yeah, absolutely.
Great.
It's been a great
conversation.
I really appreciate you
sharing all this with us,
and I think this is
something that hopefully
we'll get to revisit and see
where you are next.
But we're going to have a lot
of opportunity to talk
to business leaders in this
studio, so thanks, Keith.
(26:54):
Really appreciate it.
Thanks for coming on.
All right.
And then maybe in a couple of
years, I'll be interviewing
you about the success
of your Ten X business.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate that and yeah,
absolutely.
Be glad to.
Cool.
All right.
Thanks for having me.
Thanks.
My crew is all fired up y'all
better just wise up
(27:15):
everybody getting size up
before we all rise up start
running your times up cause
when my crew ride up the sky
gonna light up everybody I
(27:44):
come out.
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