We were lucky to catch up with Brandon Rivera recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brandon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

This question is somewhat difficult to answer because not only have I experienced many unexpected problems, but to this day, I still do! So it’s hard to pin-point a single one, but one thing I tell newer entrepreneurs, or just people in general who are curious, is business (for me, at least) feels a lot like a show called Silicon Valley. I highly recommend it to everyone, as it’s a hilarious show about ‘tech-bros’ in Silicon Valley, but I particularly recommend it for people who want to start a business, or have recently started a business.

Without spoiling too much, the show follows a start-up that constantly goes through hills and valleys during its tenure; highest of highs and lowest of lows at every turn. One minute they’re on cloud 9 after achieving some amazing breakthrough or success, and the next minute they’re trying to scrap by with zero revenue and it feels like it’s the end of the line.

The reason why I bring this show up is because while watching it, I felt like somebody was recreating my life as a business person. It’s bizarre how things can be going so right and so wrong at the same time, and oftentimes I’ve felt like I’m trying to hold up the weight of the world while standing on a medicine ball. So unstable, that one wrong move and everything will come crashing down.

I’ve achieved things I never thought I would, and I’ve had my heart broken more times than I can count. Whether it be promises rescinded, investments not coming through, employees not delivering, or having to plead and beg for help only to be turned down. Whatever the reason, there’s been a ton of heartbreak, and many times it feels as if I’d never recover.

I’m not sure if I’m supposed to giving advice here, or I’m just supposed to tell a story, but the point I’m trying to get to here is that you just have to get up and keep going. You’re going to get gut-punched, kicked to the ground, and all of the metaphorically terrible things you can think of. You’re going to feel like you’re alone and that you have no idea what you’re doing, but you really have to claw and fight your way through all of the pain.

Or maybe I just used this interview as mini-therapy session for myself. I don’t know. But if you’re reading this and you’re starting out in business, or you have a new/young start-up, just know these feelings and experiences are (unfortunately) normal. So take the hit, get back up, and keep pushing. And this doesn’t just apply to entrepreneurs/business people. Whatever it is you’re pursuing in life, don’t stay down.

Brandon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a composer who has composed music and scores for various films, tv shows, ads, trailers, and more. I’ve been professionally composing and producing music for about 12 years now. Because of my experience in writing music for these productions, my most recent business is a multi-faceted production audio company, or to keep it simple, a music and SFX library. We license music to brands/studios for their projects (B2B), and more recently launched our B2C model where we offer a music & SFX catalog to content creators through a subscription model.

The idea behind the B2C catalog is to give content creators (Twitch streamers, YouTubers, freelance filmmakers/editors) a resource of music and SFX to use in their works without having to worry about copyright strikes so they can monetize their content. In todays world, there are so many content creators out there, big and small, trying to make a name for themselves, and there are many things that go into elevating your content to get more viewers, and good audio is one of the key ones.

That’s where we come in. Quality music and audio from actual artists, not just generic background elevator music (although we do have some of that too, if that’s what your project calls for). But the idea here is that it’s artists supporting artists.

Our roster is full of musicians who are also trying to make a name for themselves, so we hope that our platform can help give them a little more of a voice. We want to help our musicians grow while we also help our customers grow. A rising tide raises all ships, and that’s what we’re all about. As we’re still in our start-up phase, we’re continually building and growing and every step of the way, are trying to do more for our artists and our customers as well. The hardest part is being patient, as we’re excited to do all the things we plan to do.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

This can be quite tricky, and has a different response for any particular level of the current morale. I’m sure there are people that disagree with me, but there is a level of low morale where it might be impossible to pull your team up. But not every time. The trick is knowing when there’s hope, and when hope is gone. Regardless of what the current level of morale is for the team as a whole, the number 1 thing that matters most is you can’t allow yourself to give up hope. If there’s any chance of inspiring your team and raising morale, or maintaining the high morale you may have, you need to exude it yourself. Whether you run a tight ship as a leader, or a more democratic, equal playing field with your team, somebody has to have hope and be the rock for the team. And as the leader/manager, it needs to be you. If you find yourself losing hope, don’t show it to your team, but let it out on your own time. Whether that be allowing yourself to feel self pity, or taking a break and doing something to clear your mind, whatever it may be, you can never let your team see that you’ve lost hope, because they definitely will.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I’m not huge on business books. While many of them do contain lots of relevant and useful information, I find that a majority of them are just cash-grabbing victory laps from those that are already wildly successful. This isn’t meant to completely dog on these books; I’ve read a few, and have definitely read some great approaches to business, but for the most part, I find I read a few pages of useful information, and many chapters of fluff.

With that said, I’d have to say my favorite book I’ve read about business would have to be “Your Next Five Moves” by Patrick Bet-David. You may have a particular opinion about him and his political beliefs, and whatever they may be, that’s fine. But objectively, he breaks down a lot of principles that helped him in his journey that are great suggestions. A lot of what he said in that book transitioned by way of thinking about what’s more important: my ego or the success of my business, and without that mind shift, I don’t think I’d be as far as I am today (and hopefully will be in the future).