We recently connected with Fred Willis and have shared our conversation below.

Fred , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Is your team able to work remotely? If so, how have you made it work? What, if any, have been the pitfalls? What have been the non-obvious benefits?

I discovered that my company has already existed as remote first when the pandemic hit. I have been on red carpets across the country, I’ve played numerous concerts of all sizes in all types of venues across the world, but I have found the greatest level of comfort in my workspace at home. As a digital media entrepreneur, most of what I have contributed was completed at home. I can truly say that I thrive in a remote work environment and that I don’t only work from home, I do most of my best work at home!

Fred , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a musing musician. I view myself as a musician/audio engineer primarily but curiosity in other areas of life have opened doors of creativity in other fields of interest. For the longest, I wanted to be the second coming of Berry Gordy, Jr. and own and operate a Motown like record label. I wanted to employ the best singer/songwriters and musicians. I wanted to create a space for them to co-exist under one imprint. To do that, I began independent studies of the music industry and audio engineering.

When it came time to choose a college, I was torn between Berklee College of Music and Grambling State University. I chose Berklee and applied. I was accepted and received a scholarship but the financial burden was too much for me to carry or so I thought. I always said I’d transfer but never did. I kept my sights set on audio engineering and music business, but options in Texas were limited.

I eventually chose Weatherford College and “Harvard on the Hill” became my window to the world! I found myself writing about many of my experiences. Whether it was the initial shock of earning the highest grade in English 1301 by midterms or unrequited love during freshman year, I wrote about it. It was also at my home away from home that I began to take the craft of songwriting seriously. I learned so much about life, myself and of course music while there and of the many friendships made and maintained since, one shifted my entire life. Years after our time at WC, Charles McCampbell connected to his aunt and the Glory Gospel Singers. I traveled with GGS for a number of years and created many great memories with my tour mates and locals, abroad.

After completing my studies at Cedar Valley College in 2011, I was again on a path to follow my dream of music and the creating the label. Opportunities were scarce, so I began recording at home and I would occasionally contract production and engineering work from my home studio. Virtual production was exploding and one of my biggest opportunities at the time came when I produced a comedy album for a radio show host. After that, I produced snippets for his next album. That was the last big opportunity for a while and I was low on funds so I turned to blogging. Soon after that, I found myself blogging about everything and opportunities grew from there. I never wanted to leave the musician space so I chose to write about music and feature independent artists in my column. From there, I began a podcast featuring their music which became a syndicated show on 10 different internet radio platforms. Other the years, the show reached syndication on stations as far as Manchester, England (on the DAB) and the Little Cayman Islands.

Show coverage netted opportunities to go cover awards shows, events and meet the artists I wrote about. This led to many other opportunities to meet authors, actors, business and faith leaders and my column grew to include coverage about them.

I wrote about this in my book, “The Journey to Genesis” and because I can’t include everything here, I’ll say that the right pivot at the right time has allowed me to embark on each opportunity as it was presented!

Now, Willis Communications exists as a digital media company with an internet radio station, digital newsletter, video production suite with podcasts and vlogs and writing service. Never throw away an experience, you can use everything you’ve experienced and I’m living proof of it!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

You know, sometimes you gotta talk your stuff and let people sort their feelings out! I was new to podcasting and sought to bring my show to other networks. One call with a station in South Carolina proved to be a game changer for me and my resilience. If you’re going to do anything noteworthy, you’re going to need resilience. On the phone with a network owner and radio industry veteran, I was told that because I couldn’t afford the monthly fee to broadcast on the station ($2K+) I was a mere hobbyist.

Because the woman was a bonafide industry veteran and Mass Communications professor, I stayed on the call to hear more. I took the time to learn from her in that moment, even though I wouldn’t be joining her station. I wish I could remember her name and station because I would like to thank her! Even while “dissing” me, she told me exactly what I needed to do to be taken more seriously in the industry.

I really wished I could have joined her station and was glad she didn’t just end the conversation, but I was unsure if I could ever spend more than $2K a month for air time. I thanked her for her time and as we ended the call, I wanted to say, “you may not hear back from me, but you will hear about me!” I didn’t say it because I was a neophyte broadcaster and had nothing to stand on but my will to work.

I never forgot that conversation and never will. In life and especially in business, you have to believe in your genius and just go! I believe God gave me those words and in the wake of that moment, I told myself that I will never go silent in a moment like that again!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Video production has been the one thing I never wanted to do. I have a few friends say to me, “I can see you doing video” and I hated hearing it! I’m an audio guy and never even thought about video because I knew nothing about it besides it being more time consuming and data/storage consumptive than audio projects. For years, I steered clear of any video projects and remained “true” to my audio mission.

I fought the change for so long that missed great opportunities. I was on red carpets conducting audio interviews when vlogs became the norm. I can’t say that resources weren’t there, rather unwillingness to use them is what held me back. Once I began recording video interviews, engagement skyrocketed. In the wake of the change, I found myself asking the question, “why didn’t I do this sooner?”

Because I finally leaned in to learning new skills of video editing and production, I was able to increase the quality of my work and even add the element to my skill set. As I learned the basics, I inquired more about video production and by asking that question, I learned how to produce on the fly using new software as it became available. Now, I can even produce HD video on the flying using a cell phone. Do I wish I’d done it sooner, absolutely!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.willcommm.net
• Instagram: @whoisfredwillis
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhoIsFredWillis
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-willis-9a807137/
• Twitter: @iknowgospel ; @SMGMusicMedia
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/Freddy229