We recently connected with Robert & Samantha Brooksby and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Robert & Samantha, thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
Robby has always wanted to work in media – you could always find a video camera in his hand as a teenager, and he graduated with a degree in Telecommunications from Ball State University. He worked out in LA as a television editor, then ended up back in Indiana briefly before moving to Florida with Sammi. He already started working on his own production company back then, but was focusing on producing commercials and small projects that usually didn’t really excite him (though he pretended they did!). Then he got into a car accident which left him with chronic pain and made standing on a set for hours much more difficult, and sometimes even impossible. Then the pandemic hit, and just like everyone in the world, we needed something to do. We had already been thinking of starting a podcast to share Robby’s struggles with his new daily pain, so we set up a makeshift recording area in our living room and planned out a few episodes. We were generously gifted some microphones and Robby ordered a RØDECaster Pro to record on, and we just sat down with an outline and started talking. Sammi and her best friend Ashley also decided it would be fun to do a Disney based podcast remotely, so we bought some USB mics, and figured out how to record using Zoom. We quickly realized we needed a true recording space, so we set up a podcast studio in our house, which initially was just a small table with our recording equipment set up in front of a white backdrop. Robby initially did all of the editing, but it started to become overwhelming due to his pain issues and doctors appointments, so Sammi learned to edit audio within the first few months. We recorded our first episode in March and then launched our first podcast in April. We told everyone we knew about it and then started posting on our own social media about the episodes. Eventually we created a dedicated business Instagram and accounts for each podcast. It took about a year to really feel like we know what we are doing and to start to build an audience.
Robert & Samantha, 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?
Robby has always loved the film and media world, and he has always aspired to own his own company. His degree in Telecommunications and history of film and television work (both on set and behind the scenes) really allows him to see the bigger picture and how to grow the company. Limitless Broadcasting Network originally started off with just two podcast shows, “The Painful Truth of Living With Chronic Pain” and the Disney centered “Pixie Dust Twins Podcast.” Now we’ve grown to six shows with more in the works. We love each and every podcast we produce, and are so happy to have more amazing people joining us on the network. In the last year, we started promoting the network at conventions, which has been so much fun. Not only have we met so many amazing people at the cons, but we also have been able to tap into our creativity even more by selling t-shirts, tumblers, and custom painted horror masks to help raise money for the network. We started off at horror cons, like Spooky Empire and Spookala in 2023, and now we also have been vendors at some awesome pop culture and comic cons, like the Indiana Comic Con, and later this year we’ll be at the Tampa Bay Comic Convention.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
Self producing podcasts has been a challenge, but with Robby’s history in film and television editing the transition wasn’t too challenging. But physical items for conventions is a whole other challenge. When Robby decided to start selling t-shirts, he originally was having them printed by a separate company, but due to cost he decided to start producing them himself. He researched how to press shirts, bought a heat press machine and started making his own shirts after watching a few YouTube videos. Heading into 2024, he decided to start making custom tumblers. He bought a tumbler press from Amazon, and again watched lots of YouTube tutorials. The tumblers took a lot of trial and error to get them just right, but now he has close to 30 designs. For the Jason and Ghost Face masks, Sammi researched how cosplayers create their awesome masks. She quickly learned that different masks require different prep, paint layers, and even different sealer. She found that making templates helps her work more efficiently, but since each mask is hand painted, she also found that she works better when she works on several masks at once, which allows each mask time to dry between layers and prevents her from feeling burnt out on painting one design. The most important thing they’ve both learned is to just dive in and just be okay with your mistakes because that’s the best way to learn and improve!
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
In 2023 when Robby told Sammi he wanted to start promoting Limitless Broadcasting Network at horror cons, she thought he lost his mind. But she agreed to help anyway. At our first horror con, we had three t-shirt designs, some fun mystery boxes filled with various horror collectibles, and our now iconic Michael Myers mannequin. Compared to the other vendors, we essentially had nothing to show. We didn’t even have our company banner yet. But that con sealed the deal for us to continue. We barely made any sales, but the people who did come to our booth happily listened to our spiel about the network and each sale made us light up. Each person who interacted with us that weekend holds a special place on our hearts, and there are two horror fans in particular who we have seen at almost every con since, and we are always excited to see them. Those small sales from that con really were a turning point for how we would promote and raise money going forward.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://limitlessbroadcastingnetwork.com/
- Instagram: @limitlessbroadcasting
- Facebook: Limitless Broadcasting Network
- Youtube: @limitlessnetwork1950