Randy Cantrell

Randy Cantrell is the founder of Bula Network, LLC - an executive leadership advisory company helping leaders leverage the power of others through peer advantage, online peer advisory groups. Interested in joining us? Visit ThePeerAdvantage.com

The Blue Yeti And An Inexpensive DIY Sound Booth

DIY Portable Sound Booth

The Blue Yeti is a condenser mic with multiple direction settings, making it a very versatile inexpensive, high quality mic.

Condenser mics are very sensitive. Room noise can be a problem.

About 2 years ago I set about to create a portable sound booth to use with the Yeti. It began with a cloth, collapsible basket from The Container Store. It was on sale for less than $10. I had some acoustical foam already. You can find it on eBay or at a variety of sound gear dealers. It can be pricey and yes, the quality does vary greatly. But for my purposes I wasn’t terribly concerned with buying or using the absolute greatest foam. You can see from the picture that I used rather inexpensive 1″ foam. I cut it to go on all the interior sides of the basket. I avoided using any at the base of the mic, but you could do that, too if you were so inclined. In such a confined space I doubt you’d notice the difference.

The results are noticeable, but you should remember that mic technique plays a huge role in the quality of your recording. Do plenty of test recordings from a variety of distances. Typically, you’ll find things sound best when you’re mouth is a few inches from the mic and you’re talking at normal volume.

I posted a test recording (about 5 minutes long) over on SoundCloud. Listen to it and let me know what you think.

Total cost, including the Blue Yeti (less than $100) was around $120. Not bad for a DIY portable sound booth.

The Blue Yeti And An Inexpensive DIY Sound Booth Read More »

The 5 Faces Of Small Business Problems

I say it too often, but it’s only because I love it so…and because it’s profound. And because it’s more often than not, true!

“Everything is hard until it’s easy.”

Small business owners sometimes find themselves believing that everything is hard, if not impossible. They can easily fall into the trap of believing that it’s just how things are. Despair creeps in when an entrepreneur can’t seem to find a solution.

Enter the word, pivot. When what we’re doing doesn’t work, then pivot, change, do something different.

That’s not always the best solution though. Sometimes our business is on the right track, we’re just misusing the whip on the horse. Or we’re holding the bridle too tightly. Or we’ve got our heels hitting the horse, making him uncomfortable. And slower.

I tend to encounter a handful of issues that slow down small businesses who employ me to help them sort through the maze as they try to fix what ails them. It often results in a sense of overwhelming emotions, the impulse that screams, “We’ll never get all this fixed.”

In my experience, the truth is that many of these problems can be more easily solved than the owner thinks. The hardest part can sometimes be convincing the business owner that a fix is possible. And that it doesn’t require blowing up the joint.

Make no mistake, it is hard. Very hard. But once we come to terms with the reality of our problems, then we can more easily (and clearly) see the possible solutions. Then it gets easier. Not easy, but easier.

Once we determine we’re going to fix what ails us, and we embrace our own tenacity to make it so – that’s when it starts to get easy!

 

The 5 Faces Of Small Business Problems Read More »

Episode 125 – Self-Talk, Mindset And How We Create The Life We Have Instead Of The Life We Want

Podcast: Download or Non-Flash Playback

What do you say when you talk to yourself?

“I’m my own worst enemy,” she said.

“It seems everywhere I turn I sabotage my own success.”

Friends describe her as pessimistic. She thinks of herself as being a realist. Like most of us, she thinks she sees things as they really are. Sadly, she thinks things are really bad.

And she’s right.

Henry Ford is credited with the famous quote, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.”

So what do we do to help ourselves? What can we change to improve our self-talk and our mindset? Are we doomed to maintain an outlook on life – on our life – that sabotages our future success?

People can improve. We can change. We can learn.

Questions are worth asking…and perhaps more importantly, they’re worth answering. Let’s dive into them together to see if we can help ourselves.

Episode 125 – Self-Talk, Mindset And How We Create The Life We Have Instead Of The Life We Want Read More »

Scroll to Top