We had the good fortune of connecting with Destany Silverback and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Destany, how do you think about risk?
Risks are essential. Any gainful step I ever took forward was a huge risk, but the percieved value always outweighed the risk. I’ve read books about success and finance and all of them tend to say the same thing. The best time to take a leap forward is when your scared, and when you know it makes sense to you, but to nobody else. We all have heard that starting a business is risky, but let’s try a different mental perspective. Risks are inevitable and a part of everything we do everyday. Driving a car is risky, but people feel getting to work is worth that risk. More seriously, having a job is risky, employers change their mind all the time. I recently learned that California is an “at-will” state, meaning employers don’t need to give 2 week’s notice or a reason to fire you, and you don’t need to give 2 weeks notice or a reason to quit. It’s all about percieved value. Some people will read that sentence from a “risk” perspective and think that it’s not okay for companies to be able to “change their minds” on their employees. Others will read that sentence from a reward mentality and think, “So I can just quit my job when I want and for whatever reason I want?” These people tend to start businesses to replace their current income, because assessing risks helps uncover big rewards.

What should our readers know about your business?
Silverback Audio is a recording studio in Burbank, CA. We record, mix, and master audio, we mentor, and we educate. Since moving to Burbank, CA we partnered with a media college and we teach their students a college level curriculum inside of our studio. Having long term relationships with our clients is a business essential. Most of our clients regularly drive from San Diego to Burbank just to work with us. While they’re out here we also mentor them on how to launch and maintain their own businesses back in San Diego. We provide this mentorship because we know how much the music industry doesn’t pay. Many artists set a goal to get a million streams, thinking it will pay. I remember the first time one of our songs got a millon views and when the checks came in, everyone was definitely disappointed. This is why it’s important for artists to be educated on how to properly monetize their brands/clout. Silverback Audio also does a lot of Business to Business work doing commercials, voiceovers, and ADR work. Now how did all this happen so fast? Was it easy? Absolutely not. Challeneges happen but are a matter of mindset. Part of our sucess is understanding that sometimes you have to step sideways so you can step forward. If the path ahead is blocked, step to the side a little bit and see what’s there. We felt LA was not affordable, but once we turned to the real estate industry, LA easily became affordable. We stepped sideways, out of our industry, to step forward, in our industry. Never attach yourself to a set path ahead, leave yourself open to opportunities.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Everyone who visits us is always from out of state, and always in the winter so Day 1 ALWAYS starts with In-N-Out. We always have to hit the pool a few times, grill, and show off the amazing LA views. I start my days with a good breakfast and a hike. One of my favorite breakfast places is The Beachwood Cafe. We have tons of memories there and it’s walking distance from the famous Hollywood Stairs, the Garden of Oz, and Lake Hollywood Park. Another fun place to get breakfast is The Breakfast Club in Hollywood. It’s a fun Looney Tunes type vibe inside and has amazing waffles. It’s very easy to see downtown Hollywood afterwards and go on a hike in Griffith Park to the Griffith Observatory. Another great breakfast spot is Aeirloom Cafe in Burbank, nearby is the Warner Bros studio tour and Universal Studios. On Saturdays I play in a volleyball league in Santa Monica and so, of course, we’d spend a whole day exploring Santa Monica.

Some of my favorite dinner places are Santuari and Castaway in Burbank. Santuari is a beautiful fitness club and restaurant tucked into the Hollywood Hills. They make everything in-house, to include their pastas and breads. Castaway is a golf club located in the hills in Burbank. It shows panoramic views of the valley and is absolutely breathtaking at night.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Someone special I’d love to shouout is my business partner, Chief Engineer, and husband, Efrain. A lot of this journey was fuelled by his dreams, and through our journey I’ve been able to really discover myself too. My husband and I met when we were in the Navy. We were deployed together and spent tons of time at sea talking and dreaming. His life goal was to be a Producer and/or Audio Engineer in LA. I never had a knack for music, or rhythm, but I knew he needed to chase these dreams and I needed to find something I liked to compliment his path. Thankfully, Efrain doesn’t enjoy paperwork, and I do. I started researching everything there was to know about starting, maintaining, and expanding a small business, he began taking recording clients in our San Diego apartment. After year one, we had 15 clients weekly and decided to open our first commercial recording studio. We decided on an office space in El Cajon, CA and completely soundproofed it and built it out ourselves. A year and a half later, we had a great local buzz in San Diego, 25 returning clients, and decided to move to Burbank, CA. This is a very very abbreviated version of how we launched our family owned business and there was no way either of us could have done any of this alone.

Website: www.silverbackaudio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silverback_audio/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/efrainmatias888/

Other: http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-destany-and-efrain-matias-of-silverback-audio/ https://www.recordingconnection.com/blog/2022/03/14/grad-opens-recording-studio-los-angeles/ http://sdvoyager.com/interview/meet-efrain-matias-destany-schendel-silverback-audio-el-cajon/ https://industryhackerz.com/the-7-best-recording-studios-in-burbank-ca/

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