Meet Jonathan Grossman | Mixer, composer, post audio producer

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

Hi Jonathan, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My goal was to have a business where I could make my own hours and work from home. It was very important to be a father and husband who is both physically and emotionally present for my family. When I started Night Shift Audio in 2010, my career was AT a crossroads. Up until that point I was exclusively composing scores and songs for TV and Film. It was a very time consuming and emotionally demanding job. My kids were 5 and 2 at the time and I didn’t want to spend 14 hours a day in the studio composing any longer. Given that I had a great recording studio in my guesthouse, the question was how could I make use of my studio skills and all the gear I had (and loved) while ALSO having time with my family. Post audio was the solution. I discovered there is a real opportunity for a small business like mine, with low overhead, but state of art gear, to service studios and production companies with the same quality of mixing and post audio, but at a more competitive rate. I now work an 8 hour day with no commute. My wife and kids know they can come in to the studio anytime if they need something. It’s the perfect balance of working at home, and doing something I really love.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

My high school friend Paul Reavlin runs a sports equipment business call Rev Gear, and he reminded me that the key to success (according to Zig Zigler) is the find out what the people want and give it to them. It’s that easy. So I asked myself, what do people want in my business? They want the mix to be finished on time, without too much back and forth and to meet delivery specs. If I can make the client happy, they make their client happy and we all get to come back another day and do it again. It’s simple. Once I understood that my business is a service, and every choice I make is in the interest of serving my client, the business grew.

Usually by the time the film or TV project gets to me, they are at the very end of the schedule, crunched for time. My clients know when they call, I’ll answer the phone. When they email, I get right back to them. When they ask if I can make adjustments, it’ll be a yes. My goal is to make my part of the process a slam dunk for them. They know I am taking things OFF their plate, not adding to it.

Understanding my role in the bigger picture of the project helped me make the best choices for my client and ultimately for the benefit of my business.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Hiking westridge canyon in Brentwood to see the views and nature. Sunset at the Venice beach
Venice beach sidewalk – it’s a carvival
Nichols restaurant in MDR for breakfast just bc it’s our spot
Maestro’s in malibu for a steak dinner
my backyard/home bc in order to really live in LA you need to make the city a bit smaller and create your own feeling of home within the bigger picture.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It takes time and patience to start your own business. Someone needs to keep making money while the person doing the startup is busy building (and spending money on) a new business. Luckily my wife Laurie is that person for me. Her willingness to keep a steady day job while I went down the entrepreneurial rabbit hole is the ONLY reason I have been able to meet with success. Without that freedom, there wouldn’t have been enough hours in the day or money coming in to sustain ourselves.

Website: NightShiftAudio.com

Instagram: guitarpedalshootout

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GuitarPedalShootout

Image Credits
Stephen Paul