Try it with your phone. You've already spent money on your phone. You can start using that phone, so you don't need to break the bank to have a good setup. Right? There are options for every single budget. You've got the entry level gear to high-end equipment. So,entry level gear, I talk about you have the smartphones.” - Junaid Ahmed
Joe Casabona: I've been thinking a lot about the notion of starting simple or messy versus starting perfect. And while I definitely fall more on the side of start messy and iterate, there are a few places where you just shouldn't skimp.
A good home studio is one of them, which is why I brought on my friend, Junaid. He's a Home Studio Architect, and he is a wealth of knowledge. We talk about why you need to at least have good audio, how to improve your setup without breaking the bank, and the absolute nonnegotiables. By the end of the episode, you'll know exactly what you need to sound more authoritative with your content so you can grow your business.
Welcome to the Streamlined Solopreneur. A show for busy solopreneurs to help you improve your systems and processes so you can build a business while spending your time the way you want. I know you're busy, so let's get started.
All right. I'm here with my good friend, Junaid Ahmed. Junaid, how are you today?
Junaid Ahmed: Joe, I'm doing so good, man. It was really awesome hanging out with you at Podcast Movement. Super excited to be here. And what's funny is that we had the little podcast booths there, and I was like, Hey. You wanna do an episode? Like, nah. I'm not in the right headspace right now.
Joe Casabona: That's right. A little behind the scenes stuff, Junaid and I were at Podcast Movement recently, and we, I booked a recording booth. So, one of the solo episodes that you may have heard already or will hear is just me recording live from Podcast Movement. I didn't have an interview or content ready or anything like that. So I was like, we could record, but neither of us were ready for that. So, I'm glad we're doing it today.
Junaid Ahmed: Absolutely. You know, we've had some time to decompress, relax, you know, say hello to the family, get all those things out of our heads, and now we're here to have a deep conversation.
Joe Casabona: Yes. And, piggybacking off of that, I'm sure you learned a lot of Podcast Movement. I learned a lot at Podcast Movement, and a lot of it was around different processes and gear and stuff like that. So, I wanna open with this question. Does audio and video quality matter in the context of creating or presenting online?
Junaid Ahmed: You know, it absolutely does matter because, number 1, we've been watching movies and films and TV shows for over a 100 years. And we've seen, like, you know, nostalgia aside, like, we see the old stuff and we kind of cringe. But that was the highest quality of content at that time.
So, when it comes time to create content now, sure, you can get away with, okay, video and audio. The question is, who are you trying to reach? Who are you trying to connect with? And how far do you want that video to be evergreen for? So I think it does matter.
And more than video, you wanna make sure that your audio quality is high, you know, up top. And, you know, as podcasts, we've been podcasting for, I think, 19 year anniversary was just celebrated a few months ago. 19 years of video, well, audio podcasting. So audio is really, really important so people can at least hear your message. We are as much as visual people, we are a lot more auditory and get the messaging through audio. More than anything else.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. There's a couple of things I wanna key in on here. First of all, I read a study a couple years back saying that audio quality, like you said, is more important because poor audio quality cuts against the speaker's authority. Because the listener is now focused on trying to hear them clearly and not what they're actually saying.
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. You're a 100% right. And similar to that, there was a study done. The same speaker is delivering the same message. One quality of the audio was higher quality audio. The other one wasn't as good, and people didn't realize it was the same person. They actually thought the other person with the high quality was 19, you know, 19% of the people said that guy's much more smarter because they could hear him and they could actually pay attention to the message as opposed to, you know, try to do a noise gate in their heads.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, I guess we'll get into this later, but if we're picking and choosing, luckily, there's lots of options for good audio quality.
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah.
Joe Casabona: But I also wanted to, you said something that I really hadn't thought about before, which is how our content ages. Right? I think in the age of social media, most content is ephemeral. But if you're offering good evergreen advice, right, how long is that gonna last? Part of the reason that Walt Disney insisted on doing all of his movies in color before people had color TVs was for this reason. Right? So that they wouldn't have to go back and colorize.
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. And you're you're absolutely right. I mean, we still would go back and listen to content from Jim Rohn, which is recorded in black and white. Right? That messaging alone is what keeps that content alive. Right? So even though it's black and white, you're still going to listen to it because it's got that motivation piece.
And, there's a good gentleman you probably know, huge YouTuber, MKBHD, with, you know, ton of following. He still has his first video up when he recorded, when he was 13 years old. He's recording on a webcam, reviewing this laptop. Right? So that video you can still go and find. Has that video aged well over time? Probably. But the messaging and, you know, it kind of shows you the different stages that you came through. And that's life, you know. We have pictures of our kids when they were younger, and we go, we still go back and look at those pictures because which reminds us of a time that we loved. And, you know, so again, as you build that audience, like, when you hit that viral video and people will want to go and look for your old stuff. So do you have old stuff or not? You know, are you waiting to get that perfect set up before you even shoot your first video?
Joe Casabona: Yeah. Yeah. That's a really good point. And, I mean, one more thing on this is I am a huge baseball fan. I love the New York Yankees. And I'll go back and watch clips from like, what I believe is not that long ago. Right? Like, 2000, 2001. Right? Like, you know, the Yankees in the World Series in 2001. And I really, the first time I saw a clip like that in, like, the 4k era, I'm like, this looks like, it's from like, 1980. But it's like from my lifetime. Right? Like, from, like, my Cognizant lifetime, I should say.
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah.
Joe Casabona: So, quality I mean, the quality progression of gear is fast. Right? Like you said. Right? What we were watching in 2000 or 2001, it was like, wow. Look at those crisp colors. Right? Or and now a short amount of time later, it's like, what was, like, what was this shot on? Like a flip phone? So, now I do wanna ask. Right? It does matter. Does it affect our ability to grow an audience? And by that, I mean, like, will someone look at content that doesn't have good quality and immediately discount it even if the message is good?
Junaid Ahmed: There's, it's a two part answer. Right? So, yes, it will affect the growth of your audience because, number 1, if you're looking to bring a new audience with that grainy video quality, well, it's gonna be slow growth. But is that video going to keep your current audience connected with you? Absolutely. Right.
So, we, my friend Ken Okazaki coined this term called, The Will Smith effect. Now, what's the Will Smith effect? So Will Smith's been, you know, a film actor for ages, you know, with his very first blockbuster hit with Independence Day. He's been on television for many, many years. And when the pandemic hit, he was recording content on his smartphone. So you've got the high end professionally done stuff, and then you have the phone stuff. So, people are going to resonate. So you want to be able to provide both level of quality.
So to attract new listeners, new people, and then organically keep connecting with the audience that already know your stuff. Right? If anytime I see Gary Vee posting content, I know the guy. Right? I've read his books. I'm gonna listen to that content. It doesn't matter the quality of the video because I know he's gonna deliver, you know, quality and value.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. It's almost like having the authority already versus building the authority. Right? And if we look at the pandemic again, like, look at all the late night talk show hosts.
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah.
Joe Casabona: And it's like their webcam and their built in microphone.
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah.
Joe Casabona: And I was, like, they could literally hire any podcaster of a certain level and make, like, and make that home setup great. Right? They could have hired you, and it would have been amazing. And I'm like, why aren't they doing that? And they just, they didn't need to. Right?
Junaid Ahmed: They didn't need to because they already have the distribution. They already have the cloud or the authority. And television, you know, they're going to push that content no matter what quality video they get. Right? Think of I read an article where this app called, forgetting the app. It's an app that works with your system, with your video production unit where you can just upload the content and then the director could see all the stuff.
Joe Casabona: Oh, yeah.
Junaid Ahmed: I'm forgetting
Joe Casabona: Like in real time. Right?
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. In real time. Or not even kinda, like, semi real time. Adobe recently purchased the app. Anyways, they were talking, they did an interview, and they were talking to the producer that did the Conan O'Brien show. And, you know, they sent all the gear to Conan O'Brien. All Conan was doing, he had a script on his laptop. He had a smartphone on above the laptop on a tripod, and he was basically recording all the stuff from home and uploading this stuff so then the producers can cut it together and put it in the actual show.
Joe Casabona: Wow. That's pretty awesome. Yeah. So it really is about, you know, if you're looking at, and I always tell, you know, my clients, like, Hey. Don't compare yourself to Joe Rogan. Don't compare yourself to Dax Shepard or The Office Ladies. Like, you need to do what works best for you. And if you are trying to build your authority and grow your audience, then a better setup will help with that because that does lend to your credibility.
Junaid Ahmed: One thing that I wanna add to it is the reason it works for whatever they're using works for them is because they have a team of people that are doing everything else.
As a solopreneur, you're everybody. So if you have a high quality production setup for yourself, guess what? You're saving so much more time and not have to spend any time at the back end to be like, okay. Now, I've gotta go fix the audio. Now, I gotta fix the the visual. Now, I gotta go do all of these things. We don't have that kind of time as solopreneurs. We don't. Right? So we wanna make sure that we're streamlining that process before we even create the content.
Joe Casabona: Yes. I reference acknowledge. I appreciate what you did there. Yeah. Absolutely. Right? This is why I use Ecamm Live when I record a video. Right? I know I'm gonna have to make some cuts and change some things and, like, maybe add in, like, that extra 20 seconds of end screen for the cards at the end of a YouTube video. But if I build the scenes in Ecamm Live and I can just press buttons on my stream deck, that is, I don't know, 70-80% less editing that I'd have to do, and that's I wouldn't produce videos without it. And, like, you could see when I got Ecamm Live in my stream deck, my video production, my video output, I should say, got higher because it was a lot easier for me to do it.
Junaid Ahmed: 100%. Yeah.
Joe Casabona: Now, on the other side, right, we mentioned social media, right, and how, you know, like, phone recorded videos. Well, we didn't talk about this, but there was some subtext. You know, they tend to do better because they look authentic. Is there a risk of looking inauthentic? Like, oh, that's a little too shiny for me to think it's legit.
Junaid Ahmed: I'll think what people might see is, number 1, in the social media world, we always, we have the ability to swipe up in a moment's notice. So, if your quality is not, if you don't have good quality content or messaging, guess what's happening? People are swiping up. But if your message is dropping, you've worked on the correct copy, you've got all those things. Right? So you're putting in more time before you actually hit record. So it does, you know, it does not, I don't think it looks, makes you look inauthentic because your messaging or how you talk to the camera, I think, translates much better when you have a higher quality video.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. That makes sense. Right? I mean, no. I guess it's really not like, it's not like that politician effect. Right? Like, everyone has the politician who's like, they're a little too perfect. Like, what, you know, what's going on?
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah.
Joe Casabona: You probably don't have that, like, online. Right?
Junaid Ahmed: Right. You don't.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. So, yeah. I think that's a really good point. Right? I think that if your message is good like, the way you deliver the message, makes you, makes it feel more authentic. Right?
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. I mean, because not only are you delivering this content, but you're also respecting your audience's experience. Right? They also have to look at what experience are they getting out of it. If the audio is shoddy or if the lighting is too harsh, they're not able to, you know, pay attention. And they're like, okay, you know what? I'm gonna come back to this video. And we all know how that is.
Joe Casabona: Right. Yeah.
Junaid Ahmed: And then to the point of, you know, you're not sounding like a politician. I just watched like, a 10 minute video of on Dodge's YouTube channel, where they're introducing this all electric car. And even though they, like, put this whole film together, they're going back in time into the Dodge Brothers, when they were, you know, putting the books. And they kind of gave a little sense of, well, we're traveling back in time to bring these two Dodge Brothers and Kim Jong. It was all fully scripted. I could tell that it's fully scripted messaging, blah blah blah. You know, it didn't sound very very entertaining even though it has a lot of views because, you know, they have a lot of people that want to learn more about the new car that's coming out. It all comes down to how much work did you put in to your own self to say the messaging right. It's part creating a professional ad transfer, part working on your delivery and respecting your audience's experience.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. Yeah. That's really, that's a really good point. Right? Because, like, lots of people read off teleprompters. And sometimes you can really tell. But, like, Steve Jobs. Right? I mean, I'm gonna cite Steve Jobs because every creator on the Earth has ever ever ever ever cited him. But when he delivered his keynote on WWDC, he was, there was a teleprompter. Right? But he still delivered it authentically. Right?
Barack Obama was somebody who's kind of lampooned for his inability to read the teleprompter sometimes, but he always had a really good delivery.
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah.
Joe Casabona: And if you don't practice. teleprompter or not, you're gonna sound stale.
Junaid Ahmed: Yes. And to the point of both Steve Jobs and Barack Obama, they had a ton of training. Like, Barack Obama was a professor for many, many years before even he stepped in to say, hey, I wanna go, you know, go into politics.
Steve Jobs was a person, you know, a tech nerd just like the two of us, you know, he started with just trying to find a problem, but he was not a good presenter. So, he find the right mentors, find the right people to say, okay. What does it take to actually become a really good speaker?
Joe Casabona: Yeah. I think coaching goes a long way. I'll put a link in the show notes to an interview I did with my friend, Mike Pacchione, who's a speaking coach, and he's awesome. I highly recommend him. And that, and everything we talk about we're probably gonna talk gear a lot, especially in the pro show. All of those links and notes will be in the show notes and over at [streamlined.fm/435].
I want to ask a question now. We've talked about the importance of gear. We touched on the importance of rehearsing, right, no matter how good your gear is. But I can hear some of the people saying, like, isn't that expensive? People know how much my setup costs. So what kind of budget are we looking at for a gear, for a solopreneur, someone who wants to just make videos or record a podcast?
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. So I wrote a book on this subject because people kept asking me, okay, how much money should I start with? Well, I say start with your phone. You've already spent money on your phone. You can start using that phone to start, so you don't need to break the bank to have a good setup. Right? There are options for every single budget. You've got the entry level gear to high end equipment.
So, entry level gear. I talked about, you have the smartphones, get a good microphone, get some good lighting, or be in front of a good light source. Like, for example, your window. Right? You've got free lights all around. So having that free, your first investment should be into a good microphone so that your messaging could be heard properly.
And kudos to the new smartphones that are coming out. They have multiple microphones so they can detect when you're speaking and they try to elevate, you know, they have the audio boost kind of feature or person boost. And that technology is getting better and better with each new camera that's coming on. I think with the next phone that's coming out, I think it's gonna be even more powerful because they're being building AI into it. They have a much faster processor. Like, all of these things are getting better along the way.
But that doesn't mean that you are, you know, 1 and done because over time, you're going to realize, okay, this is entry level. I can do all of this stuff. But guess what? I'm using my phone for literally everything. So if it's locked in to record my video, how do I use it to tell people? So that's why you're like, okay. Let's be happy about that.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. I wanna stop you hear because I think that's really good advice for starting out. Right? Especially, like, the new iPhone. And I should say as this episode comes out, I think, if previous calendars and supply chains line up, people will be getting the new iPhone at least this week, myself included. I hope, like, this is, like, maybe wish casting for future me. I always get the latest phone. But, I mean, the latest phones can record in 4k video. Yeah. High quality 4k video. And, you know, I was recording from my MacBook Air not recording. I was doing a call from my MacBook Air, and someone commented on the audio quality. They're like, what mic are you using? And I'm like, it's just the built in microphone right now. And is and so the built in stuff is getting better and better, but I think you were just gonna kinda say what your next step should be. Right?
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. Exactly. So you started with this. You got a good microphone. Now, some of the other things that people might not realize is what type of surroundings you have in your room. Like, if you're an empty, if you're in an empty room with your MacBook microphone, you're gonna hear the echo. But if you have a well lived room, well lived home, where you have things on the wall, you've got some nice posters, you've got rugs, you've got, you know, elements in that room, they're going to help the audio as well. They're gonna make sure that audio is not bouncing back and coming back into the microphone.
So, again, know your space as well. Right? So in my little 5 step process when I work with people, I start with, let's see where you're going to be doing all of the work. So analyze the room, then we figure out the lighting and the space. Let's work on your audio. So basically, you know, go one at a time to figure out.
So, again, start with your smartphone, get a good microphone, get some good lighting, and then elevate as you go along the way because it takes time. It takes time. Right? And you want to be creating that space as frictionless to access as possible.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. I think this is such an overlooked thing. So you can have the best camera in the world, but if you're recording in the dark, doesn't matter. Right?
Junaid Ahmed: Mhmm.
Joe Casabona: I think people underestimate how important good lighting is. I saw you posted on Facebook today. What did you say? Like, throw out your ring lights?
Junaid Ahmed: I said delete your ring lights. Like, what do you mean delete?
Joe Casabona: Yeah. No. Yeah. Absolutely because, like okay. if that's all the lighting you have, maybe, but, like, you get the little circles in your eyes. It's not as even as you think it is. I've got a couple of key lights. Right? So I've got my, gosh. I'm, like, forgetting the name.
Junaid Ahmed: Your gala, your Elgato…
Joe Casabona: Oh, yeah. The, but like, there's like, so this one's the fill light. I've got the backlight, and then this is, like, the main light?
Junaid Ahmed: The…yeah. So, the key light, the fill light, and then you've got the hair light.
Joe Casabona: Right. Right. Key light is where Elgato got the name.
Junaid Ahmed: Right. Elgato key light. Right.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. And, you know, again, that's good lighting for me. If you have to pick 1, I mean, I'm gonna ask you, but I'm gonna guess you're gonna say key light. Right?
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. So a combination of key light. Like, even if you have one key light, it's going to, it depends on how bright this light can get.
Now, I've locked down the ISO on my camera so that it's not going to automatically adjust if I were to do something. But if I were to say, hey, I just have the one key light. I'll do a little showcase. So, here's my side camera and I'll. So if I were to…
John Casabona: look at that. If you, if you're listening, head on over to YouTube and get this demo. It looks amazing.
Junaid Ahmed: So, I've got the key light on my side camera and then you'll see a lot of highlight because the camera is trying to compensate for the dark space. But if I were to switch to the front camera angle, well, it's a very plain look because I've locked in the ISO. The ISO is basically the sensitivity of your sensor, camera sensors. So now I'm adding some fill light, which is going to, again, add in some more lighting in this space and my Wi Fi is contacting to the light. I'm like, hey, come on. Turn on. So the light on my side is actually a much larger one
Joe Casabona: Mhmm.
Junaid Ahmed: To fill in the rest of the room, as opposed to in front of me. And even though, and that's because the light that I purchased for my key light was bought, you know, about 8 years ago and it only can go so bright. Right? So maybe there's a time that I need to upgrade my key light over time. But again, you know, these are some of the things that they can elevate and create more dimension. So I just turn on the key light or the hair light, which, you know, again, adds some more dimension, differentiation between the background. And then the other lights are basically a shelf light and a floodlight that basically adds more accent and adds more character to that image.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. And that's we'll talk more about this in the pro show, and I'll make sure that my Ecamm Live set up so we can both switch because you're, you have, like, a workspace cam, basically, that, like, inspired me. So, we'll talk more about that in the pro show. You can become a member. Link is in the show notes or over at [streamlined.fm/435]. It'll be ad free extended episodes, and you get them early too. So, really thank you for that that quick demo, Junaid. I really appreciate it.
And I think this leads right into my next question before really the actionable advice. You mentioned that you might need to upgrade soon. This is something that I think about all the time. I was telling my editor it's a miracle I haven't bought a new mic in like, 5 years. But I have the Shure Sm7 b. Like, for a podcaster, like, I can't, it's not gonna get better than that. Right? Like, I don't need to buy a $1500 telefunkin' microphone. I'm not singing into it. So, how often will we be, let's say, reinvesting or upgrading our setup?
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. And in my experience, it's anywhere from 3 to 6 months. You're like, okay. I'm ready to add to go to the next stage in my setup. Right? So in my book, 7 Stages of Home Studio Evolution, I've got 7 stages.
The first stage, you're a novice. You know, you're just using your smartphone. You might not have a dedicated microphone, but you are at least doing the work. You're putting in the reps. Right? Before you buy that $3,000-$4,000 bicycle to do road biking, you're just gonna start with a $300 microphone, you know, bike that you get from Walmart or whatever. But you gotta put in those reps to get better along the way. And then it makes sense to your brain to say, okay, I'm really good at showing up on camera. I need to invest more into my setup. So then it's an automatic upgrade because it, you see the value that it's bringing to you.
So, yeah. You know, anywhere from 3 to 6 months to maybe in even a year. Like you said, your microphone is 5 years old. My microphone is almost 3 years old. I mean, it came out in 2020. It does really work great work, and I have upgrade paths for it as well. Like, if I wanted to switch from being a digital only to say, hey, let me add in, like, XLR to this, add more boost, and, you know, I could totally do that.
So again, having those upgrade paths or equipment that can be leveled up by introducing new gear is the way they like to go.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. And I think this is really important. Right? You're highlighting that this is incremental. Right? Like, people look at my setup. I'm sure they see your setup. Right? One of my most popular pages on my website is the, What's On My Desk page. And I think one of the most important things about that page is that it has the evolution. Like, it has what my desk looked like the first time I started documenting it in 2018 or whatever. And so they see, like, oh, Joe didn't have all of the he he had these, like, RLX sound pads just like, sitting on his desk. He didn't have the teleprompter. He didn't have the Sony a6400. Right? And he had a I think it was, I don't know. I must have gotten the blue yet gotten rid of the Blue Yeti by that point, but, you know, I didn't, I certainly didn't have this. And, yeah, like you said, I'm really happy with my setup.
I make, I think your upgrade path is right now. I'm like, you'd like, once you get it all set up, you don't have to upgrade for years. But, you know, I got the Rodecaster Pro II, and that has a vesa mount on it. So, I bought a vesa mount, and then I moved it in. And, I finally replaced my, I think I had the Rode PSA1, and, like, it just, like, creaked and wasn't as flexible. So I finally got the Elgato wave arm, and that's like, a little bit more flexible and differently placed, and I can put it up high so that my kids can't just grab it and like, drool all over it.
Junaid Ahmed: I actually have a bite mark in my microphone cover because my son, you know, he's trying to eat from it. Like, you know. Yeah.
Joe Casabona: My kids rotate it a little bit. Only ever wanna use my microphone, like, when they're sick.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. And they're just like, oh my god. Great. So, yeah. I think that's really good advice. That said in, you know, once you're ready to invest in a good microphone I mean, like, the Sm7b is like, 44 or $500.
Junaid Ahmed: Yep.
Joe Casabona: I wouldn't recommend that to any podcaster today. I think the mv7 is probably what or the mv7+, I guess.
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. Yeah.
Joe Casabona: But once you make an investment like that, you can pretty much be done for a long time atleast. Right?
Junaid Ahmed: Yes. A 100%. Yeah.
Joe Casabona: Awesome. All right. So I think we have convinced the listeners that a good setup is crucial. Something that we kinda glossed over, because we're like coming up on time is like, environment matters.
And so, I'm gonna, I'll send people your way. Because, like, I have a list of stuff you can buy, but I don't take into account your environment. Right? And if you have an expert like Junaid looking at it and going like, Hey. Here's what you need, I think that's gonna be a lot better. So let's go to the actionable voice. What are, we kinda touched on this already, so maybe just a speed run. What are the must haves for my home studio?
Junaid Ahmed: Perfect. So at the minimum, you need a good quality microphone, then you need a good good lighting, a camera. You know, even if you start with a smartphone, perfect. You can even buy used camera gear. Like some cameras in my studio, for example, the one looking down…
Joe Casabona: Oh, man.
Junaid Ahmed: is a used camera that I purchased off of MPB. This was, this is actually a discontinued camera as well. But it's gonna continue to work because I'm not. It's just sitting in one place doing one job. Right? So, quickly.
Then the next step is, considering acoustic treatment for sound, a solid background, reliable Internet for live streaming. What do you mean? What do I mean by reliable? Make sure you're jacked in because, you know, otherwise, you're gonna drop frames over Wi Fi.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. I cannot express how important that is, especially if you-'re streaming, but for any remote recording. Right? Yes. I wasn't for a while because my router's right behind me. I was getting 400- 500 megabits per second up on Wi Fi alone. But what that doesn't account for is interruptions or interference. Whenever I was on Wi Fi, our old mic well, our old microwave was old. And, whenever we microwaved something, the Internet would cut out.
Junaid Ahmed: like, what happened? Somebody's making some popcorn.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. Exact, that's exactly right. And so, I got, I think it was like a 100 foot Ethernet cable. They're pretty affordable.
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah.
Joe Casabona: Just ran it, like, under the carpet because I got, like, one of those flat ones. And now I get over a gigabit per second up and no interruptions.
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. Right. You're paying for that gigabit Internet. Might as well bring it to your computer.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And I only have two, well, I have a bunch of things, like, wired in, but most of them are hubs. But, my workstation, right, my Mac Studio, and my Apple TV plus because I'm streaming a bunch of [Inaudible 34:52] Or, like, baseball games. Right?
Okay. Awesome. So mic, lights camera treatment, good Internet wired, if you can. Strongly recommended. Anything else before we close out here?
Junaid Ahmed: No. I mean, the other thing is level up your knowledge of equipment today too because there's so many equipment available on the market. There's, you know, there's a ton of reviews out. Joe, you've probably done some reviews on gear. There's a lot of people. So, again, gain experience, use the stuff that you have so that you can build your muscle to speak authentically on camera. And the reason why people feel like it's inauthentic is because you're trying to fake it till you make it.
Joe Casabona: Mhmm.
Junaid Ahmed: Right? So but the more practice that you do, the better you will show up on camera.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. I think that's really great advice to close it out on. I will say, like, I bought my camera, which we'll talk about in the pro show, but I bought my camera and lens in February 2020. And I made a video about it because of the videos I tried to watch were lacking. Like, they assumed a certain level of knowledge.
Junaid Ahmed: Yeah.
Joe Casabona: That video continues to be the most popular video on my YouTube channel, and the monetization on just that has paid for the setup. So I'm like, there we go. People are like, oh, wow. That was really smart. And I'm like, no. I got insanely lucky that I just decided to upgrade my camera and make a video on it right before everybody wanted better home studios.
So, awesome. Junaid, this has been great. If they wanna learn more about you, where can they find you?
Junaid Ahmed: Head on over to [homestudiomastery.com]. And if you're interested in the book, head on over to Amazon. I think you can include a link in there. It's called 7 Stages of Home Studio Evolution. And you can learn all about gear, all about setup in that book, or on my website, I've got a free 4 day or a 4 point assessment as well that you can, you know, book a time with me. We can level up your space.
Joe Casabona: Awesome. I will link to that and everything that we talked about in the show notes, which you can find in wherever you're consuming this content or over at [streamlined.fm/435]. If you wanna hear Junaid and I talk, get deep into our setups and compare setups, definitely become a member.
And, Junaid, thanks so much for joining us today.
Junaid Ahmed: Thanks so much, Joe, for having me. This was a lot of fun, man.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. Likewise.
And thank you for listening. Thanks to the sponsors. And until next time, I'll see you out there.