This is what happens when you say yes to every opportunity that presents itself. AJ Sankofa, born in Brooklyn, did exactly this as he found his way from busboy to studying under Michelin Star chefs in Italy to opening up his own restaurant back in his hometown of Morristown. You'll learn that there isn't some secret sauce to success. AJ proves that hard work, dedication, and passion are all you need to live the life you want.  He worked his ass off to position himself as an Italian cuisine connoisseur. Follow his journey and learn exactly how he opened up his own homemade Italian pasta and sauce establishment in Morristown, NJ. 

As we revitalize the podcast, we mix it up with Rob Acocella, a sound designer, production sound recordist, post-production dialogue editor, and re-recording mixer. Rob begins his audio journey by wandering into a record store at an early age and buying his first CD, Metallica, and his first "sound-sample" CD. He doesn't remember what drove him to pick up a CD with a bunch of sound effects on it, but he bought it anyway. Listen in as we follow his journey from childhood to a professional audiophile. You'll notice his journey isn't a straight line and actually dabbles in video before returning back to his love and true passion: audio. Rob drops a great “hack” he used to secure an extra IMDB credit and increase the overall value of a project. “Everything’s negotiable, you can always find ways of pulling out value from a project even if it’s not always monetary.” This and many more inspiring tips and tricks scattered throughout his journey that you do not want to miss. 

If you're struggling to get in front of the camera and create content, this episode will certainly give you some helpful tips to be more relatable and personable on camera. Today we have an awesome opportunity to sit down with Kerry Barrett, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, with over 20 years of experience as a broadcast news anchor, reporter, and producer across many different outlets including NBC, ABC, and Fox. 

Listen in as we unfold the story of how a crippling fear of public speaking became a catalyst to Kerry launching a full-service media training and public speaking boutique, Kerry Barrett Consulting. The firm focuses on helping others bring their stories to life with confidence and personality. Kerry drops knowledge on what it takes to make it as a reporter and progress into bigger markets. She also shares tactics on how to have a more impactful Zoom call, and overall become more personable and more relatable on camera. 

If you're a creative looking to take your side hustle to the next level, you're in for a value-packed episode full of tips and tricks to go out on your own.In this episode, we're joined with Joey Raymundo, owner of Media X Marketing, a video production company based out of Middlesex, NJ. We dive into how Joey got started in the industry and how he pivoted from a comfortable marketing job making 6 figures to starting his own media company. Throughout the podcast, we go over how you can leverage your "competition" to be used as an asset to help you grow, how to balance your fulltime job and passion work, how to price yourself in the creative industry, when is the right time to take on free work, and how to scale your business and start hiring people. 

Gercino Soares joins the StrixMedia team for this installment of the Creative Collective Show. Gercino is a successful real estate investor/developer and entrepreneur who shares his passion for Real Estate as well as his inspiring story on this podcast. He talks about his experience coming to America in 1996 when he was just six years old. Gercino is the perfect example of an "American dream" success story. Even if Real Estate isn't your thing, you're bound to find some valuable insight and inspiration from this conversation with Gercino. 

Helen Polise is the director of the production company "Muthership."She sits down with the StrixMedia team to discuss her career, as well as her lifelong passion for production. She begins the episode by taking us back to how she got started in the business, explaining that her first job was in advertising as the assistant to the creative director. One day, her boss gave her the opportunity to be the producer of a shoot. Helen was thrown right into the production world with very little experience. Looking back she realizes how this experience jumpstarted the rest of her career, as well as her skills in production. Later in the show, Helen describes how she has adapted her company "Muthership" to operate during the quarantine. She started filming her own video content for Facebook and Instagram and soon noticed that this content was an amazing way for her brand to connect with people online. Helen offers some wonderful knowledge and insight in this episode--- even if you aren't into production. Enjoy!

In this episode, we are joined by Walt Blau, a podcaster that we met when StrixMedia was first starting off. Walt is a really down to earth guy who enjoys the creative side of podcasting and loves opportunities to speak with interesting people. We shoot the shit and talk about his podcast Walt's Kitchen Table, a podcast that focuses on the extraordinary stories and lives of the average person. Be sure to tune in to this episode to hear how Walt started his podcast and what he does to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Thanks for listening! Check us out on Twitch, Facebook Live, and YouTube. Go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave us a review! If you leave us a review and DM us a screenshot, we will send you some awesome StrixMedia stickers for free. Thanks for supporting the show!

Mindy Scheier, Founder, and CEO of Runway of Dreams and Gamut Management chat with StrixMedia about the mission of both companies, the future of inclusive/adaptive clothing, opportunities for the community of people with disabilities, and the small goal of changing the entire fashion industry.Thanks for listening! Check us out on Facebook Live, YouTube & Twitch. Go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave us a review! If you leave us a review and DM us a screenshot on Instagram @strixmedianj, we will send you some awesome StrixMedia stickers for free. Thanks for supporting the show!

Daniel Hill joins the Creative Collective Show via Zoom to talk about how he teaches small business owners how to use Instagram. Daniel is a social media strategist and loves teaching people how to use new technologies that will help improve their business. A few years ago, when Daniel decided to make a business out of being a social media strategist, he chose to focus on Instagram because he felt it was the most interactive and rewarding platform that business owners should learn. Daniel talks with the StrixMedia team about the power of social media along with insight and his own personal story of navigating the world as an entrepreneur. Thanks for listening! Check us out on Facebook Live, YouTube & Twitch. Go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave us a review! If you leave us a review and DM us a screenshot on Instagram @strixmedianj, we will send you some awesome StrixMedia stickers for free. Thanks for supporting the show!

In this virtual episode of The Creative Collective Show, the StrixMedia team is graced with an amazing creative/production veteran, Abbey LeVine. She has worked in the content creation realm for almost thirty years and currently owns Swirl Studios; a content production company based in New York City. She started her career in production working for television and talk shows such as The Dr. Phil Show and Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. Abbey decided to take her talent to the crime genre of entertainment and launched the popular show “Beyond Scared Straight”.During quarantine, her need to create became so overwhelming she decided to pull a remote team together to start producing a new COVID Documentary from the point of view of different people going through this difficult time. Find out exactly how she plans to execute this idea using available resources and rallying a team of female producers nationwide. Listen in as Abbey shares great stories about her past experiences in the production industry and how she started her latest content-based company. This episode is full of valuable and interesting information for anyone who loves the creative process, the production industry, and storytelling.