In the future, I plan to open up a full YouTube studio in a dedicated building. I’ve got an amazing concept for how to grow it and make it something special. But for now, I’m not in a position to lease or purchase a space, and that’s perfectly okay. What I can do is build something solid at home and start creating right where I am.

We don’t know what we don’t know, and that’s something every entrepreneur should embrace. It should be a creed that pushes us to seek out coaches and mentors who can help us avoid the pitfalls.

So, I turned to Director Henley, somebody who knows what he’s doing and is amazing at it. I asked him how I could set up something super professional at home while still staying under $2,800.

He came through. Here’s the gear he recommended, along with a quick note on why each item is worth the investment:

1. Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 II ASPH. Lens

Perfect for capturing crisp, professional-looking footage with beautiful depth of field. Great for close-up shots and talking-head content.

$697.99

2. Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

This camera is next level. It offers incredible image quality, cinematic color, and it’s compact enough for a home setup. It also works with the Blackmagic app, which lets me send footage straight to Henley for editing.

$995.00

3. Rode Wireless GO II Compact Microphone System

Clear, wireless audio is a must. This mic system is easy to use and delivers crisp, clean sound—no cords all over the place.

$219.00

4. Aputure Amaran 150c RGB LED Monolight (x2)

These lights offer both power and versatility. With full RGB color control and strong, adjustable output, they’re perfect for creating a professional look in a small studio setup. Two of these will give you all the lighting control you need.

$359.00 each / $718.00 total

5. Neewer Basic 74” Video Tripod with Fluid Head

A solid, stable tripod with smooth friction control, perfect for holding your camera steady and getting clean, cinematic pans and tilts. It’s tall, sturdy, and built for video.

$74.99

💰 Total Estimated Cost: $2,704.98

This keeps me under my $2,800 budget and sets me up to start producing high-quality content immediately.

Once I master this setup and learn how to get the most out of the gear, it’ll be easy to duplicate and scale when I move into a commercial building. I’ll already be familiar with the workflow, I’ll just upgrade by adding more cameras, lenses, and lights. The foundation will already be in place.

I’ve got a few other premium items in mind that I’ll grab when it’s time to make this setup official. But even with this starting point, I can do some amazing things from my home studio.

I’ll keep y’all posted on when I hit record, but I wanted to let you know this is a great studio setup for podcasting or YouTube. Of course, you can always start with your iPhone, some sunlight, and a couple of affordable lights—but if you want great quality from day one, the gear listed above will absolutely do the job.

Stay encouraged. Keep going. Keep creating. And never forget, entrepreneurs push the world forward. We are the innovators, the creators, and the go-getters.

God Bless The Entrepreneur

My wife and I were watching YouTube when a billionaire was answering some questions. One of the titles he made a statement on was “Scaling Comes with Chaos,” and it triggered so many memories for me.

I usually don’t like to start a blog with a prejudice, but here it is: sometimes I hate the word “scaling.” Today’s landscape on social media has everyone talking about scale, scale, scale. There’s nothing inherently wrong with scaling, but to properly scale, the foundation matters. If you follow my blogs, you know this is something I preach about.

I’ll never forget when we first started scaling with Unapologetic®️. I was excited. I mean, real excited, like a kid in a candy store. But I quickly realized that scaling came with its own set of problems. One was having the cash flow to keep up with the inventory. And the second was the influx of shipping, which brought its own cash flow issues.

I wouldn’t admit this at the time, but it was chaos. If you asked my wife back then, she’d straight up tell you it was chaos. There were times when we were ready to ship, but there weren’t any shirts in the right sizes on the shelf. Some days, we had to hold onto packages because there wasn’t enough money to ship the ones we had already prepared. Let me tell you, this was frustrating beyond words.

My suggestion? Be slow. Create a cash flow reserve so that when it’s time to scale up, although it will come with its own set of problems, you’ll have the money on hand to get the inventory you need, ship everything, and bring in extra staff if needed.

Ultimately, we want to get to the point where we do scale our business, but start preparing now.

God Bless the Entrepreneur.