Key Advice for Entrepreneurs from Robin Crow

Robin Crow has forged a remarkable career on his journey from RCA recording artist to successful entrepreneur, and has built several world-class businesses from scratch. His company Dark Horse Recording, a four-studio complex and resort has set the gold standard for customer service and excellence in the recording industry. It is home to Faith Hill, Neil Diamond, Taylor Swift, Matchbox 20, Tim McGraw, Michael W. Smith, Jewel, Alison Krauss, and many others.

SPEAKING.COM: What are some of the main challenges and opportunities faced today for business growth?

CROW: The challenges any business or company faces are essentially the same.  It’s simple, there is never a moment that we can sit back and rest on our laurels.  We must continually be searching for ways to up our game through continual learning, taking risks, and never settling for 2nd best.  We must be constantly finding way to improve our performance and always taking on the challenge of trying new ideas.  

SPEAKING.COM: What are some of the most important skills that every business leader and entrepreneur needs to have?  

CROW: The most important attribute that anyone at any level must have… is the ability to get things done.  That means planning, prioritizing, and then taking action.  It’s that simple.

SPEAKING.COM: What is some of the key advice you’d give an entrepreneur starting out today?

CROW: One of the most important things that I would tell a young entrepreneur is… that becoming successful is always a balance between thinking things through clearly, and taking chances.  You can’t have one without the other.  The other thing is passion; if you’re not 110% passionate about your idea, don’t even waste your time.  

SPEAKING.COM: How do you suggest people embrace and adapt to change?

CROW: Adapting to change requires a certain amount of faith. We have to simply step out on the diving board and dive in.  None of us are comfortable with change, yet, we live in a world where change is constant.  We must develop a mindset that stagnation is simply no longer an option.  The more times you jump off that diving board, the more comfortable you will become with the idea of constant change. 

SPEAKING.COM: One of your presentations is titled “Evolve or Die” – named after your bestselling book of the same title.  What are the main concepts of this program?

CROW: I divide the program into 3 sections which I call Mission Critical Functions.  
1) Adapting to Change… which really boils down to innovation and creative problem solving,
2) developing intense customer loyalty, and
3) creating a culture of passion. 
These 3 seemingly unrelated attributes have proved to be a magical formula to help me succeed with my 2 companies.  Through it all is the consistent theme “We Must Evolve”. 

SPEAKING.COM: How does your work as an RCA recording artist and successful entrepreneur inform your keynote speeches?

CROW: In my mind, I’m not ‘a speaker’; I’m a successful entrepreneur and business owner who likes to use my experience to help other entrepreneurs.   I spent over 20 years as a touring recording artist and now it’s been another 22 years since I started my first business Dark Horse Recording. 

Every time I stumbled and fell I discovered the importance of learning from your mistakes, picking yourself up, and always moving forward. I learned first hand – in one of the most competitive industries imaginable – the importance of never giving up.  I believe the audience picks up on this and that makes all the difference in communicating something that could potentially be life altering. 

SPEAKING.COM: What are your main professional passions?  

CROW: I love the hospitality industry, customer service, teaching and inspiring.  That’s why I continue to travel around the world as a keynote speaker, and that’s why I founded Dark Horse Institute, which is now offering programs in Music Business & Audio Engineering.   

SPEAKING.COM: What other projects are you working on currently?  

CROW: Both Dark Horse Recording and Dark Horse Institute are continuing to grow.  As we speak, we are under construction adding 8100 square feet of additional space as Dark Horse Recording. 6 miles away at Dark Horse Institute we are in the process of adding more programs, more teachers, and leasing additional space to accommodate our growth.