Some days in this journey don’t make sense until you step back and realize they make perfect sense.

Yesterday was one of those days.

We lost a major artist opportunity.

The same day, we landed a legend.

That’s the entertainment industry in a nutshell.

Highs and lows, sometimes within hours of each other.

If you’re not built for that mentally, this industry will tear you down fast.

What People See vs What They Don’t

I’ve had people ask me before if I would start this today knowing what I know now.

And to be honest, I’m not sure I would.

Not like this.

Not going after high-level artists and actors in an already crowded space where even celebrities now have their own podcasts too.

Because what most people see are the interviews.

What they don’t see is everything behind them.

The Reality of Outreach

They don’t see the emails.

Every month, I’m sending outreach after outreach.

If I send 200 emails to bigger artists and actors, I might book 2 or 3.

Sometimes less.

Let that sink in.

That means 197 or more times there is no response, no, or silence.

And then I do it again the next month.

And the next.

And the next.

We’ve had guests where it took 6, 7, even 9 months of consistent follow-up just to finally get a yes.

And I’ll be honest, one of those, I think the manager just got tired of seeing my name in their inbox and finally said yes.

That’s the part nobody talks about.

Why We Relate to Rising Artists

And this is also why we connect so deeply with rising & major artists & actors.

Because we understand them.

Not from the outside looking in.

But from walking the same road.

They’re sending emails.

They’re getting ignored.

They’re being told no.

They’re watching others break through while they’re still trying to get someone to even listen or watch.

We know that feeling.

Because as an independent show, just my wife and I building this together, we’ve lived it.

No big team.

No major backing.

No machine behind us.

Just consistency, belief, and a willingness to keep going when nothing made sense.

Breaking Through Isn’t Easy

And I’ll be honest with you.

Breaking through to that next level like that is close to impossible.

Not impossible.

But close.

There are doors that don’t open when you need them to.

There are opportunities that feel right that fall through.

There are moments where you feel like you’re right there, and then it disappears.

The Unexpected Side Nobody Prepares You For

And then there’s the stuff nobody prepares you for.

Tech not working right right before you go live.

Internet issues in the middle of an interview.

Guests not showing up.

Guests canceling last minute after you’ve already promoted the episode.

Schedules falling apart.

Days where everything that could go wrong does.

And even when the interview goes perfect, that’s still not the end of it.

Now comes the some editing.

Making sure the video looks right.

Cutting clips.

Watching it back to make sure it feels right.

Then comes the content side.

Creating thumbnails.

Writing titles and descriptions.

Pulling short clips.

Posting across multiple platforms.

Trying to get the algorithm to even notice it.

Watching something you worked hours on barely move, while something random takes off.

That’s another side people don’t see.

The work doesn’t stop when the interview ends.

In many ways, that’s when another layer of work begins.

And sometimes it goes even deeper than that.

We’ve had several high-profile people we were working on, getting close to booking, and then they passed away before it ever happened.

That changes how you look at all of this.

Because it reminds you how unpredictable both this industry and life really are.

When Life Hits Hard

And then 2022 hit us in a way we weren’t ready for.

We lost my dad.

We lost Sandy’s mom.

Less than 90 days apart.

That crushed us.

By the end of that year, life had piled on in ways we didn’t expect, and we had to put the show on hiatus.

Not because we didn’t care.

Not because we were done.

But because sometimes life hits harder than the vision you’re building.

But even in that season, I knew something.

I wasn’t finished with it yet.

This Is Bigger Than Business

That’s the part about building something like this.

It’s not just business.

It’s life.

And life doesn’t pause just because you’re trying to build something.

There Is No Shortcut

There’s no magic formula.

There’s no shortcut.

There’s no moment where it suddenly becomes easy.

It’s consistency.

Over and over again.

Even when it feels like nothing is happening.

Even when doors aren’t opening.

Even when you’re questioning if it’s even working.

Even when life itself is trying to slow you down.

What 700+ Interviews Taught Us

We’ve now interviewed over 700 guests across the entertainment industry.

Artists. Actors. Creators. People at all levels.

They came from:

• showing up
• following up
• not quitting when it got quiet

And along the way, we’ve learned things that no book or course could have taught us.

We’ve learned that the people who last are not always the most talented, they are the most consistent.

We’ve learned that success almost always comes after a season where nothing looks like it’s working.

We’ve learned that the grind behind the scenes is where everything is actually built.

We’ve learned that relationships matter more than numbers.

We’ve learned that authenticity opens more doors than perfection ever will.

We’ve learned that people connect with real, not polished.

And we’ve learned that timing plays a bigger role than most people want to admit.

This Isn’t for Everyone

This industry is not for the faint of heart.

If you need quick wins, this will break you.

If you can’t handle rejection, this will wear you out.

If you’re not willing to be consistent, this won’t work.

But If You Can Stay

But if you can stay in it.

If you can keep showing up when it doesn’t make sense.

If you can keep building when nobody sees it yet.

If you can keep going when the doors don’t open when you think they should.

If you can keep going even when life hits you in ways you never expected.

That’s where something starts to happen.

Because the same day you lose something you were excited about, you might gain something you never expected.

The Reality

That’s the rollercoaster.

That’s the reality.

That’s the cost of building something in this space.

And for us, we’ve just never stopped.

Still showing up.

Still reaching out.

Still building.

Final Thought

Because at the end of the day, this journey isn’t for everyone.

But for the ones who are willing to do the work, who are willing to stay consistent, who are willing to keep going when it’s hard.

This is where something real gets built.

This isn’t me complaining or hating any part of this. I actually love what we’ve built and wouldn’t trade it. I love the conversations, the people we meet, and the moments we get to be part of.

But loving it doesn’t mean ignoring the reality that comes with it. This path comes with pressure, responsibility, and a level of consistency that most people never see.

And the truth is, I chose this. I chose to keep showing up, to keep building, and to carry everything that comes with it. This is just the real side of what that choice looks like.

– Chris Benton

The post The Reality of Building in the Entertainment Industry (Nobody Talks About This) appeared first on The Chris & Sandy Show.

When people see The Chris & Sandy Show, they see the interviews.

They see the guest.
They see the questions.
They see the finished conversation.

What they don’t see is everything that happens behind the mic.

They don’t see the nerves before going live.
They don’t see the messages sent trying to book a guest.
They don’t see the moments where we wondered if anyone was even watching.
They don’t see the nights we almost quit.

And they definitely don’t see how much those conversations have changed me.

When Sandy and I started The Chris & Sandy Show back in 2020, we didn’t have a big plan. We just wanted to give people a place to tell their story in their own words instead of being talked about through headlines and gossip.

We never imagined that simple idea would lead to hundreds of interviews with artists, actors, athletes, and people from all walks of life.

But somewhere along the way, the show became more than interviews.

It became a front row seat to people’s lives.

We’ve talked to people at the top of their career.
We’ve talked to people who were just getting started.
We’ve talked to people who almost quit.
We’ve talked to people who went through things most people never see.

And every single time, I learn something.

Sometimes it’s about success.
Sometimes it’s about failure.
Sometimes it’s about faith.
Sometimes it’s about family.
Sometimes it’s just about not giving up when life gets hard.

What most people don’t realize is that this show didn’t just give guests a place to tell their story.

It helped me understand my own.

There were times we were doing interviews when no money was coming in.
Times when people didn’t understand why we were doing it.
Times when we wondered if this was all a waste of time.

But we kept showing up.
One conversation at a time.

Looking back now, I can see that those conversations were preparing me for things I didn’t even know were coming.

Writing my book.
Speaking.
Sharing more about our marriage.
Talking about life, faith, and the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

So this section, Behind the Mic, is where I want to share those moments.

Not just the interviews.
Not just the guests.
But the stories behind the stories.

The things that happened before the camera turned on.
The lessons we learned after the show ended.
The moments that made us laugh.
The moments that made us question everything.
And the moments where we knew God was doing something bigger than we understood at the time.

Because sometimes the most important part of the conversation…

is what happens behind the mic.

— Chris Benton

The post Behind the Mic — The Conversations That Changed My Life appeared first on The Chris & Sandy Show.