Today we’d like to introduce you to Vaughn Postema.
Hi Vaughn, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In 2007, my high school teacher introduced me to podcasts and audio editing. From that point, audio engineering became a constant in my life. Fast forward to my senior year of college: the College of Charleston radio station, CisternYard, approached me and asked if I would do a radio show. I agreed and my first radio show was created: Transcend and Transform. This show was about race relations in current events and everyday interactions.
Upon graduating, my show had been transferred to a local, independent radio station called Klix. I eventually passed the baton for Transcend and Transform and started to focus on helping to build a new leg of Klix called The Fix.fm. I was charged with amplifying the Hip Hop & R&B component of the station. It was then that I created Time TNL, a Hip Hop & R&B show that focused on introducing indie artists to listeners. Time TNL consisted of two hosts and a DJ and, over the course of a year and a half, the show would give many indie artists an opportunity to reach a new audience. For many artists, this would be their first interview and a positive memory that they would remind me of for years to come.
After a couple of years, I decided to help out with a new company called Do Work Media. This phenomenal experience brought a lot of firsts for me. While working with Do Work Media, I helped launch podcasts, create events, produce videos, etc.
While working on projects for Do Work Media, a new opportunity presented itself: a job as a production coordinator at Cumulus Media. I worked at both locations and really cut my teeth with editing audio for a commercial radio station. I trained under Reggie Crawford, the Production Director. I gained a lot of my audio editing confidence during that time, as my skills continued to level up. After a year of working as a production coordinator, I was asked to host a Hip Hop show called Chucktown Hit Factory on Z93 Jamz. I accepted and brought my passion for indie Hip Hop artists to the airwaves. Over the course of my commercial radio career, I hit some exciting goals such as breaking Facebook live streaming records across all of the Cumulus Media radio stations in the Charleston market and bringing the first indie Hip Hop show to the Charleston Music Hall.
I ended my time at Cumulus Media and Do Work Media in 2018, to turn to personal projects. I accepted a position as a marketing position at a local hospitality company and simultaneously began to increase my audio editing freelance experiences. In 2020, I was let go from my marketing position due to the pandemic and found myself leaning into forming my LLC.
This is when Postema Strategies LLC was born and served as the parent company of my audio business dba! In 2021, I had the opportunity to work with my old team Do Work Media on an audiobook edit. This was my first audiobook project and I finished it one week before my first child was born! So, I was very pregnant while editing that massive project.
After the birth of my baby boy, I decided that it was time to give my audio editing its own identity. Thus, Arvaughnna Audio was born!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life is full of ebbs and flows. My journey has not always been smooth sailing but those moments are what shaped me. I’m grateful for the resistance that my experience sometimes delivered. Those moments keep you humble and, if you let them, they can help you grow.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Arvaughnna Audio offers clients full production services for their podcast. Our initial rollout has been centered around editing audio and offering our clients top-notch service while doing so. We have helped some clients create and launch their podcasts while we have helped others edit and distribute their episodes. We are known for the passion behind our service. We don’t come to nickel and dime our clients and we also do not exist to take advantage of them. I have a keen ear and eye and I use them to bring our client’s vision into this reality! We are unique simply because we get “it.” We absorb our clients’ goals and make them our own.
In addition to offering audio editing and audio podcast launch services, Arvaughnna Audio will begin offering clients Video, Marketing, and Monetization services for their podcast/web series!
In this year so far, Arvaughnna Audio has accomplished numerous goals but the two I am most proud of are: our media partnership with Charleston Wine + Food and being a speaker at PodfestExpo. For Charleston Wine + Food Festival, I had the opportunity to serve as the Podcast Manager. In this role, I served as the primary point of contact for podcasters who were attending the festival. I was their on-site audio engineer and created a pop-up studio for them to record episodes. At Podfest Expo, I was given the opportunity to present during the Black Women in Audio segment of the conference. I gave a presentation called “Hold that ‘L,’ because it’s Actually a Win.”
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I’ve always been a clear extrovert. Though I thoroughly enjoy spending time alone, I have always been socially engaged. I do not shy away from public speaking and I have always been known as a “go-getter.” My interest in audio and video has been present since my early days. There is a picture of me holding a camcorder when I was younger and it resonates with me every time I see it. It reminds me that this isn’t new to me.
As a child, I was very interested in entrepreneurship and started (and stopped!) a variety of businesses. Before the age of 16, I had already tried my hand at a few hustles: car washing, jewelry making, journalism, and babysitting. The experience that I cherish the most is the video producer contract I had with my high school. I couldn’t think of too many people with 1099 from their high school but I was able to land a contract position where I filmed and edited a recap of a summer program for my high school.
Aside from the hustler spirit, I have always been interested in seeing other people win. Anything I can do to help, I execute that. Admittedly, that has caused me some heartache along the way but I don’t regret being an authentic supporter to people. It feels good to be kind and I like to stick to that as best as I can.
I am invested in my family and I have always had a close bond with my mom, dad, and sister. I love to laugh and I enjoy making others around me smile.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.arvaughnnaaudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arvaughnnaaudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arvaughnnaaudio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK5zQlPoLAXrsNnBBINwNew
Image Credits
John Gaulden (for the headshot)
Quinton Campbell (all black and white photos)
