The Spiro Podcast: Managing your Real Estate Photography & Videography Business

What is your real estate media business actually worth—and what would happen if you decided to sell it?
Todd and Craig break down how businesses are valued, why revenue alone doesn’t determine what someone will pay, and how EBITDA, clean financials, systems, client relationships, and owner dependence all factor into the equation. They also share the real story of how WoW acquired Craig’s photography business and the deal they structured to make it work for both sides.
And before you decide to sell, there’s another question worth asking: Do you actually want out, or are you just exhausted?
Chapters
00:00 — Intro and Spiro Updates07:00 — Craig’s Photographer Training Follow-Up11:17 — So… You Want to Sell Your Business?14:41 — Are You Selling for the Right Reason?23:27 — What Is Your Business Actually Worth?24:43 — EBITDA and How Businesses Are Valued27:02 — Can Your Business Run Without You?29:15 — Why Clean Financials Matter32:51 — How WoW Acquired Craig’s Business37:54 — Structuring a Deal That Worked for Both Sides41:10 — Your Revenue Is Not Your Valuation44:50 — Build a Business Someone Would Want to Buy
Resources:
Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.comQuestions or episode ideas: hello@spiro.media

Hiring another photographer can create the capacity your business desperately needs—but finding the right person is only the beginning.
Todd and Craig share lessons from their own hiring experiences, including why client interaction can matter more than technical skill, when a contractor model may need to change, and how hiring too late can hold back an entire market. They also discuss training through real-world examples, explaining the “why” behind your standards, and giving new photographers enough time and repetition to become confident on their own.
Chapters
00:00 — Hire for Personality, Train the Technical Skills04:34 — Bringing a New Photographer Onto the Team09:01 — Knowing When You Finally Need Help11:19 — Lessons From Craig’s First Two Hires20:27 — Finding the Right Person for the Market25:09 — When the Contractor Model Isn’t Working28:00 — How More Capacity Reignites Growth30:25 — The Cost of Waiting Too Long to Hire35:00 — Training Your Values in the Field38:26 — Your New Hire Is Always Watching You42:44 — Training Someone to Become Better Than You44:51 — Give Them the Time and Reps to Improve
Resources:
Spiro Sync 2027: Visit https://spiro-sync.com
The REPP Conference: Visit https://repplaunch.com/repp2026
Questions or future episode ideas: hello@spiro.media
 

As your team grows, communication gets complicated fast—and without a clear system, important work gets buried across emails, messages, and meetings.
Todd and Shannon share the communication mistakes they’ve made while scaling, including how to choose the right channels, close the loop on tasks, give clearer direction, set meaningful deadlines, and keep your inbox from running your day.
Chapters
00:00 — Stop Overexplaining00:58 — Welcome to the Spiro Podcast03:50 — Spiro Sync 2027 and Upcoming Events08:01 — Why Communication Gets Harder as You Grow15:10 — Decide How Your Team Should Communicate28:46 — Open-Loop vs. Closed-Loop Communication34:57 — Clarity Over Overtalking40:33 — Bullet Points, Deadlines, and Clear Priorities46:45 — Turning Your Inbox Into a Task List54:43 — Using AI, Clearing the Clutter, and Letting Go
Resources
Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.comQuestions and topic suggestions: hello@spiro.media

Busy season can make your real estate media business feel flush—until the slower months expose what you failed to plan for.
Todd and Craig break down how to calculate your true monthly spending, budget across an entire year, prepare for taxes and irregular expenses, and avoid making emotional purchases after a strong month. They also discuss saving for future vehicles, investing, giving, and why hiring a bookkeeper does not remove your responsibility to understand the numbers.
 
Relevant Links: Spiro: https://www.spiro.media/ https://spiro-sync.com/ Contact Spiro: hello@spiro.media
Chapters
00:00 — Stop Making Financial Decisions on Emotion02:10 — Taking Time Away From the Business06:09 — Spiro Sync and the Danger of Isolation08:51 — Spiro API, MCP, and Revision Updates15:04 — The Busy Season Money Trap19:38 — Know What You Actually Spend Each Month27:21 — Why You Need a 12-Month Budget30:13 — Preparing for Taxes and Major Expenses32:41 — The Real Cost of Buying a Car40:07 — Saving, Investing, and Giving46:37 — Review Your Finances Consistently49:49 — You Are Still the CFO

Company culture isn’t created by office perks or a list of values hanging on the wall. It’s revealed in how leaders treat their people, what behavior they tolerate, and how the team responds when there isn’t an SOP telling them exactly what to do.
Todd and Craig discuss building trust, turning core values into everyday decisions, and the difficult choices required when a talented employee is no longer aligned with the team. They also share practical ways to define the values that should guide your business as it grows.
 
Relevant Links: Spiro:
https://www.spiro.media/
https://spiro-sync.com/
Contact Spiro: hello@spiro.media
 
Chapters
00:00 — Let People Be Who They Are09:01 — The Excuses High Achievers Make17:04 — Showing Up With an Owner’s Mindset19:26 — What Company Culture Actually Is22:11 — Living Your Values Instead of Posting Them26:07 — What Guides the Team When There’s No SOP?28:36 — The Five Values Behind WoW40:12 — When Talent and Culture No Longer Align48:59 — How to Define Your Own Core Values52:35 — Building a Culture Where People Can Be Themselves

Scaling a media company can feel overwhelming—but many of the biggest problems come from decisions that seem reasonable in the moment.
In this episode, Craig and Todd break down seven things Todd no longer does when growing a real estate media business. They cover why customer service matters more than camera experience when hiring, how to coach struggling employees without solving every problem for them, and why underperformers need clear, direct feedback.
They also discuss training photographers, responding to pricing pressure, saving video shoots when listings sell quickly, and addressing difficult issues with top clients before they become bigger problems. Each lesson comes from a mistake Todd has made himself, giving business owners practical ways to scale with less fear, better communication, and stronger systems.
Relevant Links:
Spiro:https://www.spiro.media/
Contact Spiro:hello@spiro.media
Chapter Timestamps:
0:00 Cold Open – Hire for Customer Service, Not Just Camera Skills
0:55 Welcome to the Spiro Podcast
1:31 Perspective, Gratitude, and Defining What Success Means
6:30 Introducing “7 Things I Never Do When Scaling a Media Company”
7:29 Spiro Updates: API Beta, MCP, Scheduling, and @Mentions
14:02 #1 – Never Hire for Camera Experience Over Customer Service
22:36 #2 – Never Do the Homework for a Struggling Employee
29:53 #3 – Never Guess Whether an Underperformer Knows They’re Failing
37:26 #4 – Never Train the Art of Photography
45:18 #5 – Never Make Knee-Jerk Price Cuts for the Wrong Clients
53:46 #6 – Never Let a Fast Sale Cancellation Kill a Video Shoot
56:53 #7 – Never Avoid the Elephant in the Room with a Top Client
1:03:07 Final Thoughts and Episode Wrap-Up

What if the qualities that are often overlooked in business are actually your greatest competitive advantage?
In this special women’s takeover edition of the Spiro Podcast, Shannon Landers sits down with Colleen Kydd, Alex Coombs, and Elizabeth Hansen to talk about the different ways women lead, build teams, and create lasting client relationships. They explore emotional intelligence, thoughtfulness, communication, determination, and the ability to connect with people on a deeper level.
The conversation also gets honest about growing at your own pace, navigating a male-dominated industry, building a business around your actual goals, and the lessons each guest would take back to the beginning. It’s a conversation about leadership from a woman’s perspective—but the takeaways apply to anyone building a team or business.
Relevant Links:
Spiro:https://www.spiro.media/
Contact Spiro:hello@spiro.media
Colleen Kydd
Three Palms Media Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/threepalmsmedia/
Three Palms Media:https://threepalmsmedia.net/
Alex Coombs
Northern Spruce Media Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/northernsprucemedia/
Northern Spruce Media:https://northernsprucemedia.com/
Elizabeth Hansen
Eliora Media Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/elioramedia/
Eliora Media:https://www.elioramedia.com/
Chapter Timestamps:
0:00 Cold Open – The Superpowers Women Bring to Business0:42 Welcome to the Women’s Takeover Edition2:08 Meet Colleen Kydd, Alex Coombs, and Elizabeth Hansen8:27 Emotional Intelligence, Thoughtfulness, and Women’s Strengths18:38 Turning Communication Into a Competitive Advantage26:46 Building Deeper Client Relationships31:57 Going Beyond Media to Add Value for Agents43:09 Navigating Market Shifts and a Changing Industry49:09 Quality, Reputation, and Building a Recognizable Brand55:41 What Each Guest Would Do Differently1:07:35 Rapid-Fire Questions1:20:20 Final Thoughts and Episode Wrap-Up

You finally hire help—and then immediately wonder why they don’t work exactly like you.
In this episode, Craig and Todd talk through one of the hardest parts of growing a real estate media business: trusting other people with something you’ve spent years building. They discuss unrealistic expectations, employee mistakes, incomplete training, the “owner trap,” and why growth often feels like a collection of small problems hitting all at once.
Todd also shares how strong SOPs, clearly defined core values, and a genuine investment in your employees can help you build a team that takes ownership, makes good decisions, and eventually improves the business even when you aren’t there.
Relevant Links:
Spiro:https://www.spiro.media/
Contact Spiro:hello@spiro.media
Chapter Timestamps:
0:00 Cold Open – Expecting New Hires to Perform Like the Owner0:51 Welcome to the Spiro Podcast1:41 Introducing the Growing Pains of Building a Team3:07 Spiro Updates: Open API and Internal Communication5:07 The Paradox of Growth and Letting Go6:26 Remembering How Bad We Were When We Started12:13 Hiring, Training, and Unrealistic Expectations17:04 Mistakes Are a Sign That Your Business Is Growing23:01 Escaping the Owner Trap and Learning to Trust25:59 Creating a Team That Improves the Business Without You29:04 Defining the “Secret Sauce” You Expect Employees to Follow35:13 Turning Problems into SOPs and Training36:55 Appreciating How Far Your Business Has Come38:53 Why You Can Never Be Finished Building SOPs41:07 Using Core Values When the Handbook Has No Answer46:02 Helping Employees Build Their Own Long-Term Success48:48 Whose Goals Matter More: The Employee’s or the Company’s?53:56 Action Steps: Train Better and Pour Back Into Your Team56:40 Final Thoughts and Episode Wrap-Up