Betty Brennan – Wild Business Growth Podcast #116: Museum Experience Mogul, Founder of Taylor Studios

“Who doesn’t want to build woolly mammoths?”

Now those are words to live by. And they’re from this week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest, Betty Brennan. Betty is the President and Founder of Taylor Studios, who creates inspiring and memorable exhibits for the top museums in the world. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur or innovator joins the Wild Business Growth Podcast to share the crazy creative and unusual ways they grew their business, and provides tips for you to do it, too. Hear the woman who became the voice of Siri, the man who’s reinventing the sandcastle, how GaryVee’s partners are turning the wine world upside down, and more wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

Episode #116: Betty Brennan – Museum Experience Mogul, Founder of Taylor Studios

Betty Brennan, the President and Founder of Taylor Studios, joins the show to share her journey from growing up on a farm to creating exhibits for the top museums in the world. Hear how to simplify complex projects, deliver unmatched customer service, the most memorable experiences Taylor Studios has created, how the team brings history to life, and her time eating chocolate-covered ants. This episode covers everything from chainsaws to woolly mammoths. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• What is it like growing up on a farm
• How do you work together after getting a divorce
• Where did the idea for Taylor Studios come from
• What do museum exhibits and taxidermy have in common
• What is Betty’s all-time favorite experience she’s worked on
• How has she grown Taylor Studios
• How does her team stay creative
• Hashtag The Cowboy

Connect with Betty on LinkedIn and Taylor Studios at TaylorStudios.com and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Flickr.

Enjoy the show! Check out the show notes below for much more detail.

Show Notes

• Intro
  • [0:22] Email me at for help using your podcast as a business-building tool
  • [0:52] Connect with Betty on LinkedIn and Taylor Studios at TaylorStudios.com and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Flickr
  • [1:25] Inc. 500, AI Magazine
  • [2:38] Was Betty attracted to museums and nature growing up
  • [4:01] Entrepreneurship
  • [4:04] What does Betty like so much about history
  • [4:43] M.B.A. (Masters of Business Administration)
  • [4:56] Why did Betty study Business
  • [5:17] Equine Science colleges
  • [5:34] Accounting, Marketing
  • [6:02] Did Betty feel pressure to get a certain type of job
  • [7:15] Did she know what type of business she wanted to start when she graduated
  • [7:31] Ad (Advertisement)
  • [7:56] Joe Taylor, Taxidermist
  • [8:21] Nature Center
  • [8:35] Grad School
  • [8:40] Chase Studio
  • [9:21] Direct Mail
  • [9:24] Bootstrapping
  • [9:44] Breeze Creative
  • [9:54] Terry Chase
  • [10:22] Archaeologist, Paleontologist
  • [10:31] Mail Order Line
  • [10:57] Why is it called Taylor Studios
  • [11:52] How do you work together after getting divorced
  • [12:12] Mom-and-Pop
  • [12:40] Public Relations (PR)
  • [13:18] Taylor Studios Production Space and Office Building
  • [13:50] Project Management, Interpretive Planning
• The Taylor Studios Story
  • [15:15] What attracted Betty to museums as a business market
  • [16:06] Interactive Computer Programming, 3D (3-Dimensional)
  • [16:16] Gettysburg Museum, Adler Planetarium, The National WWII Museum, Smithsonian Institution
  • [16:45] Woolly Mammoths
  • [17:08] What does Taylor Studios do
  • [17:35] Engineers
  • [17:48] Graphic Designers
  • [18:17] Visitor Centers, Assisted Living Centers
  • [18:33] Mission Statement, Ad Agency
  • [19:14] Quality Control (QC)
  • [19:53] How does Taylor Studios simplify complex projects
  • [20:43] Copywriting
  • [22:47] Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit “First CityWide Change Bank“
  • [23:46] Milkweed
  • [24:03] Plate Tectonics
  • [25:09] What are Betty’s most memorable experiences she’s built
  • [25:44] Starved Rock State Park
  • [26:03] Gettysburg Cyclorama
  • [26:39] Louisiana Art & Science Museum
  • [26:44] Jupiter
  • [27:00] Taylor Studios Iceland Project
  • [27:37] What has driven the growth of Taylor Studios
  • [28:19] International Game Fish Association
  • [28:54] Watch out for those Whale Inspectors
  • [29:12] Repeat Client Rate
  • [30:02] Customer Service
  • [30:21] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool

• Inspiration & Creativity: People, Hobbies, and Resources
  • [31:12] What allows the team at Taylor Studios team to work and think so creatively
  • [31:55] Virtual Lunches
  • [32:07] Employee Surveys, Turnover
  • [32:30] Knowledge Base
  • [32:48] Millennials
  • [33:11] Strategic Planning
  • [33:49] How does Betty educate herself and the team on complex client projects
  • [34:48] University of Illinois
  • [35:05] How key is listening when starting new projects
  • [35:49] Ice Age (Pleistocene Epoch), Prehistoric, Jurassic
  • [36:02] What is your favorite time period
  • [36:54] What are Betty’s favorite hobbies
  • [37:15] Native Plants, Invasive Species
  • [38:02] What type of books does Betty like to read
  • [38:35] Business Memoirs
  • [38:39] Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger, In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
  • [39:02] Science Fiction (Sci-Fi), Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Horror, Stephen King
• Wild Business Shoutout of the Week
  • [40:18] Hashtag The Cowboy
  • [40:23] The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
  • [40:38] Social Media
  • [41:06] Tweets
  • [41:39] Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
  • [42:35] What worked so well about Hashtag The Cowboy
  • [43:52] Facebook Live
  • [43:59] “Sittin’ Sidewayz” by Paul Wall
  • [44:29] Selfie Video
• The Unusual: Pet Peeves, Quirks, and Weird Talents
  • [45:00] What are Betty’s weird talents
  • [45:22] Tractor PTO (Power Take-Off), Loader
  • [45:37] Horror & Horses: The Future Business Memoir from Betty Brennan
  • [46:03] KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
  • [46:23] What are Betty’s quirks
  • [46:39] DISC Personality Test
  • [47:11] Podcast
  • [47:19] What are Betty’s pet peeves
  • [47:24] Sales
  • [47:51] “Grinds My Gears“
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [48:18] Arabian Horses, Andalusian Horses
  • [48:25] What is a horseback-riding tip Betty can share
  • [48:44] What time does she wake up thanks to her farm life
  • [49:26] Client
  • [49:32] Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium
  • [50:01] What do Chocolate-Covered Ants taste like
  • [50:16] Fear Factor
  • [50:30] Connect with Betty on LinkedIn and Taylor Studios at TaylorStudios.com and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Flickr
  • [51:09] What are Betty’s final thoughts
  • [51:24] “The Man in the Arena” by Teddy Roosevelt
  • [52:48] Subscribe to the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast
  • [52:55] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on GoodPods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [53:01] Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn at @MaxBranstetter
  • [53:04] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – Jungle Tribe – provided by Jamendo

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding podcast for your brand, but dreading the time commitment? I’ve got you covered. Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Betty Brennan on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, subscribe to the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!