Meet Joshua Stolberg of Kansas City, Missouri

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Stolberg

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
A love of cinema has always run deep in the family bloodline. I’ve been told stories about how my late grandfather would put on films for his community in his backyard in his early teen years. The kids around the block would flock around his projector to catch new films he rented. Then much later, after marrying my grandmother, joining the Navy, and having four kids, he got right back into the habit. He took my dad and his siblings to the neighborhood church every Saturday night to help him put on films in the evening for the neighborhood. My dad was the kid who collected the ticket money – 25 cents each. When I came into the picture much later, my siblings and I would visit their home in Rockford, Illinois and watch classic cartoons on my grandfather’s 16mm Bell and Howell filmosound projector. He had over ten different models of projectors in his house. I was lucky enough to see his love for cinema and have it passed down to me through my dad who let us kids play around with the big, mongo VHS camcorder. I grew up making loads of short films, Star Wars spoofs, and dance videos with my siblings.

I never stopped making home videos and one day realized that the hobby could be transformed into a lifelong pursuit. I wanted to study it more. My dad helped me enroll in a film appreciation class in my freshman year of college and my first class involved watching cinematic masterpieces in a movie theater. Afterward, the whole class talked about what made them great films. Sold. This was it. I loved every class. In the next class I had to actually make a film. I became writer, producer, and director all in one. Sold again. At that point, I knew I was born to make films. There was nothing I didn’t like about it.

Through all of this, I knew there was something magically irresistible about telling a good story with a camera and I finally figured out what it was: it was a connecting force between people.

For the last 10 years I have been seeking to tell stories that push people to become more open minded, to let their guards down, and to inspire them to live life fully. This is why we created Soulmark Studios.

Now, having recently been married, my wife Abbey has joined the team and her love for organization has provided an immense amount of balance and foundation for us to grow more steadily. I wouldn’t be able to run this business without her teaming up with me.

While we are a marketing and production company, we ultimately focus on using the power of storytelling to help businesses grow. We believe that it’s not just about selling a product or a service; it’s about human connection. We’re in the business of helping people find solutions to their problems in a meaningful way. On the flip-side, we also aim to produce films that inspire, deeply entertain, and add to the truly artistic world in which we live.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
To me, building a business while feeding my passion to tell stories has sometimes felt like a treacherous journey of logistical and mental hurdles that keep coming. Lots and lots of learning!

At the beginning, I learned just enough about my camera to make the stories I wanted to tell and it stayed that way for a long time. It wasn’t until I kept saying yes to projects that would stretch and grow me in uncomfortable ways that forced me to learn through trial and error. This is a field you only grow in via experience.

Most of it has been mental for me. Self-doubt is a lead actor in the lives of most creatives that I know. It still looms over my head sometimes, whispering to me that my work isn’t original enough, or that I’m not as good at my craft as some other talented individuals. Sometimes that little voice has made me question that I’m not cut out for running a business. I am terrible at time-management, so it took a lot of time to build out systems that could balance out my creatively disorganized brain. There are so many unknowns in the business world, and being a person who likes to be in-the-know, it can feel like a tornado of confusion. Through nearly a decade of trying to make a side-hustle work, it has finally paid off.

Still, that’s 10 years of lessons learned and implemented. It’s taught us a lot about confidence, determination, and the sacred duty to create art.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
At Soulmark Studios, we like to say that we don’t just know visual marketing — but that we also understand the human soul. We believe that the power of storytelling has the potential to make an indelible mark on someone’s life. Our team specializes in crafting beautiful, high-quality visual art, across various genres, including feature films, personal branding, and corporate projects. We’re dedicated to delivering not just a stunning finished product, but a memorable experience that connects with the audience.

In a world that is oversaturated with incessant messages of “be this, do this, want this, have this, try this” we seek to rise above the noise and approach audiences differently, and more authentically. We are known for creating visual content that is deeply moving and story-driven. Having produced hundreds of promotional videos for corporate and non-profit businesses, these companies rely on us to help guide their audience, not just by communicating with them, but by truly understanding them. In turn, the audience will come to understand the business. By unlocking the psychology of storytelling, we bring a fresh, human-centered approach to how real connection works.

Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

That’s the mark we help our clients leave.

We are most proud of our award-winning short films and also the projects that have helped rocket the growth of small businesses and non-profits including an international documentary set in Nepal.

Here is some of our favorite recent work:

* Award-Winning Short Film – “SHOOT!” – https://tinyurl.com/4d9936z2
* Music Video – “Writing’s On the Wall – KC A Capella Soundproof” – https://tinyurl.com/57f6v7nc
* Winter Olympics 2022 Commercial – Hawaiian Bros – http://tinyurl.com/3jjysyyy
* Music Video – “Masterpiece – KC A Capella Soundproof” – http://tinyurl.com/4x9km4ev
* Corporate Brand Story Video – Keller Williams Family Culture – https://youtu.be/EFitAcsdvjA
* Short Vlog Documentary – “How to Be a Better Friend” – http://tinyurl.com/bdevumbn

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Like a director’s favorite shot that makes it into the final cut, I’ve adopted a few rules of life that I will continue to carry throughout my whole career. I think they prove to be universal for many.

1. You have to allow yourself to dream. I can’t tell you how many projects I’ve left unfinished because I feel like I haven’t earned the time to spend on my own passion projects. Actual work can wait every now and then. Create margin for your humanity to flourish through your own inspired creativity.

2. Surround yourself with positive, likeminded, creative people who are focused on their passion to make art. No comparison allowed. You all have the same goal: create. I believe we were created to create. Let’s lean into that together, and keep encouraging each other every time we decide to be creative.

3. Say yes to the uncomfortable. Growth only happens outside of your comfort zone. Most everything I’ve learned has come out of taking a risk and forcing myself to learn through experience. If you always play it safe and avoid failure at all costs, you’ll never make anything. Stagnation is degradation. Standing still is not safe. You have to put yourself out there. Meet people. Make connections. Say yes to doing something you feel you might not entirely be prepared for every now and then. Make mistakes. Mistakes are a great teacher.

4. You must take care of yourself. I found out the hard way that hustle culture is toxic. I’ve faced full burnout twice. Luckily, my hope was not lost, because I had people in my life who taught me to rest well, take care of my body and mind, and respect myself as much as I respect others. It goes back to the first, create margin for you. You can’t overflow creatively if you aren’t filling yourself up in the first place.

5. Pride kills growth. My faith is important to me. It keeps me grounded and reminds me that I’m not at the center of universe, or my career, or my art. Remember that you are not your art. If someone doesn’t like it, that’s okay. It just means they aren’t your target audience. I’ve learned that it’s just the other side of the coin of pride to say that my work “isn’t good enough.” Even if I don’t like it, it might mean a lot to someone else. Create anyway. You can’t be a creative if you aren’t creating. You can’t be an artist if you don’t make art.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.soulmarkstudios.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jostolbie/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soulmarkstudios
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA4ZJQrLYFEu4xl9uICp02Q