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Sometimes podcasting feels different from other entrepreneurial adventures. You don’t need official office space. You don’t need employees. You don’t need post-it notes and pens and pads of paper with official letter heads. But in this episode...
Sometimes podcasting feels different from other entrepreneurial adventures. You don’t need official office space. You don’t need employees. You don’t need post-it notes and pens and pads of paper with official letter heads. But in this episode of Profitcast, Brian outlines some very key details about what makes podcasters fit right in line with the other entrepreneurs out there whose ventures do require the list of items above. Perhaps the odds are not quite in the podcaster’s favor, but that is a matter of perspective and commitment.
Perspective and commitment? Can I be any more vague? To be honest, I probably could have tried. But let me lay this down, to avoid confusion: in all walks of life, whether it is personal or professional, the odds of success hinge upon one’s own perspective of their situation and their commitment to making it work out. Marriages, friendships, diets, and learning anything new require an accurate perspective and unyielding commitment in order to even consider success as an option. And the same is true in the case of podcasting.
Spotify, as Brian outlines, has recently been making waves with the announcement that it will soon begin offering podcasts. Third-party sources who have begun to contemplate what this means for podcasters declare that this, this!, will finally be how podcasters make money. Before now it was almost impossible, so they write, but now it is within arm’s reach. Whoa! Not so fast, Brian tells us. Sure, this avenue can provide great exposure, but let’s take a look at the artists who went to Spotify with their wicked beats hoping to make it big. Brian can name a few who have said they’ve outright hated Spotify because of the pennies-on-the-dollar type of relationship Spotify offers. Of course, this is one side of the story, but it is still very relevant to the discussion because it seems to offer the same fast-success scenario as every other avenue we’ve been driving down. Exposure on Spotify will be excellent, no doubt, but it’s not going to be an instantaneous money machine.
Knowing this shouldn’t change our perspective on podcasting about our passion. If anything, it should reinforce that nothing good in life comes easy. And it shouldn’t. If everything good came easy, no one would ever try. Without trying we wouldn’t have innovators, we wouldn’t have scientists or thinkers. We wouldn’t have Tesla cars! (Listen to the podcast to catch that reference.) The difficult road ahead should stimulate you to think outside the box and find that niche where you are needed. Find a hole to fill that allows you to excel by offering a needed service.
Some of the things Brian learned at the Fort Collins Startup Week last week speak soundly to this point. He says that every speaker at the conference spent time on the subject of going after your passion and doing what you love. The money will follow. Once again, Brian holds up a hand and says, “Wait a second.” (This is a yellow light, not a red light, folks.) For many, this may be true. But it is dangerous to speed through this intersection when there is major construction going on right on the other side. The road to success is incomplete. In fact, not much of the road is paved for us, neither as podcasters nor entrepreneurs. Thankfully we can borrow and reuse from multiple sources to save repeating a lot of the work, but the actual road to your success is in the process of being paved as you drive down it. And as you’re driving, or getting ready to head down it, some very critical road trip considerations need to be acknowledged. Maybe they’re road signs, maybe they’re detours, but regardless, if you are a safe and attentive driver they are things you will consider before they overwhelm you. Here are 2 to wet your whistle:
1) This is going to take time and hard work. We’ve talked about this many times on Profitcast. Good, quick or cheap? You can pick 2. No two combinations eliminate the necessity of commitment, which requires both time and work. But if you’re passionate about your podcast, then this should be work you are aching to do! If you aren’t aching, are you really in your niche?
2) Can you meet profit with your podcast? Take a look at your audience base. Take a look at the market. Take a look at the service or product you’re trying to sell. Is there a market for it? Are the people who you are catering to even capable of paying for what you’re offering?
These many factors of our figurative road trip hinge upon one very important key to success (THE secret to success, perhaps?): are you being the best you? Does this podcast, does this venture, allow you to be the best you? If it doesn’t, you could find many things about this journey overwhelming. We don’t want you to be overwhelmed, we want you to be podcasting what you are passionate about. Take a moment, close your eyes, and do a quick self-evaluation. What about your project do you dread doing? If you’re like Brian and hate writing blog posts, that can be tough. It’s a necessary task and for a while you may need to labor over it yourself. But then, when you start building an audience and making friends, someone will come along, raise her hand and say, “Can I do that for you?” Invest in people, and let them invest in you.
I made a Lion King reference a couple weeks ago, didn’t I? I’ll refrain from another circle of life comment, then.
Question of the Week
This week’s podcast asks for responses on various questions Brian raises throughout his revelations following Fort Collins Startup Week.
Next Week!
No spoilers have been reported for next week’s episode.
PATREON
Thank you to all who have come alongside Profitcast through Profitcast Patreon! It is a huge honor and Brian cannot wait to see what can be accomplished through this partnership.
If you’re unfamiliar with Patreon, the basis of the campaign is an opportunity for you to partner with Brian in a financial capacity in order to receive more and unique content. Without taking away anything you are accustomed to getting out of Profitcast, a Patreon campaign enables Creators, like Brian, to provide more to people like you, while staying within his means of available resources.
The foundation of Profitcast has been to pioneer techniques of turning passion into profit. Many podcasters have been successful with Patreon, and Brian hopes to provide meaningful insights and suggestions on how to launch your own campaign.
