59: Overheard at Podcast Movement

Podcast Movement 2015 is wrapped, podcasters have returned home to their remote corners of the earth, and life resumes. The legacy of PM15 lives on, however. Gather thousands of professional podcasters at a convention and silly comments will be made! If you haven’t already, check out the hashtag #OverheardAtPM15… And to give you a clue as to what exactly you’ll be perusing, check these out!

What did you overhear at Podcast Movement 2015? Let us know!

In this reactionary podcast, The Real Brian looks back on his time at Podcast Movement 2015. A couple critical, and eye-opening, lessons were learned; many introductions (and re-connections!) and observations about the state of podcasting were made. Whether you’re new or a seasoned Profitcast veteran, there is something to be gleaned from his reflection of this podcasters-only convention.

Having been experiencing the world of podcasting monetization strategies through the eyes of Brian over the last year, it is incredibly interesting to hear how much his perspective on profiting has changed since the beginning. Not only has his criteria changed for what it means to profit with a podcast, but the approach has started to change as well.

Amongst the stories Brian shares about his entertaining weekend, a definite theme resonates through them all: reminding yourself why you podcast. Just as gas fuels a car, podcasts require passion fuel. But gas does not drive a car. It can certainly influence the person driving the car , but it alone cannot sustain the life of a car. Passion cannot be the only dimension to a podcast. Don’t read too far into this analogy, because it breaks down quickly, but I’m trying to draw focus to the balance Brian is alluding to in this episode. We have expectations for our undertakings, but unless we stack those expectations against reality, we will go from the “get to” to the “have to” mentality.

In an ideal world we would all make money doing what we love, as opposed to just making money doing what we need to do. But the impact of a failure when it relates to a passion is significantly more profound than other failures. When we fail at our hobbies, it’s like a piece of our identity fails. And that can be incredibly difficult to bounce back from.

A year ago I was working for a small business. Small, small business with big, big dreams. The business was hugely successful in its niche for 14 years, but the business owner, my boss, developed a vision for the company that would take it in a new direction. While holding onto the niche, he wanted to reorient our efforts from creating one-off, highly-customized systems to developing a one-size-fits-all platform. The concept itself was great and as a data analytics tool it was remarkable. But by making this switch, we lost our hold on the niche that made the business so successful.

When I first arrived, I put in the effort to get to know small businesses as a general concept. I’d come from a corporate health care organization of 40 thousand people to this small company of (at the time) 8 people. I knew very little about small business. I was reading a lot, because that’s what I do, and I came across this article, entitled Why Small Businesses Fail (or Fail to Thrive and Grow). This is bullet point number one:

Just because you love something doesn’t mean you should convert it into a business. Too often businesses fail because the owner feels their passion is shared by others. Research your business idea and make sure it’s viable.

Is this not exactly what we’ve been talking about when it comes to podcasting? Actually, if you read on in the linked article, many of the bullet points directly relate to our experiences here through Brian. Trying to monetize a podcast is extraordinarily akin to starting a small businesses.

Turning a hobby into a career is, or can be, emotionally taxing. Taking that leap, however, can also be rewarding! In light of Brian’s observations in this episode, it seems as though even the people who are aware of the risks and are trying to be careful not to fall into the traps waylaid for them are just as susceptible to the false definitions of success. Brian had the opportunity last weekend to understand and absorb the fact that his model for success is being met through Profitcast. And no, it wasn’t in the way he originally hoped. But to state that he failed with Profitcast is an absolute lie.

In the case of the small business I was working for last year, I watched as my boss went from this enthusiastic, confident and ambitious master-of-his-domain into a somewhat frantic and depressed shell that met every No with a distinct sense of failure. The money dried up and we were left with this powerful data analytics tool that was being under-utilized by small companies who had to be won over time and time again. That depression, in addition to being a major roadblock to salvaging what remains of a business or venture, has a ripple effect on everyone you are responsible for. Employees feel it, in the case of a small business, and listeners feel it, in the case of a podcast. Let me speak from experience by saying it drives people away.

On the road to making millions with your podcast, don’t lose sight of what is important! It’s not wrong to have those types of ambitions and goals, but give yourself smaller milestones along the way so that you can celebrate wins. Be honest about your successes and your failures. Don’t let failure define your passion because even if it doesn’t fit into one model, it might fit into another.

In the words of J. R. R. Tolkien from that adventuresome classic The Fellowship of the Ring:

“The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.”

PATREON
Would you please consider supporting Profitcast through Patreon?  I would be ETERNALLY grateful! Thank you to ALL who have come alongside Profitcast through Profitcast Patreon

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.