Today, I want to share my journey of how I went from the DIY podcaster to now being the CEO profitable podcaster. In episode 34 of The Podcast Podcast, I want to reflect upon my podcasting journey. If you are listening to this podcast, you most likely aspire or want to have your own podcast too. I know it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and intimidated, but remember that we all start somewhere!
In case this is your first time tuning in, let me introduce myself. My name is Tara Counterman. I’m the founder and CEO of Profitable Podcast Productions, the creator of Profitable Podcast School and basically, 1000% obsessed with helping online entrepreneurs step out of the busywork, stop struggling for paying clients and actually get their message out there.
So if you’re ready to dive into this episode and hear more about my success plan journey, check out the points I share below! And for even more juicy details, listen to ALL of episode 34 of The Podcast Podcast on your fave streaming platform.
If you’re in the “I want to be a podcaster” phase or if you’re in the traditional podcaster phase too taking on a lot of things yourself, just know it’s possible to move through and uplevel your podcast. Having a profitable podcast is not out of reach, it just takes time. When I first started my podcast, I was in Network Marketing. I was playing around with the idea to do things differently, in this specific Network Marketing company, I wanted to build a personal brand. I had been listening to podcasts to get inspiration but I kept waiting. I had this idea in my head but I kept pushing it off.
I never prioritized getting in front of my audience and connecting. When I had started my podcast, I did develop better organizational systems. However, at first, it was a total mess. I know how hard it is to be a DIY podcaster and having to manage everything on your own. That’s why I teach on this, I know it’s not fun to go through that learning phase. I spent months and months trying to learn but not launching my podcast show. Once it did launch, I showed up very inconsistently.
Now when I record my podcasts, I have my microphone attached to my desk that hangs in front of my camera. I used to record in a closet and there were so many late nights where I’d be up recording, editing, and gathering promotional content by the next day. The whole process was rushed, my topics didn’t have anything to do with my launches, and I did a lot of stopgaps with interviews. Overall, I wasn’t efficient. Finally, I had a breaking point, it was a late night and I realized I needed help to get ahead. That’s when I developed an organizational system that I now teach other podcasters. This organizational system was focused on batching.
I was getting more intentional with batching and not doing things week by week. When I was able to batch tasks such as recording, editing, and social media promotions, I freed up my mind so much. Instead of jumping around task to task and losing time, I structure work times around what similar tasks I can batch together.
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Once I had my systems in place, I began searching for a Virtual Assistant. This was scary for me at first because I felt like I had the capabilities to do it all myself, this is such an untrue belief by the way. If you are a solopreneur, I need to emphasize that there are people who can take on and handle tasks for you. I finally overcame this limiting belief, I hired a Virtual Assistant based on training. If you are in a position where you need help whether it’s podcasting or something else, you can find people who need the skill you have, and then train them. I focused on what our organizational system looked like so that the virtual assistant could easily take tasks off my plate. If I were to do this again, I wish I had documented my processes and expectations before hiring someone. If you are in a stage where you are doing everything yourself and being very particular, outline all your processes and standards. This way when someone comes in, you can provide them those resources as a starting point.
Between the virtual assistant and I, we spent time working on the system and training. Eventually, I could focus more on recording while she would work on copy and graphics. I created templates in Canva so that all she had to do was duplicate a version and update it with the correct information. At this time I was posting gradually, but the VA took over so I could focus more on the podcast. I did let go of this particular podcast eventually as it wasn’t aligned with what I wanted. I walked away from that and found my zone of genius within podcasting.
I ended up having people come to me for guidance and help with podcasting. If you find this happening to yourself, let it be a sign from the universe to start paying attention to it, because more than likely, the solution they are seeking from you is something you can turn into a career. After so many people kept coming to me for podcasting advice, I quickly pivoted into podcasting. From there I didn’t start my podcast right away, because I was so busy with client work. Eventually, I built out my agency. You will always be able to find, train, and develop a team that can support you. It can be a small team or a big team. After the agency was established, I did launch my podcast and went all in. At this point, I had a team to support me and it felt great!
It took around 2 years for me to elevate from the Want to Be podcaster to the CEO profitable podcaster. This entire thing is a journey and process, don’t ever feel like you have to rush it all. When you do start as someone who is doing it all yourself, you can understand what needs to be done, and create processes and systems. That’s a great thing because you can bring in the right hires. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten from my coaches was to make your positions system-dependent rather than person dependent. If you hire someone, you want to make sure you have the processes and tasks documented so if anything were to happen, you can put someone else in that position with ease. Make sure you document now, no matter what stage you are at. Also, think about the things that are truly important or worth your time.
I wanted to share my journey with you and let you know no matter what stage you are at, you aren’t stuck. You can always go forward, and hiring a Virtual Assistant is one of the best things I did, it started to expand my mind. I was able to see what could be possible. I hope hearing my story provides you perspective and insight on what could be possible for you and your podcasting journey. It doesn’t have to happen overnight, it’s just about breaking down where you want to go and figuring out the steps you need to take.
So don’t forget to tune in to episode 34 of The Podcast Podcast to hear ALL the details about the points I just outlined above!
And if you love this episode as much as I do, don’t forget to take a screenshot, share it on your Instagram stories and tag me @ceopwr so that we can spread this important message to even more entrepreneurs and online business owners!