Unraveling the Transformative Power of Podcasting w/ Carl Richards

It's no surprise podcasting is such an exciting space. Even after almost 20 years, it is still a fairly new phenomenon. But for professionals in this space, we can't seem to get enough!

Tune in as I sit down with podcast strategist, speaker, and seasoned broadcaster, Carl Richards. Drawing on his experience from a childhood stutterer to a successful podcast host, Carl uncovers the transformative journey that led him to the dynamic world of podcasting. He also lets us in on how a 19-minute event sparked the inception of his own podcast just eight months later.

From this interview, you'll uncover the power of podcasting as an ideal platform for thought leaders and busy business owners. Keep listening as we delve into the astonishing potential of solo shows and the delicate balance of integrating guest appearances.

This episode promises to be a treasure trove of insights and inspiration for those plotting their podcasting adventure. If you're a business owner, subject matter expert, or speaker coach contemplating the idea of starting a podcast, Carl’s richly layered perspective is an unmissable treat!

Connect with Carl: Website | LinkedIn

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Transcript

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 0:00

This is Tools of the Podcast Trade, where you can learn about the tools and resources you can use to start and grow your podcast. Tune in next week as we talk about the help you need to remove the mystery from podcasting so you can become a successful podcaster that can reach your audience where they are. My guest today is Carl Richards podcast strategist host and speaker and former broadcaster. Welcome, carl.

Carl Richards: 0:30

Jen, thank you so much for having me. I'm stoked to have this conversation with you. We should have had this ages ago, yeah right.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 0:36

When did you do it all my life? We're two podcast geeks, so that should work Exactly, exactly, yes, all right. So before we get into this exciting topic, could you tell us who is Carl Richards?

Carl Richards: 0:50

Yeah, sure, I was born several years ago and here I am, but no, seriously, you know what? I spent a number of years in the radio broadcasting world, a world that you never thought that you'd find me in, because when I was a kid I used to stutter horribly, so I could barely put words together, let alone do something in my early adult life being a radio host. But I learned a lot in those formative years that led me to my career, one of them being that the first thing I learned was you're in control of your speaking. There's nobody in control of your speaking but you. Once I got into radio school, I also learned another powerful tool, and that was the audience doesn't know, you don't tell them. You still have to share information with them, but the audience doesn't know, you don't tell them. And, interestingly enough, when I chat with people about podcasting, those are two of the things that they really stress out about. They stress out about the control or, in some cases, the lack of control of having their own show, for example. And then they stress out about well, what if I don't give enough information? I need to get my audience all of the information, all of those things. So that's who I am and the background that I come from, but on top of that, I live in Ontario, canada. It's beautiful up here. It's the gorgeous part of the world. Jen, I'd love to have you come and have a barbecue sometime, whatever it's most convenient. But no, it's a beautiful place and it's convenient because I'm six hours from New York City, I'm three hours from Toronto and about three hours from Montreal, so I'm right, kind of in the middle, I guess you could say, of a lot of activity, which is really great, because then certainly as an individual, it's great to be able to get out and do things like go to the theater. I mean, who doesn't like going to New York City to see a show? But it's a fantastic journey and live in life is phenomenal, and I'd love to have this opportunity to talk about the talk, podcasting or whatever is on your mind.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 2:46

Yes, of course, and I lived in Toronto for several years so I love the area, so yeah, it's beautiful.

Carl Richards: 2:54

I grew up just outside of Toronto, in Hamilton, and if you tell a Torontonian you're from Hamilton, they go. You know, oh, we don't want to talk to you. What's funny, though, jen, is now because Toronto, as you can imagine, is becoming so mammoth in size that it's now. It used to be Toronto, then it was GTA, you know, greater Toronto Area. It was all of the surrounding areas. Well, guess what? Now it's GTA, greater Toronto, hamilton Area. So there's evolution of municipalities. I just wanted to share that with you.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 3:30

That's very interesting. My oldest son was born in Hamilton actually, so yeah, we have a connection here. Good, nice, yes, all right. So what got you into podcasting?

Carl Richards: 3:45

Oh my goodness, very good. Yeah, why podcasting? How did I stumble upon this? Interestingly enough, having worked in the radio world. They say you haven't made it in the world of radio until you've been fired from a job. So I was fired from a radio job. I said yes, I finally made it. But in those moments where I was unemployed and looking for something to do, I started doing speaker training, so helping people get on stages, focus on their presentation and communication skills. And part of that came from being in Toastmasters and a lot of people saying you're an evaluator and when you evaluate people, you're really good at it. So why don't you do speaker training? And I thought, okay, I'm looking for something new to do, so why not? And it was around that time, maybe about a year after I started my business very part time as a speaker trainer, that somebody said you should have a podcast and we're talking 2012,. All right, just so you understand when that was. So imagine podcasting in 2012, what the world looked like then. And I remember scratching my head saying what's a podcast? Number one? And then, even after it was explained to me, I said okay, well, why would I a speaker trainer that's helping people get on physical stages want to have like a radio show thing, like I had no concept of what it was, so I dismissed it for seven years. I dismissed it six or seven years. I said no, I was at an event in Toronto hosted by Sam Crowley, who's been in podcasting since podcasts were in diapers, right? So that's how long Sam Crowley's been in the business, and I remember attending his event. It was a 19 minute event and it was all about basically starting your own podcast. And I said you don't want, maybe this is time to look at this. So I did. I launched a podcast eight months later and I haven't looked back. So that's how I got into the podcasting space. From there and through the pandemic, there was a pivot in my broadcasting career. It was time to pivot out and then pivot my business. By this time, of course, nobody's getting on physical stages anymore, right, jen? They're getting on virtual stages like podcasts, and I thought now's the time where I can share this information with people and get them on virtual platforms. And the podcast space was one that totally made sense, because once I launched my first podcast, I have two now. Once I launched my first podcast, I realized that, hey, more people should know about this, but it was getting to that space. That was the hardest and the longest thing up here, but once I was there, I was like you know what more people need to know about this? And that's now what I do is share with people as you do too, jen Sure, that this is a great space to be in, and why wouldn't you want to be here?

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 6:29

Yes, for sure it is, and it's just such an exciting thing. I'm just wondering when you tell somebody you have a podcast, a lot of people give you this blank stare. My brother said what is a podcast? And it took me an hour to explain it because he just couldn't get it. Why would anybody do that? And it's just unbelievable to me. And when I started, I started the online radio thing because I wanted to be on the world stage, kind of thing, but then I discovered podcasts and so yeah, so exciting stuff.

Carl Richards: 7:08

Okay. It's funny how people are still asking, still saying that. They're saying what's a podcast, or why would you want to do that, why do you want to do that for business, or whatever. So it still boggles my mind that here we are about what, 20 years in, or even more than 20 years into the podcasting space, and people are still going what's a podcast?

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 7:29

Yes and for the personal standpoint I understand, but for a business standpoint it just doesn't seem to make sense not to Right. If you have a business, it just doesn't seem to make sense not to have a podcast. At least that's where I'm sitting.

Carl Richards: 7:49

I think we're seeing a shift though, because I think we're seeing it used to be. I've spent a lot of time in the speaking world. I'm actually a member of a speaking association called CAPS, which is the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, and it used to be a lot of the dialogue. If you were to ask a speaker 30 years ago, how do you get on stages, how do you make a success of being a speaker? And they say, well, write a book, go on tour, sell the book, get on stages. That was kind of the thing. And when you had a book, everyone saw you as the expert Right. I'm not talking about a chapter in a book, I'm talking about your actual physical, your own book. And it was harder 30 years ago. It was crazy hard to write a book. Now, with all of the tools that are available almost at our fingertips, it's easier to write a book. It still works but it was certainly more challenging back then and expensive. So you really had to be in almost in that thought leader space, the Jack Canfields of the world and people who were really up leveling their business. But if they had a book, that meant they were a superstar, they were really successful, and those were the people who were getting the speaking gigs and getting on stages. Well, that same concept applies today that the people who are looking at experts they're looking at and the book still matters, by the way I'm not saying it doesn't but what matters, though, is people are now asking the question do you have a podcast? Or, if they find out you have a podcast and they know what a podcast is, they go you have a podcast. That's so cool. My brother is the president of the Such and Such Association. They hold a conference every year. You should talk to him. I'll set you up. You should go speak at their event, because that's the power now of how we're leveraging it, and we're seeing it in business. It's easier for people to get into the podcasting space, especially now with all the AI tools available to us, but we're seeing that not replace a book, but be that other layer that people are identifying with credibility. I think we're seeing a huge shift in that area.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 10:00

Yes, yes, I'm glad because we need to be doing this. All right, you call yourself a podcast strategist. What does that mean? Tell us.

Carl Richards: 10:14

That's a very good question. I would love to say nobody's ever asked me that, but every now and again people will ask that question. I'll say what's a podcast strategist? I'll say well, you know what? Essentially, what I do is I help people navigate this confusing space of podcasting. A lot of people who come into this space, they have some knowledge. Some have zero knowledge. Once they forget knowledge, sometimes they go okay, it's not for me. But those who come in with some knowledge, they go. Well, what exactly can you do for me? I'll explain that. I use the term podcast strategist because the way I work with people is it's not just about producing the show and sending it back to you and saying hey, jen, here's your show. You should throw your social media channels and your email list and have fun. There's more to it that we work on. We work on strategy, so we work on okay. We ask questions when people come to us and we say why do you want a podcast? What's the purpose, what's your goal, what's the end result that you're hoping to achieve? So when we start to have those conversations with people, all of a sudden it goes from yeah, okay, we can produce your podcast, no problem, send me your content and we'll do it. It becomes now a strategy. So that's why I call myself a strategist, because we're leveraging, helping people build their shows with purpose, with a goal in mind, and we're helping them on that goal all the time. And the more we do that, the more we also then get into a marketing strategy, which is the next layer of how do you get the word out about what it is that you're doing with your show and all that stuff. So, but that's why I use the term strategist, because it's not just a I'm not a podcast producer, I'm the CEO of my company. Yes, but when you say CEO, it sounds very official and it is. But when you say that you're a strategist, that really to me, solidifies that it's not just an expert, it's somebody who's going to help you strategize to get results you want in business, or certainly the results you want from your show.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 12:23

Okay, All right, Thanks for explaining that. So I had a discussion with someone the other day and I said something and they I said you know, podcasters were professionals and they were experts at whatever it is they were doing. And the person said no, not everyone. And I thought about it and I realized that people podcast with different reason. Right? Do you help business people extend their business, actually by podcasting? Is that correct? Is that a correct statement?

Carl Richards: 13:03

Yeah, Okay, yeah, I think so To qualify that we work a lot with people who are recognizing that the podcast is the next logical step for them to level up their business. So when I look at what my client avatar is, for example, I say, well, who is the ideal client for me? And it varies from every podcast strategist or podcast production company or whatever. But I look at it and I say, okay, well, really, we work with subject matter experts. That's not to say those are the only people who have podcasts, but we work with subject matter experts because those are the folks who are recognizing, as I said earlier, that this is their next step. The next step is I'm either writing a book, or I've written a book already and now it's time to have a podcast, or they're doing things in tandem. Right, they're writing the book and they're launching a podcast. So that's who we work with. But you're right, there are a lot of people out there who aren't subject matter experts. There may be opinionists, or they might even be or have a show, for example. That is more in the entertainment space. So there are a lot of broadcasters who they're experts in broadcasting and they're bringing that expertise to their podcast, but they're talking about a variety of subjects, right, right. But then you have people who are leveraging the podcasting space for hobby purposes or for passion project purposes. So there's many different reasons why people come into this space, but the fact is that once you're in this space, I believe that a lot of people are seen as the expert, because it's almost like when you look at radio and television the people who are behind the microphones or in front of the cameras, those are the experts, right? Even in the game show world. And the people who are hosting game shows they're professionals. They know how to walk on stage and know how to read questions, all of those things. So those are the experts and I think we're seeing that spilling over into the podcasting space. So I hope that answered your question.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 15:05

Yes, yeah, I was. You know, it confused me a bit because I never actually looked at that, at the separation. I just, you know, lumped everybody together. But when I thought about it I realized, yeah, you know, he was right in what he was saying at the time. So thank you. Well, that's the unique thing about the space.

Carl Richards: 15:26

That's the unique thing about the space too, jen. I didn't mean to cut you off there, but that's the unique thing about the space is we have so many different podcasts there's, you know, some of the top podcasts are hosted by experts like me I'd like to think they are, but some of them are. But there's some of the top podcasts are in the realm of true crime, for example that's one of the top categories for podcasts Sports, comedy, that type of entertainment, self-help Because when you look at those topics, but there's still a huge space for people who are experts, be they, you know, real estate agents, for example, or doctors, lawyers, business professionals who have a message that they want to share. I think that's the biggest thing, and I think that's where we all agree, is that, regardless of the podcast, there's a message there.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 16:12

Yeah.

Carl Richards: 16:13

That we want to get out, and obviously the message differs from podcast to podcast, but it's still the main thing that connects us all.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 16:20

Yes, I just see that as the blogging gone viral probably. Yeah, it's what blogging was 30 years ago, 20, 30 years ago.

Carl Richards: 16:31

Yeah, yeah, that's the next level. As a matter of fact, I know people who are diehard bloggers and they say I can't get rid of my blog. I'm like but you remember when you used to write a thousand or 1500 word blog and people would read it?

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 16:43

They're not doing that now? Yeah, right.

Carl Richards: 16:46

They're not doing that for a hundred and fifty word blog and put a podcast episode to it Now all of a sudden, you're best of both worlds, right. So, yeah, you're right, it's definitely that viral or that next level effect, as you said. Yes, that's and podcast. I guess podcast is disrupting a few different industries. It's what it is, but it's definitely written itself, you know, doing well for itself.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 17:10

Yes, well, when you think about it I was reading a report the other day and people, when you think about it a housewife doing laundry, cooking, you know housework running around town doing errands, or a guy in his garage doing his car they could be listening to podcasts, they can be watching videos or reading the blog. So I wanted to point that out.

Carl Richards: 17:36

Yeah, yeah, one of the benefits of podcasting is it's portable, right, I mean video not so much, but certainly the audio versions of podcasts are very portable, yeah, which makes it a huge benefit for people who are busy. Let's face it, we're busy. It's totally thought. Yes, the recording of this episode it's 2023, right, we're really busy and life just seems to get busier. We don't have time to read 1500 and 2000 words, and if we do, it's at our leisure, it's because we want to.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 18:02

Yes.

Carl Richards: 18:04

So yeah, it's a huge, huge shift, that's for sure.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 18:07

Yeah, all right, thanks, I appreciate this discussion and your time. I want to ask you a question and you probably, you know, touched on it several times throughout this conversation. But why would a business owner, subject matter expert, a speaker coach, want to start a podcast For real? Let's be real now.

Carl Richards: 18:32

Yeah, yeah. That's a really good question and that's what I spend my life doing now is convincing people. And getting on stage is another podcast like this one and thanks Jen for having me. I really appreciate it. But sharing that message with people because it used to be if you were an expert let's go back again 30 years. If you were an expert and I alluded to it already you would do a few things. Number one you would write a book. Number two you would probably go on tour. You would sell the book, you would get on some stages. But the other thing that you would do is you would find ways in your community and even beyond your local community. You would get on radio. You would be invited to be a guest on a radio station or you would be invited to be a guest on a television station for a program, and that showed that you were the expert. People are always looking for ways to elevate their brand, to elevate their business and to elevate their credibility, and if they're not, they're probably in business for the wrong reasons. We always want most business owners you talk to say, yes, I want more clients, yes, I want more of this. Please, not too many are saying, yeah, I don't want any more clients. I'm done. It doesn't matter what kind of business you run unless you're at capacity. You're always looking for new ways to get the word out about what it is that you do. You're also looking for clients that can help you in leveraging the kind of lifestyle that you want. Okay, so this is a roundabout way of answering your question, but that's why is because if you want to connect with clients, you need to go and talk to them, where they are. 70% of people who are listening to podcasts, by the way and that number keeps growing 70% of them are between the ages of 18 and 34. So when I look at sorry, between the ages of 18 and 54, 18 and 34, 18 and 54. So that means the majority of people who are really living their life. They're focusing on business, business building, all of those things. That's that core demographic right now Used to be the baby boomers, and now that's shifted right. The baby boomers are getting older, they're retiring. Now it's the next generation. So it's the Gen Xs, the Gen Ys, the Gen Zs. That's the upcoming generation, and they're listening to podcasts. They're not turning on the radio. As a matter of fact, there was a new staff that came out a few weeks back that said that for the first time in history and this is from Edison Research said that from trying to think of the words they used but basically it's on demand content podcasting has surpassed live stream content, radio, that kind of stuff. So that's the shift right. So that's why, as a business owner, you want to go to where your audience is. If we had this discussion 200 years ago, your audience would be in the town square and you would stand on a soapbox. You probably heard that expression. Oh, they're on their soapbox. You would stand on a soapbox and you would shout out your message. Right? There's a number of different movies that feature that thing too. That's how people used to get their messages out right. Now it's through this thing called podcasting, and younger people are listening to podcasts all the time. Each person listening to. If they're engaged in podcasts that a lot of them are they're listening to between eight and 10 shows a week, right? Your job now as a business owner is to make sure they're listening to you, right? So that's a roundabout reason. The other reason is the nice thing is, with a podcast, you can really zone in on who your ideal client is. So if your ideal client is women who are married with children between the ages of 35 and 54, you can create a show that talks directly to women between the ages of 35 and 54 who have children, who are career-oriented women, for example. You can really zero in on that. Not all other content will allow you to do that right. So there's a number of benefits for stepping into this space. Zeroing on your content, you need to know who your client is, who your ideal client is. But if you know who your ideal client is and how you can attract them, a podcast is just going to help you get in front of them. It also is and I'll turn it back to you for the next question a podcast. Essentially, for a guy like me who has been leveraging speaking as a way to get the word out about what it is that I do for years now, a podcast is basically a speaking gig. Every time you open the microphone and share a message with somebody, record an episode, like we're doing right now. It's a speaking opportunity. The way we did it 20 and 30 years ago is, jen, you'd invite me to speak at your event and I'd speak on your stage and I'd go to the back of the room and people would sign up for my programs or services or whatever. Now it's no. I'm on Jen's podcast. I'm leveraging Jen's network to get the message out about what it is that I do. Jen, when she comes on my show see, jen, we're going to do that, jen will do the same thing. She'll be able to leverage that. That type of leverage is powerful, especially if you're looking at growing your business and want to do it in a way that makes sense for the modern world.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 24:08

Thank you, I appreciate that.

Carl Richards: 24:11

There's my soapbox right there.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 24:13

It helps you zero in on your audience, meet them where they are basically, and it's really free advertising if you think about it. Free marketing, Absolutely 100%.

Carl Richards: 24:31

There are some people who leverage a pay to play way for podcasting. Those numbers, I think, are very small. A lot of people for monetization purposes are not. They're not doing that. They're doing other things completely different to that. But most people are saying you come on my show, I want to have you on my show, I want you as my guest because we have something that you can share Very much. So it's a way, and that's why I love this platform. We're both connected through a podcast match service. I guess you could say it's matchmaking, but for podcasting, alex has a great service that allows podcasters and guests to connect. It's just that so powerful for me to get my message out and also for Jen to have a great conversation and create some amazing content at the same time.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 25:22

Yes, for sure. Yeah, podmatch is a great platform for yes, really great. You said something that had me thinking about something. I want to ask you to explain your business and tell us how we could get in touch with you, but before I do that, there's a kind of a, a kind of a, a kind of a, a kind of a, a kind of a pool, if you will guesting or having guests on your show, versus solo shows right, and the arguments are if you're a solo show, you run out of steam. you can run out of steam and cars pod fade, but if you're, if you have guests all the time on your show, then you are no longer the expert your guests are. So can you address that argument for me?

Carl Richards: 26:10

Oh, absolutely, I love this argument. Actually, I started out doing nothing but a solo show and then, by about episode seven or eight I was actually how this happened was I was hosting a live event and in hosting that live event, as a value ad for my guest speakers, I invited them to be a guest on my podcast. What that did is that allowed me to leverage their network and them to leverage mine. Plus, as I said, it was a value ad right, but the argument that is presented within that and I've heard this many times as people say well, I can't do a solo show, and my question is always why can't you do a solo show? And I know you mentioned pod fade, jen. I'm glad you mentioned that. For people who think they can't do a solo show, I want you to think about this. There are people in the radio world who spend their entire careers sitting behind a microphone doing nothing but creating content to buy themselves, and they know and I know this is a completely different world, but it's the same concept they know that at the end of the day, they have an audience who is listening. That's the biggest mindset is understand that, whether you're doing a solo show or you have guests, you still have an audience. If you're using a podcast to leverage it for business, you want your best content, or your intellectual property, the things that you have built, the courses, the webinars, the blogs, the newsletters. You've written all of that content to go out there into the world, and you're not going to do that as successfully if you have guests. All right, that's number one. Yes, if you have guests, at the end of the day, who show is it? It's not the guests show, it's your show, so you still have control, as I mentioned earlier. But controlling the content, controlling what's going out there in the speaking world, you still have control of that, so you can actually decide OK, guest, here's what we're going to talk about. Here's what I need you to say, just so you understand. I'm also promoting a product, a service or whatever it is, but what happens with a lot of podcasters, though, is they will give way too much runway for their guest. They'll say, hey, guest, come on, come on my show, and they'll feel that they don't have the power to say hey, guest, you're on my show and, at the end of the day, it's still my show. Well, I don't know, jen, if you said, carl, don't pitch any of your products or services. I'd be like, ok, fine, you and I still have a great conversation, right, and it still allows me to share with you and your audience some great messaging about podcasting and where I'm coming from. Yeah, right, so what's a good happy medium is when you have a savvy host who will do solo episodes. I actually have a client that does this all the time. She'll do a couple of solo episodes a month talking about something. She's a business and marketing coach, so she'll talk about something related to marketing and business and you never run out of content, right, yes, but then she'll also do hot seat coaching on her show. Then she'll have one guest one guest a month and there is no pod fade in that. Yes, With the type of content she delivers, there's no shortage of content. The disconnect is here because we think that if we don't have guests, if we don't have conversational things happening, well then, how are guests going to stay connected? Part of that misconception too I just want to mention this before I throw it back to you Part of that, too, is we have this misconception about how long should a podcast episode be, and that's where I think some of the apprehension about doing a solo show comes in, because we think when we come to this space, oh my goodness, we have to do an hour-long show or a two-hour. You don't have to do an hour-long show. You can do a show that's 15 to 20 minutes and still have a lot of impact, versus the shows that are an hour long. There are podcasts out there, jen, and I know you know this. There are podcasts out there that are two minutes long and there are podcasts out there that are beyond two hours long. I'll tell you, right now I can't do a solo episode that goes on for two hours. You're right, I'm a new guest then. But I can do a solo episode that's 15 minutes, three minutes, eight minutes, and have a clear message and a call to action within that. And then, when I have a guest like Jen on my show, I can now go for 15, 20, 30, five minutes and have a great conversation with her. Yeah, so I hope that answers the question, because both are of value and it's even more fun when you marry the two together.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 31:20

Yes, yeah, it does, and thank you. Thank you for explaining it, because it's just, you know. I just wondered why there was any argument about it. I have another podcast and I interview experts and I've learned so much about health and wellness and mindset from those experts that you know I get coached every time I interview a guest, so I just love it. Yeah, right, ok, so how can we get in touch with you? You know, tell us.

Carl Richards: 31:50

Yeah, absolutely. Podcastsolutionsmadesimplecom is the website. There's a lot of great resources there, including the link to my podcast. There's also links right on the homepage too, a lot of the shows that we've helped build over the last three years and a lot of great resources there, too, because of the shows that we have built everything from spiritual, health, wellness, business, financial, real estate all of good variety of shows. But we're always looking to add somebody else to the mix too. So anyone who is thinking that this is, you know, maybe discussion that they'd like to have we're always happy to have discussions with people, and we also hold events too. You know, not just, and we're always looking for great guests too for our show. So if you're a podcaster or a subject matter expert, we always love to have a conversation with you. But we're also at the point, jen and I'll share this with you and you can share it with the audience too is that we're also at the point where we want to start holding some events that are not only relevant to podcasters but relevant to people who want to test out this space. So we're looking at, in the next calendar year or two, we're really bringing some events of value both in the virtual space and in the live space too, as this industry continues to expand. So always happy to have a virtual coffee with people to find out about where they're at with podcasting, and also to create some partnerships and professional relationships. That's the other great thing about this medium, I think, is we can do that, and I appreciate you having me on your show and being able to share that with me.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 33:22

Yes, for sure, I appreciate you being here, taking that time, and this is the only way I could have met you, that's right. I'm pretty sure, I think so too so yeah, yeah, this is awesome. So what is called grateful for today?

Carl Richards: 33:39

Oh, my goodness, I am grateful for the fact that I oh my goodness, that's a very good question. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to live my passion. So many people that go to work they work a job that they're not excited about. I get to live my passion all day long and share my messaging with the world and at the end of the day, I could sleep well, knowing that I have a great life and a great family who also supports this business journey with me. So that's what I'm grateful for is all the people and the opportunities that have presented themselves to me, and I love passing that on to other people.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 34:19

Awesome. Do you have time for one more question? Go ahead, okay, so the part. Make it a parting shot, if you will, and give a podcaster one or two tips in this space.

Carl Richards: 34:33

Oh okay, podcasters or newbies, just checking it out.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 34:38

Yeah, aspiring podcasters. Okay, aspiring podcasters okay.

Carl Richards: 34:42

So, for people just checking out this space, have a conversation with an existing podcaster, whether it be Jen, or whether it be myself or somebody else who is in this space. Ask them questions. Ask them just like Jen did how did you get started and why podcasting? Ask those questions. The other thing that I think benefits anyone who's testing these waters is, if you're not listening to podcasts yet, start listening to podcasts. Start listening to podcasts that you're interested in, but then listen to podcasts that complement, maybe, the subject matter that you'd want to be talking about on your own show. So, if you want, to do a show that's all about sports. start listening to sports podcasts. You want to do a podcast that's about real estate? Listen to real estate podcasts, and make sure you listen to Jen and myself as well.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 35:30

Thank you. So speak your podcast names before you go. You have two.

Carl Richards: 35:39

I do have two my two podcasts. The first one, the original. The original one is called Speaking of Speaking, and it's emerged from being just about speaking tips and training techniques to being about conversations, communication skills and strategies that business owners and other people around the world employ, so it's a fantastic show. I'm kind of biased. And the second show is called Podcast Solutions Made Simple, which is also based on my branding, and it's a podcast. That's all about podcasting and we're still trying to figure out if we want to talk to existing people about existing podcasters or continue to help the up and coming podcasters in navigating through this space. But right now we're helping people navigate in the podcasting space and that's what those two podcasts are about, and I can make sure that those links are available, jen, so you can share them with the audience later.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 36:29

Yes, please. And I always ask that because if somebody is listening to this podcast, they could just switch over and listen right, Exactly.

Carl Richards: 36:37

But of course, don't switch over to what's done, though. I mean, get your full attention. Yeah, then switch over.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 36:45

Thank you very much, Carl Richards, for coming and speaking to us on tools of the podcast trade. I really appreciate you.

Carl Richards: 36:51

Thank you so much.

J. Rosemarie (Jenn): 36:52

Jen Got questions about podcasting. Do you find yourself struggling with the tools and strategies that you know will help you launch and grow your show? Why not join the newest podcasters club where you can get your questions answered by me or one of our guest experts? The link to our next meeting is below. Sign up today and don't let confusion about podcasting stop you from owning your genius. Whether you're an individual or a nonprofit, the newest podcasters club is where podcasters come for answers. Link below for our next meeting.