Welcome to the Virtual Antics podcast , where we help entrepreneurs streamline their business to six figures and beyond . These short , sweet and info packed episodes will inspire , educate and leave you feeling motivated to take one more step forward in your business . So put down your never-ending to-do list , because in this podcast , we are interviewing the best of the best in the entrepreneurial world as they spill their secrets to success . This podcast is sponsored by Nandora , the all-in-one software for entrepreneurs to grow their business , with unlimited landing pages , automations , emails and text campaigns , and so much more . I'm your host , natalie Guzman . Now let's get into it .
Speaker 1Hey guys , welcome back to Virtual Antics podcast . As always , I'm your host , natalie Guzman . I am so excited because I have a dynamite podcaster with me today . She is Lindsay McMahon . She is the host of All Ears English . Her podcast is downloaded four million times per month globally and then ranked the best of Apple podcast categories in 2018 and 2019 , as well as the number one in US education language courses . Lindsay and her podcast has been featured in podcast magazine , language magazine and Forbes . Welcome Lindsay , how are you doing today ?
Speaker 2Thank you , natalie , I'm excited to be here .
Speaker 1Thanks for having me on your show so excited to have you Absolutely love your podcast especially . I love languages . I'm married to someone . I speak a different language than me , so I think it's absolutely amazing what you're doing . It's a little bit more about your podcast and your business .
Speaker 2Happy to , happy to . So we launched our podcast kind of in the early , early days of podcasting in 2013 . And at the time I launched the show with my co-host at that time , who was also from Boston . We were together in person podcasting . We had both traveled the world quite a bit and taught English as a second language in Japan . I had taught in South America , new York City , and I said , hey , I heard about this podcasting thing . I was listening to a couple of personal development shows and I said what about a podcast for English learners , for adults ? So we launched it and then a business grew around .
Speaker 2It Just kind of caught on . From the start it was we had a nice cover art . We showed our faces on the show , which a lot of ESL teachers were kind of trying to stay more professional at the time , whereas we wanted to be fun . You know , we knew what we were doing , but we wanted to have fun on this show , right , and so it stood out and it's always been a high ranking show , a successful show . And then , over the years , we launched another show around a niche within ESL which is IELTS , a test prep show . And then we launched a third show last October business English , so a business grew around it . Eventually , we built two apps , did some live events in Japan , boston and New York City , and now we sell online courses . We do sponsorships with brands , we do licensing , and so our business model has built , but it's all still with the podcast in the center , because that's where we're able to spread our message . Our message is connection , not perfection , our vision , our values , and it is also obviously a lead generator at the top of our funnel .
Speaker 1So that is amazing and so cool . We are a what is it called Dual language household , so English and Spanish , and I still do not know Spanish . I can get by , but I really learned that how like amazing languages are , and learned you know my husband's Puerto Rican , and then you have , we have a lot of friends that are Mexican and so even though they both speak Spanish , they a lot of the words are not the same and a lot of the slang is not the same . So how do you kind of address that when in your podcast and when you're trying to teach people English ?
Speaker 2It's a great question . So we so our kind of angle on English , is American English . So we're very upfront with our audience . We say this is what we know . All of our co-hosts across all three shows are American native English speakers . So we teach American English . But we do a lot of guest interviews , especially on the bigger show , all Ears English . Just in the last month I've interviewed three of my I guess I would call them friends slash other ESL co-hosts , podcasters , who are British . I've interviewed people from Canada on the show , england , all other native English speaking countries and also international people on the show . So you end up with a mix of accents that we talk about slang , we compare cultures . We really get into it . It's really fun actually . That's awesome .
Speaker 1I was just thinking you know , I'm from Massachusetts , so Boston is almost a whole accent itself .
Speaker 2Oh my gosh , I love . I'm from New Hampshire , and so I grew up going to Mass all the time . I didn't know you're from there . That's very cool , okay .
Speaker 1I lived there till I was 20 and I lived towards two areas . I had divorced parents so I was in Boston area but I was also near kind of Connecticut in Western Mass All right , I used to go to Hampshire for summer camp , so that's pretty cool .
Speaker 2The Boston accent is so much fun . We've had two or three interviews with people from Boston and we have a blast with it . It's just , it's great . Oh , so much character .
Speaker 1Oh my gosh , it's so fun . I love talking and when I talk with my family I get a little bit of the accent back . I don't have that anymore . But it's so much fun and just I think that's what you just said character , right , that's one of the things I love about languages is that everyone has their own culture and character and like , oh , I just love listening to my in-law speak Spanish .
Speaker 2You know .
Speaker 1Sometimes I don't know what they're saying , because oh , it's just , it's just so amazing . I really really love languages and it's crazy how many different languages there are , right . So how do you tackle ? You know you have a lot of your listeners are not just one language , they're all different languages trying to learn English correct , correct , correct , yeah .
Speaker 2So how do we handle that ? Yeah , good question .
Speaker 1How do you do that ?
Speaker 2Good question . So the level that we target is the global professional right . So they , in terms of , we consider it the intermediate to advanced level , right ? So these students , these listeners , are already potentially doing business in English . They're good enough to be doing that in many cases , so they can understand . So it's full immersion , right ? I mean my co-host , aubrey , she could run the podcast in French . Right , she speaks French fluently . But that's not how we do it . It's an immersion method and so it's all in English . You definitely run into challenges when it comes to selling courses and copywriting , right , conversion stuff , which we could talk about , if you want , around course sales . But we do our best to be as visual as we can in our promotions and as clear in our copywriting as we can , which is an ongoing challenge . But , yeah , for the learning , I think it's good . They need that at that level . They want to feel like they're sitting in a cafe and listening to a conversation between two native English speakers , and so that's what we give them . Oh , that's super cool .
Speaker 1I love that Because it's almost like do you kind of tell stories as well , because I feel like I would learn really well just by listening to a story .
Speaker 2Yeah you know , I just I'm collaborating in a few weeks with someone who specializes in her podcast is also an ESL podcast but what they do is they bring on , they kind of follow the moth . You know the moth the moth , where people go up on stage and share a story , that concept , yeah . So they follow that concept , so they have a storyteller . I'm going to be on her show sharing one life story that I have to tell and adding a lot of value , and that is her entire method . So all ESL podcasters , I guess , have a different , as all podcasters do have their own format .
Speaker 2There are a lot of directions you can take language learning in . For us it's a very fast paced , always two hosts , conversational 15 minute format , boom , boom , boom . It's fun role plays . We teach you something , there's a takeaway , and then we focus on our value , which is human connection , cause I think there's something more to learning a language than grammar and vocabulary . If that's why we're here , then it's not for me , right , it's for the human connection . So we bring that across for every episode .
Speaker 1And I feel like you definitely learn a language better when you're focusing on that connection , like I know for me , right ? I kind of learned Spanish just by being in a room with my in-laws , who all spoke Spanish around me , and then I was able to get the pronunciation better than I ever could in Spanish class back in high school .
Speaker 1So one of the common questions I get is like people will start talking to me in Spanish because they'll hear me maybe say a very basic command to my children in Spanish . My accent is so on point because I was listening to them . They're like I speak Spanish , but I mean you turned this into yeah , gradually went into a business , which is amazing . I love those type of businesses and so tell us about your course and like kind of what it's about and how you guys help people .
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean we have multiple courses . We have kind of a suite of courses at this point , right . So we've been in business for 10 years and direct sales to listeners , to individuals , is one way that we drive revenue for sure . So we have an IELTS course , which is a test . I don't know if you've heard of the IELTS exam International English Language Testing System . It's a test which , if you want to immigrate from , let's say , for example , japan to the UK to get that visa , you need to take this test , or to get the job which gets you the visa . There's a test involved , and so we prep them for that .
Speaker 2My employee , jessica , one of the co-hosts on IELTS Energy , was an examiner in that test for like 15 years and so she knows it extremely well , and so we built a course around that . And then we built a business English course which is done really well for our audience . We built another course , which was actually a road trip I took in 2016 around the country . I took my camera and interviewed people everywhere . It was incredible , an adventure . It's an adventure course .
Speaker 1So , yeah , we've done all kinds of things here that is so cool and I love that , because I was on a podcast recently and they talked about the two different types of businesses . You're either doing something you love and it gradually turns into a business , which is kind of sounds like what you guys said , or you get like me , I was kind of thrust into a position where I had to make money from home and so I was kind of thrust into a situation .
Speaker 1So I love hearing stories about that type of scenario and how you've kind of gradually built this and it kind of shows you that you know a lot of times , entrepreneurs , we quit things within one to two years . Right , we see it all the time with fellow entrepreneurs and if you just keep going , you know through the hard times , let it gradually grow . Don't worry about doing everything right now and right there , and it can . I feel like that's how you guys have been really sustainable . Would you agree ?
Speaker 2Yeah , absolutely
. I think that's a really important point , natalie , I think an additional piece of that keeping going oh , having both feet in fully in right For me there wasn't really a lot of other options . I'm not going to go get a corporate job , right . I had another business at the time . It was my another consulting company . I had like really a one to one training , language training company , but that was phasing out and this was real really where my heart was .
Speaker 2But I think an important piece is consistency . So , being all in and if you tell your audience just within podcasting , we actually publish four days a week on all ears English , which I know sounds insane , but we have set up a system where we can do it . It makes sense , it works . But we've never missed a single four day of the week . We've never missed a single . There's never been a Monday that all ears English has not published since we launched in 2013 . That's 10 years . Or a Tuesday , or a Wednesday , or a Thursday . I mean , that is that's kind of the kind of consistency that you need in a way . Yeah , this is what we're talking about here .
Speaker 1Yeah , and I think utilizing a team you know , or even a partner , is really , really beneficial . Like you have a co-host , do you have a team as well ? That kind of helps you on the back end things .
Speaker 2Oh yeah , I wouldn't . I just wouldn't have made it this far without a team , right , first of all , I would have been bored just talking to myself on the podcast , and so having that co-host is amazing . It's chemistry , it's connection , it's authenticity . And then , on the support side , we have a nice team of VA's , virtual assistants , we have contractors that have helped us build our apps and help us with our transcripts , and you know , we just had our team sync last week , and just updating everyone on what's happening in the business and feeling that we're doing this together is a game changer for me . I mean , some people are able to do it on their own , as a solo preneuer , which is great . That's another business model , but I don't think I could have done it . Yeah , yeah me either .
Speaker 1I think part of like sustainability , too , is like relying on other people . So we do episodes twice a week , monday and Friday , and all I do is I just show up , look pretty and I get to talk with the awesome guests . Right , I hand that off to my team and then they basically do everything else from there .
Speaker 2So I hand off .
Speaker 1Oh my gosh , it's such a nice feeling and to have like a team . You know that we all work so well together and communicate well with one another . It's just such a relief and there's such a huge help . I actually had an assistant find a dentist for me . I don't know if you know , but Florida finding a dentist for kids is almost impossible .
Speaker 1I didn't know that , oh it is so hard to find a pediatric dentist in Florida , especially when that takes your insurance . They're very rare and so we do have to drive an hour away . But they found one for me and so I was able to , like post all over social media how amazing she is and she felt so loved and I just wanted her to know . Like I didn't have to do that , I didn't have to call these places and look at the reviews , look at the pictures to see if they have like a playroom right , because a lot of times the fluoro happens . They say they take kids and they shop for the appointment and they're like no , we don't have equipment for your kids .
Speaker 2Oh , they're in the waiting room , right , right , right Right , so I'm like look for a waiting room that's geared towards kids and the pictures , and that's how you know it's a pediatric dentist Interesting , so that's very next level . I can really admire that getting a team to help you with personal tasks as well , which frees you up to focus on your work . Right , I'm not doing that yet I'm . I'm still kind of scrambling around calling my dentist doing my things , have not assigned personal tasks yet , but I just make sense , make sense .
Speaker 1Yeah , and you could . You know , even if you do overseas or a US space , it's really not that costly . I absolutely love her . She's absolutely amazing , and it was because we move , so I do this every . We move every two years , so I always get an assistant for that time when I move . There's not much year round work , but she does other things for us too . She's a multitasker , she's amazing .
Speaker 2So I mean the truth , like there , you know your team is , it's the engine behind the business , Right , I just had a conversation with with my virtual assistant last night and I said you know , I so appreciate it , because sometimes I forget that you and the other teammates , they're the engine behind the business running . Like , why do things not blow up ? It's because you guys are you're , you're consistent , You're getting it done , and it lets me free up my mind to focus on other things . It's incredible .
Speaker 1Yeah , and it's . It's really cool because I get the focus on the things that really I'm passionate about or that I'm really great at , and I'm great at like problem solving and sometimes that can be really time .
Speaker 1You know , time tanker and it's just having a team that I can rely on and be like can you guys help me with this or that ? Oh , it's amazing and they're the absolute best . I will always shut out or marketing mavens . They're awesome , so tell us more about so you talked about . You have your podcast . That's kind of your lead generation and we got your courses that would you consider that your main offer ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean I think there are kind of four ways that all those English makes money , right . So we do courses , we do licensing and we're getting into the B2B space , meaning business to business . So working with companies , working with business platforms that would then have companies on the other side , like marketplaces , does that make sense ? So we're selling our products , putting our products on these B2B marketplaces , and then companies are coming and buying it from the marketplace . Our apps are also monetized , so our apps just have a premium subscription option . So an Android , ios app and then yeah , I mean that's pretty so courses , licensing and then sponsorships for our podcast . So that's the other piece that we've really gone into in the last year and a half or so .
Speaker 1That's super cool . I always say I read this book like a really long time ago . It says millionaires always have a minimum of seven streams of income . You've kind of built that within your business , so so , so smart . I absolutely love that and it's like almost like a freedom in it too . Like , especially , you have the app , which I would assume is kind of past the income . You probably have to do some updates and such to it . Yeah , like we have a software and it's just been a game changer for our business .
Speaker 2It's huge . You know , I do a lot of mastermind groups with people in my space , other ESL course creators , and I see 100% focus on course building . I'm like , yes , courses are a great way to build a business , but when you have a course , a business that's 100% based on sales of a course scary to me . I'm always obsessing over diversifying , maybe too much , but it just feels like one's going to drop . You know , like podcast ad revenue is probably going to drop in 2024 . I realize that . So we're going to ramp up course sales . Right , there's always levers that we can pull , but if there's one product , I don't know , maybe for a couple of years . But then if you want your business to run long term , start to diversify .
Speaker 1Yeah , 100% . And our needs are always changing . You know your consumers' needs are always changing . That's why I mean to say and so always evaluating that , looking at the data , it's super , super important . Well , I've loved having you on the show and I thank you so much for all your insight . Where can we find more about you ?
Speaker 2Well , your listeners can check out my podcast . Since this is a podcast , we're in the podcasting world . Your listeners can go and open the search bar and just type in all ears English and you'll actually see three shows pop up , all three of our shows . Everything is yellow . That is our branding . You could hit follow on all ears English and check it out , see what our style is , and you could find me on LinkedIn . I'm happy to answer any questions or do any informal coaching or mentoring is something that I'm always happy to help out if people have questions .
Speaker 1Thank you so much , Lindsay . I really appreciate you coming on the show and we'll talk to you next time on the virtual index .