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 Nendora, 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 1Welcome back to Virtual Antics Podcast. As always, I'm your host, natalie Guzman, and I'm so excited because I have a good friend of mine on the show today, Bruce Wozniak. He is awesome. He has so much experience, especially as a podcaster, so I look up to him so much. But not only that, but he's the CEO of his own company. I'll let him tell you a little about it. But his company Now Hear this is doing amazing things, so let's get into it. Hi, bruce, how are you doing?
Speaker 2I'm doing great. Thank you for having me on, Natalie.
Speaker 1I'm so excited we finally get to do this together. It's really cool when you are talking with someone that you know. It's awesome. So tell us a little bit about how you got started with podcasting, but also with your business.
Speaker 2I'll do it in the reverse order because podcasting, but also with your business, I'll do it in the reverse order because starting the business came much, much before the podcast and I'll try to shorten it because it's a long story, but it basically was born out of being in church and seeing a girl singing who I really thought was so talented that more people needed to hear her. I volunteered to help her out doing whatever event she was doing in the community. Eventually I wore her and her father down to say, yes, okay, this guy's not asking to get paid, so let's let him help us out. I started getting results for them and then the light bulb went on that we all, as entrepreneurs, have where you go wait, I can make a business out of this.
Speaker 2So that's kind of how NowHereThis was started and, strangely enough, I really only was focused on musicians at the time because she was a singer and I just kind of found that to be my niche. And one of the lessons that I learned over the years, natalie, was when you're starting up a business, of course you're just trying to find your way through it and see what your specialty area is going to be and, of course, where you're going to get business from. So you just start looking in your immediate local area and I have found over my 20 years of running Now Hear this, that you really need to be present, be visible, be active, be out there, and that's how I've managed to get clients across the country.
Speaker 1That is so cool and I love that. Your business was passion driven you. You found it because you just had this like a passion filled moment where you're like, oh my gosh, this person needs to be seen by more people, and I love that. That is so cool. I feel like there's always like there's businesses that stem from an idea, there's business that stem from being stuck in a hard place, and then there's businesses that stem from having a passion, and I kind of love I haven't interviewed anyone that started from a passion, so that was really cool.
Speaker 2Well, I did have the safety net of the regular job that I was in at the time, so that was kind of like a side hustle. But, as I said, once I started to see results I thought okay, I can make something out of this.
Speaker 1And I think in the beginning that's the same for most businesses, right we all kind of start. You know it's a bootstrapping phase, right. So we just start trying to do whatever we can to make it work because we're really passionate about it. We see an end goal and so we do everything we can to drive forward. So I love that. I'm mine's kind of start as a side hustle as well, and very quickly realized I couldn't say a side hustle.
Speaker 1So that's awesome. Now tell us a little bit more about what you do, what type of people do you work with?
Speaker 2Well, as I said back then, it was musicians only, and gradually I started to realize that the skillset that I had was transferable across a number of industries and I didn't have to just limit myself to musicians. And also I would start to get the occasional inquiry from someone that would say, could you help me by any chance? Because? And then they would insert what it is that they do. And I have found that, for whatever reason, a large part of my clients have turned into authors. So I do still serve the music community but I very much have found a foothold in the writing community. And again getting back to my point before about getting out and being seen, because I've also become a speaker, I do find myself authors to small businesses. I recently had a nonprofit that I was working with entrepreneurs. I've even worked with some podcasters, so it's really grown. I've even been really excited helping filmmakers and actors, the creatives, I think, as a podcaster myself. I think there's kind of that gravitation. You know we fit together nicely. It doesn't mean that I don't fit together nicely with authors because, as I said, that's really become a big part of my business.
Speaker 2But I have kind of gone on this roller coaster ride over the years where, when I first moved to Florida in 2000, I was freelancing for three different full service agencies and I got to the point where I said I don't like this working on so many different accounts over the course of a day, like I want to just do one thing.
Speaker 2And so the job that I ended up getting was in the Olympic movement and I thought okay, here we go. Now I'm just doing one thing and this is my one and only job, my one and only quote unquote account, my one and only client, if you will, even though it was a regular full-time job. And ever since I went back and started now here this I do like the variety of working with so many different people. I think it keeps you fresh and I think you learn experiences from one client that you transfer over to another, and so they all kind of feed into each other and it keeps you constantly learning and it makes it more challenging, exciting, all the usual buzzwords as you sit down to work each day.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's one of the reasons I love. The virtual assistant world is like I felt like I was able to be a better business owner because I got to work with other businesses and learn how they do things and I got to kind of tweak it and make it my own and apply it to my own business and you work with so many different types of people and personalities and, yeah, they're always suggesting new things or like did you hear about this? It's kind of cool because you grow your own community within your client base and it just kind of makes everyone grow stronger and become stronger. That's why I love hiring companies like yours, because you're really there's only so much that you can think about on your own and so much that you're good at. So when you hire a company like yours, you're able to get someone that thinks about that stuff 24-7, that's in that field and learning about it and super important.
Speaker 2It's just a lot more effective it's a lot like the podcast community. You know you asked me before about starting up Now Hear this Entertainment and I had started that in 2014 because I had heard about this thing called podcasting and of course, we all know that it's so much different now from when it was back then. Back then I thought that podcasting was going to be just kind of another marketing tool for my business that maybe some musician who's listening to the show in San Antonio, Texas, will hear me and contact me and say you know, this Bruce guy sounds like he knows his stuff. I listened to his podcast. Maybe he can manage and promote me from across the miles. And it's turned into so much more and I feel like there's that community also. So learning about PR and everything from one world and then going into the podcast world and learning a whole different skill set but making all kinds of new networking contacts, all these great connections, and really the benefit of that, Natalie, has been that I went from. Maybe this will be lead gen, where I'm going to get clients contacting me because they're listening to. Instead, it's turned into.
Speaker 2I've met so many great people who can be a good asset for my clients.
Speaker 2So now, all of a sudden, when a client comes to me with a need, my light bulb can go on and I can go through that bizarre mental Rolodex that I have of all the guests that I've talked to and I thought, okay, the person that I interviewed over here would be a good fit for this client, because I match them up and everybody's happy and I feel like I'm not going to a past podcast guest with my handout like, oh, okay, that's why he had me on, he wants something from me.
Speaker 2In a roundabout way, you could argue I'm giving them business right, Because if it's, you know, I remember one client who Hollywood-based client, dancer first, singer second never did any songwriting and she wanted to know you know, how can I get into songwriting? And I said I have the perfect person to match you up with. Now those people, of course, can, will and should charge for their services. So if Bruce Wozniak brings them one of his clients, it could become a client of theirs. So I've just so enjoyed so much about the podcasting community and everything that the medium itself has done for me and for my business.
Speaker 1Yeah, that happened the same way with me too. I originally started Virtual Index kind of as a lead generation tool, and then I was meeting so many cool people and I was like there's so many ways to collaborate with other businesses and other business owners that I just started creating like a very detailed spreadsheet. Cause you know me, I'm super organized, I need everything on a spreadsheet and I like wrote down like things about them, even their personalities. Cause you know me, I'm super organized, I need everything on a spreadsheet and I like wrote down like things about them, even their personalities. Cause I don't, I might have someone that like multiple people that do, let's say, marketing Right, and I want to refer them out.
Well, their personalities might not match, or you know, there's certain things, or maybe they both live near each other and so that could be a really cool connection. So I love writing like additional details like that to match them up. It's so much fun. And then they come back to me and they're like thank you so much for introducing me and I'm like, of course it's just exactly such a good feeling. I love podcasting and that's how we met is through podcasting.
Speaker 1We met at a podcast and, um, oh my gosh, it was so cool to meet you and your wife and I just felt instantly at home when I met you guys.
Speaker 2You're like you're in.
Speaker 1Florida. You have to come to our meetup. Why haven't you been? And I was like, oh yeah, I need to go.
Speaker 2But that in itself is a good business lesson because, like I said, you need to get out there, you need to be seen, you need to attend events and meet people. But I think it also shows you and I were both speakers at PodFest and so you literally have a stage that you're elevated on that. All these people in the room are looking up and it's a way to establish your expertise, just like on our podcast. So now when you and I go into the after party at night, everybody looks at Natalie and they go, oh, that's that girl who spoke about. And they see Bruce and they go, oh, that's that guy who spoke about. As opposed to walking up to a stranger in an after party at PodFest and saying I guess I'll just say what's your podcast. So now it's a real nice icebreaker for people like you and I, and so for those in the audience who are listening to Natalie and I. That's another thing that has helped.
Speaker 2Now hear this, the company is because I went from being Bruce Wozniak business owner to Bruce Wozniak business owner and podcaster. There's an ebook series that I launched out of my podcast, so you could say that I also became business owner, podcaster and author. But then, when you have all these things going, you get these speaking opportunities and now you've really put yourself, and, by extension, your business, out there, because now it's business owner, podcaster, author and speaker. And then you meet people even more. And that goes back to my original point. I speak all over the country. So how does Bruce have clients in California? How does he have people in Nevada? How does he have people in Wisconsin, in Nashville, in the Carolinas? Well, that's how, because I get out and meet people, I shake hands and kiss babies, as they say.
Speaker 1That's hilarious. Yeah, I feel like going in events definitely leveled up my business in a big way because I got to just build so many more connections and, like you said, the speaking. You know, when people see that and they get to see me on stage they're like oh, she actually knows what she's talking about and she just doesn't just work on it, she actually like studies it and understands it and has like strategies and things like that.
Speaker 2And if you have what she preaches.
Speaker 1Yeah, exactly, you had an amazing speaking topic. You were teaching us about how to promote our business or our podcast, right, yeah?
Speaker 2Yeah, fittingly enough right For a PR guy. Yeah, the reason I do the 20 plus ways to promote your podcast presentation is because I fear that podcasters are doing one or two things, which is simply releasing their episodes and saying, well, it's out there, people are going to find it, it's on Spotify, it's on Apple Podcasts and I go. It is, but so are a couple million other podcasts and there's so, so, so many others to weed through that. What makes you think people are just going to magically find yours? And some people will try to challenge that and say, well, wait a minute, I didn't tell you I got this really awesome title for my podcast, or you haven't seen the cover art? It's so clever and it's like it doesn't matter, because until somebody gets to your podcast, they're not going to know that clever title, they're not going to see the cool artwork.
Speaker 2And the other reason I do it is because we're also conditioned to just put stuff on social media and assume that, well, of course people are going to find it. I have it on Facebook, I have it on Twitter, I have it on Instagram, tiktok, youtube, wherever you are. And again it's the same oversaturation problem where I say, duh, like, of course you better have it on social media. You're not impressing me by saying every episode, I post about it on my socials, like, yeah, you better be, but there's so many other things you can and should be doing. So that's why I do that presentation, because they're all things that have worked for me. I know that there's lots and lots of podcasters who have little to no budget to promote their podcast, and so I like being able to share all those tips, knowing that the absolute, overwhelming majority of them don't cost anything at all.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's awesome and you know the. It's just like think about how many things people see in a day. Right, we have internet, we have TV, we have word of mouth. There's so many different things coming at us in a day. So how are you going to stand out and be remembered and having like um? I know who is it. Oh, mark Savant, from he's another pod fester. He at his um speaking. He was a speaker like two years ago at pod fest and I went to his um his thing and he gave out t-shirts. At the end he had the nicest, softest t-shirt.
Speaker 2Like it's still my favorite t-shirt in my drawer.
Speaker 1It was so soft and um, oh my gosh, it was amazing was so soft and um, oh my gosh, it was amazing. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is like the best t-shirt. And uh, I will never, never forget mark and his company. Because that, and then the next year I saw him at pod fest again. I was like I still have your t-shirt. I even brought it.
Speaker 2I wore it to pod fest because it was just such.
Speaker 1Another one was Veronica with Purple it Up, so she's a nonprofit for domestic violence. She had a shirt and she gave it to me. I think I actually won it at a PodFest one year and the next year I wore it and I got to talk to her and I got to learn more about her and her business.
Speaker 2You make a great point, though, because you and I have this discussion offline a lot, which is, you know, people need to see or hear about your brand so many times, and because we are bombarded by email, by social media, by text messages.
Speaker 2There's so many interruptions in our day that you might have very good intentions of listening to someone's podcast when they tell you about it, and you might even you know, I'll try to do the thing where I really go out of my way and it's like I'm going to bring it up on my phone on Spotify, but then your day gets away from you, and so you need those constant reminders. You need the t-shirt that you got from a speaker. You need the postcard, the business card, whatever it was, the promotional item to say oh yeah, that's right, I think I have it up on my screen. I've got all my windows minimized. I got to find that Spotify that I was ready to press play on, now that something else came into my view and reminded me, because you and I always talk about this like eight times or something like that.
Speaker 1You need to hear about something before you're going to take action yeah.
Speaker 1Yeah, every time and in different formats, right?
Speaker 1So we do a lot of like emailing in our business and so you want to do emails, text, facebook If you are using like Facebook and megapixels, I can go into all the different technologies or you can hire a company that does it for you, but basically you can do a retargeting campaign.
Speaker 1I love that because it makes the people that did see it once. I'll make them see it over and over and over again. And those are the campaigns that I actually tend to click on, like in Facebook, if I see the same one over and over again, because I was intrigued at first but I didn't click and then I keep seeing it and I keep like learning more about them and I see their face in all these different type of ads and I'm like you know what, we'll learn more and actually like take action and that's why I love using all different formats. And if they you got a text you know saying oh, don't forget to take this action. You know, and it's so easy to just click on the link and do the action. That is so easy for me as a busy mom, not entrepreneur just have a link on my phone that I can just click and take action. Awesome, and.
I think we have a responsibility as business owners and as podcasters to educate our constituents on exactly what you and I are talking about. Because I was thrilled I just had, two days ago, a sponsor commit to one of my podcasts that they're going to start sponsoring, and I was thrilled because he acknowledged to me. He said I know that it takes at least eight times for someone to hear the message. So I'm going to do four months with you, you know, to start this relationship, and so it does your heart good when because my advice there is you don't just tell people, hey, it takes eight times, or hey, it takes seven times. If you can find somewhere where it's written in a study or in a report, or hey, something just came out, and you cite the source and you maybe even give them the link, then it looks more like I'm just trying to educate you as opposed to. This is something I'm going to tell you in the hopes that you'll believe it. So you'll buy sponsorship with me.
Speaker 1Yeah, 100%, and there's so many studies on that. By the way, it's all over the internet, so I would actually dive deeper into those studies because they give you a lot of different things on psychological marketing and things like that. It's a really cool topic.
Speaker 1I actually love it, but yeah, I'm so excited you've been on the show, bruce. I'm so happy that you came on and shared your knowledge, because I definitely look up to you as a business owner and a podcaster, so so excited you're here. How can we find more about you and your business?
Speaker 2nowhearthisnet is the agency website, but of course there's a podcast section within the website. Or if you just look for Now, hear this Entertainment on most podcast platforms and you can find my podcast on there. I do actually have a separate website for all the speaking that I do, which is speakerbrucewcom, but you'll probably find that bumping around nowhearthisnet. If you end up on my email newsletter list, you'll see that I mentioned that in there once in a while and, of course, all over social media. So once you hit nowhearthisnet you'll see all the social media logos down at the bottom to engage on whichever one you prefer.
Speaker 1Awesome. I'll make sure I put that in the show notes so everyone can go and take action with the click of a button. But I thank.