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Accidental Podcaster: How a Retail Expert Found His Voice
What does it take for a non-broadcaster to create a successful podcast? Andy Wilson, host of "Doing Business in Bentonville," shares the remarkable journey of hitting 100 episodes—a milestone that just 5% of podcasters ever reach.
Andy's path into podcasting wasn't planned. With a background in retail rather than media, he initially ran monthly live events gathering a few hundred people. When a colleague told him "the future is podcast" and COVID made in-person gatherings difficult, Andy pivoted to digital content.
This fortuitous shift allowed him to continue meaningful conversations about retail, e-commerce, and omni-channel strategies while reaching audiences globally.
The learning curve was real. Andy candidly admits to early restless nights before recording sessions, worried about the technical aspects. His breakthrough came through developing a thorough preparation process that enabled authentic conversations.
By speaking with guests beforehand to build rapport (without rehearsing questions), he created a comfort level that makes both host and guest forget the cameras are rolling.
Meanwhile, partnering with Podcast Videos to handle production allowed Andy to focus exclusively on content—his true expertise.
Retail's constant evolution ensures Andy never lacks material. From AI integration to global market shifts, the industry provides endless fascinating topics. His success demonstrates that subject expertise and genuine passion trump technical know-how when building an engaging podcast.
As Andy puts it, they "just kept their head down" and focused on creating great content—and before they knew it, they'd created something significant. Ready to start your own content journey?
Remember Andy's approach: focus on what you know, prepare thoroughly, find the right production partners, and stay consistent. The results might surprise you.
Hello everybody and welcome back to another edition of autofocus from podcast videos. I'm Dan craft. Rick Galligan is not with us today, but we have Andy Wilson. Andy is the host of the doing business Bentonville podcast. Uh, one of the clients here at podcast videos. As you can see, I'm repping both brands today. I like your shirt well, thank you. Yeah, and andy, you came into podcasting sort of by accident. You were not a radio background or, uh, you know, a heavily tech side guy no, a totally accident, yeah, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 2:Uh, eric Howardson, you know, uh, he he asked. He told me one day we met a few years ago and he said uh, andy, the future is podcast. I went what? And that you know I was doing a live event, uh, once a month, uh, doing business in Benville, and you know we would have a hundred people come and bill and we would have a hundred people come and uh, when eric said that to me, you know, I thought, talk to me more.
Speaker 1:And then live events became kind of a problem with covid, and so the podcasting started to make sense.
Speaker 2:He did and and, and he began to tell me how, um, you know it's a future. You know that's dial it back a couple years. Now we know what's happened the last couple years. When it comes to podcasting, sure how popular has become, even even now. You know, um, uh, you know people from all over the world. You know you're connecting with people from all over the world now on your schedule and so, yeah, it's amazing.
Speaker 1:But you didn't come from a real heavy background in radio or tech. No, you run a podcast that is based on omni-channel retail and e-commerce and that's based on your background in retail, not in podcasting or broadcast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think that's what's so wonderful about podcasting, dan, is that my passion and my career was retail, and so now I have the opportunity to visit with guests from wherever, either physically or remote, and we can discuss the importance of retail, omni-channel and what's happening and the changes happening in that space around the world, and so, yeah, it's phenomenal.
Speaker 1:And the shameless plug, of course, is that Podcast Videos handles all the rest of that tech stuff for you, so you don't have to Podcast.
Speaker 2:Videos is awesome, and it's like without podcast videos, there wouldn't be a show and and and. While we're talking about that, I just want to. I just want to uh call you out and say thank you for all the work you do, for doing business in bentonville it's excellent, and when we get, when we get, great views around the world, uh, that would not happen without podcast videos and, ultimately, your hard work. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, on behalf of the entire team. You're very welcome. I mean a lot of the folks who do come in from a more technical background and a lot of the guest hosts you have also. Scott Benedict has some broadcast background, but Josh Safran, deanna Baker, these folks aren't professional broadcasters.
Speaker 1:They're no they're subject matter experts that we put in front of a microphone, point a camera at them. Right you, you just hit 100 episodes. By the way, a a hit a bar that only what five point something percent of podcasters ever get to. Most of them give up before that. Well, you know, and that includes the, the tech geek ones that came in knowing what they were doing.
Speaker 2:You know, when you told me that I was blown away because you know, through the, the time period that took for us to do 100 podcasts, um, you know, we just kept our head down, we just kept working, we kept bringing in great guests, we just stayed focused on the content, focused on the topic. We kept current in all of our conversations around this ever-changing space, as I mentioned. And you know, I think you're the one that called out and said Andy, do you know your X number away from 100? I went stop, there's no way. And because that was never the point. The point was let's just keep doing great work here together, and that's what happened.
Speaker 1:And retail is a big, wide, ever-changing. You're not going to run out of ideas to talk about?
Speaker 2:No, never, because it's changing so rapidly every day. Ideas to talk about? No, never, because it's changing so rapidly every day. In fact, I just had a meeting and we talked about the fast pace of change that AI now is taking, as it now is integrated into Sure Omni channel.
Speaker 1:We had a meeting the other day about how AI can take some of the tech problems off my plate. Yeah, we're still working on that, turns out. If we could just get one to build my flow charts, it would help. There's been some laughter in the office about that one. But we talk about technical aspects. We think of technology, the recording, the programs we use. But from a technical aspect, we're also sitting here, we've got the mics, we've got the cameras. A hundred episodes in how much more comfortable you feel and why. Okay, then you did the first time.
Speaker 2:You went wait, yeah, what well, yeah, you're right, you know I I I didn't before I would wake up early or restless thinking about this podcast and you know I've learned a few things doing it Number one in my prep work and I do a lot of prep work for every podcast because I think it's very interesting for me to know, have knowledge about the content, the subject, which helps me to have great questions. By doing that it creates I can relax with my guests, because I do talk to my guests prior. We don't go through every question, but we do have a great conversation about the topics. And now I have have relaxed where I can just have a conversation about it. Do you almost forget? The cameras are there sometimes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally, the mics are a little harder because they're sort of right in front of you.
Speaker 2:But what podcast video does is they help with that process? So much because I know I can relax about the technology side. About so much because I know I can relax about the technology side. My prep is the content and I try to do a good job prepping my guests so they're relaxed because they're not relaxed.
Speaker 1:Some of them are pretty darn comfortable in front of the mic, Others not at all.
Speaker 2:More so or not, because they don't do this regularly, and so I know that being back and out of frame, yeah, and I know that feeling.
Speaker 2:But I do know I'm excited about the upcoming, the podcasts that I have upcoming. I'm excited about those and I've already spoken to my guests more than once, and you know I've already spoken to my guests more than once and so you know I I'm I'm already processing a bit of that conversation forever coming here and the other thing that makes it so great the podcast videos does is that they record it and and you all have great editors, in my opinion, and the editors have sort of learned us on a regular us that They've got a comfort level with you. Yeah, and in fact I was at a coffee shop next door. I'm sitting there prepping for a podcast and this guy walks in. He says he walked over and says excuse me, you know cause I was working. He said excuse me, I went, yes, and he said you don't know me, but I know you. You I said how do you know me? He said because I edit your podcast.
Speaker 1:I thought, and he said and I watch my pack, no, you edit my podcast. Oh, it's, uh, that's a smaller, that's a smaller group, yeah, and he said I.
Speaker 2:and I said okay, great, yeah, I thanked him for her. I said well, thank you for all your hard work. I said now I have a question. And he said what I said how can I improve? And because me, I'm talking to an expert there and I want feedback about how I can improve.
Speaker 1:And the editor is going to look at that from a different perspective than I would as an editor, than the audience would, from a total or amateur perspective. That's right. Sure, congratulations on a hundred episodes. Thank you, dan, and let's do a hundred more.
Speaker 2:Well, I'll tell you what. Here's the deal. If you'll be with me, I'll do a hundred more Done. Okay, good, you all heard it.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty sure that counts as a contract somewhere out there in the uh Non-technical expert, a perspective on how podcasting works. Anyway, that's right. Good deal. Now before we go, I do have one funny story to share. Okay, the technology of AI. We mentioned it, even folks who speak English as a second language. We've had some guests on. It's a very clipped. You can understand them. The AI takes it and transcribes it. Wonderfully. Andy, the AI hates your Southern accent.
Speaker 2:Oh, I bet it does.
Speaker 1:It misspells all sorts of things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, I was in New England this week and I have that Southern accent and they have an accent too. I never talk about their accent, but they talk about my accent and you know it's too late for me to worry about that.
Speaker 1:I'm originally from Chicago and I can go up there and they're like wow. And then I come back down here and like, oh, you've been back at home for me. You're so heavy, pick back up on the bears and a few things like that. So, okay, well, andy, thanks for coming in. We always like to, you know, do a little something with our hosts and cross-promotion the show of Doing Business in Bentonville, podcast videos. I'm literally repping them both. You're doing great. So, guys, thanks for joining us. This has been Autofocus and I am Dan Kraft. This is Andy Wilson, the host of Doing Business in Bentonville, and for podcast videos, have a good one, thank you.