Faith-First Entrepreneurship (w/ Stefanie Gass)

On this episode, Darren sits down with Stefanie Gass to discuss her faith-first entrepreneurial journey as podcast coach, boy mom, and seven-figure CEO.

Thanks for listening, and keep partnering with God in your business.  

And don’t forget to check out our sponsor at HighBridgeBooks.com. And feel free to contact me directly at darren@highbridgebooks.com if you’re interested in writing, publishing, and selling a book.   

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome to the Christian Business Leader Podcast, where Christ following business leaders explore God's will and ways for business. This show is a ministry of the Center for Christianity and Business at Houston Christian University and features conversations with today's Christ-centered business leaders who are representing Christ faithfully in the business world. I'm your host, Darren Scheer, and if you want to make your work, leadership, and company's culture more Christ-centered, you've come to the right place. On this episode, we're joined by Stephanie Gast. Stephanie is a Christian business and podcast coach, boy mom. I got one of those. Yeah, we got three boys. How many boys do you have?

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Two.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Two. Awesome. How fun. And seven-figure CEO. Uh, if if being a boy mom wasn't enough. Um, she helps women grow their online businesses, and she's probably going to help some men here today, too, and make consistent income using podcasting. She's the host of a top 20 globally ranked business podcast called Online Business for Christian Women. She believes it's possible to partner with God to create income and impact without sacrificing your family faith or buying into the social media hustle. Stephanie, welcome to the Christian Business Leader Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Well, hello. Thanks for having me, Darren. I'm excited to be here.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Yeah. So when did you first realize God wants to be involved in your work and business?

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Well, honestly, it was after I had built a business my way and the world's way. And to make a very long story moderately short, I got laid off of corporate about 17 years ago and had this crossroad of like, am I going to build a business myself? Am I going to go back to corporate? I ended up choosing the entrepreneur route and built that 100% in my own strength. I was saved at nine years old, but was not in relationship with Jesus at all. And so this looked like striving, hustle, phone addiction, doing anything and everything to make it, which I did. And then everything, of course, when we build on quicksand, it falls away. And that's exactly what happened. It was about 2016, 2017, and my entire business crumbled. And I was really left with the most broken version of myself. We had borrowed money from my son's savings account to pay the mortgage. I was struggling with alcohol and different addiction, and how am I going to get out of this? I had this new baby, and I really went and found this corner of my house and had my, you know, bathroom floor moment. I think so many people have had that. And I just completely surrendered. And I said, Lord, I have no idea what I'm called to do. But now I have failed in business. The only identity I ever wore that really felt like it was meaningful and that that success was such an identity for me. And I need you to just be partnered with me. And it was that moment that I made that decision to really turn not just one piece of my life to him as I had been feeling the tug and kind of dancing around. It was like, I'm just done. Like, I cannot do this anymore. And that was um in 2016, 17. That was that moment.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

And so was that the same moment of this prophetic dream? Um, was that kind of how the dream unfolded, or was this a separate experience?

SPEAKER_01 3:34

That was a separate experience. So after that moment in the bathroom floor moment, I started journaling in that same like hour that I was sitting there just crying because at this point, like everyone knows I've failed. And it was just such a big identity for me of like, I'm this big successful. It was in network marketing at the time, and it was just everything that I thought my worth was coming from. And so it was completely stripped away. And all of the little coping mechanisms that I had been using were also being revealed as like harmful. Like this is stealing from my kids, stealing from my marriage, stealing from me. My health is the worst it's ever been. And so I start journaling in this notebook, Darren, and the Holy Spirit literally starts just speaking through the pen. And it's um, you're a kingdom business owner, you are sober, you're a present wife, you're an intentional mom. These are not words I use. I had not even opened a Bible, probably like ever. I didn't really understand what it meant like to have a constant prayer life. And so I'm looking at this paper, like, I don't know what any of this means. And the, you know, the crazy part is I just took that paper and I started to ask God, like, what am I supposed to do with this paper? And the first thing that came up was like, you're gonna get healthy. And so I just circled that one because I'm like, he's trying to give me this blueprint of some kind. This is some kind of like visual of the woman that he sees me as. How does God see me? And so I started doing one thing at a time that was kind of on that paper. And I started to see my life shift and change. And I felt the Lord leading to kind of get back into business in some way because I've just always been um a leader in business. I've been good at, I knew I was good at building a business because I had done it. I knew I was good at marketing and connecting with people. And so I started to try to do it with God, but was stumbling all around because I didn't exactly, I wasn't hearing from him with the exact thing to do, which is usually how God likes to work. It's like, I'll give you the first step and then let's kind of messily figure this out together. So I was on Instagram four to five hours a day trying to build this business with God, but my discernment alarms kept going off. Like as I was chasing God in the Word, praying, like, how am I supposed to build the business? God, how am I supposed to reach these at the time, these women who are wanting to build their own business? Every time I'd open the app, like I would just feel the Holy Spirit, like, nope. And so I just kept pushing through, trying, I tried blogging, nothing was working, YouTubing. I would get one lead a month. And it's like, this is not working, God. Like, I don't understand how I'm supposed to do this. But I just kept praying, I just kept trying, and door would close and door would close. And then it was about that year and a half later, and I had a prophetic dream. It was October of 2018. And I've only had a few of those that are super vivid. You know it's a word. I sat straight up in bed because I had heard and seen start a podcast very clearly, and I knew it was from God. And I didn't listen to podcasts, it's not something I was considering. I had no idea how that was gonna help me build a business whatsoever and reach people. I just had no idea, but I knew I had to do what God said. So that day, same day, I plugged in a microphone. I already had it. It was staticky, it was awful. I built my own podcast art in Canva, do not recommend. And I started talking about random stuff and I launched this podcast, and it was pretty incredible how God used that and kind of the journey that happened from there. But I'll pause and see if you have anything you want to say to that.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, 2017 podcast. I mean, this is not exactly the early days of podcasting when it's easy to get in new and noteworthy and you know, chart on iTunes and and all that. Uh, but you just you just jumped in there. And so did you start off kind of doing podcast coaching? I mean, probably not, right? Because you were right brand new. I mean, some people start out that way. It's like, you know, what better way to get into podcasting than teach other people podcasting? I mean, what was what was the path for you?

SPEAKER_01 7:59

I think it's really interesting because when I started the podcast, Darren, I was still so confused. I hadn't heard from God, like, this is what you do. This is what you're all I heard was start a podcast. I'm like, great, God, what am I talking about? You know, so I did what God said, but I didn't have the outcome. And I think that's such a critical thing for every single kingdom business owner to really consider is you we will never really be, we will never see this big outcome of what the action is God is asked asking us to do, because that's what that faith really is built on. That trust is knowing he's going somewhere with this, but you don't need to understand it, nor could I. I could never have looked at where I sit today and been like, that sounds great. I would have been terrified. I probably wouldn't have started the podcast at all. So I start this show, and like you just said, it shouldn't have made it. I had bad art. My title was bad. I didn't understand podcast SEO and all these things that strategically make a podcast work. Nothing should have made sense. And it wasn't even clear what I was talking about. But because it was what God had asked me to do, things started to really move quickly. The door was open and it was like I was just going through this really quick acceleration of getting to where he wanted me to be. I think just through the obedience of starting it. And so I laid down social media almost almost around the exact same time, which again made no sense because that was the only place I was getting my couple of clients, but I laid it down. I started on weekends, it went to a month. The podcast saw huge downloads that month, and I knew, like God's confirming I'm supposed to stay off of socials because it was kind of perpetuating that addictive tendencies. I was trying to heal my life and get better at not being so addicted to my phone and to the apps and to all these things. And that became six months. And over that six months, my few people that were listening to the show just started exponentially increasing. I started getting all these hours back because I wasn't on social media anymore. So I started doing two episodes a week. And then I would do a bonus one. And I was just pouring all of my heart and intentionality into the show. And the clients started to just pour into my inbox. I didn't have a website. I had nothing that should have made sense, but they were asking me, do you coach? So that's how I was like, oh, I guess this is what I do because the people told me, Do you coach? And I looked at the Lord and I'm like, Do we coach? And the Lord's like, Yes, you do. And I said, Great, yes, I coach. What do you want to talk about? So I started getting on these calls, Darren, and these women just needed clarity. They had no idea what they should do. What should my business be? I feel a tug from the Lord. Like, I have all this idea, I have all this stuff. And I just was able to take this mess that they couldn't see through and be like, oh yeah, 100%. Like you're gonna be a marriage restoration coach for people who've gone through an affair. And like we could call it this, and this is exactly how you can build it. They would leave these calls crying, like, I've been trying to figure this out for five years. How can you just tell me that? And I didn't really know. I just knew that I showed up in these calls and I was able to help them drill through the mess to get specifically to the outcome of what they needed. So I became a clarity coach and they called it that. So I was like, great, you know, your customer is your greatest copywriter. And they told me this is clarity coaching. So that went on for a few years and it became extremely successful to the point where I couldn't even coach anymore. And I had to then move to the next level, which was them asking me, how do I start a podcast and build these listeners the way you have? So that naturally became the next thing I was teaching them was how to start a podcast. And then that last thing was born about a year later, which was how to monetize the podcast so that we could really partner with God in making money, because money was such a taboo thing for a lot of these women. They struggled so much with the mindset around money, with um accepting that, you know, God created money. And if everything is his anyway, let's show up in that and let's use it for great things. And so, really empowering them to understand that it was okay to earn money, that we could work with God's will in our work in that way. And then how do we create something that would really better other people's lives through our podcast? So it's kind of an ascension of listening to my people that were that were coming to the show.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

Yeah. I love the the attitude and and the moment when you turn to the Lord and people are asking you if you coach, and you turn to the Lord and say, Do we coach? And and I mean, that's such a powerful statement because it's not do I coach or it's do we coach? Because if you're gonna partner with God in your life and really anything you do, and that's and he wants to be involved in even the most intimate details of our life, it's it's we and it's and it's going to the Lord and asking, is this what we do? Is this what we're gonna do together? Um, because there's all sorts of things that we try to do on our own. And we've seen we've seen that movie. We know how that plays out. So what and you've worked with so many Christian women, Christian entrepreneurs, when you're helping them to have that own moment, their their own moment with the Lord and ask, do we do, do we coach? Do we uh do we teach? Do we renovate houses? Do we make jewelry? You know, do like what are some of those those businesses that have come out of that, those conversations that some of your clients have had?

SPEAKER_01 13:51

It's so cool. It's so to me, like the funnest thing is being able to see somebody use something that has always been their gifting or maybe was a trial in their life. And God now is taking that thing, and it's this big redemption story for them, and they're either helping other people with it or they're just bringing it to the world. You know, I have one that pops in my mind. Her name is Teresa Davis, and she actually lost a child. And going through that obviously was the greatest pain of her life. And she came into the program saying, I want to help other moms with this. And we ended up building the Grief Mentor, which is now a top podcast as well, that's helped hundreds of other moms who have gone through that. Um, so that's like some of the ones that come out of it. I have people who like broken vows as a podcast where their marriage was on the rocks through due to infidelity, and now they're helping other marriages be restored. So we have podcasts like that that are like absolutely shaking the kingdom. And we also have podcasts where people are helping someone like a postpartum mom with fat loss, because that mom can't seem to get back to treating her body like a temple. And that's shaking the kingdom too. And it's something that's more tactical and more strategic. But God has each of us uniquely placed in these perfect little pockets all over the world in every single segment, whether it's ministry or marketplace, but it's all synergistically working together to ultimately lead more people back to him, which is amazing, but also having us experience him in each and every part of our life, right? Whether it's our health, whether it's this huge momentous loss or diagnosis, or even those small little things. So I've seen businesses like up, down, sideways, like every single thing you could think of. Uh, those are a few that come to mind. I even have, you know, students who have been blind and they've started podcasts. And it's just like literally so cool. It it's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

Wow. So on this show, and I think you believe this as well, we believe that the primary purpose of business is not primarily to make a profit or just to make money to donate to Christian ministries, but to make disciples of Jesus Christ because for-profit businesses are the primary places where this is going to happen. So, can you give us an example of how disciple making has happened through your company?

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Yeah, it's, I mean, it's so cool. There's firsthand accounts, for example, like somebody coming to, I'm a business coach. I definitely had an identity crisis for a minute of like, am I like a mini preacher with a business coach flair? But it was like, Steph, you're a business coach through and through. Obviously, I really have a deep, deep emphasis in partnering with God in business creation. But people would come to, let's say, one of my boot camps or something like that. And we'd get an email after saying, Oh my goodness, I came thinking I wanted to make money from home and I left being completely convicted. We've had people come to the Lord, pray to Jesus for the first time, and like have an actual moment where they've been evangelized without even that being the intention. So we have firsthand accounts like that. But there are also, because other people are starting podcasts and being the hands and feet of Christ, now there's a ripple effect where we have hundreds of people who are believers using their voice in whatever capacity their vocation is. They're creating disciples. And they say the same thing to me, going, I don't even brand my podcast with Christianity. It has nothing to do with God or Christianity. There's nowhere on it where you can find this is a faith-led show. But because I'm a believer and I just naturally storytell and I just naturally kind of share who I am that maybe I pray or maybe God spoke to me in this way, people will message me, inbox me, DM me, and I'm having conversations, bringing people to Jesus when I had no idea that was going to be the outcome. So I think we can't even see the impact that we have because how many other people have listened to one of these hundreds of different people who started shows and maybe not even said anything. I think it's so far reaching that we will only know on the other side of heaven.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

I love what C.S. Lewis said. He said, we don't need more Christian books. We need more books written by Christians on other subjects. And I think it's the same with podcasting, right? We don't need more Christian podcasts, we need more Christians making podcasts, right? And being a voice in the conversations that are going on out in the culture. And I mean, helping um in the way that you help people to uh tap into that message, that that calling that God has given to them, uh, the conversation that God has called them to be a voice in, that that in and of itself is disciple making. Uh, I think a lot of times we restrict disciple making to, well, that's when you first introduce somebody to the gospel. That's called evangelism. Disciple making is the rest of it. You know, it's it's a long obedience in the same direction, uh, like Eugene Peterson calls it. And where where is that journey happening? It's happening nine to five, you know, a lot of it. Certainly, it's happening in our in our families and uh when we go to church on Sundays, um, but primarily it's in that in that nine to five window. And and and so that's that's discipleship. Um is there a certain um favorite student or or story that you have of one of your success stories that you could share with you've already shared and alluded to several of them.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

One that pops into my mind. So when I very first got started in teaching people kind of the clarity coaching and the podcasting, I had a girl come to me, her name was Chelsea, and she won a free 15-minute call with me through some, you know, thing that we did. And so I remember I didn't even have Zoom yet. I'm like, let's do a phone call. So we did this phone call and she's telling me all these things. Like she used to be a wedding planner, and she wasn't, she she went through a traumatic, uh tumultuous um divorce, had was a single mom, ends up getting remarried. She's a sign language interpreter. Like, what can she do? And I said to her, Well, what is the thing that everybody comes to you for that you think is just easy, that everyone else should do? And she said, systems. I can systemize anything, like your home, your kitchen, any of these pieces. And I said, Cool. Well, your podcast will be called Systemize Your Life. And you're gonna help women get organized in their home. That's where we started. It was in their home and their families. And uh she said, Okay. And she was such a fantastic student because she just did everything I said. You know, those are far and few between, right? So she ends up starting this show, Darren, and it didn't work. It didn't work very well. It was like slow, it wasn't really working, but she continued to stay faithful and committed to it. And I kept telling her 90% of podcasters quit. Just stay faithful to the vision God's given you. And so she kept doing it, kept doing it. By her second year, all of a sudden, this podcast just grew some legs. It started getting found. She started getting more clear, more confident. Her show skyrocketed way past my show. By the third year, this woman is in the top 10 of all of the parenting across the entire podcasting platform. She retires not only herself out of sign language interpretation, but also retires her husband out of um being in the fire department. She's able to start homeschooling her daughter and her entire life completely shifts. And now she just gets to volunteer and sign language interpret at church. And they get to tithe and they get to give and they get to invest and create legacy for her family. And it's just so incredible to see, and of course, like all the women who. She helps. They're now sound of mind in their home. They have a proper order when it comes to their faith, their marriage, their children, their home, their business. She's expanded into business organization as well, where now they're also having big outcome because they're organized, they're systemized, they have an operating system. And so all the way from this just humble beginning five years ago of saying, I have no idea what I'm called to do, but I'm willing to ask, I'm willing to seek, and then I'm willing to be obedient and see it all the way through. The first year looking like nothing's working, which is typical. And then trusting that God will do exceedingly more with so much less than we ever dreamed possible for ourselves and our businesses. And just being able to see her success today, more so in her heart and the way that she shows up in her life and her work could be the best reward ever. Of course, the financial outcome is wonderful too. But I think being able to see somebody with peace and fulfillment in their life that is almost, you can't put words to it. I think that peace and fulfillment, knowing you're doing the will of God in your work, is the greatest outcome that we can all ever hope for. And she definitely got that.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Yeah. Wow. So for those who maybe have been at it for a little while in podcasting, um, I think I've been doing this now for 10 years. Um, what is your what is typically your advice on how to level up a podcast?

SPEAKER_01 23:34

Yeah. Oh, that's fun. That's a tactical one for sure. And I want it first Samuel 1522 pops to mind, which is true success is obedience, even when it looks smaller in the world's eyes. So the biggest thing is like being at it for so many years, it's just obedience, it's continual commitment. It's knowing that God's timeline is always perfect and it doesn't always fit our timeline. It almost never does. Because if you look at me, people might say, Oh, well, you made it. You're an overnight success. Well, it took 16 years to get here. That took really hard things that I had to do to become the woman that could steward this business. And I think we first have to recognize like, I'm gonna be in this with God if it takes the rest of my life. Because that's what my life is for, is to be in this with God. Now, those that have chosen podcasting as their outlet, I'm so excited for you because I think we've finally discovered, you know, it's not about what the world says, because the world says you want virality, you want clicks, you want likes, which lead us to the wrong platforms, in my opinion. The platforms that steal from our time, that steal from our joy, that perpetuate addiction in our life because our brains are so malleable. The more we use our phone, click, swipe, post, the more we have to continue to feed that beast. Well, the world's saying that's how you grow a business, that's how you sell a product, that's how you reach people. But if we actually stop and back away slowly and start asked asking the questions like, what is the data telling me? Is this actually growing the business? Are my leads actually coming from my diligent efforts of posting on TikTok or Instagram or wherever it is? For me, the answer was no. And so then I started asking, maybe it's the thing that doesn't make any sense when it comes to the world's perspective. A podcast makes no sense. There's no virality. You have to be at it for a year, two years to start ranking into those top tiers of your category. You have no idea if people are liking it. So you're on this blind faith journey, but the podcast has longevity. Now we have this long vision of I'm gonna spend a few hours a week building a library of content that's perfect for my ideal person to listen to. I'll be strategic, I'll use keywords, I'll title it correctly so people can find it. But I'm gonna trust that process. And what that does is it gives you back time and freedom to go and be the visionary again, right? To be able to do more PR or get on more other podcasts, things like that. But trusting the process that this thing, that the only metric we have is downloads. And for me, downloads did not sync up with revenue at all. So that even wasn't a great indication of like, is this thing working? And you're trusting this long-form tool to get you where God's trying to get you. And I think that's just a big piece of inventorying all the things you're doing to answer the question, inventorying all the things you're doing in your business and getting rid of some of it. That's often the answer. It's I'm doing all this stuff, but why? Which fires are actually lit, pouring fuel on that and letting go of the ones that aren't lighting fire, right? And if it's podcasting, really being strategic with the podcast because it is the front of funnel. So, those of you interested in using podcasting, you title it really clearly because people can search for the name and find you. You are clear with your content plan. What does your person actually look up? What is their number one problem? What why do they want your product? And you build content consistently, week over week over week, solving that same problem over and over again until right. I'm eight years later still talking about we should start a podcast, still. And that is really gonna help you get seen. And then the other thing is um really being committed to making sure that you're in it for the long haul, right? I think the 90% of podcasters quit. And so if you can commit to maybe this thing that doesn't at first feel good, but see it all the way through, right? Run the race, you're going to eventually be one of the last men or women, men or women standing in your category because everyone else quits since it doesn't feel good.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I I think what the average podcast lasts what, seven episodes, I think last I heard something, yeah, something like that. So it's probably more than 90% that quit. Yep, right, because it it is it is hard um to just stay consistent. But I mean, to have a tribe like what your students have, uh I assume that's part of what you offer is just that support, those cheerleaders to say we're all in this together, they can kind of swap ideas. Is that what's going on?

SPEAKER_01 28:43

Yeah. So, yes, I have definitely built quite a big network of students where they all can collaborate too, which is really great benefit. Because the podcasting community, believe it or not, is actually pretty small. Like the people who actually stick it out. And so people get to know everyone really in your category. And so doing podcast interviews with each other helps grow that visibility. Um, being able also to continue with market research and listen to the people who listen to your show and ask questions like, what are you looking up right now? What's going on in your life seasonally that's keeping you from Blank? Why haven't you had success with Blank? And bringing all that market research into your podcast also helps it be fresh and exciting for you. Um, and then I think once people start seeing results from their podcast, it's like this big infusion of this is working, right? And so for some of my students, like Chelsea, that was over a year before she started seeing sales coming in from the show, but then it was this exponential burst. But for Teresa, for example, the grief mentor, she started seeing sales immediately. And so it's kind of it is God's timeline. And when you're ready for those floodgates to burst, but I think being faithful with this podcast, it allows people to trust you over time. And there is no way that we can have clients or buyers of our product or people even that listen to our ministry, if they do not like us, trust us, and have an outcome from something free that we offer. And that podcast allows all one, you know, three birds, one stone. Like they come to the show, they can like you, connect with you, have a big outcome, and decide if you're the person or the product that they want to work with or purchase. And it becomes a conversion tool. And I think that's a whole nother level of seeing possibility as business owners that keeps you excited to keep podcasting.

SPEAKER_00 30:36

So podcasting has been around for for quite a while. I know a lot of people I talk to still have not listened to a podcast still. Um, but but does it seem like, and maybe they're just not the type that really consume much content aside from Netflix or you know, something like that. Right. Um, I mean, is is podcasting on the decline or is it on the rise? Is it how is it changing at this point in history?

SPEAKER_01 31:08

That's a great question. So it was definitely we saw we saw a big boom with COVID of people starting podcasts and starting a business in general, right? And so we've kind of seen that whole bubble, I think, burst because reality came back. Most people went back to work or gave up on podcasting because over 90% will quit simply because it's not a feel-good platform. There just is no validation that really comes from it. So you have to trust yourself and you have to continue to get better at it kind of on your own. But what we have seen now is this a pendulum swing back to podcasting being really powerful, more podcasts, but more importantly, more listeners. So, what's happened is I think, at least this is my interpretation of these metrics, is that people are we're sick of our phone, sick of the visual stimulation. I'm so tired of it. When I find myself yet again on something, clicking a thing, I'm like, why? Like it drains me immediately. Now I just have like this mental overload that I'm carrying all day. And I just crave silence and listening. So audio consumption is drastically increasing. People don't want visual stimulation. We're we almost we just so over it. So listenership has greatly increased, which means it's such great news for people who started or are starting now to get their foot in the door and kind of position themselves as this expert or this um encourager in this particular space. And I will say something else to this that I think is so interesting. The the typical demographic of people that listen to podcasts, they are professional, they are middle income or higher. They often care about their health, their family. They're taking kids to extracurriculars, they're working out, bettering their body, they're cleaning their home, doing laundry. They're a particular kind of person who isn't actually numbing out. Yeah. But they're wanting to learn, to grow, to be challenged, to be stretched. And that's the kind of person that also takes action on buying something from you, working with you, um, listening to you, coaching with you, collaborating with you. And that's the kind of audience I want to be in front of as well. So it's all good news.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

Yes. Yeah. I mean, we have we have I think around 230 books that we've now published through hybrid books. And it's interesting to see that audiobook sales are starting to outpace our ebook sales. Yes, for most of our for most of our books. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

It's that audio consumption, it's like it allows us to turn off and our brain, but without the numb out effect that's so draining.

SPEAKER_00 33:57

Right.

SPEAKER_01 33:58

Yeah. I just, I know for me personally, I've been craving that too.

SPEAKER_00 34:02

Yeah, yeah. And there's also, you know, the the podcasting superstars out there like Joe Rogan that are really have pioneered this long form and say popularize the long form show to where people are actually willing to, even if they don't get it all in one sitting, uh, they they enjoy being able to sit to to, or while they're vacuuming or mowing the lawn or whatever, to be able to flesh out some ideas instead of just having to get the quick sound bites and everything is right sized for commercial breaks and you know.

SPEAKER_01 34:42

Um that's so true. Yeah, even the the really long form, like not even just long form like it used to be 20 minutes, a 30-minute episode. Some of those really long pieces of content are even more consumed, which is proving the point of this pendulum swing back to I want authenticity. We're tired of the quick, the short form, we're tired of the overcuration and the filters and all the here's your answer. I think it was cute for a minute until we realized that it wasn't actually going to help us with anything. And everyone always comes back to me, right? Self-focused. I have a problem, I need to solve it.

unknown 35:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:22

And we've realized that the short form isn't doing the job. And so we're getting back to boots on the ground, bettering ourselves, listening to the content that's going to get us where we need to go. And I think that's just so much opportunity for the podcasting space.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

Yes. So StephanieGas.com is the website, and that's Stephanie with the F, not a PH. Uh and two S's on gas, StephanieGas.com. Uh Stephanie, what do you want to say about how people can hear more from you?

SPEAKER_01 35:53

Yeah. So thanks for shouting out the website, Darren. That's a great place for you guys to go. And it's kind of the hub. I have the podcast link over there. I also have a gift for your listeners, Darren, if they're interested in coming and learning more about how podcasting partners with building and growing a business that's aligned with God. So everything that I teach is we have to be founded in God's Word, biblically sound and growing a business with him as our CEO. I have a boot camp that I put together. It's five days, and it goes through the method of building a podcast, monetizing that podcast, and then scaling in a way that all serves his kingdom. And you guys can get that at StephanieGas.com slash bootcamp and use the code Darren, D-A-R-R-E-N, and we'll give it to you for free. And hopefully that'll bless you.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Awesome. We'll have that in the episode notes for this episode. Stephanie, thank you so much for spending time with us and for coaching us today. Uh, we're all better for it.

SPEAKER_01 36:52

Oh, thank you so much, Darren, for having me.

SPEAKER_00 36:55

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Christian Business Leader Podcast. Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and tune in for the next episode as we continue exploring God's will and ways for business.