Tell me about your vision.
My vision is to have a network of podcasts.
And it's interesting.
I had this vision a long time ago, didn't act on it,
and then it all kind of came together on its own.
So yeah, vision of network of podcasts
where people are sharing their stories,
whether it's about their brand or their business,
and really preserving those stories.
I help everyone, but I have a special passion
for helping BIPOC humans, which is
Black, Indigenous, People of Color.
Awesome.
And when we met, you had, this was a couple of years ago,
you brought me in your podcast.
I'm super honored and grateful for that.
I very much remember our conversations.
We're also, we're ready to meet up in Austin.
We're going to go karaoke.
And then I had to cancel.
Single father of four life.
Thank you, sorry.
And you would work for Facebook.
And the leadership thing you answered, I was like, wow.
This just, what an amazing leader.
I got to get you in my circle.
Now you're mentoring podcasts.
And I've got my own podcast too now.
We have so much to collaborate about.
So how did you get started on this path of podcast mentorship?
So I had my first podcast in 2000, or 2020.
In 2020, I had my first podcast.
And it was a passion project.
And I kind of kept pivoting and creating new podcasts.
And reshifting my brand ever so often.
And it never really occurred to me that, hmm,
maybe you need to be just a podcast mentor because you're
so passionate about podcasting.
And so I have a background in mass comm and communications
and social media from school.
But I just never went that route.
I went HR, learning and development.
And that's how I got into the tech space.
And then once I met my podcast coach, mentor,
we just worked together over the years
and finally decided, hey, why don't we do this for real?
So he's been running his own podcasting company
and community.
And so now I basically do the foundations of podcasting.
And then I go ahead and transition them over
to his company when they're ready to edit and distribute
and continue ongoing education around podcasting.
So it just kind of just finally clicked, if that makes sense.
I was in New Orleans with some friends.
And just different things kept coming up, different signals.
And I was like, OK, it's time to do this.
Yes, absolutely.
And now you mentioned your background in mass media comms
and having gone to school for this,
but never really looking at this idea fully.
Podcasting has changed a lot.
And I don't want to call it a buzzword
because I think that every time somebody
is a devalues the value of whatever that entity
or that thing is.
But I definitely see podcasting as more of a media production
company these days, meaning we now
have the ability to compete with CNN, Fox News, ESPN,
and beyond with these tools the same way
that the online directory fad was able to compete
with Yellow Book.
The same way that Netflix was able to complete
compete with the blockbusters and beyond.
What are you seeing on your side of helping people
develop more of the podcast?
Exactly right.
You get it.
And that's why I think it's so powerful.
Because I mentioned, or you kind of
were reading through some of my information at the beginning,
people's stories have been taken and manipulated or morphed
or changed or erased altogether.
So imagine if there was a time in the past
where our ancestors could really literally tell you
everything you needed to know in a video or in a story
or some way other than written or oral passing on information.
It was recorded and documented.
So one, it gives a bigger platform
to all types of people, all types of stories
that are missing from the traditional media outlets.
So yeah, this is absolutely what you're saying is 1,000% correct.
It gives us the room to compete and to share our stories
and a lower barrier to entry.
Because podcasting is not nearly as expensive
as trying to go and pitch your story to a media outlet
or as time consuming.
So it's a, my excitement is there, it's a big deal.
Go, go.
I'm with you 100%.
I didn't get it when I first launched it.
I mean, I liked StreamYard before I liked podcasts.
And I would go live one day, I got on there
and I called it a podcast.
I just said, you know what, this is the podcast.
I'm gonna call it that.
So I called it a podcast.
And my team, some of my team was actually
a little bit embarrassed for me.
And he's like, you know, he's like,
I'm gonna build this stuff.
And I didn't even listen to it.
I was like, cool, man, you're good.
Like I trusted him.
I know what he does.
And he turned this whole thing into a true podcast.
You know, he got the RSS.
I didn't know what that was.
I knew what it was, but I didn't, you know, whatever.
Like you wanna get all the technical stuff, you do it.
But like we had no intention.
And that's how easy this was.
Somebody on my team who second language is English
and got no support from me as far as like
the infrastructure was able to build out
the whole podcast idea, the website, everything
without me getting involved.
That is insane.
That could not have happened back in 2010
when I got started with tech stuff and SEO and websites.
So it is like, it's never been easier.
Exactly.
To watch me like this.
Exactly.
I like that though, you see, I always tell people
that focus on what you do best, which is you do the hosting.
And if you have somebody that can do the technical stuff,
that's amazing.
Like let them run with it, you know?
So that's good on you for that, by the way.
I mean, solopreneurs, you know,
I don't like the term that bigger businesses use
of wantrepreneurs.
And at the same time, like there's some truth on it.
Like when you stay stuck in it, you know,
it's very hard to win in business alone
and create some sustain.
It's very hard in business period,
whether you have a team or not.
It's so hard, but yeah, those, the ability to use
right brain and left brain at the same time, you know,
and do all the things like, man, you, there are people,
right, who can play the harmonica, sing,
play the drums, play the guitar,
like everything at the same time.
But those people are rare.
Thank you for being here today.
I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live.
I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions
as these episodes continue to move forward.
This is gonna get more and more fun.
We'll have more and more engagement as well.
We'll invite people to participate in the show.
And thank you for giving us your time and attention.
Have an excellent time building out your vision
and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.