WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.439 Welcome back to Vision Pros. Today, this is going 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:04.900 to be fun. We've got Virginia Elder from Podcast 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:07.660 Abundance. Virginia, I'm really glad you're here. 00:00:07.740 --> 00:00:09.919 Would you introduce yourself a little bit? Yes. 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:12.640 Thank you, Sue. I appreciate it. Yes. I am Virginia 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:15.560 Elder, founder of Podcast Abundance and host 00:00:15.560 --> 00:00:19.280 of the podcast called Podcasting for Financial 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:24.079 Professionals. Oh, wow. That's a niche. Podcasting 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:28.379 is going nuts, isn't it? Yes. Yes. And the financial 00:00:28.379 --> 00:00:30.640 professionals are the primary folks that I serve. 00:00:30.739 --> 00:00:32.979 So that's why I wanted to be really clear with 00:00:32.979 --> 00:00:35.020 that name. So that's a hint for everybody right 00:00:35.020 --> 00:00:37.399 there. That is. That's a good hint, actually. 00:00:39.049 --> 00:00:41.929 Well, how long have you been doing this? Yeah. 00:00:41.969 --> 00:00:46.090 So I accidentally started producing podcasts 00:00:46.090 --> 00:00:51.670 in 2019. I have a financial background and went 00:00:51.670 --> 00:00:56.570 to a conference that was all about media production 00:00:56.570 --> 00:01:00.329 for financial content creators because I was 00:01:00.329 --> 00:01:03.509 like curious about like, oh, like blogging and, 00:01:03.530 --> 00:01:06.540 you know, what is all this online stuff? Um, 00:01:06.540 --> 00:01:09.819 and while I was at that conference, a couple 00:01:09.819 --> 00:01:13.560 of other financial professionals asked me to 00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:17.219 produce their show. And, um, at that point I 00:01:17.219 --> 00:01:20.680 had just dabbled in it a little bit. So I said, 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:23.359 I didn't know like how to get, so, you know, 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:25.439 are you sure? Like I tried to just like talk 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:27.439 myself out of it. And they were like, no, no, 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:29.260 it's going to be fine. You're going to be our 00:01:29.260 --> 00:01:35.829 producer. From there it has just been. And what 00:01:35.829 --> 00:01:39.030 I do full time now, I really enjoy it. That is 00:01:39.030 --> 00:01:41.890 so cool. Oh, my gosh. All right. Well, I've got 00:01:41.890 --> 00:01:44.049 some questions. I, you know, I would love to 00:01:44.049 --> 00:01:46.189 know, like, tell me about your vision for Podcast 00:01:46.189 --> 00:01:50.250 Abundance. Yeah, thank you. So of course, at 00:01:50.250 --> 00:01:52.930 that time, I did not have a vision whatsoever. 00:01:53.250 --> 00:01:58.459 It was very... Let me figure this out. I appreciate 00:01:58.459 --> 00:02:01.319 those first few clients being willing to grow 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:04.840 and take steps forward together, knowing that 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:07.640 I probably wasn't going to do it perfect, but 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:11.599 I would do it as best as I could. So now, six 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:14.539 years in, the vision is, of course, very, very 00:02:14.539 --> 00:02:18.120 clear. We are destined to be the leading provider 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:21.699 of audio and video podcasts for financial service 00:02:21.699 --> 00:02:25.810 professionals. It took me a long time to like 00:02:25.810 --> 00:02:31.330 really decide and fully step into that niche. 00:02:31.650 --> 00:02:33.789 I think that's like a really common business 00:02:33.789 --> 00:02:37.669 owner journey where you are almost afraid to 00:02:37.669 --> 00:02:40.590 call out your ideal client because then you feel 00:02:40.590 --> 00:02:44.289 like you're excluding everyone else. But I will 00:02:44.289 --> 00:02:48.129 tell you that even with that vision being really 00:02:48.129 --> 00:02:52.259 clear. other people do come my way. I've helped 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:56.879 professors at universities. I've helped medical 00:02:56.879 --> 00:03:02.400 professionals. I've helped therapists and a wide 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:08.219 range of other professions. But typically, and 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:10.479 this is kind of the interesting piece, is that 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:17.379 money always has to do with something. that they 00:03:17.379 --> 00:03:19.159 are talking about, right? Whether it's their 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:22.599 services and clients potentially affording their 00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:28.300 services or the costs of medical care and the 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:30.659 various resources, you know, there's all kinds 00:03:30.659 --> 00:03:34.060 of ways that money infuses into the conversation. 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:37.419 So that's where that like financial piece comes 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:41.840 in. And as long as it's. at least touching on 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:44.219 a financial topic, I'm interested because I'm 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:49.460 just a dork and I love financial content. That's 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:52.699 awesome. I bet you learn a lot too, as you, you 00:03:52.699 --> 00:03:55.960 know, pulling the same thread through a whole 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:59.219 bunch of different ways that it can show up. 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:02.099 That's really cool. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Well, that's 00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:04.319 amazing. Now tell me, where did your vision come 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:10.930 from? So I loved a book I read called Traction. 00:04:11.330 --> 00:04:18.709 It is part of the EOS platform and learning process. 00:04:19.029 --> 00:04:23.250 And that really helped me identify that concise 00:04:23.250 --> 00:04:26.709 sentence as a vision, right? Before that, it 00:04:26.709 --> 00:04:29.540 was like... I might have taken five minutes to 00:04:29.540 --> 00:04:34.399 explain to you what I did. But just looking back 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:37.040 over the years and looking back at that same 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:39.980 conference that I still attend every year, and 00:04:39.980 --> 00:04:43.720 it's still the number one source of clients for 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:46.500 my business, whether I'm on stage or not that 00:04:46.500 --> 00:04:49.889 year or whatever is going on. I've continued 00:04:49.889 --> 00:04:52.410 to serve financial professionals. I still love 00:04:52.410 --> 00:04:55.870 that financial content. The financial space and 00:04:55.870 --> 00:04:58.910 the economy is changing all the time. So you 00:04:58.910 --> 00:05:02.230 can never just be done learning about money. 00:05:03.050 --> 00:05:07.529 And like you said, I love to learn. And so as 00:05:07.529 --> 00:05:11.310 I'm... listening to people's shows and either 00:05:11.310 --> 00:05:14.610 approving edits or picking out which section 00:05:14.610 --> 00:05:17.129 should be the reel or whatever it is that we're 00:05:17.129 --> 00:05:20.290 doing in the production process, I was able to 00:05:20.290 --> 00:05:23.089 identify, you know what, like this is where we're 00:05:23.089 --> 00:05:25.769 going. This is where we're going to live and 00:05:25.769 --> 00:05:28.889 thrive. And I made sure to pull the piece about 00:05:28.889 --> 00:05:33.329 audio and video production into the statement 00:05:33.329 --> 00:05:39.290 because of all of the new video opportunity that 00:05:39.290 --> 00:05:41.829 is in the podcast space these days. Oh, that's 00:05:41.829 --> 00:05:44.350 amazing. So you're doing both video and audio. 00:05:44.550 --> 00:05:48.350 Yes. Wow. Was that a learning curve? Oh, yeah. 00:05:49.310 --> 00:05:54.649 Oh, yeah. And it's made possible by a good team, 00:05:54.709 --> 00:05:57.670 right? I can have audio editors. I can have video 00:05:57.670 --> 00:06:00.250 editors. They are always learning new skills 00:06:00.250 --> 00:06:04.889 on their own. And if there's ever a request or 00:06:04.889 --> 00:06:10.569 some new cool tool or whatever, they might already 00:06:10.569 --> 00:06:14.970 know about it before I do sometimes. But also 00:06:14.970 --> 00:06:17.790 with team members, there's always the opportunity 00:06:17.790 --> 00:06:22.769 to hire new talent and someone who has got even 00:06:23.550 --> 00:06:26.589 better or different skills that a new client 00:06:26.589 --> 00:06:29.569 might be requesting. So there's a variety of 00:06:29.569 --> 00:06:31.910 factors in the background there. Yes, I'm always 00:06:31.910 --> 00:06:35.870 learning, but my team is amazing at kind of taking 00:06:35.870 --> 00:06:38.910 the lead in that area. That's fantastic. That's 00:06:38.910 --> 00:06:41.829 so great. How has it been? That's a learning 00:06:41.829 --> 00:06:44.910 curve all its own. Yeah. Having a team, like 00:06:44.910 --> 00:06:47.629 finding them, training them, you know, managing 00:06:47.629 --> 00:06:51.850 them, growing with them. How has that gone? That 00:06:51.850 --> 00:06:55.050 is an area where I feel like I've been fairly 00:06:55.050 --> 00:06:59.069 lucky, but I want to like back that statement 00:06:59.069 --> 00:07:03.110 up because I don't think luck is just bestowed 00:07:03.110 --> 00:07:08.529 upon you, right? I do think. I managed to find 00:07:08.529 --> 00:07:11.290 the right resources and be very clear with a 00:07:11.290 --> 00:07:14.689 description of who and what I was looking for. 00:07:15.529 --> 00:07:18.629 I've been very clear about my company values 00:07:18.629 --> 00:07:21.810 and how I want them to be carried forward through 00:07:21.810 --> 00:07:30.560 my people. And so I never just, hey. you look 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:32.759 like an awesome person. Let me just hire you. 00:07:33.259 --> 00:07:35.680 There's always been an interview process, whether 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:40.699 they are across the world or in the US. And there's 00:07:40.699 --> 00:07:43.319 always been a very strong communication loop. 00:07:43.420 --> 00:07:47.560 We use tools like Slack and email and Asana and 00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:52.220 various ways that we can all communicate together 00:07:52.220 --> 00:07:54.959 as a team on a project. So there's a lot of factors 00:07:54.959 --> 00:08:00.660 into that look. But I think And designing that 00:08:00.660 --> 00:08:03.360 clear vision of how you want a team member to 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:06.639 work and communicate with you and turn things 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:12.819 in and build and all of that plays out into the 00:08:12.819 --> 00:08:16.220 quality of the team that you're hiring. Yeah. 00:08:16.220 --> 00:08:18.660 Oh, that's so important. Was that a big step 00:08:18.660 --> 00:08:21.800 for you to, you know, make that first hire? It 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:27.230 was. There were several years where I was a one 00:08:27.230 --> 00:08:30.290 -woman show. And at some point, you kind of max 00:08:30.290 --> 00:08:33.210 out on capacity. And you realize like I am not 00:08:33.210 --> 00:08:36.750 able to market as much as I need because I'm 00:08:36.750 --> 00:08:39.129 over here doing client work or whatever the barrier 00:08:39.129 --> 00:08:45.590 is. And I joined a Facebook group actually that 00:08:45.590 --> 00:08:49.190 was full of other podcast editors. The world 00:08:49.190 --> 00:08:52.649 was very audio focused in the podcast space at 00:08:52.649 --> 00:08:55.610 that time. And I managed to find someone even 00:08:55.610 --> 00:08:59.470 within that group who went through my process, 00:08:59.549 --> 00:09:01.710 filled out my form, did an interview with me, 00:09:01.769 --> 00:09:04.850 did all the things. We seemed aligned and started 00:09:04.850 --> 00:09:09.950 working together. So I always hire on a kind 00:09:09.950 --> 00:09:14.710 of like test basis. We do a couple of specific 00:09:14.710 --> 00:09:20.080 tasks. I review it. I approve it. We have some 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:22.759 dialogue back and forth if there was any issues. 00:09:23.500 --> 00:09:26.639 And we walk through that process before it's 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:28.419 like, okay, you're in charge of this client. 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:33.120 Because even then when I hand off something, 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:36.879 I'm still going to see it before it gets published 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:42.230 for the client because that final quality. check 00:09:42.230 --> 00:09:44.549 is very important to me, especially when we're 00:09:44.549 --> 00:09:48.669 talking about financial content. I've been in 00:09:48.669 --> 00:09:52.610 the space long enough to know terms and definitions 00:09:52.610 --> 00:09:56.269 and what someone should or shouldn't recommend 00:09:56.269 --> 00:10:00.750 and where we're crossing the line. And I can 00:10:00.750 --> 00:10:05.169 also hear when there's been, it hasn't happened 00:10:05.169 --> 00:10:08.230 on my team, but I've heard things in the industry 00:10:08.230 --> 00:10:14.539 where someone didn't understand a financial term 00:10:14.539 --> 00:10:19.019 or an abbreviation that was spoken about and 00:10:19.019 --> 00:10:22.700 it sounded like an um or an awkward noise and 00:10:22.700 --> 00:10:26.019 so they cut it when that was actually like the 00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:29.100 name of the thing they were talking about so 00:10:29.980 --> 00:10:32.580 as the experienced person in the space, I would 00:10:32.580 --> 00:10:34.820 catch something like that before it went live. 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:37.980 So that's really important. Oh, that's huge. 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:42.120 Yeah. I mean, that could change the whole context 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:45.700 of everything. Yes. So how do you use your podcast 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:47.860 then? Does that actually end up bringing you 00:10:47.860 --> 00:10:50.669 some clients? It does. I was just thinking about 00:10:50.669 --> 00:10:53.509 that today, actually. I have a client renewing 00:10:53.509 --> 00:10:56.610 for next season with me. And I was thinking, 00:10:56.710 --> 00:10:59.490 she's an amazing client. I love her content. 00:10:59.590 --> 00:11:03.570 I love her demeanor and style. She has this really 00:11:03.570 --> 00:11:06.669 calm presence. And I was thinking back and I 00:11:06.669 --> 00:11:11.350 was like, that all came from me inviting her 00:11:11.350 --> 00:11:13.529 on my show because I liked her show anyways. 00:11:14.289 --> 00:11:19.049 And it was not... a pitch or a, you know, thinking 00:11:19.049 --> 00:11:21.629 of course I would love her as my client, but 00:11:21.629 --> 00:11:25.070 I wasn't inviting her on for that purpose. I 00:11:25.070 --> 00:11:27.769 genuinely wanted to have a conversation about 00:11:27.769 --> 00:11:30.710 her show and the strategy of how her show supported 00:11:30.710 --> 00:11:32.889 her business. Cause that is what I love to talk 00:11:32.889 --> 00:11:36.870 about because in this AI world, I mean, let's 00:11:36.870 --> 00:11:39.830 just be honest. You can pop a video into any. 00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:44.320 AI platform and have it edited up for you. So 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:48.820 the real value to working with me is to get a 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:52.279 piece of my strategic mind and for me to be able 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:55.580 to dive into your website, your lead magnet, 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:59.720 your email sequence, and the content that you're 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:04.019 producing on your show and to think backwards 00:12:04.019 --> 00:12:08.019 as a potential listener. How would this attract 00:12:08.019 --> 00:12:11.559 or repel me? from your business, right? Does 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:15.179 this make me want to give you my money? Does 00:12:15.179 --> 00:12:18.179 this make me want to sign up for your course 00:12:18.179 --> 00:12:24.159 or your program or not? So that's the strategy 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:26.340 piece. I just love to talk about, I love to hear 00:12:26.340 --> 00:12:30.039 what other business owners are doing with their 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:32.899 show or with their content for a strategy to 00:12:32.899 --> 00:12:36.059 pull people in because it always prompts fresh 00:12:36.059 --> 00:12:41.419 ideas. So anyway. She has an amazing strategic 00:12:41.419 --> 00:12:44.320 mind. She's been in business for years and was 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:46.960 on my show. And a few weeks later, she said, 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:49.559 you know what? I can't stop thinking about our 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:52.080 conversation. I want you to produce my next season. 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:57.919 And that is always a wonderful surprise. That's 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:01.379 really, really cool. That's amazing. Well done. 00:13:01.539 --> 00:13:04.580 Yeah, thank you. And she's not the only one. 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:08.309 That's just like a very today. example i can 00:13:08.309 --> 00:13:11.750 give you um that has happened multiple times 00:13:11.750 --> 00:13:16.070 and i'll never cease to be overjoyed when that 00:13:16.070 --> 00:13:19.490 happens it's when it works it works that's great 00:13:19.490 --> 00:13:23.590 i hope you'll come back thank you yes i hope 00:13:23.590 --> 00:13:26.340 so Thank you for being here today. I'm really 00:13:26.340 --> 00:13:28.320 happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:30.919 I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:33.559 as these episodes continue to move forward. This 00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:35.460 is going to get more and more fun. We'll have 00:13:35.460 --> 00:13:37.279 more and more engagement as well. We'll invite 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:39.679 people to participate in the show. And thank 00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:41.659 you for giving us your time and attention. Have 00:13:41.659 --> 00:13:44.299 an excellent time building out your vision and 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:45.399 becoming a vision pro yourself.