WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.080 Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:05.960 we explore the journeys that lead to success. 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:10.199 I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five 00:00:10.199 --> 00:00:13.859 Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you 00:00:13.859 --> 00:00:17.100 insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:20.800 and experts who will share not just their expertise, 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.120 but the milestone moments that have reshaped 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:27.059 their journeys and led to significant achievements. 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.359 So if you're looking for motivation, you're in 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:33.560 the right place. Subscribe now and discover the 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:40.820 milestones that mark the path to success. Welcome 00:00:40.820 --> 00:00:43.520 to Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership. 00:00:43.939 --> 00:00:47.899 I'm your host, Sheila Slick. And today, my special 00:00:47.899 --> 00:00:53.140 guest is Tom Fox. Tom is the number one voice 00:00:53.140 --> 00:00:58.179 of compliance. having founded the only podcast 00:00:58.179 --> 00:01:01.880 network in compliance, the award -winning Compliance 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:06.400 Podcast Network. It currently has over 60 podcasts. 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:11.939 Tom has won 28 awards, maybe even more, for podcast 00:01:11.939 --> 00:01:15.439 hosting and producing, and he has been honored 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.959 with awards for podcast series as diverse as 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:23.299 Looking Back on 9 -11, Understanding Lyme Disease, 00:01:24.189 --> 00:01:28.170 and Trial of the Century, the Enron Trial. He 00:01:28.170 --> 00:01:31.530 is also the co -founder of the Texas Hill Country 00:01:31.530 --> 00:01:36.409 Podcast Network. Welcome to the show, Tom. Sheila, 00:01:36.469 --> 00:01:39.109 I'm thrilled to be here with you today. Well, 00:01:39.109 --> 00:01:42.569 thank you for joining me. So the word compliance 00:01:42.569 --> 00:01:48.409 means adherence to laws, to guidelines, standards. 00:01:49.390 --> 00:01:52.849 and ethical principles that can apply to a company 00:01:52.849 --> 00:01:57.109 or an organization. It's a very serious word. 00:01:57.689 --> 00:02:02.829 And if I had a compliance department, I would 00:02:02.829 --> 00:02:05.849 probably view it as like the department of no, 00:02:06.129 --> 00:02:08.590 right? It just goes hand in hand with the word. 00:02:09.210 --> 00:02:12.689 Permission, all rules, all restrictions. So what 00:02:12.689 --> 00:02:16.729 was the pivotal moment when you realized compliance 00:02:16.729 --> 00:02:21.349 could not just be a topic but a vehicle for podcasts? 00:02:22.210 --> 00:02:24.889 Well, it was really a natural extension of my 00:02:24.889 --> 00:02:30.110 marketing efforts. In 2010, I had retired or 00:02:30.110 --> 00:02:33.150 my job went away because my company was sold. 00:02:33.449 --> 00:02:36.370 And I went off on this great adventure of racing 00:02:36.370 --> 00:02:40.409 bicycles. for a year until on a training ride, 00:02:40.490 --> 00:02:43.229 I got taken out by a Hummer. That ended my cycling 00:02:43.229 --> 00:02:48.550 career. And so I, after convalescing a few months, 00:02:48.830 --> 00:02:52.949 I had enough energy to get on my walker and toddle 00:02:52.949 --> 00:02:57.430 into my office at home. I decided I wanted to 00:02:57.430 --> 00:03:00.750 work in the compliance arena. I'd done that in 00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:04.229 my prior job. And so I had, the only thing I 00:03:04.229 --> 00:03:06.969 had on my hands was time. So I started exploring 00:03:06.969 --> 00:03:09.629 social media and I had always written a lot. 00:03:09.750 --> 00:03:12.270 I'm a lawyer by professional background. So I 00:03:12.270 --> 00:03:15.229 started blogging. Well, the podcast was simply 00:03:15.229 --> 00:03:17.889 a natural extension of blogging. It was just 00:03:17.889 --> 00:03:21.169 blogging, but verbally. So I started podcasting 00:03:21.169 --> 00:03:28.030 in 2012. And in 2017, I got the idea that there 00:03:28.030 --> 00:03:31.590 should be a network dedicated to podcasts in 00:03:31.590 --> 00:03:37.840 the compliance space. There were three trade 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:40.120 organizations in compliance. So I went around 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:44.139 to them and said, look, let's form a joint venture. 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:48.560 We'll create a podcast network and we will put 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:51.479 all of our assets in the podcast format in the 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:53.139 network. It will not take away from anything 00:03:53.139 --> 00:03:55.860 you're doing. It will not supplement or rather 00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:58.580 replace anything you're doing. It will simply 00:03:58.580 --> 00:04:01.300 supplement what you're already doing. And I could 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:04.120 get zero interest. The first question was, what's 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:06.419 a podcast? And then the second was, oh, we're 00:04:06.419 --> 00:04:08.759 not interested. So I just said, bleep it, I'll 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:13.199 do it myself. So I did. And it's been a decade. 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:16.639 And in that decade, you've been called the number 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:19.740 one voice of compliance. That title represents 00:04:19.740 --> 00:04:24.180 both expertise and influence. But even with that, 00:04:24.259 --> 00:04:28.379 I know that every leader faces moments of doubt 00:04:28.379 --> 00:04:32.860 or obstacles that'll test your commitment. After 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:35.439 hearing your story at the beginning, obviously 00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:39.379 you have mastered these comebacks because that 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:41.860 was a serious injury that you described previously. 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:47.759 Strong man. So can you take us back to a time 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:50.759 when building the Compliance Podcast Network 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:55.819 felt like that uphill battle when you got those 00:04:55.819 --> 00:05:01.079 no's? What kept you going? In 2017, the magic 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:04.459 number to get advertising dollars was 30 ,000 00:05:04.459 --> 00:05:07.060 downloads a month. And I knew I was never going 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:09.920 to have a compliance podcast that got 30 ,000 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:12.100 downloads a month, but I might have 10 podcasts 00:05:12.100 --> 00:05:14.939 that got 3 ,000 downloads a month. So my goal 00:05:14.939 --> 00:05:17.500 was to get as many podcasts on the network as 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:20.759 I could. But I had to beg, borrow, plead, pay, 00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:24.300 bribe, do lots of different things to get people 00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:26.399 to come on my podcast. I even made my daughter 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:30.100 do a podcast. And so I did that for a couple 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:34.439 of years. And in 2019, I realized or I decided 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:38.060 that I either had to fully commit to podcasting 00:05:38.060 --> 00:05:40.259 as a business or I had to move it back to hobby 00:05:40.259 --> 00:05:44.100 status. So I quit practicing law on all the cool 00:05:44.100 --> 00:05:47.819 toys that you see, built a huge network. And 00:05:47.819 --> 00:05:52.540 I mean, huge network, huge infrastructure. And 00:05:52.540 --> 00:05:54.939 at the end of the year, I made about $10 ,000. 00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:58.660 And I felt well. That was an interesting experiment. 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:00.519 Guess I'll have to go back to practicing law. 00:06:01.480 --> 00:06:04.339 And towards the end of that year, I got pretty 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:06.939 depressed because nothing seemed to be working. 00:06:07.579 --> 00:06:10.079 And a person you'll meet at PodFest, the founder 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:12.180 of PodFest Expo is a guy named Chris Kremitos. 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:16.420 And I remember I was at another podcast conference 00:06:16.420 --> 00:06:22.480 and I was so depressed I left early. And he calls 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:24.439 me Tommy. He and my mother are the only people 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:26.589 that call me Tommy. He put his arm around me. 00:06:26.610 --> 00:06:29.269 He said, Tommy, you just keep doing what you're 00:06:29.269 --> 00:06:33.910 doing. It's going to work out. And so what happened 00:06:33.910 --> 00:06:37.629 was I went back to Praxilon 2020. And as we all 00:06:37.629 --> 00:06:39.930 know, the country shut down about March 15th. 00:06:40.970 --> 00:06:44.149 So all legal work ended and we tried to figure 00:06:44.149 --> 00:06:48.209 out what was going to happen. Well, on about 00:06:48.209 --> 00:06:51.670 May 15th of that year, literally every product 00:06:51.670 --> 00:06:54.810 provider in the compliance space. called me with 00:06:54.810 --> 00:06:57.290 the same question, which was, how long to get 00:06:57.290 --> 00:07:01.269 access to your network? Because even by then, 00:07:01.290 --> 00:07:03.329 I had the largest social media presence in compliance. 00:07:03.970 --> 00:07:09.189 So I have a huge social media network. And I 00:07:09.189 --> 00:07:13.350 had a very anomalous situation of people with 00:07:13.350 --> 00:07:17.509 money to spend and nowhere to spend it. Because 00:07:17.509 --> 00:07:20.209 back then in the compliance realm, almost all 00:07:20.209 --> 00:07:23.139 marketing was done in person. conferences, trade 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:26.560 shows, breakfast roundtables, dinners, all of 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:28.300 those sorts of things that we used to do in business. 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:30.800 And of course, none of us could do that because 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:33.500 the country was shut down. So my little world 00:07:33.500 --> 00:07:37.420 just blew up. And I went from 120 ,000 downloads 00:07:37.420 --> 00:07:43.399 across the network in May of 2020 to 250 ,000 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:50.300 in August. And my income blew up. So what I've 00:07:50.300 --> 00:07:52.600 tried to do really since then is just consolidate 00:07:52.600 --> 00:07:55.959 the growth, the explosion of growth I had. And 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:59.579 I don't know if I could have built a network 00:07:59.579 --> 00:08:02.839 out while trying to input all of these new customers, 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:04.540 but I don't have to answer that question because 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:08.180 all of that work I'd done in 2019, it was just 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:11.279 when they called me and I said, I had the same 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:14.720 answer to every question of how long it took 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:17.629 because it was the same, 24 hours. Because it 00:08:17.629 --> 00:08:19.589 was just a plug and play or a drop and drag, 00:08:19.829 --> 00:08:25.129 and they were ready to go. And so I had a platform 00:08:25.129 --> 00:08:27.490 where people could get their marketing message 00:08:27.490 --> 00:08:31.629 out that no one else had. And so since that time, 00:08:31.649 --> 00:08:33.570 like I said, I've just tried to consolidate the 00:08:33.570 --> 00:08:39.029 growth I had and expand on that. And it is your 00:08:39.029 --> 00:08:41.129 full -time business. You're now practicing law. 00:08:41.629 --> 00:08:44.490 Right. Oh, so it all worked out beautifully. 00:08:44.950 --> 00:08:49.960 It did. So what advice would you give to an entrepreneur 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:54.759 or a podcaster who's at a crossroad where they 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:57.659 have achieved success in one venture, for example, 00:08:57.659 --> 00:09:01.179 your law firm, and deciding whether to replicate 00:09:01.179 --> 00:09:05.700 the model or try something entirely new? How 00:09:05.700 --> 00:09:10.039 do you know when it's time to expand that vision? 00:09:10.849 --> 00:09:13.950 Well, let me go back to the injury I had and 00:09:13.950 --> 00:09:18.190 then changing sort of focus in 2010. I'd always 00:09:18.190 --> 00:09:20.210 known that when the universe closes one door, 00:09:20.309 --> 00:09:23.029 it opens another. But what I didn't realize until 00:09:23.029 --> 00:09:24.970 I had that injury is you have to have the courage 00:09:24.970 --> 00:09:28.110 to walk through that door. So if you're down, 00:09:28.490 --> 00:09:31.509 if you think things aren't going well, if you 00:09:31.509 --> 00:09:34.210 think opportunities closed off, just look around. 00:09:34.409 --> 00:09:36.610 The universe is going to open another door for 00:09:36.610 --> 00:09:39.549 you. But you have to have the courage to walk 00:09:39.549 --> 00:09:41.610 through that door. And once you walk through 00:09:41.610 --> 00:09:45.509 that door, then opportunities are going to open 00:09:45.509 --> 00:09:49.149 up for you. So the first thing is find the door, 00:09:49.210 --> 00:09:51.690 walk through it. It doesn't mean it's going to 00:09:51.690 --> 00:09:54.029 be easy. And my journey certainly was not easy 00:09:54.029 --> 00:09:57.029 those first couple of years. And I was very depressed 00:09:57.029 --> 00:10:01.570 in 2019 when I didn't seem to be getting any 00:10:01.570 --> 00:10:06.090 traction. But what happened to me was when preparation 00:10:06.090 --> 00:10:10.039 meets opportunity, luck occurs. So the pandemic 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:13.340 hits, people needed a place to market, and I 00:10:13.340 --> 00:10:15.639 had it. And whether you want to call that luck 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:17.840 or whether you want to call it I was ready to 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:21.159 go, it doesn't really matter. So be ready when 00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:23.320 the opportunity strikes. And when that opportunity 00:10:23.320 --> 00:10:26.980 strikes, just grab it. And literally what I've 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:29.320 tried to do since then is first year I tried 00:10:29.320 --> 00:10:34.000 to just ride the tiger because it was crazy. 00:10:36.310 --> 00:10:41.169 Then consolidate that growth and bring a value 00:10:41.169 --> 00:10:46.429 to your customers that they can't get internally 00:10:46.429 --> 00:10:51.870 or in -house or do it at a method or cost that's 00:10:51.870 --> 00:10:56.190 below other things they can do. So product providers 00:10:56.190 --> 00:10:58.490 in the compliance space, they certainly want 00:10:58.490 --> 00:11:03.559 to come on the podcast, but they also need. marketing 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:06.419 material so i create 15 pieces of social media 00:11:06.419 --> 00:11:09.980 marketing content per podcast so i can give them 00:11:09.980 --> 00:11:13.100 the content they can then use to market their 00:11:13.100 --> 00:11:16.700 products goods and services in social media linkedin 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:20.960 twitter facebook youtube etc instagram not a 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:23.320 tiktok guy but maybe you can do it on tiktok 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:29.360 uh so it's really a package of assets that every 00:11:29.820 --> 00:11:31.879 product provider in the compliance space wants 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:38.200 and needs. So what is your next milestone? Well, 00:11:38.259 --> 00:11:43.139 my next milestone is actually in a very different 00:11:43.139 --> 00:11:47.980 direction. I live in part of Texas, the part 00:11:47.980 --> 00:11:51.620 of Texas that sustained a major flood on July 00:11:51.620 --> 00:11:55.419 4th. They killed 140 people, and I'm writing 00:11:55.419 --> 00:11:59.279 a book about that flood. Mystic, like Camp Mystic? 00:11:59.460 --> 00:12:03.620 Just like. You know, that was an eye -opener. 00:12:03.659 --> 00:12:08.740 It just, for someone that doesn't understand 00:12:08.740 --> 00:12:12.179 until they see how quickly the water can rise, 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:16.799 it just. So I know you're from Florida, so I 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:18.500 know you know about hurricanes, and I'm from 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:20.580 the Gulf Coast, so I knew about hurricanes. I'd 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:22.940 lived through hurricanes in Houston, lived through 00:12:22.940 --> 00:12:25.740 Harvey, and certainly knew what flooding was 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:30.259 about. But I had no appreciation of a flash flood 00:12:30.259 --> 00:12:34.779 and the power of not simply the rise in height, 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:38.019 but the velocity and speed of water and what 00:12:38.019 --> 00:12:41.600 that can do to people, to cars, to structures, 00:12:41.740 --> 00:12:44.799 all of that. So you're right. It's been a huge 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:46.600 learning experience. And that comes from somebody 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:48.399 who thought he knew what flooding was about. 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:52.899 So not only do I live in Florida and I know hurricanes, 00:12:53.179 --> 00:12:56.299 I... can see the river, the intercoastal from 00:12:56.299 --> 00:13:01.779 my office right here. And when I saw what you 00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:05.639 just described, I too was like, wait a minute, 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:08.500 this is completely different than just getting 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:11.919 flooded, right? The force that that came with 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:15.159 and the way it would just take everything. So 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:19.539 what's your goal with the book? Actually, I decided 00:13:19.539 --> 00:13:22.830 to write the book. to help work through all the 00:13:22.830 --> 00:13:27.730 grief I was feeling. And it really struck me 00:13:27.730 --> 00:13:31.450 very deeply, and it actually bothered me more 00:13:31.450 --> 00:13:33.710 than 9 -11 did, which I didn't think anything 00:13:33.710 --> 00:13:36.389 could bother me more than 9 -11. But I knew, 00:13:36.690 --> 00:13:38.909 I tell people it's a big county, but it's a small 00:13:38.909 --> 00:13:43.309 town. Everybody knew somebody who died. I had 00:13:43.309 --> 00:13:47.610 people on my podcast who died. So it was very 00:13:47.610 --> 00:13:50.779 personal to me, and it's allowing me to... to 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:53.440 work through that grief and tell the story of 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:55.500 not only honoring those who did unfortunately 00:13:55.500 --> 00:13:58.539 pass away, but the resilience of the community 00:13:58.539 --> 00:14:02.080 and how it's now trying to dig its way out and 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:05.360 actually make a comeback from this terrible tragedy. 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:09.559 Well, I look forward to staying in touch and 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:13.299 hearing about the book once it's published. Maybe 00:14:13.299 --> 00:14:15.899 we can have you come back and give us more tidbits 00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:19.220 and where we could buy it and so forth. I'd love 00:14:19.220 --> 00:14:22.820 to read it. Looking forward to it. And I look 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:25.840 forward to meeting you in person at PodFest. 00:14:25.940 --> 00:14:31.379 It's an event for podcasters and authors, I believe 00:14:31.379 --> 00:14:35.320 both. And with my new project, Pod2Book AI, we 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:38.559 are actually sponsoring it. And so I'm very excited 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:41.460 to meet you in person and meet other people that 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:44.480 are also in this space. I appreciate your time 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:48.419 today. Thank you so much, Sheila. And thank you 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:51.580 all for tuning in to another episode of Milestone 00:14:51.580 --> 00:14:53.480 Moments in Business and Leadership.