Finding My Light Bulb Moment: Why I'm Pivoting to Podcast Operations

You know that feeling when someone asks you "What do you do?" and you suddenly realize you've been struggling to give a clear answer? That's exactly where I've been lately.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been having so many conversations with other entrepreneurs, business owners, and even my amazing co-host from another podcast. These conversations have been eye-opening because they've helped me get everything out in the open and really figure out what it is that I want to do.

The Journey of Self-Discovery

I've been freelancing and building my business for five years now, and honestly, it's been nothing short of greatness. But like all of us, I face challenges in this journey. Recently, I've been kind of stuck, and I wasn't entirely sure if there was something I was missing.

I had to really step back and ask myself some hard questions: What is it that I actually enjoy? Who are my ideal clients? Who do I enjoy working with?

And that's when it hit me.

The Light Bulb Moment

When I started my business, my very first client was in the podcast industry. To this day, I'm still working with her, and it's been incredible. I've learned so much through that partnership. That's actually why I started another podcast with my co-host – I wanted to learn all the ins and outs of the podcast industry.

And that's what dawned on me: This is it. We have to figure out what we enjoy to get our message out there and truly understand the services we offer.

This is why I'm pivoting to focus specifically on podcast operations.

What Everyone's Missing: The Operations Side

Here's what I've discovered through all these conversations – when people talk about podcasting, they focus on the creation process, the growth strategies, the content. You'll find coaches teaching growth, editors helping with audio, writers crafting show notes and blog posts, and guest booking specialists.

But what about what happens behind the scenes? What about the operations? The team building, growing, and managing that team? What does that even look like?

When I mention "operations," people often ask, "What does that even mean?"

Think Like a Movie Production

Here's how I like to explain it: Think about a movie. When you go to the theater and watch an hour and a half film, do you realize what goes into that from the initial idea to the final product you see on screen? There are so many people running the production of that movie just so you can enjoy those 90 minutes.

Podcasting is exactly the same.

You're creating a show, crafting this journey for somebody to listen to. And working behind the scenes, sometimes I feel like we're on a movie set – we get to pretend we're running this amazing production, but we're actually getting people's voices out there. We're helping people make an impact with the messages they're sharing.

The Magic Behind the Scenes

Let me give you a peek behind the curtain. With my client's podcast management company, I handle all the behind-the-scenes work: business management, operations, team management, making sure everybody has everything they need to get the shows out.

Here's the flow: Someone records an episode. From there, we need to create social media content, blog posts, show notes – all of those things. I'm the one delegating it all out and making sure everybody has the files and resources they need to ensure this episode gets out when it needs to, and that our clients are happy.

Why? Because they get to step back and just press record. Then we work the magic behind the scenes, making sure this production is on point.

Humanizing the Workplace in Podcasting

What excites me most about this pivot is bringing my passion for people-first leadership and humanizing the workplace into the podcast space.

If you're a podcast host with a business, you're probably wondering how this works when you want to build and grow a team. And for podcast companies and agencies managing multiple clients – how do you manage all of that while keeping the human element front and center?

Ready for This Journey?

I am so excited to talk about this more and educate others on what podcast operations looks like from behind the scenes. This was the light bulb moment I needed to get this message out there.

If you're ready to learn more about podcast operations – still with that core message of humanizing the workplace – I'd love to connect with you. Let's have a conversation about how we can work the magic behind the scenes together.

Ready to dive deeper into podcast operations? Connect with me and let's chat about what's possible when you have the right systems and team in place.