104. How to Create Autonomy with Podcasting | Nick Nalbach

Nick Nalbach is host of the Nine-Five Podcast and a Podcast Launch Coach. He helps entrepreneurs and aspiring podcasters skip the learning curve with all the tech and software needed, to launch and develop SYSTEMS for producing maintaining a podcast, without taking up all your time. On the podcast, Nick interviews highly successful entrepreneurs who have made the transition from a corporate job to building their own business. Listeners can expect to hear stories of every day individuals escaping the corporate world to pursue their own passions. Along with actionable advice that listeners can take begin implementing in their own passions.

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Transcript

Cartwright Morris: 1:02

All right, got a great episode today at the metaphors podcast. Nick, Nickelback and my Santa right. Yeah, you nailed it, man. Yeah, we'll get it right. I've never been known for my phonics. But here we are. So Nick, man, it's great to have you on. Yeah. So tell me yeah, just give me a little update. You know, just what's what's been going on with you. What's what's what's good about living in West Virginia and life right now.

Unknown: 1:35

Oh, right now, I'm currently working as a construction project manager, that is my my day job. And on the side, I'm working on building this podcast, coaching like podcast, launch coaching business. So it's gonna be a mixture between a little bit of an agency and a little bit of one on one, online learning that type of stuff. And obviously, running a podcast myself. So the whole premise the whole idea of this and the whole reason I started my brand was to eventually escape that nine to five, corporate setting. And through podcasting is how I plan to actually get that done.

Cartwright Morris: 2:12

Nice pie. Oh, podcasting. Hmm. And just real quick, do me What's, what's the why of podcasting?

Unknown: 2:22

Podcasting? I've tried blogging, I've tried video, and video was terrible. By the way, video is so rough. And as I started that first, and it was brutal podcasting, I got into it. It was it took a lot of the pressure off because I was able to talk to people and not talking to a camera, because that's the like, intimidating, like no feedback, no reaction, you're just talking. And being able to actually have this one on one like we're doing now. It was like, Okay, this, this takes a lot of pressure off, like, easier. And my confidence has continued to build continue to build to where I am getting in front of a camera. Now. I'm showing up more. And I've been able to meet some amazing people through podcasting. And I want people to have that experience. I think so many opportunities have opened up for me since I launched the podcast. And I think there's a lot of people that are missing out on that opportunity, because there's a bunch of reasons, but everyone thinks that everybody has a podcast, and it's just not true.

Cartwright Morris: 3:28

Yeah, it's Yeah, I mean, it feels that way, because it is such a saturated market. And I mean, I've heard from 2017 to two this year. I mean, like we've, the number of podcasts has gone from like 700,000 to 20 million. So it is still saturated. But like you said, Actually,

Unknown: 3:46

podcasting as a whole right now is only at hasn't even crossed 3 million yet.

Cartwright Morris: 3:51

Oh, really? I must have heard the wrong number. I got the wrong advice.

Unknown: 3:55

I think. So YouTube, YouTube has exploded like that's, there's obviously way more channels that's at like 37 million, I want to say, okay, like the last stat that I saw on it. But yeah, podcasting, there's only 2.8 million or something like that. And even crazier than that. So there's, that seems like a lot like say, 3 million podcasts, only 23% of all of those podcasts are actually active, which means that they've published an episode in the last 90 days. So if it's that, like, there's people trying it, but they're not sticking with it, right. So I think it was something like 500,000 active podcasts. I'm like that, that means it's very young, it's very much in its infancy, and it is still growing year over year. So I whenever I get the chance, I'm like telling people, especially if they have a brand, or they're looking to build an audience, or whatever it is, like get into podcasting. Stick with it, because people are getting into it, but not sticking with it. Right.

Cartwright Morris: 4:56

That's interesting. And I've heard I've heard somebody say, you know, 20 years ago, it was the thing for a business to get a website. And then maybe in a few years, where's the thing where our business needs to have a podcast? Yeah, we could be in that space. So I just disagree. Yeah, so I'm, you know, I'm in your choir here. You're preaching. But it's funny you said about video. Have you ever seen the movie? Targeted nights with Will Ferrell? Yeah, yeah, see, you know, like talking to camera car drive real good. With my hands. That's how I feel every time I'm on camera.

Unknown: 5:37

It's rough, especially like if you're not used to getting in front of a camera like that little hole in the little black hole. It's like you're staring into an abyss like it's so intimidating.

Cartwright Morris: 5:49

Absolutely. Well, man, that sorry, Nick, man, what's up, man? I'm kind of all over the place that I really Yeah, I really just wouldn't Love to hear kind of a little bit of an origin story, you know, kind of give me what was? Yeah, what was a big turning point really in your adolescence?

Unknown: 6:13

So, going up in through school, I graduated high school, went to college, actually played baseball in college. And I was, I was in college, I didn't know what I wanted to do. Like, I knew baseball would be awesome. Oh, you're the only one. Like, if I could have taken baseball to the next level, like, obviously, I would have jumped all over that. And that didn't work out. It doesn't for most people. So no surprise there. But yeah, I really had no idea I got into college, I was like, Okay, I'm gonna do chemistry, because I really liked that in high school, got to college. And I was like, Whoa, this is completely different game. I'm not cut out for this, I can't do this. So I just reverted back, I went to business. And I still didn't know what I wanted to do with that I was just like, that's a safe degree that I can get a multitude of different positions with. And we'll just see, hopefully I figure it out as we go. And after graduating, and I still didn't really know, I was just taking up jobs. I got hired through like a staffing agency working in like a cubicle. And it was like the longest eight hours of my life every single day. Yes, just brutal for me. And about not even like a full year into that I ended up applying getting the job that I have now as a project manager. And it kind of gave me a little bit of taste of freedom, because I had a little bit more say in how I run my business, like how I handle my day to day stuff. But it's still like very demanding, very restricting, my time is very much engulfed in this thing. And that just didn't sit well with me. I want to be able to control how much I make. I want to be able to control when and where I'm at. And if I can be working while I'm halfway across the world. Like that's the goal. That's the dream.

Cartwright Morris: 8:09

Yeah. So I mean, was the goal of going to college? Was it originally to play baseball? Or was it like you felt like you were just told us what you're supposed to do. So what was your initial reasoning for going to college?

Unknown: 8:22

Yeah, I mean, I everyone said like, Okay, you need to go to college. Like that was the whole kind of plan. Ever. I feel like there's a lot of people that are in that same boat, it's like, go to high school, get good grades, go to college, get good grades, get that career, ride that career off until you're 64 can retire and finally relax and living the good life, which was

Cartwright Morris: 8:45

the model 3040 years ago, but it ain't now. Right? But somehow we took that on in me. Yeah, absolutely.

Unknown: 8:52

So when I because I didn't really know what I wanted to do other than play baseball at the time, like I, I was picking my college based on where I wanted to play baseball. And that was my whole intent. But I went into my freshman year of college right away with an injury. I ended up tearing my labrum in my shoulder, which was about six to nine months recovery on that. And then a year or two later tore it again. So it was just like, I constantly kept having these setbacks and setbacks and having a build back up. So I kind of knew early on in college that going on to that next level wasn't likely going to happen. Yeah, other than that, it was like coasting, doing what everyone told me I needed to do. checking off all of those boxes. Like I said, like getting the grades in high school checkbox, number one, getting the grades in college checkbox, number one, find a job. There's another checkbox and you get to a point where it's like, you feel like you're doing everything right, because everyone said, This is what you need to do. And you're like, I'm doing it. But at the same time, it's like it just doesn't feel right. Like something's off here. And it actually wasn't until I read a book, I was like, Okay, I have a business degree. I'm graduated college I need to be an adult. I need to learn business like that's what a grown man does. I got this book it's called The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco. And it sounds like a get rich quick scheme, type of book. Like, just soak it all in whatever and it was definitely not. Yeah, the big like sticking point for me throughout that whole book was okay, you're gonna go through that those that progression, like we talked about getting the grades, getting the career, ride that out to retirement. But then he said, what if you don't make it to that age? What if you get to 6465 and you're in a wheelchair now? Yeah. Or what if you're just not healthy? Like there's no guarantee that you are going to be in good condition by the time you hit there if you even make it there. So why why are you putting all your dips into that basket, right? In bed and gambling on that. Like, why would you do that? And that, for me was like, Whoa, yeah, no, I need to be living life now and doing the things that I want to do now. Well, I know I'm healthy. And if I can carry that through to retirement age, and whenever that might be, like, great, but I'm not going to make us sit around and wait for that to come to me, hoping that everything is going to work out really great in the end.

Cartwright Morris: 11:27

Yeah. So you I mean, you had that big moment reading that book? Well, what was kind of step one, what really made you go, Alright, I have to do it this way? Or have to? Did you get people around you that kind of thought similarly, or you just start consuming content? What was the kind of the next step?

Unknown: 11:46

So honestly, after the book, I started, like, learning all about entrepreneurship. That's when it first clicked in my mind when it first clicked in my head that, like entrepreneurship is a reality. Right? I look at the headlines, I look at the names like Bezos and Elon Musk, like they're all over the headlines right now. Like you can't not see them. That's what I thought entrepreneurship was the whole when I'm looking at that, and like, Well, hell, I'm not gonna start a SpaceX like, I have no business doing that. Like, why would I even try. So after that, I read that book. And I had that moment, I started consuming podcasts, I got into like, several entrepreneurship podcasts that I was hearing stories of people who are regular, everyday ordinary people, building their own businesses, building their own brands, and creating the life they want to live. And that was so inspiring to me. So I'm like, that's, that's what I need to do, I need to figure out what I can do to make a living for myself and not be relying on another company to dictate how much I'm going to pay, or how much I'm going to get paid when I can get a raise, how much that raise is going to be when I can take time off, where I can work from like all of those things that are controlled by an employer. I don't want that. I want to be able to decide all that for myself. Yeah. In starting really, I had no idea. I didn't know which way to go. What I wanted to do. And I was trying all kinds of different things. Yeah, I don't know how long you want me. I can keep you on if you have questions, man.

Cartwright Morris: 13:23

Yeah, we'd love to hear some of your failures. Yeah, like that's like, what did you try? And it didn't work out? What was some of the early?

Unknown: 13:31

Yeah. So right out of the gate, I had, like a strong, actually even before that. Now thinking back on it. One of the big premises of that book, The Millionaire Fastlane is like, one of the main themes is control. And there's so many businesses and platforms and stuff like that, that seem like you are building something that you have total control of, even though you're still like, under the control of someone, someone can still cut you off. Like social media being a big part of that a lot of people make money with social media. But at any given time, like, yes, you're creating the content, you're bringing in this revenue. But if you're doing this on Facebook, or Instagram, and they decide, you know, what we're done with you and they cut you off block your account, you go from having an income to having absolutely nothing. Yeah. So it seems like you're in control, because it's your thing that you're creating. But ultimately, someone is above you, dictating whether or not you can continue going. So have was like holy cow, everything that was think of like, I want to do a subscription box. And I was like, okay, I can do a subscription box. There's all these marketplaces that you can put it into. And I was like, but then wait, there's someone at the top, controlling that marketplace, that if I upload my subscription box there, they can say no, we don't want your box anymore. And then there goes the income. So it was like you have to be the brand, you have to be the business you have to be that like marketplace. And so the subscription box, like I spent a lot of time actually me and my brother, we spent a lot of time together trying to develop this thing. And we wanted to do like a an alcohol related like cocktail mixture subscription box. And we thought it'd be the coolest thing because there wasn't many out there. Yeah. And soon realized why because the legalities of shipping alcohol all across the US is very difficult. There was like one other company that can actually pull it off.

Cartwright Morris: 15:34

Alabama, I don't think you could ship to people's homes. Oh, at all. No, I got you know, I've gone to Napa and I think you had we had to ship it to stores to pick it up. And so anyway, you just say that so there's so many restrictions from state to state right?

Unknown: 15:49

Yeah, yeah. So after we started diving into that was like, Oh man, like the amount of tracks we would have to cover to make this work and we don't even know if it would work like it's it's not I'm worth the risk right now. So we ended up canceling that after probably weeks of planning and figuring out how we're actually going to structure it. And then we use my brother, myself and my dad, actually, because he's very big into the website development, the coding all of that, which my brother and I are not at all.

Cartwright Morris: 16:20

Oh, wow. That's interesting. Yeah.

Unknown: 16:24

He's been deep into it for a very long time. Yeah. So we started building this, this new platform, and it's still, it's still live, but we've kind of taken a backseat on it. It's called experience. And it's basically like a peer to peer or, like, person to person, like equipment rental. So if you want to rent kayaks, you would rent it from another person, as opposed to going to a rental shop down the street and renting a kayak. Yeah, so kind of like an Airbnb for outdoor gear, stand up paddleboards kayaks, that type of thing. And we struggle with that as well, it was, it's very difficult to serve two different markets, those that want to be renting the stuff and those who want to rent out the stuff. Yeah. So we struggled there. And then through it all, we learned a lot about marketing. And I had started kind of like a personal brand blog. That's nine, five to freedom kind of word of the nine five podcast spawned out of. And my thought was, like, as I'm trying all this stuff, I'll just kind of document the things that I'm learning along the way. And kind of take people along on that journey. Because like, I can't go and be like, Hey, look at what I've done. Look at this business I've built, I can teach you how to build it. But I can say, this is what I'm doing to build my business. This is what's working, and this is what's not working. You can come along on that journey and do the same if you want. Yeah. So it was kind of a different way of like, putting myself as somewhat of an authority online without being like, the absolute authority that knows everything, because I'm just trying stuff.

Cartwright Morris: 18:06

Right? Yeah. But that is that's interesting, just that approach. I mean, I mean, it's like the the success model that is continually with my guests and people I look up to is like just falling forward, right. And sometimes it's like, we just want to be as we're going on our journey, we're helping others in the same time on there's right. And so we can learn from another. So how much I mean, you talked about your dad, you talk to your brother, was there other people you put around to kind of collaborate with to really think through bounce off ideas? And how valuable was that?

Unknown: 18:38

I mean, throughout the course of me kind of diving into all of this entrepreneurship stuff. I've there's been countless people that I've built relationships with and was able to live with this past year actually hired a mentor, like a mindset coach. Yeah, kind of helped me this year. And I mean, relationships by far been the biggest asset because so many people know so many things. It's, it's incredible. If you put yourself in a position to build relationships, like just to build relationships and not try to get anything out of it. Right? You'll end up getting something out of it. And but it's Yeah, I don't know. I can't recommend enough like putting yourself in a position to meet new people, especially people in the places you want to be like the that quote, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Yeah. I kind of think it's true in a way just because I know I have developed a lot more since hanging out with the people that I do online, even if we don't get to see face to face and COVID the last year or two really limited how much face to face interactions you could have and like the networking events, and all that stuff didn't really exist during that timeframe when I started actively seeking out people and trying to build those connections. But even just through DMS on Twitter, or Instagram or the podcast was the podcast launch, like the relationships that you can build out of that and the opportunities that come with that are absolutely insane. Yeah.

Cartwright Morris: 20:21

That's good, Nick. Golly, man. It's so fascinating. So now when you look back at that 18 year old going to college what would you tell him?

Unknown: 20:32

That's that's a good question. Because I am not saying that I wouldn't go back to college. Just because I there were so many experiences that I enjoyed the people I met, things I've learned, like even just from a social aspect, I feel like served me very well. Right. So I think I would definitely still go back to college. But I would definitely tell myself that you going on after college? College and looking for a job in the normal, like job field is not the only option out there. But yeah, there are opportunities for people to build businesses. And there are like an infinite number of resources online that can help you get there. And I probably would have been diving a lot deeper throughout college trying to figure out ways to make money and kind of skip the learning curve that I've had to do since college until now. Right? Just because it's, I mean, you learn a lot in college, but then I learned so much more once I got out of college. Yeah. And the fact that I got a head start on that, I feel like it'd be in a much different place at this exact moment. Yeah,

Cartwright Morris: 21:41

that's so true. Because it's, it is interesting that we still have that model in place, many people will take out hundreds of $1,000 of loans. Right. And it's not, but the value is still not there. As an even like it was it was that it cost less, but it was more valuable for our parents, but yet it's me. It's just insane. The the market place for what it's creating. Yeah, so now, I mean, what So where have you found success? Where has been the most valuable way to create that passive income or even creating an income outside of the nine to five?

Unknown: 22:17

Yeah, so this actually, this past year is the first time I've been committed to monetizing my whole mindset. Once I got into it, like, Okay, I'm gonna build the brand, I'm gonna build the audience of people who actually care what I have to say, yeah. And then once I have that then start to monetize. And like, probably partway through last year. I realized, like, I just need to start taking action, I need to start like putting myself in a position to take money. I was battling this level of imposter syndrome that yeah, I am not an expert. And there are so many better people out there than me. And even though people were coming to me for this, and that and podcasting, like once I launched that, like so many people were coming to me asking questions about podcasting, but I still, in my own mind, didn't see myself as someone of an authority at that. Right. I still felt like I was new. So why would anybody want to pay me for something like that? My mindset since then, has totally shifted, because I personally feel no matter where you are, in that journey, you could just be a few steps in, you're a few steps further than someone that's right behind you. And they're going to need to learn the stuff that you know. Yeah. And that's, that's an opportunity to monetize. So, yeah, the podcasting stuff. I honestly think there's so many people out there that want to do it. There's so many people that don't know how to do it. You got the tech, you have the software, how do you grow the thing? How do you get guests like there's so many different aspects around podcasting, that can be intimidating, especially if you're coming in completely blind. And I, I feel like I can definitely help people. And I'm confident that I can help people get their show running and have it served them in a way whether that is to benefit their business, or it is to open up opportunities and connections with guests that they bring on or whatever they want that to be. I feel confident that I can help deliver that for them. Yeah.

Cartwright Morris: 24:24

And so yeah, not to give away too many of your secrets. But you know, what's if you if someone's out there thinking about starting a podcast? What's kind of, you know, what's your advice for them? Just just start now?

Unknown: 24:38

I mean, first of all, it doesn't have to cost a lot of money. Yeah, that's, that's one of the biggest misconceptions, I feel like because people will look at content creators, and they'll see microphones and lights and cameras, and like all this stuff going on, and you don't need that podcast is audio only. And you can literally take your phone out and record a podcast. But that is literally all you need. There's free platforms to upload it that push it out to everywhere, Apple, Spotify, all that like the barrier to entry is really low. But everyone is this kind of thinking it's very high. Right? So I mean, if you want to get started, you can definitely get started. And it doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. If you are thinking about starting, don't wait, like don't sit on it. Don't wait till the timing is perfect, because it's never going to be Yeah, and you're just gonna it's you're making excuses for yourself to not get started. Yeah, I was the same way. When I started the blog. I was like, okay, podcasting. Like I love podcasts, I get a lot of value out of them. I know eventually, when I have this audience and I have this and I have that that's when I want to do a podcast because that's when people are going to listen. And after kind of failing at the video, I was like, well, I need to show up more like I know Everything is going to video everything is going, like personal. So I just said screw it. Like I don't have the audience, but I'm going to start the podcasts. And if it sucks, it sucks. If it turns into something, it turns into something, but I'm going to like dedicate a time and effort into this thing. Yeah. And I'm so glad I did. I only wish I would have done it earlier. Because now I'm like, I'm all in podcasts and like, this is my medium. This is medically tell.

Cartwright Morris: 26:28

Yeah, so what yeah, what was when you first started? What was the format? Were you interviewing people? Were you just talking about random topics? Or did you have kind of the one you started kind of an agenda? A heading? Yeah.

Unknown: 26:41

So it all kind of ties back to like the nine five to freedom, taking you on that journey of escaping the nine to five, yeah, follows a very similar format, where the guests that I bring on, are either very well established 678 figure entrepreneurs, or they're people that are just kind of getting their toes wet in that space. Yeah. And we talked about that, like, what is that transition, like some people you hear, just say, You know what, I'm done with the corporate quit. I'll figure it out tomorrow. And they just start building something of their own other people will, like, start a side hustle while they're working their job. And then once that side, hustle is built up enough, they're like, Okay, leave that behind, and just focus on my own business full time. Like, everyone's got such a unique experience of what that has been, like, going from corporate to their own business. Yeah. And I want to unpack that because me myself not knowing that that is possible for somebody to do. Like, had I had people saying, like, oh, this person did it. And this person did it. This person did it. This person did it. Like they're normal people. It's not Elon Musk. That's like, everybody isn't Elon Musk that's having their own business. So my hope is that people will find those episodes and hear all of these stories of people that are doing it. And they're just normal people that, like I'm done with the working a nine to five job, I'm going to do my own thing. Yeah. And succeeding at it. Like, anybody can do it. Yeah. So then obviously, we get strategic. Yeah, how they build up and all that. Yeah.

Cartwright Morris: 28:20

So yeah, I mean, outside of that, that theme of finding people that were done with their nine to five and getting more not pursued new entrepreneurship? Golly, that's a hard word for me. I guess. Today, I can say I can say no back back and say off renewer ship. But yeah, what's outside of that theme? What was maybe a constant thing you heard throughout the all the interviews,

Unknown: 28:47

man, relationships 100%, whether it is directly or indirectly, almost every guest that I brought on has attributed a relationship or a series of relationships, or a coach or mentor to their success. Like basically, if they wouldn't have had this person or this mastermind that they were in or whatever it was, like, they wouldn't be where they're at. So that's like, at the beginning episode, why I was harping so heavy on relationships and how, like crazy they can be in terms of opening opportunities and doors. You don't know who other people know. There was actually a guest I had on it was over a year ago, I think for sure. But he said he was he went to the park, he was just playing like basketball with just a group of people. And didn't know until they got done playing but he was playing with this guy, like real scrappy, like in like, winter thought anything of him. This dude like a multimillionaire, like, live in the frickin life. And he just, he was a normal person who didn't stand out. And he struck up conversation with them. He was polite with them and built a good relationship with Him not thinking, oh my gosh, this guy's a millionaire. Like, I need to get in with him. I'm just gonna be this guy's friend. So you just never know what people like don't put out there for the world to see. Or who people know. Because you could meet someone tomorrow that ends up sending someone your direction recommending you and that just like all of a sudden your business goes to the moon. And yeah, I don't know that that whole mindset to me is just it's incredible. I think the relationships is definitely got to be the most impactful thing that people are brought to the show. Yeah,

Cartwright Morris: 30:41

yeah, that just the value of that and no man's an island. Yeah, that's really good. So when Trump says we're when we're time, entrepreneurship, what does that word mean to you Nick?

Unknown: 30:58

It means control, I think is the big word for me control and then living the life that like on your own terms like living the life that you want to live. I think there's nothing wrong, I'm a big proponent of doing what you enjoy doing. And if that is working, like if you have a job in a nine to five setting in a corporate setting, and you're like, I love this job, I love showing up every day, like, this is awesome. Like, that is awesome. You keep doing that, because that's what you enjoy. You don't have to become an entrepreneur to be happy at all. But if you're in a job where you've tried multiple jobs in different industries, and you realize like, I'm not happy doing this, or that, like maybe building something of your own, can allow you to be happy, it can allow you to, like enjoy putting time and effort into something. And that's what it was for me. Like when I'm spending time working to build my business. Like I can get so locked into it and so excited about the things that I'm doing that time just flies by. And then I wake up and I have no problem jumping in and doing it again. Whereas when I was working in that cubicle, it was like, Oh my God, this day is never going to end. Yeah. And then I got to do it again tomorrow. And the next day like is the weekend ever going to get here? You gotta want to be living for a weekend. So that yeah, entrepreneurship to me is control and being able to live a life that you want to live Yeah, but I think

Cartwright Morris: 32:32

I think a lot of people are unwilling to give that up because the security right but they're willing to sacrifice their well being they're like you say and passionate excited about something just for that level security, health insurance the paycheck. Yeah. But man is just a fascinating thought. I like just that man at the same time, but I imagined they would get there in a life and like, Man, I wish I was so bored. Yeah, I wish I got more excited about my day and things I was doing on a day to day basis. Yeah, and just redefining on, like, what success looks like redefining what like, what do I really want in this life, what I want my day to day to be? It's a lot of stuff I asked my clients, especially when they're making this this change. So So yeah, I mean, I guess it's maybe the same thing. But so you know, you have the word nine to five to freedom, when you say that nine to five to freedom, what does that really what does freedom mean to you?

Unknown: 33:39

It really just means simply put, like, I can be where I want, do what I want, make what I want. It's all just kind of ties back into the control of my own life. I don't want, I don't want someone to be able to control what I make how much where, when, why. Like, I want that if I want to, say make an extra $5,000 This month or an extra $20,000 This month, like I am gonna work a little bit harder my business and I can make that happen. Whereas your if I'm in the nine to five jobs and don't have that flexibility, it's like, okay, I work a little bit harder. I'm going to make the same amount of money I made last month. Yeah. And it just it rubs me the wrong way. Like the freedom like my wife and I we love traveling. And in this project management position that I'm currently in, we're very limited on that. Usually everything's kind of slowed down right now. But typically it's a six day a week, minimum 10 hour a day, sometimes 1213 hour a day. Yeah, like it's highly demanding. So even my weekends are cut short, because I get a Sunday. And that's, that's my weekend. Yeah. So I want to be able to say, You know what, I'm going to leave for the week, and nobody can say anything about it, because my business is on autopilot. And I don't have anybody to report to because I'm my own boss. That's, that's the goal. Right? Yeah,

Cartwright Morris: 35:19

it's an a great thing. And you kind of mentioned earlier about leveraging relationships with something else that you know from our audience out there was something they could start leveraging which I imagine that your title the nine to five part of that is is like you're leveraging your nine to five that little stream of income is then hopefully starts to fill the other ones but worse, what are some ways my listeners can leverage what they're doing now? Anything in their life to really start getting to that place?

Unknown: 35:47

I mean, start thinking like, you'd be surprised, like, what you can monetize what you can make money from. Like, think about the things that you enjoy doing, even if it's like a hobby or just Something that you have fun with and look, like go into Google and actually type in like making money with whatever that hobby is, or whatever that thing that you like doing, and see different ways that people are finding, like, say, like, collecting sports cards or something like that. They've been how to make money with sports cards. And there's so many different creative ways that people are monetizing sports cards, not just like, Okay, I'm gonna hold on to this card and wait till it's worth a lot of money and then sell it like people are doing these card breaks. And like you're buying, getting people to buy in, and they end up getting specific cards based on what's polled. And like, there's so many different unique ways to look at it. So just because you enjoy doing something doesn't mean you can't make money from it as well. Yeah. So if you are wanting to test the waters, like do that search, see what is out there? Because I think you'd be surprised at how many different ways you can actually make money online. Yeah.

Cartwright Morris: 36:57

Hmm. So what are some of the searches that you've done? Just to practically, I'm really curious now, some of the practical stuff that you've done to really, how many streams of income would you say you have right now?

Unknown: 37:10

Right now I, right now, I have like, two, two, okay. And I actually just had a call earlier this week, I was talking with someone about ways that I can kind of spread that out. So there's a lot, there's a lot of coming up in the near future here. But I don't know, man, like, there's so many even if like there's a specific thing that you do, or that's graphic design. Maybe you're an Excel whiz or something like that, like do freelance work. There's a lot of places like Fiverr, and Upwork. And all these platforms out there where people can hire you for those services. And that's I did a lot of digging there, like on the freelance sites, and just seeing what people are putting out there for their services. Because I've, I've spent a lot of time with graphic design, I thought maybe like, that's something I would want to do is like, a freelance graphic design. I did a little bit of that before getting my like, first real big boy job. So I always knew that was a possibility. But I kind of knew after I started building the blog and the personal brand that I wanted it to be something in the educational space. Yeah. So it took a little bit to get there through like the subscription box idea. And this, like the rental gear idea, and just the various things. Like finding my place online, was a difficult, yeah, I've ventured down like every path of digital marketing. I've tried all the different things there. And the stuff, unfortunately takes time. There's a lot of people out there trying to sell you the shortcut. And I can tell you, I've tried a lot of them and that there is no shortcut. Yeah. And now that's why this year is like the main year that I'm focusing on monetizing, because I spent the last how many years trying to find the shortcut, and jump ahead of all that stuff. And it didn't work. But now I'm finally at a place where I'm starting to see real potential and growth. Yeah, and it's it's the not shorter, it's the longer ways it's the doing things, right. That's actually working. Hmm. Yeah,

Cartwright Morris: 39:32

that's great, man. Like, yeah, playing the long game. I think it's so interesting. Especially we see the advertisements for Instagram ads, Facebook ads, all those that kind of stuff you went you tried and

Unknown: 39:43

Oh, yeah. I was all in. And I mean, I've learned a lot throughout the whole thing, like search engine optimization, SEO, the Facebook ads, the Instagram. Tic Tac, like all the different things, the strategies, everyone says, Uh, yeah, just put money into Facebook ads, and you'll just drive traffic to your business. Well, if you haven't done research into Facebook ads, there's a lot that goes into Facebook ads. And unless you want to just send money into an endless pit, you're gonna want to learn it like thoroughly because it's, it's difficult. I spent the first like, probably year and a half, two years completely blocked from Facebook, like they won't even allow me to do anything on the platform, because they thought My website was like a selling like get rich, quick screen type of thing because I talked about passive income and online business and all this stuff. So as soon as I tried running an ad to them, it was like, shut off, locked me out, couldn't do anything can send people to my website, nothing. So that kind of goes back to the control thing. Again, it's like you want to if you're going to get into the entrepreneurship, you want to be building it. something of your own on your own, like platform, and that in most cases will be your website. But yeah,

Cartwright Morris: 41:00

That's good. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, so what's where have you found success in digital marketing? Maybe I'm maybe I'm just asking for a friend or myself maybe.

Unknown: 41:11

I spent a lot of time recently, on Instagram, I was on Twitter a lot. And I recently switched, I started focusing a lot on Instagram. And the thing that works, the best is striking up conversations. It's not posting every day, it's not putting out 10 tweets a day, or an Instagram posts a day and 20 stories and use these hashtags and all that stuff. Like, when I see steady movement, and I see growth, and I see things moving in the right direction. It's when I'm reaching out to people and actually starting and striking up conversations. It doesn't scale, but it works. Yeah. And I mean, since doing the Instagram, like the Instagram has been really good for the podcasting business as a whole. I've been hitting it hard for like, not even a month and a half right now. And I've already had like four or five strategy calls booked. Just wow. Like reaching out people and engaging and then other people seeing it. Like, it's been pretty crazy. But the just having conversations with people and being genuine. Go into it looking for a friend, and you might see an opportunity where hey, you do that. That's awesome. Like, actually need help with that, like,

Cartwright Morris: 42:28

yeah, huh? Yeah, connecting with people. That's really good, man. That's, uh, that sounds like that's like your your MO which is really healthy man. Especially in this

Unknown: 42:39

world. Before I did the podcast, I was not like that. I avoided people. I kept to myself. clubhouse when clubhouse? I don't have you been on that at all? I have not know about it. Yeah. So when that was like really taken off, it was like, shortly into like, COVID. Like hitting, I think it was like, middle of 2020 when I actually got onto it. Because they were doing like invite only. So you had to know somebody who's in it. And they had to invite you like, it was a whole big deal to get in. And it's just a platform that you go and talk to people on. And I spent a lot of time wasted on that platform is talking to people and it was between that and podcasts and like really opened my eyes. So like holy cow, like people actually just want to have relationships, like, everyone's not just trying to sell you, people are willing to help you. Like you just can't be afraid to ask. Right? So seeing that and realizing I was like, oh, there is something to this, like networking and getting to know other people in the space because they they aren't all out. It's not like, Oh, you're in that space. I'm in that space, like, get away, because you're gonna take business from me like, this world is huge. There's so many opportunities and a saturated market is never truly saturated.

Cartwright Morris: 44:02

Yes, really good. I mean, it's really fascinating, too, because like 30 years ago, right, it was a, you know, we're all the smaller businesses, you had to have a small business that you had to have some local footprint. And now especially with podcasting, it's like, you can have a small business, but it doesn't have to be local. And but have you found opportunities to be local? Or is it mainly been just kind of like I've just kind of been scattered?

Unknown: 44:35

I, because of my my job, my nine to five job, we've moved around quite a bit. So I haven't really had much, I haven't put much effort into like the local scene. Yeah. Right now where I'm at West Virginia, this is the longest we've been in one place. But typically, we're in a place for like, six to nine months tops, and then move somewhere else. So I never really tried to get to, like, ingrained into the local side of things. But I mean, there's definitely opportunities. I can't remember what there's all kinds of like meetup apps now, like Community Meetup apps, where you can find people that are interested in the same things that you are in your area. And it might actually be called meetup. Even Even if there aren't any out there, like you can organize your own and other people who see that in the area, who want to be a part of it can join and you basically create, like these small little networking groups, and go do whatever it is whether you're biking or yoga, or talk podcasts, you know, whatever it is like, you can get to create your own little networking events and build relationships. Or maybe there are already people that are crushing it and what you think you'd want to do, and you kind of have that brain to pick like it's Yeah. The local scene I think would be interesting to kind of dive into but I personally haven't had much experience with it. Yeah.

Cartwright Morris: 46:03

Hmm. Yeah, I can imagine that you work for a construction company. My brother did that. I mean, you're really a gypsy, right? Yeah. At the control of someone else, right? Yeah. Yeah, man. Well, Nick, man, this has been great, man. I love you guys. Just hearing your thought process. And, man, I feel like you're earlier. I imagine you don't feel like you. You started at the right time. But you seem like you. In my perspective. I feel like you have.

Unknown: 46:29

Yeah, I mean, it feels like it feels like I'm like, way behind. But yeah, yeah.

Cartwright Morris: 46:38

But so yeah, I mean, just give a plug really, to my audience about what you're doing. And you know where they can find

Unknown: 46:43

you? Yeah. Oh, I appreciate it, man. First off everyone listening. Like, if you are listening to this right now, go drop your boy, a five star review on Apple podcasts? Yes, yes, it means a lot. It's awesome to see the reviews come in and see what people think of the show. So definitely go do that show support for your host. He's crushing it up here. So yeah. If you want to get in contact with me, talk to me about podcasting or business, online business in general. You can go to my website, just nine, five podcast.com. I made it really confusing by spelling out numbers, but it is all spelled out. So it's just an A and E FAV podcast.com. That'll actually take you to the podcast page. But that is it essentially redirects you to my main website. And you can find my social media links, you can go to the contact form and get in contact with me. And I also have podcast resources as well. So if you're just curious, you want to pick in like, there's a lot of stuff over there. Check out. Awesome.

Cartwright Morris: 47:54

That's great, Nick, man. Well, I appreciate it, man. coming on, this is really interesting, because I feel like we're in the same boat. Trying to build brands build podcast, and yeah, like you said, I 100% agree. Just echo just the relationship piece has been pretty fascinating. And through podcasts, we connect with people across the country or even like, across the ponds, man.

Unknown: 48:19

Yeah, I like so many people that are from, like UK in the like, all over the place. Like how was he gonna do that? That's so cool. Yeah.

Cartwright Morris: 48:29

Yeah. And they get to hear their story. And they're like, yes, it's nuts, man. So yeah, so yeah, if anybody heard this, and it's like, man, they feel encouraged start a podcast. Well, you just heard it. So it reached out to so Nick here, so But man, thanks for coming on. It was great to meet you. Yeah,

Unknown: 48:47

absolutely. Man. Thank you for having me.