Reflecting on the Journey: Merging Speaking of Speaking with Podcast Solutions Made Simple

Reflecting on the past five years feels like flipping through the pages of a well-loved novel, each chapter brimming with its unique set of triumphs and trials. I'm Carl Richards, and as I sit down to recount the incredible journey of the Speaking of Speaking podcast, it's like sharing a part of my soul with you. From the early days, riddled with uncertainties, to celebrating over 15,000 downloads, and shifting gears from a stage fright coach to the head of a podcasting agency, this episode is an open book of heartfelt experiences. I'll walk you through the decisions that have not only influenced the direction of my career but also this very podcast we've nurtured together.

This chapter in our story is about convergence, as I unveil the decision to merge Speaking of Speaking with my other brainchild, Podcast Solutions Made Simple. It's a move fueled by the synergies between the art of public speaking and the craft of podcasting. We're standing at the crossroads of change, embracing the challenge as the worlds of speaking and podcasting collide. Join me as we explore what this means for the podcast's future, and how it reflects the very essence of evolution in the professional sphere. There are no guests today; just you and me on this virtual bench, preparing to step into a future that's as thrilling as it is uncharted.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

It's time for Speaking of Speaking quick tips and tools to take you from stage fright to spotlight. This podcast gives you an inside look from the world of public speaking and speaking secrets. You need to be bold from the stage, no matter what business you're in. The host of Speaking of Speaking, Carl.

Speaker 2: 0:20

Richards. Thank you, matt, welcome back to the Speaking of Speaking podcast. So thrilled to have you along on the journey today. Can you believe it is five years ago? We launched this podcast Five years, it's hard to believe. January 2019, I remember sitting at actually, it was a different desk, it wasn't this desk at all, but I remember sitting at my desk putting the finishing touches on the very first episode of Speaking of Speaking and I remember thinking who's going to listen to this? Is this really going to take off? And here we are now, five years later, with over 10,000. Actually, I think it's close to 15,000 downloads, so 15 unique listens to this podcast. From that podcast we launched a separate podcast.

Speaker 2: 1:05

The business itself has evolved from being just about speaker training to being about podcasting. So there's so many things that I really want to cover today, as we do a deep dive, and it's sort of a bittersweet moment, but also a very exciting time, not only in the world of speaking, but also in the world of podcasting and in the world, shall we say, of this podcast, because this podcast has evolved a lot since we launched it back in 2019. It's not going away, it is just evolving, and I just want to give you a little bit of framework for where we are going with this podcast, because of the fact that, as I said earlier, my business model has evolved since when we first launched this podcast. So, as my business has evolved and my career itself has evolved from being a broadcaster to now being full-time in business running a podcasting agency, the other thing that has to evolve is this podcast. So, to give you a little bit of a backstory, in 2020, somewhere around the summertime of 2020, we really started to make some decisions about what we were going to do here, because I was on my way out of the door at being a broadcaster for the last 25 years and I didn't know what I was going to do, but I did know that it probably wasn't going to be in the world of radio. It probably wasn't going to be there, but it was definitely going to be somewhere in business for myself here's the thing as a part-time speaker, trainer, and then, with the full intention, it would always evolve into a full-time gig and it never did, because my broadcast career presented many opportunities that I didn't expect. When opportunity knocks you, of course, you answer. You don't have to, but I did. So that meant really putting that dream, shall we say, on hold, of being in business full-time. For myself, it just never really took a deep dive into it. And then COVID-19 hit and that's when things really started to change. So my broadcast career ended and I appreciate all the opportunities that I had along the way.

Speaker 2: 3:06

What happened was I had this speaker training business. That was part-time and, if you remember, back to 2020, nobody was getting out on physical stages. Everything was shuttered, everything was closed up right, so there were no live stages. It was a lot of people embracing the virtual stage, virtual platforms, and that's when I knew that we were going to be taking steps into the podcasting space, and I know there have been some episodes on this podcast about that, and there have been a lot of episodes on my other podcast, which is called podcast solutions made simple, about my speaking journey. But safe to say that that part of my business has gone very well. It's been very successful in the last three and a half years and we are very thrilled to be able to merge that podcast and this one together Now with this merge. We don't know what this is going to look like, because we do have a lot of people who have joined us on this journey. That's been all about speaking and now, all of a sudden, to do a complete 180 and just talk about podcasting. I'm not quite sure if it's going to work, but we're going to try.

Speaker 2: 4:15

And here's what I'm thinking, because the podcasting world and the speaking world, shall we say, collide or run in parallel together. Quite nicely, I don't think it'll be that difficult to transition. But here's why we really want to focus on this, because the podcast space is changing immensely. It really is. When I got into this space in 2019 podcast there were probably oh, I don't know there was something like 700,000 podcasts worldwide. There are over 5 million podcasts now, so that's a big upswing in the last five years. The other thing that's happened is as far as the success with the medium itself. It's surpassing radio listenership. It's kicking it when it comes to advertising dollars. A lot of people investing their ad space in podcasts versus conventional mediums like radio and television and print media is even pushing digital mediums out of the way too, things like push notifications and social media ads. It's even dominating over those ones. So that's why I think we're going to really focus on speaking on virtual stages, specifically the podcasting space. Okay, that's not to say that we still won't have people who are in the speaking space from time to time make their way to this podcast, but I think, for the most part, we're going to transition and this podcast will merge with the podcast solutions made simple.

Speaker 2: 5:44

The other thing that I wanted to share with you is the plan for 2024. Now here's the thing 2024, if you're listening to this, and it's way beyond that then you can tell whether or not we actually followed through with this. But there's so much information now being put out there, not only about podcasting but about speaking in general, because the world has changed a lot since I got into the speaking world. It's changed a lot with different medias, as I've just mentioned. Some medias are going the way of the dodo. Other medias, like podcasting, are expanding. So one of the things that we'll be doing in business is providing more training, more opportunities for things like boot camps and in-depth programs, eight-week programs. That's something I did when I was a speaker trainer and really focused on that. It's also something that I've done as a podcast trainer and running a podcast agency. So more boot camps for beginners, more boot camps for advanced podcasters, more launch programs, eight-week launch programs, things like that.

Speaker 2: 6:41

But then to go along with that, we had built a community through the podcasting and the podcasting business and we were running. It started out running weekly events and then that moved to bi-weekly events and then the last few months we were running monthly events. Well, those events aren't going away. We're just going to structure them a little differently so that they can pop up and appear on your feeds and certainly in this podcasting space they will appear on, probably on a quarterly basis. But to go along with that, there'll be other meetups, whether they be in virtual or in person. We'll also be focusing some energies into the Facebook page. I have two Facebook pages, actually a Facebook group and a Facebook page, so this page might evolve a little bit. The Speaking of Speaking page, but then also the podcast launch made simple group will also evolve. So a lot of evolution.

Speaker 2: 7:29

As we look ahead to the new year and excited for some of the events that we're going to be conceptualizing, we have a couple of boot camps already planned. We have one that's actually taking place later this month. So if you're listening to this in early January of 2024, we'll put the link in the show notes that you can check out the podcast Jumpstart Boot Camp, which is a great beginner boot camp. So for anyone who is brand new to the podcasting space, who wants to get launched in, say, the first quarter of 2024, then this is a great event for that. But even for those who are advanced podcasters, it's a great event, or a great opportunity to maybe even reimagine your podcast. Or if you're thinking of doing a reboot or a rebrand, it'll be a great boot camp for that too. So I'll post the links in the show notes for that. We have an advanced boot camp coming up, a boot camp for advanced podcasters. It's on marketing and monetization. That's slated for February.

Speaker 2: 8:25

So, as I said, so many exciting things that are going to happen, and when you hear of these things happening not only in the podcasting space, but you're following me on social media or if you're on the email list, you're going to want to check out some of the things we're doing. I already mentioned about the alliance that the alliance will be moving to a quarterly event and we're going to have guest speakers there. So if you are a speaker and if you also have your own podcast, there'll be an opportunity, maybe even for a speaking opportunity, or maybe even a chance to just come and check it out. So a lot of things happening in the podcasting space, and I think this is a testament to where we are, because we live in the virtual world, even for those who are speakers. There are a lot of people who I know who are in the speaking space and I'm a member of a speaking organization here in Canada and there are a number of those members who have podcasts or they are getting on podcasts or they are. You know, they're guesting on podcasts or they're looking at podcasting as a way to get the word out about what it is that they do. So there is an evolution for speakers.

Speaker 2: 9:27

We're embracing live events, just like other speakers are as well. So that's why there will be some information about the difference between, say, the live stage and the virtual stage, and how does that look for you and your business. You know, how do you take your message that's maybe used to being on a live stage and put it on a virtual stage, or how do you take your virtual presentation and put that on a live stage, something that I've done recently, actually, and was very interested to, uh, and very excited to see how that process all came together. So a lot of exciting things happening as we do step into a new year, kind of like a new year, new, you kind of kind of feel in the podcasting space. So this podcast is actually going to go on my other podcasting channel as well, with a few edits.

Speaker 2: 10:12

So if you are listening, it doesn't matter what podcast you're listening to know that the channel is probably going to move.

Speaker 2: 10:19

It might stay the same in the same place or it might be in a slightly different place than what you're used to finding it. Either way, the content that you've come to know and love is going to be there. It's going to be just as exciting and I welcome you along on this journey. If you ever have a question, you know how to get a hold of me. It's still ask Carl at CarlSpeaksca. For the time being, you can also follow me on my social media channels. All of those links are in the show notes and, again, don't hesitate to click on the links for any of the events that we are conceptualizing for the next calendar year. All right, as we always say on this podcast, and you know what, we might leave it in the other podcast too. Get out there and own the platform, whether it be a virtual platform or a live platform, it is the place to be and it's the place where we will continue to serve you in the next calendar year. Bye for now.

Speaker 1: 11:14

Thanks for listening to the Speaking of Speaking podcast. Fired up about something you heard today, Want to learn more? Be sure to visit CarlSpeaksca and don't forget to follow Carl on Twitter at CarlRichards72 or join the Facebook group Speaking of Speaking.