Dead America

In this episode, we speak with Ryan Estes, of Kitcaster booking agency. Some of the things that we discuss in this episode include understanding good partnerships, how to help people grow podcasting, as a way out a way of discovery and growth, meaningful conversation, passion about what you do. resources through connections. rewards of completion. Making your dream come alive can be very awkward. We discussed being critical of yourself and being patient with growth in your podcast. We also speak with Ryan about how to leverage podcasting for your business purposes. in that discussion, also, find out how to find the right people to grow within your business and how to discover the right answers you need. We touch on the complexity of podcasting. We speak about podcasting tours, and we also find out podcast hosts make excellent podcast guests. Ryan discusses a validation phase. We also speak about finding your fit and putting it all together. We also touch on the principle of human capital using good people. One of the big ones we speak about is imposter syndrome. And we find out imposter syndrome might actually be healthy and helpful for your podcast. We can also discover how to find out what you are better at and how to leverage that. We also talk about kitcaster booking agency and what it can do for you, networking, media kit, making connections. Ryan also explains to us that podcasting should be fun. We also talk about Ryan's podcast guest list, where over 1000 podcasters already use this list. We speak about getting booked on a podcast. Also what makes you stand out. Do it like you are the best. Ryan also speaks to us about competition as a good thing. And we discover mission really matters. Do that little extra thing and it might make your business pop. The booking process in podcasting can be very difficult. And getting help saves you a lot of time we discuss communication skills. Also, we speak about COVID and your business going all-in when it counts. Then we turn our attention to podcasting will die also we'll discuss Who is your ideal client and a good call to action. It was a good discussion with Ryan Estes from the Kitcaster booking agency. I highly recommend you going and checking out the Kitcaster booking agency

https://kitcaster.com/ryan-estes/

https://kitcaster.com

Transcript Download it here

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SUMMARY KEYWORDS

podcast,

people, business, clients, find, Ryan, podcasters, challenges, called, agency,

hosts, overcame, book, leverage, question, launched, product, booking agencies,

bit, digital marketing agency

SPEAKERS

Ryan Estes, Ed

Watters

Ed Watters 

00:00

If

you're a podcaster or a business entrepreneur, you want to pay attention. We

have with us Ryan Estes he is the co-founder of Kitcaster podcast, booking

agency. Ryan, could you introduce yourself? And let people know just a little

bit about you, please?

Ryan Estes 

00:19

I'd love

to Ed, and I appreciate you having me on the show. Like you said, I am the co-founder

of Kitcaster. We book entrepreneurs on top podcasts. We are very deep into

podcasting. We love podcasters. And, you know, our mission is to celebrate good

conversation. And wherever that takes us, we're ready to go. So, you know, I'm

excited for this conversation and being on your show. Thanks, Ed.

Ed Watters 

00:48

Well, I

sure do thank you for being with us today. Ryan, it is a pleasure. Now, before

we get into this, why don't we go ahead and recognize your partner in the

business of Kitcaster Could you tell us just a little bit about who they are?

Ryan Estes 

01:04

Absolutely.

Our co-founder, her name is Brandy Whalen, and Brandy and I met probably five

or six years ago, she had a PR agency, I had a digital marketing agency. I also

had a founder’s podcast called Talk Launch, and she would book some of her

clients or startup clients on my podcast. And we just always kind of clicked.

You know, as of a couple of years ago, I was coming on the heels of kind of a

failed project. I was working on a crowdfunding platform for service workers.

So basically, if you were a barber, or you're a house painter, and you wanted

to pre sell your services, you could do it on that platform, it was called

Career Funded. And you know, I had that going about 18 months and just didn't

find the traction I I needed for it to really hit. So, I was considering kind

of throwing in the towel. Ironically enough, I think that product would have

been a massive success due to COVID. But nonetheless, I was talking to Brandy.

And Brandy is like, let's do some, let's do something in podcasting. So, we

kind of set forth, what would become Kitcaster with the pilot program. had some

fun doing it had some success doing it. So, we wrapped the brand around it. And

it took off, you know, that was probably we officially launched September of

2019. And has seen just kind of rapid expansive growth since then. Kitcaster

now has 14 employees. We're going to hire another gal next week. And you know,

we're feeling really bullish on podcasting and kind of what it can bring to the

world.

Ed Watters 

02:41

That's

very impressive, Ryan. So, what is it like for you helping so many people

growing their podcasting?

Ryan Estes 

02:51

I love

it. You know, like I said, I've been podcasting myself for 10 years, you know,

and it I originally started as kind of a cure for the blues. You know, I had a

little bit of depression, I was coming out of a career in music. And because I

had two small, young children, you know, this is 10 years ago, and, and thought

I missed the music turns out, I just missed my bandmates. You know, and I kind

of discovered that through podcasting by getting my old band buddies back

together and doing podcasts and fell in love with the medium, you know, kind of

did a spin with the new the Talk Launch podcast to introduce podcasting into my

professional life inside just like a massive opportunity, but also like real

revenue. You know, I can probably attribute you know, before Kitcaster, maybe

800 grand in revenue as a direct tie to podcasting. You know, so podcasting

started as a hobby as a fun thing to do for entertainment became pretty central

in my life. So not only professionally, personally, you know, and just the

opportunity for growth, you know, I, I, I love meeting people for the first

time I love conversation. And in talking, there seems to be something magical

that happens when you're talking to somebody and you hit record, you know, it

ups the ante a little bit, you get a little bit of those butterflies, and I

feel like you can make a considerable kind of movement in the conversation. So,

it's been great for me, personally, professionally, my family. So, to be able

to spread that out is really, really satisfying and fulfilling, you know,

because ultimately the folks that we end up kind of engaged with, you know,

kind of our our clients are have that in common with me. You know, they're

they're talkers. And most of the folks we work with are just really passionate

about their business and what they're working on. And more times than not, they

probably burned out all the people in their life with stories about their

projects and dreams and everything else, so they're at this kind of Crossroads

where they need to find someone who's curious about what they do. And what's

great about podcasting, in particular people that are listening to podcasts as

a resource, is you find that, you know, people are using podcasts as ways to

for personal and professional advancement or inspiration or you know, maybe

their stories or you know, whatever they're needing it for, you have that whole

kind of universe there. So, to be able to spread that to other people and

seeing, you know, people's eyes kind of light up when they've recorded 40

podcasts, and they can't wait for 40 more. It's really rewarding. I love it.

Ed Watters 

05:39

Yeah,

you articulate that very well, the feeling that podcasters can really be exude

with.  It's lifesaving it for many of us.

We long for something different. So, what has been your most memorable moment

in podcasting?

Ryan Estes 

06:01

Boy,

that's a good question. Um, the first thing that came to mind were the podcasts

I was recording, I'd have a guest on and they'd give me one-word answers. Those

were always like, kind of dicey. And I'd ask him a question and like, yes.

Like, well, I only wrote four questions on this paper, this is going to be a weird

podcast. That that came to life, but I think maybe it's just those panic

situations where you find yourself talking about Sasquatch, or, you know, being

a professional baseball player who knows what. But those were always

interesting. You know, I think publishing my 100th podcast was kind of a

seminal moment, you know, for me to get going, you know, and this is probably

true for a lot of podcasters. As you get started, and you listen to it back,

you're like, wow, this is terrible. You know, you have, you could be very

critical, at least I was really critical with what I was doing. And I told

myself, you know, hey, Ryan this was not, let's not fall into paralysis by

analysis. Let's just keep doing this. And we're not going to judge the podcast

until the 100th episode, you know, so let's give ourselves 100 episodes, so we

can just experiment freely without being too critical. So, you know, when I

published my, my 100th episode, it was kind of a big moment, I was like, whoa,

like, I'm stepping forward into something new. And now I can listen to it with

new ears. And, you know, I was like, wow, I wonder how far I've come. And I

went back and listened to the first episode. And I tell you what, the hundredth

wasn't much better than the first one. So, I figured I was hopeless. I'll just

keep doing what I'm doing. As long as I'm having fun with it, we'll, we'll go

ahead and do it. So, I guess those two kinds of things stick out a little bit.

Ed Watters 

07:53

That is

very interesting. You know, a lot of people, they lose their enthusiasm for

podcasting, because they put expectations that really can't be met on

themselves and their podcast. So, growing a podcast, it takes time, it takes a

lot of effort. And really, it takes collaboration. So, what is the best advice

for people trying to leverage podcasting to grow a business or just a podcast?

Ryan Estes 

08:23

You

know, I think podcasts for business or or doing a podcast, but maybe just for

interview style podcast, I think is a great way to go. If you're doing, let's

say, for business, and you want to increase kind of your opportunities through

business, you're hosting a podcast, you know, I think maybe you sit down and

you write out, hey, what are the real challenges I'm facing right now? What are

the threats? You know? What are the weaknesses in my business? What are the

chinks in my armor? You know, and make a list of those things and questions you

might have for those and then go find those people that can answer those

questions and interview them. The thing about business is finding answers and

solutions is usually really expensive. What's kind of beautiful about the

reciprocity of podcasting is that you can find conversations, you can ask

really important questions to people and get answers for free. You know, and if

you kind of manage it, right, you know, maybe you can build a relationship in

there for a future resource. You know, so there's great opportunities in direct

selling, there's great opportunities and marketing assets, there's sales

opportunities from podcasting, but I think the big return from the host side

would be going and trying to get some answers to things that you're really

struggling with, you know, now, as a person, if you're like, well, I don't want

to start a podcast but I want to use podcasts in your business. That's exactly

what Kitcaster does, you know, as you know, Ed, like there's a lot of moving

parts in making a podcast. I mean, it is it's a substantial effort, you know,

from software to hardware to editing to publishing producing the show. There's

a lot that goes into it. So, you know, if you're looking to kind of leverage

podcasts, but you don't want to actually produce a show yourself going on, you

know, what you might call podcast tour, which is a bunch of other folk’s

podcasts is a great way to kind of kick the tires and see if you can use it in

your business. So really, that's the core of what Kitcaster does. So, you know,

people come to us and want to go on other people's podcasts, and we kind of

help facilitate those conversations. So those are a couple of ways, I think,

you know, at least professionally, that you can leverage podcasting for it to

be kind of a positive factor.

Ed Watters 

10:41

Yeah,

that's great advice, just the struggles associated with podcasting, like you

mentioned, it can be that moment, where you just give up, people like Ryan and

his crew can really help you get over those struggles, and not even hit a road

bump with it. So, I highly recommend what they do. So, what has been some of

those struggles for you, building Kitcaster,

Ryan Estes 

11:09

Oh Boy,

you know, Kitcaster, I've been kind of launching businesses and validating

businesses for 10 years, it doesn't get any easier, but I think you can mend

the mistakes faster. And learn how to move a little bit quicker, you know, so

the, the always the hardest thing to overcome is just product market fit. And

validation. You know, as an entrepreneur myself, I fall in love with some idea,

you know, I've launched a cookie company, I've launched a cosmetics brand, have

launched that, that platform, I did a blanket that was also a pillow all over

the place, you know, because I really enjoy, you know, kind of this process of

inventing. Now, if you want to kind of take those things serious and bring them

to market, what you have to do is find out if people will pay you money for

them. So, I think where my expertise really lies in is that validation phase

is, here's an idea, I think it's amazing, I need to find someone to give me

some money for it. And if they don't, it doesn't matter how much I like it, I

have to kill it, because it's not going to work. So I think those, that's the

initial challenge of launching a new business, kind of chasing all these shiny

objects, I kind of started whittling down to what was important to me, you

know, from a project, you know, it had to be it has to cover three bases, you

know, it has to be of service, I want to feel like my life is important for

somebody other than myself, you know, it's got to be fun, because I'm just kind

of lazy, and if it's not fun, I'm probably just not going to do it. And the

other part is the validation phase. It has to make money. I've got kids, and I

don't have that much time. So, you know, if, if it's fun, and it's a service,

but it's not making me money. It's like I should just be playing guitar, you

know, I can do that. It serves me in that way too. So, it has to make money. So,

you know, the initial push for Kitcaster, it was like, okay, I love podcasting.

I want to bring it to more people I want to help people leverage in their

business, will somebody pay me money to do it? You know, I kind of had a half-baked

idea of what it could be picked up the phone one afternoon called five of my

clients, and three of them said they'd pay me to do it. So, I took the money

and you know, built the pilot program for Kitcaster was able to find kind of

validation from current existing clients, which was a good first step. However,

not real accurate. These are people that trusted me and loved me. So, they'd

probably pay me to do anything for them. So, I wanted to find kind of people

kind of a cold call sale, found a couple of those that same week. So, I knew I

was on to something there, I knew there was kind of a need, because there was a

clear kind of product and a clear delivery. So, you know, we overcame the

product market fit pretty early, you know, because being a podcast booking

agency doesn't really exist. Kind of our next big challenge was creating an

infrastructure and a methodology to deliver and maybe even before deliver, how

do you package this product in a way that someone can buy it, you know, because

it's a service. And you know, people only people really only buy products. So,

we had to productize the service, figure out a methodology to deliver find all

the tools kind of pull together the tech stack and the tools that could help us

on our way. Once we kind of overcame that all the challenges since then have

been, you know how to move as fast as we possibly can. to scale on a service,

you know, the magic business for most entrepreneurs, particularly startups, and

tech entrepreneurs, or, you know, SAAS subscription services that scale

infinitely with a small team, because we are very hands on, you know, we the

way that we scale is through human capital, you know, so we got to put butts in

seats in order for our business to grow. So how do we, you know, get good

people and...