This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey there, what's up? Thanks for tuning in today. My name's Chris Guillebeau, your host of Side Hustle School. Today we have a call from Michael in Delaware. Michael is interested in starting a podcast production business as a side hustle.
That sounds good to me. Michael's got the experience with audio production, but he's not sure where to begin with the business side of things. And this is kind of a common scenario where someone has a particular skill, they've got a technical skill perhaps, or a skill that they have learned, either through higher education or just through experience, but they're not sure how to adapt that skill or transform it into a business. So in this case, the podcast industry is booming, as I'm sure you are aware, but that isn't always good news for budding podcasters or producers or engineers. And what I mean is sometimes an industry can be booming in some ways, like, you know, lots of podcasts starting, I forget the number of podcasts, they're starting every day, but it's a high number, but it becomes oversaturated.
So it's booming in some ways, but oversaturated in others. Depends on which part of the industry you're looking at. So in today's episode, I'm gonna share a couple of practical tips and advice from Michael, and for anybody else out there looking to start or grow your own side hustle. The detailed question and my answer coming up in just 30 seconds, stay tuned. [Music]
This is Michael from Wilmington, Delaware.
I think you came here on a tour a long time ago, but I missed it. Anyway, I'm interested in starting a podcast production business as a side hustle. Seems like everyone's doing a podcast these days. I have experience with audio production, but I'm less clear about the business side of things. What would you suggest I do as a starting point?
How can I find clients and what factors should I consider when pricing my services as a beginner? [Music]
All right, Michael, thanks for the question. And you're right, everybody's got a podcast these days. It's good and bad, okay? Good news is podcasts are cool.
I mean, I think so. Bad news is that everyone's an audio producer as well, right? Like everybody's got a podcast, but so many people are just kind of doing the DIY thing. And I think that's fine in lots of ways. It's like anything else in life, like learning to build a website.
Your website's not gonna be as good as professional designer would do, but there's a lot of value in learning to do something. And then if you want to invest in it, then that's when of course you bring on the designer, the audio producer, whatever that thing is for any particular field. But again, for the everyone has a podcast thing, the issue is lots of people have that problem solved. They're using some really simple software that does a pretty decent job. So what can you do in this situation?
I think you have two approaches. You've got approach number one, which is to go on Fiverr, maybe Upwork as well, could be some other platforms, these platforms where you can go and bid for jobs and create a profile and build that profile with reviews and such. So go on a site like Fiverr, get ready to do a lot of small jobs for a lot of small money. And that also isn't bad just to be clear. You're not gonna make a ton of money, but it can be helpful experience, like especially for someone like Michael, who's new to the business world.
There are people on Fiverr that are doing three or four, sometimes more jobs every day, again, for pretty small money, but they are getting a lot of experience through that and they are building up reviews. And sometimes this leads to longer contracts. If nothing else, it leads to that experience, but it can also lead to contracts and contacts, both of those. So that's a good approach for somebody who's just getting started. Approach number two, which doesn't have to be exclusive, by the way, like you can work towards this as you're doing approach number one.
Approach number two is to create a brand identity that focuses on a high touch, higher end kind of bespoke service. And that's ultimately, I think, what most people want if they go into this kind of world. That's better in every way except one. It's better because it's more money, it's longer term, it's sustainable and so on. So what's not good, the only problem is like, where do the customers come from?
Like where are the clients? Obviously, if it were easy, nobody would be doing $5 and $10 gigs on Fiverr. So you're gonna need to spend a lot of time marketing with this approach, at least in the beginning. And as part of that, reach out to everybody you know, reach out to people you don't know. Like you can try pitching professional podcasters or anybody with a podcast that's kind of up and coming.
Send cold emails. Most of them won't go anywhere, but maybe if you send 50 inquiries, one or two will get a response. It's possible, I hear stories like that all the time. Like you said, everyone has a podcast. So maybe someone needs help.
Then you can start with that person, you know, or those people and do a good job, charge more than the low rates typically found on Fiverr and build up from there. So I think those are kind of the two paths, which as I said, don't have to be exclusive necessarily. Michael, good luck. Let us know what happens. Listeners, if you have a question, sidehustleschool.com/questions.
We'll be featuring them throughout the year, along with updates from listeners as they launch their projects. Hey, whatever you're up to today, be sure to take some time for yourself, work toward a goal you believe in. Of course, come back tomorrow. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
