Podcast Playbook (Part 1): Should You Start a Podcast? The Brutal Truth About What It Really Takes

Podcast Playbook (Part 1): Should You Start a Podcast? The Brutal Truth About What It Really Takes

Kelly Kennedy: Welcome to episode 249 of the Business Development Podcast, and this is it guys celebrating joining the 1% of podcast club. We are launching our podcast playbook series. I've been asked over and over again, Kelly, teach us what you know about podcasting. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready, but it is time.

Today is the start of our multi-part podcast, playbook series where we are going to go over. Everything podcasting from Should you start or shouldn't you start to what tools of the trade you guys might need to show, planning, editing, you name it. I'm gonna teach you guys everything I know and today is part one.

Stick with us. You are not gonna wanna miss. This episode,

Intro: the Great Mark Cuban once said, business happens over years and years. Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal, and we couldn't agree more. This is the Business Development Podcast based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

In broadcasting to the world, you'll get expert business development advice, tips, and experiences, and you'll hear interviews with business owners. CEOs and business development reps. You'll get actionable advice on how to grow business. Brought to you by Capital Business Development Capital BD ca. Let's do it.

Welcome to the The Business Development Podcast, and now your expert host. Kelly Kennedy.

Kelly Kennedy: Hello. Welcome to episode 249 of the Business Development Podcast. Wow, guys. Wow. Honestly, it is unbelievable. If you want the word, the word is, it is absolutely unbelievable that we will be celebrating our 250th milestone episode this Sunday.

And, I couldn't have ever seen us coming this far. And, and as much as like, I wanna say, believe in yourself and have it all figured out, I'm not sure that the Kelly Kennedy, who started this show ever thought we would hit 100, let alone 250. And guys, we are actually recorded, guest recorded all the way to episode 340 at this point.

So we are really trucking along, we are paving the way. To be a long time, long term show and hopefully really carve out this niche and continue to carve out this niche in business development that we've managed to establish. Starting a podcast guys is a lot of work. It takes a lot of bravery. It is not an easy task.

And actually, as much as you're fighting your own skill levels, you're really fighting yourself. You're fighting your insecurities, you're fighting your ego, you're fighting your fears. Many of them are unfounded, but you're still fighting them, and it's been a long journey to get here, guys. It's been a really long journey, a long podcasting journey, a long business journey in a lot of ways.

You guys have been growing my business right alongside of me. You know, I've really been doing this hand in hand, this show alongside my entrepreneurship journey, which really gets showcased, I think, in my guest interviews, but. It's been a path and you guys have really been here right alongside me the whole way.

You know, I said from the very beginning, I would be transparent in this journey and I hope that I have really done that. I really do hope that you feel like you've you've been in the transparency that you've seen it, you've been growing it right alongside me. 'cause I really have been trying to do that from point go.

So in a lot of ways, we're learning together as much as I'm here teaching you business development. In a lot of ways we've been learning entrepreneurship together on this journey, and it's been really, really cool to have you, our fans, our rock stars, reaching out and kind of letting me know how this show has impacted you, but understand that it's impacted me too.

There's no way that I would be where I am at today had I not taken the leap and started this show. This show has catapulted, not just myself, but my own career, my business in ways that I could have never imagined. It's built community in ways that I could have never, ever imagined. And along the journey many, many, many times along the journey, people have reached out to me and there have been certain situations where I have helped other podcasts get started where I have essentially gone outta my way and said, these are the things I did. I actually have an email that I put together. Happy to share it with any of you guys, just stating the tools that I was using and the steps to take to launch your own podcast.

But I've always just done that for people that have essentially reached out and said, Hey. I know you've done this, you've had success in it. Would you help me? But many times along the way, people have asked, Kelly, would you consider doing a series, doing a podcast series on how to launch a podcast? What it all is?

What's all involved? How do you edit? What tools do you need? Should I or shouldn't I even start a podcast in the first place? And so, guys, this is it. Is it in honor of my 250th episode? We are going to be doing a multi-part series. I do not know how many parts it is just yet. I'm sure we will figure it out as we plan it a little deeper, but we will be doing a multi-part podcast, playbook series.

I am going to teach you guys. Everything I know. I hope to God that this becomes like the podcast building and establishing Bible for each of you. I will share everything that I have learned in the launch and growth of the Business Development Podcast, and I want you guys to promise me one thing. If you guys start down this path, don't give up.

Don't give up on yourself. Success is a journey. Podcasting is a journey, even two and a half years into my podcasting journey. This is still just the beginning. This is still just the beginning. There's a long way, long way to go. Podcasting is a long game. And so, you know, we're gonna be talking today about should you start a podcast?

Why might you want to start a podcast? Why might you not want to start a podcast? 'cause there's a lot of good reasons not to as well, by the way. But I think we gotta dive deep into that as part one of this series. But I'm hoping by the end of today, we're able to either give you the reasons why you might wanna start a podcast or see if you're ready to do so, or if by the end, maybe it's not quite the time, or maybe it never will be the time.

But I have to be brutally honest about the things that are great and the things that are not so great. And also keep in mind too, my experience in podcasting is very much related to business podcasting. Okay. That is really what I'm speaking to today. However, many of these things translate out into any podcast.

Remember today we're gonna might be talking about why you as a business owner, because that is my audience, primarily executives, business owners and professionals. But anybody listening to this, no matter what podcast you wanna start, you will be able to. Take everything I teach you in Podcast Playbook and apply it not just to your business podcast, but maybe your comedy podcast, maybe your entertainment podcast, maybe just whatever, your personal journaling podcast, okay?

A lot of it is gonna be relevant, but keep in mind that this first part, I'm really speaking to my professionals, my executives, my business owners, my founders. My people who want to make a professional impact in the world. That was me. So I think we have to talk about that specifically with regards to whether or not you want to start a podcast.

But keep in mind if you're already listening to this and you're like, Kelly, I know I wanna start a podcast, I wanna start, you know, a comedy show, or I wanna start an entertainment show, right? Like a horror podcast. Me too. I love you guys. Please make them, that's okay. You're going to still learn a lot in this podcast Playbook series.

Just maybe this first part is not as relevant for you, but when we start getting into tools, when we start getting into what what software you might need, how to edit what is a hosting platform, how does that all work? Monetization. These are all things that will still apply to every podcast on planet Earth.

But today's first part. Is going to be diving deeper into the business aspects of it. Okay. Guys, I have to just state this right now by hitting 250 episodes. The Business Development Podcast is officially part of the 1% of podcasts to ever reach that mark out of 4 million podcasts. The business development podcast is now in the 1%, and I absolutely owe.

A big portion of that to you, our incredible rockstar listenership. You guys have stuck with us from point go. Many of you are friends. Many of you have reached out and encouraged me along the way. And let me tell you, without hearing your stories, without knowing how this show was impacting you, without you reaching out, building connection, and supporting me along the way, this would've been impossible.

So. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for supporting me. Thank you so much for supporting my family, and thank you so much for supporting the Business Development podcast on this journey. I could not, could not, could not have done this without you. Our incredible rockstar listeners and our exceptional, exceptional expert guests.

Thank you so much. Okay. It is now my pleasure to announce the start of the podcast Playbook series. If you are a business owner, executive sales professional, or anyone who has dreamed of starting a podcast or show of your own, this series is for you. If podcasting is not your thing, no problem. I will be back to the business development podcast, you know and love in no time flat.

Okay? Stick with us. Give us a month or so and then come on back and you can tune in for the regular scheduled programming. Now you don't make it to 250 episodes of a podcast if you don't have a passion for it. In fact, I think my sheer, stubbornness and passion for business development and entrepreneurship turned into a passion for podcasting as well.

Guys, I'm reluctant. I told you guys when I first started the business development podcast way, way back. I bought all the equipment in November. I did not launch this show until February for like at least a month, a month and a half. All my podcasting equipment sat in the corner of my room and one night Shelby looked at me.

'cause we made this plan together. We were sitting in the Boston Pizza when I was writing my annual plans for 2023. And I remember clearly writing. I need to have some type of public facing image, whether that be YouTube, whether that be a podcast. I need to share my knowledge with the world and I need to be brave enough to do so.

That was written on my goals list guys for 2023, and I'd bought that equipment not long after that. A lot of equipment, very expensive, couple thousand dollars worth, and I sat it in the corner of my bedroom and I waited and I waited, and Shelby just looked at me one night and was like, Kelly.

Either go start your damn show or sell that equipment. 'cause we either need the money or we need the show. So go figure it out. So of course I went down that night, I set up all the equipment, and I recorded the trailer episode for the Business Development Podcast. And the rest is history guys. I've released two episodes a week ever since February 6th, 2023.

Now the truth is putting on a show for this long has been hard. It's been really hard guys, two and a half years. Two and a half years, I've never missed an episode. It was hard in the beginning and it is still hard today. There were days when I was sick, days when I was tired, days when I had a newborn, and days when water pipes exploded outside my house.

That was fun days that led into weekends. Many, many weekends. Work guys shows that got deleted accidentally. That was a nightmare, shows that the audio was destroyed because every once in a while your silly Microsoft computer will change the mic settings on you and blow your audio to pieces shows that did not record altogether.

I had days guys that I forgot to hit record, and I literally spoke for. 30 minutes, 40 minutes and recorded nothing. However, I would not trade this experience for anything. Becoming and being a podcaster has been and continues to be a highlight of my career and my life. Many of the people I know who have been monumental in my life have now come through the podcast.

The worldwide impact that I have been able to achieve could have only happened through a medium like a podcast. The Business development podcast guys is listened to in over 145 countries around the world. And at any given day, we are in the top 100 in typically seven to 10 different countries. It's incredible.

The choice to start a podcast is a deeply personal one, but the impact that you can make if you choose to do so can be absolutely life changing, not just for you, but for all the people you impact along the way around the world. So how powerful are podcasts in 2025? Podcast listenership and influence have actually never been stronger in 2025.

525 million people listen to podcasts around the world. Up from 460 million back when I started in 2023 in North America, 65% of people have listened to at least one podcast, and 42% of the entire population listens monthly. 42% of listeners in North America listen to a podcast at least once a month. The average listener subscribes to eight plus shows and listens to seven to nine episodes each week.

I am definitely one of those people. Podcasting is a trusted medium. Podcasts rank among the most trusted digital content. 55% of listeners say that they trust podcast hosts more than any other influencers or traditional ads. 60% say ads read by the hosts feel more genuine and less intrusive. How much time do we spend listening?

The average weekly listening time is seven plus hours a week, overtaking music streaming for the same age groups. People listen to podcasts more than they listen to music. It is incredible. 75% listen while doing other activities, driving, working out, commuting or chores. From the very beginning guys, I have been advocating for an audio podcast and my point back then was just as relevant today.

I listen to podcasts when I'm doing other things, when I'm working, when I'm mowing the lawn, when I'm doing chores around the house, I almost always listen to podcasts while I'm doing other things, while I'm going to sleep at night, while I'm commuting, wherever I'm going. That is the power of podcasts.

It's the ability to listen to them while doing other things, which is why I still think the video podcasts are a little bit crazy. Yes, we put out clips. Maybe one day I'll join the bandwagon. But I still don't think you guys need video podcasts. I think audio podcasts still hit real hard because that's how people listen to them.

How about monetization? Global podcast ad revenue in 2025 is projected to hit 5.5 + billion US dollars up from 2 billion in 2022. That is absolutely massive. It has com. It has doubled. Ad revenue from podcast has doubled more than doubled since 2022. That is incredible. Guys. Three years. 78% of listeners say that podcast ads have influenced their purchasing decisions at least once.

Can we say HelloFresh? Anyone? No. HelloFresh doesn't pay me, but I'm pretty sure we tried HelloFresh after hearing it a thousand times on podcasts. Podcasts have gone from hobby media to a serious, trusted channel. Rivaling, blogs, YouTube, and social media for influence. I can attest to that. How do podcasts support businesses in 2025?

Podcasts are a strategic asset for modern businesses. Both as a marketing tool and as internal thought leadership. I would also say external thought leadership. Podcasts are thought leadership, period. Here's how they deliver value. Number one, they build trust and authority. Hosting or guesting on a podcast positions your brand or you as an expert in your niche.

Long form conversations showcase authentic expertise that short social posts simply can't. It is very hard to fake being an expert over a long conversation. Guys, super, super easy in a minute or a minute and a half. Not so easy when you're putting out hour long shows or 40 minute long shows like this one.

Number two, they attract and nurture leads. Podcasts pull in a highly targeted audience. If your show solves a specific problem, listeners are warm leads. Remember, your listeners are probably coming to you for a solution. Well, there's a good chance that if you are providing the solution, you're also an expert in that field.

It's a win-win. Smart brands use podcasts to guide listeners down a funnel. An example might be free insights. Then join our newsletter and then sell a premium product or service. Number three, they create evergreen content. A single episode can be repurposed into blog posts, quotes for social media, audiograms, or even YouTube clips.

They can be used over and over again in different avenues. One of the things they also didn't talk about is potentially email blasts as well. People love getting educational content through email. It also boosts SEO and keeps driving organic traffic your way for years. Once that information is out there, guys, if it's evergreen, people will find it over and over and over again.

I've gotten, you know, messages on shows that I've released two years ago from people who are still thanking me for putting it out way back then. Evergreen content is powerful and businesses all have the ability to share that knowledge with the world. Number four, it builds partnerships. Inviting guests opens doors to collaborate with industry influencers, potential clients or partners.

It's a form of high trust networking. I've met so many incredible individuals who would move mountains to support me now. Through the podcast guys, it is incredible how many amazing people having a podcast can introduce you to. There's people that I would've never met from around the world. A good majority of the business for my coaching guys comes from the United States.

The reality is it is because of the podcast that my business has grown the way it has because people can find me from around the world and we provide evergreen content that is relevant around the world. Many B2B deals start with a podcast guest slot. I can't think of a better way, guys, to get an hour and a half of really getting to know somebody than interviewing them through a podcast.

If you can think of a better way, let me know. But to this day, it's one of the best ways for me to get to know people, and it's an incredible experience on both sides. Number five. It strengthens customer loyalty. Brands use podcasts to humanize their companies, their brands, and their teams. Share behind the scenes stories and keep existing customers engaged.

What better way to share with your customers who you are than by showing up week, over week, over week with yourself, your employees, your staff, and talking about your values, talking about what matters to you, and maybe even educating and inspiring the world. It's an incredible, incredible medium to engage with current past.

And future customers. It's also a low cost way to maintain a voice in your customer's day-to-day life. If you're providing value, they're gonna come back and they're going to remember you the next time they have a need. Number six, you can recruit and retain talent through your podcast shows about company culture or industry insights attract talent who resonate with your mission and values.

Many companies now run employee spotlights or internal knowledge share podcasts to both train and retain employees. I have used my podcast to train people both through coaching and as my employees. It is powerful if you're providing high value information. You can use it in a multitude of ways internally and externally.

In 2025, podcasts are more than entertainment. They are trust engines, sales magnets, and community builders all rolled up in one. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a B2B sales leader, or a brand manager, leveraging a podcast or being a frequent guest can massively amplify your authority and connect you with loyal pre-qualified audiences.

But is it for you? Let's go over when you should start a podcast and why you may not want to. First. The reasons to start one. Number one, you have something valuable and consistent to say you can offer unique insights, stories, or solutions your target audience can't easily find elsewhere.

You and your team can commit to a regular episode release schedule for at least six to 12 months. Okay? I really like to say that if you're an expert in a field, there's a good chance that you should start a podcast. At the end of the day, you have that knowledge. You have earned that knowledge. You've worked hard for that knowledge, and the future generations need that knowledge from you on a certain level.

If you are an expert at a certain level in any discipline. You do have a slight obligation. You know, I like to say a big obligation, but you at least have a slight obligation to share that knowledge with the world and help the next generation do it a little bit easier. Okay. Business development is a perfect example.

The big reason initially that I started the Business development podcast was because I remembered being 23-year-old Kelly and having nothing, having nothing on the field of business development, having to read sales books, marketing books, and yes, there were great ones. Yes, the like switch is still incredible.

Dale Carnegie's had to win friends and influence people. Still super relevant a hundred years later. But we needed more content specifically for business developers. And I am proud. I am proud. I think it's probably the biggest contribution I have ever made. Frankly, and being able to give back to a discipline, to a career that has given so much to me that I found so much passion in, has been incredible, and I hope to continue to do it for many, many years more.

Please. If you're an expert in something, consider giving back on a podcast or a video channel. Something along those lines is a great way to do so. Number two, your audience consumes audio content. If your target customers are busy professionals, commuters, fitness enthusiasts, or multitaskers, or heck, maybe they just mow the lawn on the weekend , me i listen to podcast mowing the lawn.

Audio is a great way to reach them when they can't read or watch video guys. Everybody is multitasking. Everybody is multitasking. Everybody's listening to podcasts for the most part. It is a great, great way to connect with your potential audience and give them something for free and build your value at the same time.

It's a win-win. Podcasts are a win-win for the listener and the podcaster. Number three, you want to build trust and authority. A podcast humanizes your brand. It makes people feel like they know you, which shortens the sales cycle and builds loyalty. It's incredible. I feel like I know every podcaster that I listen to, and it's so funny because I am a podcaster, like I totally get that.

Like I have no connection with those people. But at the same time, I listen to them almost every single day. And if not every day, at least every week. And when you listen to somebody every week for a year, two years, five years, 10 years. It builds connection. It really does. It really does. If my favorite podcasters talk about a product, I listen.

If my favorite podcasters have an opinion on something, I listen. I genuinely care about them. I genuinely care what they have to say. It's powerful, and all they did was put themselves out there week over week and provide something of value that I loved. That's it. That's the power of podcasting. That's the power of audio.

It is incredibly powerful, and even I as a podcaster, am susceptible to it. Number four, you can use it for multiple business goals. Podcasts double is lead magnets, networking tools via guests, employee brand building, and endless content repurposing for blogs and socials. Guys, you can cut up. Long scale podcasts into many, many, many clips, audiograms social media posts, quotes.

It is incredible how much you can do with a 30 minute cut of audio or a 30 minute cut of video. Number five, you want to expand your global reach and impact a podcast breaks geographical barriers, helping you influence people worldwide, build an international network and unlock opportunities you would never reach locally.

About 50% of my coaching students are not from Canada. Hear that again? About 50% of my coaching students, both one-on-one and in group, are not from Canada. Podcasts break barriers. Your knowledge is valuable, probably nearly everywhere. Think about it from that standpoint. Now, why you might not want to start a podcast. Now, listen.

Time commitment is large. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Successful podcasts require consistent output, weekly, biweekly, monthly, whatever you pick, and you have to release the episodes for months and most likely years Before you start to get an ROI, you will spend time on recording. Editing, publishing, show notes, guest booking and promotion.

And yes, it is a lot of time, and yes, you have to do all of those things. There is no shortcuts, guys. Podcasting takes time. Even this long into my podcasting journey, it probably took me at least an hour to an hour and a half to write the show plan for this episode. This one's a little more in detail. I had to really think about my journey and think about what was important.

It takes time and that still didn't include the recording, which is probably gonna take at least another 40 minutes. And then the edit, which is probably gonna take at least another hour. Past that, there's a lot involved. We're not even talking socials yet, we're not even talking, you know, show notes guest booking, things like that.

It's a lot easier now for me, especially on like the guest booking front. But in the beginning it was a lot of work and there was no shortcut for that success. I had to put in the time. I had to put in the effort. I had to learn the skills. If you are already stretched thin, a podcast can become just another half finished project that drains energy.

If you can't give 110% into producing your podcast, you probably shouldn't do it. And I really mean that, and I hate to say it 'cause I, I want everybody to start podcast, but you really have to commit to it. I say commit to like a hundred episodes before you even start, because you have to be in it for the long haul to see success, and you have to be willing to put in the time and effort to make it happen.

Two, building an audience is hard. Let me repeat that. Building an audience is hard. Thank you. I love you. If you're listening to this right now, I love you so much. I could not do this show without you, and it's because you come back week, over week, month over month, year over year. It's because you've told your friends and family.

It's because you found benefit here and you told people about it. That we are still here with 4 million podcasts out there. Standing out takes a strong niche, great content, an amazing listenership and active promotion. Many of your shows will only get 50 to 150 downloads per episode, especially in the business space.

Guys, remember, you are not marketing to everyone. You are marketing to a very select group of people. If you're creating business shows, it is very unlikely that you're gonna be competing with those comedy shows. The entertainment shows that get thousands and thousands and thousands of downloads. As a business show, you are gonna have to fight for every download you get, okay?

It will likely be far fewer downloads than you get on your blog posts or your social videos. But the important thing to remember with a podcast is that people stick with you for a half an hour to an hour, and maybe even up to an hour and a half, okay? You are not getting that on your blog posts, and you are not getting that on your social videos, right?

Most people are watching a minute, minute and a half, your social videos. People are hanging out with you in a podcast for sometimes up to an hour and a half, I've seen as high as two hours. Okay? That is the power of podcasting. It's what we call a captive audience. It's people who genuinely are listening, really listening and connecting to you.

So the smaller numbers are not bad when you consider the engagement that you are getting from your audience. You're not asking them for a minute. You're asking them for quite a bit of time. Without exceptional marketing, even amazing content can go unheard. I talk about this whenever I'm doing my business coaching and I'm talking about building marketing materials.

It doesn't matter how good your words are, how great your pitch is, if nobody reads it. A podcast is the same thing. You have to actively promote it somehow. To get people to listen to it. Yeah. Over time you get a lot of listeners and they start to promote the show for you. They start to tell their friends and family, and it starts to grow a little bit more organically, but at least in the beginning, you're going to have to work really damn hard to get people to listen and you know, take it from me.

I struggle to listen to new podcasts, right? I find what I like and I stick with it. That's what you are up against. And so clawing out in the beginning and finding those people, finding your audience. It's not easy, but it's incredible how that audience grows over time and how incredibly supportive they are.

Your audience really wants to listen to your show. They really appreciate you. That is, I think, hard, hard to find. And of course, that wouldn't come easy. You're gonna have to work for it. You're gonna have to show your audience why they should care about you, and that's gonna take time and that's gonna take dedication.

Number three, I said it before, ROI is slow. Podcasts, build trust and authority, but not instant sales. No, they don't actually, no sales if you don't sell anything, being the other side of it. It might take six to 12 months to see measurable returns in leads. And once again, guys, only if you are selling something.

Many of you are sharing information and not asking for anything. If you want to sell something through your podcast, you have to make your audience aware that you are selling something. I see so many brands building podcasts that never talk about what they do. Your listeners are not just going to search you out and try to buy your stuff.

You have to show them. You have something of value and that you wanna sell it in the first place. If you need a channel that drives immediate revenue, ads, webinars, or social media. Will outperform podcasts in the short term? No question. No question. If you need to sell something tomorrow, a podcast is not your Avenue podcast is a long-term play.

It's gonna take you probably six months to a year just to establish your show, prove to your audience that you're gonna show up for them week, over week, over week, over week. And maybe then they will be interested in supporting you, but it is going to take time. And so if your interest is strictly to sell your products.

Podcast probably isn't the best avenue for you. If your goal is to build thought leadership, help the world and maybe down the line, sell some products. Then you're on the right path. Number four, production costs are prohibitively expensive. While you can start with a laptop, Mike, good audio quality often needs a decent microphone and headphones, and that is probably going to run you anywhere between 300 and $500 for a starter set, a good starter set of mic and headphones.

Editing software or hiring an editor will cost you anywhere between about $40 and a thousand plus dollars a month to hire a professional editor to produce your show for you. Guys, the running rate when I got approached by an editor last was $400 per episode. Okay? I'm putting out like nine episodes a month.

It was not even an option on the table. You then have a hosting and promotional budget. Now hosting isn't actually all that expensive, typically, I would say somewhere around the neighborhood of about 400 bucks a year for your hosting platform. However, your advertising and promotion budgets can be, sky's the limit.

Guys, you can spend 500 bucks a month to 10 grand a month, two unlimited dollars a month if you have the budget for it. So. It can be very, very, very expensive to promote your show. Remember, DIY is possible for editing your show but it's time consuming and outsourcing saves time. But it's expensive. Not to mention if you produce your own show, which is actually what I advocate for.

I teach people to produce their own show because I think that is more valuable long term than hiring someone to do it. Not to mention you can produce more shows if you can produce your own show. However, it has a very steep learning curve. Producing a show takes a lot of time to get good at, right? I would say I didn't even, I was still learning how to produce my show at like episode 100.

Guys, like I'm still learning today. There's new tools and tricks and stuff that I do to get my audio right, so it's an ongoing journey when you are learning audio editing. However, if you are going to start a podcast. You should learn how to edit your own show in-house if you can. And number five, you need to enjoy it.

If you don't like speaking, interviewing, storytelling, podcasting can and will feel forced and will and feel extremely hard. Your tone and energy really matter. You have to show up week over week, month over month, year over year. You have to be excited. You have to want to be there. Okay. Tone is critical.

Energy is critical. Your listeners will be able to tell if you don't love it, if you don't like what you're doing and you are not into it. They can also tell when you love what you do, it's better to pick a format that you enjoy. So take it from this standpoint. If you would rather do YouTube, don't do a podcast, do YouTube if you prefer writing.

Do a blog. Do a blog, okay? It's going to be a better avenue for you. Write articles for LinkedIn, reach out to Forbes, whatever. Find an avenue that you love. I love talking to this microphone. I really do. I would do this for fun, actually. I probably will do it for fun at some point. If me and Shelby ever decide to do a fun show together, the next show I do, guys, I don't want it to be business.

Just gonna say that right now. Business is fun and it's something that I can speak to you really, really well. But my passion shows, the shows I love are like horror podcasts or comedy podcasts, right? So I would love to do something that's maybe a little bit more fun at some point. But I guess all I'm getting at here is that if you have a passion for something,

pursue that passion. Don't just do podcasting 'cause it feels like the hot thing right now that you should jump on board. Okay? Everything will have its hot thing moment, and you can make it big in anything as long as you are passionate about it. Okay? Find the thing you love to do. Find the thing you're good at.

Do that. But if speaking to a mic or talking is your thing, podcasting, you will absolutely love it. Remember guys, podcasting is powerful, but only if it aligns with your energy, audience habits, and long-term goals. If it doesn't, that's okay. You will get better results by like guesting on someone else's show, doing live video or short social clips, or writing high value blogs or newsletters.

Seriously, you will. Podcasting is an exceptional avenue for those that have a passion for it. It's not just a marketing tool, it's a creative outlet. That was one of the things that surprised me the most when I became a podcaster. Guys. I had no idea I was creative. Turns out I'm super creative. I love designing artwork.

I love doing posts and social media stuff. I'm getting better at video, struggling with that one a bit, but I'm getting better at it, right? I learned that I could do these things, that I could edit audio, that I could create cool things, that I create commercials. That's super fun. By the way, I love creating the commercials for the show.

There's just a lot of fun stuff that you learn by being a podcaster, by being a creative that adds so much value to your life that you just could have never figured out had you not taken the leap. Whether you're introverted or extroverted, analytical or visionary, podcasting can be an exceptional way to connect.

Express yourself and grow. Remember, you don't need to have it all figured out to start Sometimes the best way to discover your passion is to hit record. Alright, guys, that takes us to the end of today's show Next week, stay tuned for part two of Podcast Playbook, where we cover the tools of the trade and what you need to get started.

We're gonna go over all of the main tools that you need and explain them and help you pick maybe what you might need to get started. Last but not least, if you're enjoying this show, if you've been part of the Business Development podcast community for some time, you've probably heard of the Catalyst Club.

Okay. We are a month into the Catalyst Club right now, guys. We are sitting at 40 members in our first month of Catalyst Club. We have a weekly events inside the club, things from workshops to catalyst sessions where experts come and teach you something. Mindset, tricks, tools. We have two events. One is a Unplugged q and a, which is a live coaching session with me and some of the other mentors who will be there.

And we also have coffee with rock stars, coffee with rock stars. If you are hearing this on Wednesday, June 25th, coffee with Rock Stars is this Friday. It is incredible. Come in, hang with us, share your challenges, share your wins, and be supported. In a group of peers who understand what you are going through the Catalyst Club, you can find it @ www.kellykennedyofficial.com and you can join us guys for 29 Canadian dollars.

Three coffees. Guys, you're not going to get more value. Then the Catalyst Club for your 29 bucks. Trust me on that. I can't wait to see you inside. Once again, you can join the Catalyst Club or any of my upcoming coaching programs at www.kellykennedyofficial.com. Alright, shout outs this week. Gary Noseworthy, Tash Jefferies, Tony Gray.

Rudy Zacharias, Daveed Henriquez, Vijayan Swaminathan, Colin Harms, Colin Williamsen, Chloe Wu, Nate Simpson, Elise Victor, David Kravitz, and Adam Kimmel. Until next time, you've been listening to the Business Development Podcast and we will catch you on the flip side.

Outro: This has been the Business Development Podcast with Kelly Kennedy.

Kelly has 15 years in. Sales and business development experience within the Alberta oil and gas industry, and founded his own business development firm in 2020. His passion and his specialization is in customer relationship generation and business development. The show is brought to you by. Capital Business Development, your business development specialists.

For more, we invite you to the website @ www.capitalbd.ca. See you next time on the Business Development Podcast.