Welcome to another episode! I am so glad you’re here with me. Today I have an amazing guest on the show. It’s Kate Erickson, and we’re going to highlight the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur and what it really takes. I had the opportunity to meet with her in person a year and a half ago. We hung out at the Peurto Rico mastermind event. I enjoyed spending time getting to know her, and this was a great way to catch up again.
I actually had her on the podcast over three years ago but wanted to get her back on since so much has changed since then. She has started two of her own podcasts and eventually decided to stop recording both of them. I wanted to get to the bottom of why she stopped and hear what she learned during those opportunities.
Next, I asked her how she has felt in this journey of being an entrepreneur. I really wanted to take a dive deep into the ups and downs of it all. She was very open and honest and about the hard struggles, she has faced along the way and will share a lot about it with us today. She’ll also share some of her secrets of how she stays motivated. How she gets things done when it's not easy. Let’s get right to it and hear from Kate.
My First Podcast: Kate’s Take
I produced my podcast, Kate’s Take, for five years. It was such a great adventure, and I loved the podcast and my audience. I felt like what I was providing to my community was so different than what you’d get from other podcasts in the same niche. I was dedicated to providing a look at the raw behind-the-scenes look at what I was doing to run a seven-figure business.
Over the course of five years, I did a lot of seasons. I always relied heavily on my audience to help me come up with content, so I knew I was creating something they cared about. However, in 2019 something happened that changed the course of my podcast. When I asked for feedback, I didn’t get any replies on what additional content people wanted to see from me. I felt like it was time to move on and dive a little deeper. It just felt like the right time to move on to something new.
I had noticed over the years that people really struggled with time management, and that’s one of my favorite things to talk about. So, I decided to phase out Kate’s Take. I took five or six months off from producing my podcast since we had a lot going on. After that, I decided to start a new podcast from scratch.
My Transition to Ditch Busy
After some time off, I came up with Ditch Busy. I decided not to rebrand and just start from scratch. I really do love the idea of staying on the same feed. However, for me, I felt like I needed to start over with a clean slate. I was going off far enough from what I talked about in my old podcast that it felt right to start something new.
It had been a while since I had launched a podcast. So it was a great feeling to go through the entire process again. It was nice to practice what I preach every day. I also turned it into a case study that I shared with my students. It was a really cool experience, and I learned so much throughout the process.
I was able to get in the mindset of someone who was just starting out and really dive deep into what it took to make a podcast successful and reach my audience. However, I felt some pressure of making this new podcast successful, In the back of my mind. I enjoyed the journey overall
I ran Ditch Busy for exactly one year and ended up recording 104 episodes. The podcast was incredible, and it was so fulfilling. I had a lot of listeners from Kate’s Take join my new podcast because I cross prompted. I also had a lot of new people who found the podcast organically. Also, I recorded twice a week for a year, and I was doing real-time management lessons that I was dealing with and sharing how I got through it. It was an incredible journey.
At the end of the year, I felt very fulfilled by the journey I had taken with this new podcast. It was nice to show my community that no one is perfect and the importance of pivoting and adjusting. I found that at the end of the year, I was repeating myself. It got to the point where I felt it was a good stopping point. My plate was much fuller than I wanted it to be, so I was ready to stop Ditch Busy. I shut it down on December 31, 2020. I have no regrets about doing that.
The Simple 5-Step Process We Used To Generate $64,000 In 12 Months Working Part Time On Etsy.
Yes, Send Me The Roadmap!How I Stepped Outside My Comfort Zone
When I started Kate’s take, it was used as an exercise to help me get out of my comfort zone. I did so much behind the scenes. I needed help pushing myself. Next, I felt like a podcast was the way to do that. Through that experience, the number of things the podcast made possible that included things outside my comfort zone were amazing. I can’t even begin to count them all.
Back in the day, doing things behind the scenes projects was my guard, and I didn’t want to get outside of that. Networking used to make me incredibly uncomfortable, and I didn’t like being in a room full of strangers for more than a few minutes at a time. I learned so much from the podcast and putting myself out there.
When you’re podcasting, you’re putting your voice out there, but you’re still in your office by yourself. It was a big incremental step for me. I was able to prove to myself that I could do it and provided me with a stepping stone to other things.
The Struggles I’ve Faced in My Business
We’ve really stripped away a lot of things over the years. We’re laser-focused on the 80/20 rule right now. We only say yes to things that are helping us achieve our lifestyle goals, and we say no to everything else.
This also feeds into the team conversation. We realized in 2018 that we were building a business that didn’t align with what we wanted our business to look like. We were growing rapidly and had a lot going on. All of it was stacked on top of each other. We’ve always created and launched one thing at a time to keep things simple and easier to manage.
In 2018 we were looking for a CMO and CFO. However, in retrospect, we realized that would have changed our business, and thankfully it didn’t happen. It wasn’t the right fit or timing. It worked out for the best.
This flipped a switch for us. It made us look at what else we had done over the past year that had very subtly changed the direction of our business. We had multiple contract positions and others on retainer. At the time, we had four employees and six contractors that were very close to full-time.
We realized that we couldn’t rely on other people to get stuff done and move products forward. The business we were advancing wasn’t the business that we wanted to run. So we ended up stripping down to the basics. We took the top five things we want to focus on in our business and only spent our time on those things.
It’s a challenge at times to stay focused. There are a ton of things we could be doing, but it’s important to stay focused and remind yourself where you want to go. Every time you say yes to an opportunity, you’re changing your future.
Final Note From Scott
There you have it! I love being a podcaster. I love having great conversations and sharing them with all of you. I’m so happy that I can do this. I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. It’s a lot of fun, and I learn so much.
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Take-Aways From Today’s Episode
- My First Podcast: Kate’s Take (7:00)
- My Transition to Ditch Busy (10:29)
- How I Stepped Outside My Comfort Zone (18:35)
- The Struggles I’ve Faced in My Business (26:06)
Quote:
There are a ton of things we could be doing but it’s important to stay focused and remind yourself where you want to go. Every time you say yes to an opportunity you’re changing your future.
Helpful Links
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- Seven Day Content Creation Challenge: https://launchyourcontent.com
Scott Voelker
Over the years I’ve helped thousands of people TAKE ACTION to UNLOCK their true potential on building their ultimate freedom business, by developing the skills to make them resilient, confident and FUTURE PROOF. I’ve clocked my 10,000 hours over the years working in the trenches myself and helping others build and grow their brands. I know the power in TAKING ACTION better than anyone and I’ve seen people lives changed as a result of it...including my OWN!The Simple 5-Step Process We Used To Generate $64,000 In 12 Months Working Part Time On Etsy.
Yes, Send Me The Roadmap!