Who Podcasting is Really For And Who It Isn't (Vince Quinn​​​​​​​)
 

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You are now listening to leverage for growth.

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Hey, everybody, this is Jesse Gilmore, founder of Niche and Control and creator of leverage for growth. Welcome to the agency Leverage Edition. Today, I am here with Vince Quinn, the co-founder and creative director of SBX productions, a podcast agency helping businesses create connection, visibility and authority through well-crafted, strategy led shows that elevate their brand. Vince. His path into entrepreneurship started in radio and media, where he spent nearly a decade behind the mic and in production.

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Over time, he transitioned into branded content and podcast strategy, helping coaches, consultants and creative service providers turn their ideas into shows that drive visibility, authority, and revenue. Today, Vince will share with Link Building, the creative agency from scratch how he's navigating entrepreneurship and what he's learning as he grows into a go to partner for branded content. Vince, welcome to the show, Jesse.

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I'm happy to be here, man. This is great. Awesome, man. So let's let's bring us back a little bit to the beginning of SB productions. What led towards the idea of starting the agency in the first place? Yeah, yeah. So there's two different things. One is corporate radio was a nightmare. It was dying industry. And as a young guy, I didn't want to die in it.

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So I was like, okay, I need to find some way out of here and what am I going to do? And I ended up getting connected with a different podcast production company, which at the time, I mean, this is 2020. They were a physical location. They were built for entertainment shows, and they needed people with credibility in the space.

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So I got involved with them and I really got my feet wet of like, okay, there's something I could do outside of radio, and there's a way that I can really build a business in podcasting. There's an industry that's growing here that I can jump into, and after about a year of that, being at that studio, what I realized was basically entertainment shows were a nightmare to build from the ground up.

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And it's not like a sustainable model when you're doing it grassroots with people that don't have a business behind them, don't have a budget, all these different things. I mean, I literally described it to my business partners at the time that I was working with. I was like, look, we are taking home goldfish from the carnival. And every night they die.

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And like, it's just you just can't live that way, right? So it was like, all this work to build these shows and get the feeds and the titles and the trailers and everything, and it was just such a waste of time. So I was like, okay, there needs to be a better way to do this. I'm getting out of here and SPX was born.

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Oh beautiful. You see it in the market that you could do something much better than what was going on. Awesome man. And then when you think about, going from radio and creative background, what was kind of like the biggest, adjustment he had to make and going from maybe an employee to more of owning your own thing.

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Oh, my God, I knew nothing. I was I was so just ignorant to everything that went into running a business. I had no idea. I mean, the first moment where really hit me, I was, building my company email. So I had an email with the account, and I went to make the signature for the email, and I was like, oh my God, you literally have to do everything.

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And it was just like, it was just such a funny moment. But because it was so real and like that, I really I when it came to budgeting and, just basic principles of marketing and sales and what kind of person I was going to be in that space. I mean, I had no idea about any of it.

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I just knew that I worked really hard. I was willing to work hard. I knew podcasting because I had been podcasting while I was on the radio. Podcasting was literally why I got on the radio, because I was doing a show to get better nose thing to get on the air. So I'm like, okay, I've got all these skills, but I don't know anything about business.

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And so I had to do, I just had to live in, you know, the location that I was working in, talking to the people that I was working with, reading books, getting into podcasts, just like I had to become such a student. And it's because I just knew nothing like Less than zero. So it was it was a lot like night and day is an understatement to both night and day.

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I love it. I can totally tell by your answers that you've been in radio and and there's a great sense, but, awesome, man. Yeah, being a student is really key. What were some of those like, if you can think about the maybe the first year in business and some of those main things that you had to learn, aside from the email signature and what were some of the things that kind of like stood out to you as being those foundational elements that you've kind of built a lot of stuff on?

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Yeah. So part of it has been cutting things down just on a base level. Right. Like we because being in podcasting, what happened was we started to have scope creep like crazy where it was, oh, well, you guys are podcast guys. Could you come out and like, shoot something for socials and edit that video? And it's like, yeah, sure, we can do that.

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We can run your Instagram account like we'll do all these different things. And we were just I was driving to locations for like an hour. I would get in my car and drive an hour to go to these different businesses and just like, take pictures. And I'm not really a photographer. I can do it, but I'm not a professional there.

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It was just so it was those kinds of things and realizing that, oh, this is running me ragged. I'm completely losing my mind. Realizing that you have to invest in the different kinds of software and processes that go into these different branches of content creation. So that was a big part of it. And just understanding that, yeah, like podcasting is my home.

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You know, if that was the one thing that as I was dealing with all of these other spots of video and like traveling around and, and website building and all these different things, it was just like, these are not my areas of expertise. Frankly, I don't want to be an expert in these things. I don't feel right selling these things to people to some degree, because it's it's just like, I'm going to do everything I can to make it as good as possible.

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But the time invested and all, I just I don't like any of this. And so I've just got to be true to who I am and what my skill set is. And that was the only thing I could do is just focus on how can I make podcasts as good as they can be. That's a huge turning point for a lot of founders where they take on whatever work comes their way and then they get to a place where like actually a lot of this is either not profitable, not fulfilling, not aligned with my core competence.

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And then one of the hardest parts is actually saying no to clients when, when they do that. And can you, think about, like, maybe somebody that's listening right now might be in that place where they're doing all of the things? And, what advice would you give them? Just, like deciding to either stay in your lane or be able to focus on something that's more fulfilling as opposed to whatever the client asks?

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Yeah. I mean, you get to think about what the end goal is, right? Like, what do you really want? And for me, it's it's freedom. I want freedom of my time. I want to have flexibility in my schedule. I don't want to have to work nights. I don't want to have to work weekends. That was my entire radio career.

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That's all I did. I burned out completely, like, thoroughly, horrifically burned out. And I just decided I'm never going to do that again. And I had to start being very intentional about what I was doing and why I was doing it, so I wouldn't waste all of that time and and on some level, people don't appreciate the sophistication of the work.

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You're you're not you're not charging people for what that sophistication is. You know, I would make trailers for people for these shows, and they're super developed with all the layers of sound effects and have three different layers of ambiance, and I'm fading them in and out and like, super tight cuts between the sound bites and the sound effects and like it was professional commercial grade radio production going into these trailers for podcasts that lasted for three episodes with three downloads.

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And it's like, it's not worth it, it's not worth it. And to be able to start to think about not just how much better things have been, because I haven't obsessed about those things, but how much better I've gotten and more confident I've been in running a business individually because I've decided I'm going to master the things of running a business that need to be done.

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I'm going to understand, like the ins and outs of how we're going to be generating leads and what our processes for marketing and how we're going to streamline some of that stuff, and how can we be our own client and be better as a business by reflecting on ourselves and how it's working for us? Like it's just everything's better.

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Like, I'm I'm a better person today than I was before. I'm a better business owner than I was before. But on some level, honestly, like, I'm a better husband than I was before. And and it's because I've been willing to remove myself from that stuff and also just to kind of accept the idea that there's always more work to do.

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Like, I don't know if you're a Seinfeld guy, but there's that classic episode with Newman where he's just like the mail never stops coming, and it's like, that's it's the truth. The mail is always coming. There's always more work to do. Your business will always need something. And like just getting comfortable with the idea of yes, there is more to do.

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There is a project I want to get my hands on, but it's just going to have to wait till Monday or whatever is like, it's the best thing that's ever happened. Honestly, it's such a relief. Yeah that's that's awesome. I love the fact that in saying no to unfit clients or unfit services, I actually gave you the time, freedom and the ability on a personal level to grow or show up the way that you want to.

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It's crazy. And in the entrepreneurship world, how important it actually is, personal growth and you becoming a better version of yourself and then the business growing and that kind of fulfillment. You're talking about. Yeah, it's it's life changing. I mean, and it's all the perspective of it. Right? I used to put the value in like, okay, how how great I can expertly crafted that, you know, through my audio skills, these masterful things and like it, it's commerce.

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You know what I mean? On some level, it's like it's it's it's art, but it's commerce. And like, you need to be able to do this reliably. And ultimately I will need other people to do it. So when the vision is other people are going to do this work anyway, then why am I driving myself crazy doing the work like I've gotta I've got to be in position to get other people to do it.

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So yeah, that was one of those things that I was, I was starting to like hint at a little bit. And honestly, the thing that really helped solidify it and I made major changes is I was reading your book, so, yeah, I was it not only was I reading your book, Jesse Gilmore, I was reading your book on my honeymoon.

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I was reading your book, and it solidified everything that I had been feeling about time management specifically. And just like belief in myself individually within the business, it was everything I needed. There was some awesome timing there. And, and, I know you're the first person that has ever talked about, attributing my book as being such an impact on a honeymoon, and that's like, so very cool.

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Yeah. And I think we've kind of. So this is really interesting. So we've kind of talked about mindset shifts and kind of like the roles and stuff like that. But what do you think is actually the been the biggest mindset shift for you personally since becoming a business owner or since kind of, evolving as a business owner?

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Man. That's that's an interesting one. The mindset shift. And I think part of it is understanding just everything beyond myself, like, because for me and this, this was a major problem within radio was I was always looking for that opportunity to partner with somebody. And essentially it would take this team dynamic to like, truly ride the wave.

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Right. Like I was I was so good on my own. But I was the sidekick is kind of how I viewed myself. And I didn't have it, so I didn't have that confidence. I didn't have that belief that I could be the person that could truly run the business and be a CEO. Even the idea, if you look at my LinkedIn like, as we're recording this right now, it doesn't say CEO, it's, it's going to but I was resistant to that idea and and it was because I always saw business people as, like, this formal, rigid, miserable thing that I never wanted to be.

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I was always this goofy idiot that was watching The Simpsons every day and doing stand up comedy and working in sports radio. And like I just never wanted to be that buttoned up, overly formal, like, whatever, you know, stereotypes of an executive. I just didn't want to be that. And so to embrace the idea that, no, I can be an executive and I can be myself while being an executive and, I can be the person that is supporting people rather than the guy that needs support.

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It's it's yeah, it's a massive it's flipping everything inside out essentially. And it's a major change. That's huge. It's interesting that there was like an identity around what it meant to be like an executive. And then there was like a resistance of actually doing it. And then now that you're leaning into it you realize that you can actually just be yourself.

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And the cool thing is, is because you built a brand around helping others share your voice, you actually start sharing your voice and more in the process. When you embrace the fact that you can be yourself as opposed to some rigid version of you. Yeah, it's it's such a relief, you know, and before it was tough to because I was doing corporate radio.

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And so with that, you have a lot of limitations. You have FCC things, and your bosses are going to tell you certain stuff, like I and sometimes it was dumb stuff, man. Like I got yelled at once, okay, this is this is funny. I was on it was the Friday after Thanksgiving. I'm on CBS Sports Radio and I decide because it's 5:00 am in the morning.

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Okay, I decide I'm going to talk about pardon turkeys. Like, where do they come from? Who chooses the turkey? Are they all in the same farm? Like is it it. Can you can you eat a part in Turkey at any point? Like they just say. Oh, they say forever. Is it just for the year? Like, I don't know, it was just this.

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Just such a stupid thing. But callers loved it. Phone lines blow up at 5 a.m., right? And I'm like, this has been great. And we're having all these laughs and it's fun. And then like three hours later I get a call from management. The like, yeah, you know, you spent too much time on the part of turkeys. It's like then I'm just like, it's the Friday after Thanksgiving.

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Who cares? Nothing's going on. So like, I hated all of that. And on some level it was limiting, right? It was always like, I have to worry about these other people and their perceptions. And now to say, no, I am the business person. I can be myself and be authentic and at the same time know my stuff and communicate that.

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Like finding that balance of the education and entertainment essentially is is really what I've been looking for and getting closer towards. And and that's been the joy of it, is being able to actually bring those things together and, and do that without any concern because I'm the boss, I'll say whatever the hell I want, you know? It's, there's very specific reasons and why, like, levers for growth and what we do and why I focus on founders.

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Because, of that freedom aspect, you can you can choose the, the life and the business that you want and be able to move in that which, you don't have that same kind of freedom when you're, an employee. And so it kind of leads towards my next question, which is what advice would you have for either creatives or storytellers that, might be thinking about turning a craft into a business?

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Yeah. So it's funny because one is and this is kind of a conversation that we'll be getting into in depth as I'm going through your program, honestly, is like the ways to package and sell and think about what you do and what the value of it truly is. Because with podcasting, it was always time my brain in the knots because a podcast can do anything.

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I mean, it's it's literally like it is a business vehicle. It's an entertainment vehicle. It can be internal, it can be external. There's so many different reasons to have a podcast. And, it can tie your brain in knots trying to figure them all out. So like, on that business side. Yeah. Trying to be clear about what value generally want to provide people and where are they seeing that return?

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I would say when you're making a business, that's going to be something you definitely want to consider. And also to the idea of, you know, what is that thing in the creative side that you want to be known for, like we talked about a little bit earlier, I mean, I was drifting into social media. I could do that.

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Well enough. Like I could have continued to get paid for that. I was, on location at times at live events, and I would film things as they were happening and edit those reels and post them as live stories, as an event was going on to drive ticket sales to that event. Like it was an interesting thing, but that's not where I want to be.

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I didn't have the most joy in that. And and when you talk to people, I think creatives tend to get in this loop all the time where they they want to say that they offer all the services. Hey, if you need video, if you need audio, if you need pictures, if you need whatever, I can do all those things.

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And when I've had conversations with people like that, I do forget about them or I don't have the reason to go and call them back because I don't know what they're a specialist in. Right? So like, yeah, decide what kind of specialist you want to be. It's nice to have those other things in your back pocket, I guess, like if you need, you know, you need to work gigs or whatever, but, when you're trying to build the business, it's.

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You got to be specific. It's everything. That's huge. Even just a reflection on people that have positioned themselves that way to you, you don't even remember them as that is a very interesting and really a good lesson for the creatives. What about an, like an agency owner? So, if you think of people that might be like maybe 1 or 2 steps behind you as opposed to, like, you know, I'm not even starting yet.

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What are some of those lessons that you've learned on your journey that would save them either time, energy, or money? Yeah. Let's see. Time energy or money? I mean, part of it is get people don't drag elephants. Okay. And what I mean by that is, if you've to really convince somebody to be your client, they're not a good kind.

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Like, that's not going to work out well for you. And, and I say that because that's what it felt like so early. It was I had all this enthusiasm. People understood that I understood podcasting. So I convinced them, hey, I'm going to work really hard, and I think this can work for you. And here's all these reasons that it can work for you.

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And they would skeptically sign on. And so now I've got to constantly prove to them that the service is even worth have it. And and what a nightmare that was, because the clients don't appreciate anything that gets done. They don't really understand why any of it's happening, or the amount of work that goes into making it happening, or really how they can seize on the value of it happening.

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So, yeah, I mean, it just happened so many times early and, and these could be big projects or small projects. I mean, I did a one off video shoot for somebody, and it was a nightmare because it was just they wanted like five rounds of revisions and they had all these different things, like they tried to become the director of the video and all this different.

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And it was like, I don't even know why I did this. I hate everything about it, and I'm never going to do this again. So, yeah, if you need to convince people to do things, then you're probably better off not convincing them. That's a huge one. Awesome. So a lot of our conversation so far has been based around the past and kind of leading up to where we are right now.

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So when I started looking at, the future of SBX productions and kind of life and what gets you excited and for success or, accomplishment over the next 1 or 3 years, in your life, in business. Yeah. I mean, the opportunity to connect podcast with high powered business and full intention is like so exciting.

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I mean, you think about all these different businesses. And one of the things that I've had the luxury of, and it's how we connected is like hosting a podcast called Future Fuzz, where I get to talk to all the cosmos. It's all these different kinds of businesses, but understanding marketing in and out, what are the things that they truly care about?

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What are their processes for doing that? You know, things related to demand gen and customer track, customer life cycles within the pipeline. So there's so many cool ways that a podcast can be tied to that. And do all of those things reliably for people is everybody is like swimming in all of that. You know, everybody's got to do more with less is the way of the world now.

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So to be able to have a system that can really simplify a lot of things in the marketing process and have a direct value in terms of the returns that you're getting or the kinds of clients that you can bring in. Like, man, I mean, the opportunity is tremendous. I think people have been unfortunately sold a bad bill of goods for podcasting for quite some time.

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And so the opportunity to connect with people who do get it, do see the vision have not been burned and are willing to truly just take advantage of the opportunity. I mean, yeah, I know what some of these shows are going to be as I get the right partnerships here and it's going to be an absolute joy. So I, I'm pumped.

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I'm awesome man. And with SB productions, who is kind of like your ideal, ideal client. So someone's listening to this and they're saying, am I am I right for SBX? What would you say? Yeah, I would say if you're a mid-sized business, you've got a understood customer. So you know exactly who is buying from. You've got consistency there, you've got a sales process, and now you're looking for ways to accelerate all of that, having content to support it and having new ways to connect with enterprise clients.

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For example, how can you get these high ticket deals through personal conversations and being very intentional about all of that? That's what a podcast can do. So when you're those kinds of businesses selling high ticket B2B, podcasting is a beautiful place to be. If you're a coach, consultant, real estate, somebody who is the business and you're just bogged down with marketing.

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But again, you know how to sell. You are an expert. You just don't have time to get all these posts up and stuff. Like that's what a podcast is for. It can simplify everything. Put it in a very easy to manage system for you and get you the connections that you want and the content that you need. So there's a lot of opportunity there.

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And then last thing is organizations, because organizations you're building community, you want retention. And what better way to do that than by directly talking to the people that are your membership. That's what a podcast can do. So those are the kinds of people that we really see the best value for. But again, I mean, just podcasts do anything, man.

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And if I didn't have my podcast, I'd be like, let's call Vince here. But yeah, what I guess what is the what is the best? So if, anybody that's listening is in one of those three different groups, what's the best way for people to get in touch with you? And yeah, free podcast help.com. So free podcast help.com gets a free 30 minute call with me.

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We talk directly I want to understand what your problems are. Solve a problem for you right then and there. That is the goal. And make sure that your show is on the right track strategically for that big picture. Return that you're looking for. So go to free podcast Telecom. Awesome. And for anybody that wants to connect with Vince, I'm going to leave links to connect with him and SBC's productions in the show notes.

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And Vince, awesome conversation. It's great talking to you, and we'll have to do it again sometime soon. Yeah. Jesse, thanks for having me, man. It's been a blast.