PPS3E17 Getting The Podcasting Band Back Together Again

Podcasting is often considered a solo venture though. The biggest podcasts tend to have teams behind their success with the bottom falling out of commercial real estate dedicated podcasting coworking spaces may be coming.

[00:00:20] hello, and welcome to another podcast. Pontifications with me, Evo, Tara. Now I've been long in the hammered with the coworking space ideas specifically to podcasting. I built the very first podcasting studio in a coworking space in Phoenix, at a company called gangplank, a coworking space called gangplank backend.

[00:00:42] I want to say 2006. Yeah. Bought all the equipment, put it in. And we rented as a community space. I ran a real, a coworking space incubator slash accelerator. I'll explain those terms in just a moment, um, of my own back in 2014, with the intent of doing some podcasting out of there that never really materialized.

[00:01:03] And then when I was living in Bangkok, I was meeting with several different coworking spaces talking specifically about putting podcast studios in those spaces, which also didn't happen. And I now back in Phoenix, So I like the idea of coworking spaces and podcasting, and I need to recognize the fact that this is being recorded in August of 2020.

[00:01:25] And there's this global pandemic happening that is anathema to collectively getting together again. And I understand that. Not saying we're going to go back to the way things were, but still did I mention that glut of commercial real estate out there? I mean, it might get really inexpensive comparatively speaking to rent some space somewhere.

[00:01:53] And maybe with that comes a reimagining, if you will, of what we would do with a shared space in the podcasting world. If podcasters got together to share space is actual physical spaces. You know, assuming we can do that sometime soon. Good news is it takes a while to get these plans in motion. So. Not happening today.

[00:02:15] I've been thinking about a few different ways that we might do that we might build a coworking space for podcasting. One just might be a straight co podcasting space, just like coworking spaces where there's not a lot of extra things. I mean, really the, the reason you would do this as it would be a, it would be a place to podcast who would be a place you could go to.

[00:02:42] Instead of your home or your closet or whatever you're doing. And from who to places where you could go and do all of the podcasting things, or maybe if you're like me, maybe it's a place where you go run a podcasting business. In fact, maybe that's even better for this straight coworking space. It's less about the act of podcasting as in sitting behind a microphone and or futsing with the dog all day.

[00:03:06] Maybe it's a place where you run your collective podcasting business, maybe. Could be something like that. It could be ran as more of a, a collective let's say where like-minded podcasters get together and provide complimentary services to one another. This kind of happens right now in the virtual world.

[00:03:32] A lot of the quote networks unquote, are really more collectives. Some of them didn't have the name collective right there in their name. Hi, Bella. Thinking about group edits, thinking about the kumbaya is thinking about lifting all boats. That's an interesting idea. And having a physical space where you could do that could be interesting.

[00:03:55] Could be interesting. Give it a major Metro area. Like we are here in Phoenix that might work out. You could run them as a, an incubator. The classic startup incubator, if you will, but for podcasts, let's see if this podcast idea of yours has legs or not. So we'll put it in this incubator so we can literally incubate it, try to see if it can get off of the ground incubators.

[00:04:23] And specifically incubators in podcasting would need to give some things it needs to give time and expertise and the people that go along with that. Cause some ideas that go into an incubator yes. That ideas they need. So now, and experience to actually make them work. Yeah. And also resources, most incubators out there.

[00:04:46] I won't say all, but most incubators I'm aware of all running a nonprofit model or getting an endowment from universities or big organizations, but. Still, I like the idea of an incubator. There are a few podcasts incubators, again, happening in the, in the virtual world, as well as some of the real, the real world as well, to see if they can move.

[00:05:07] You could also run it as a, as a, as an accelerator. Accelerators and incubators are often conflated, but the difference is the accelerators usually, already have. Businesses in them that have proven that they are a business now as the time to make them grow really big. What's that mean in the podcasting space yet?

[00:05:27] It's a really good question. But if we were to run things like a podcast accelerator, and I don't mean the podcast accelerator high Mark, I mean, as a physical podcast accelerator, you know, there'd be a cohort, there'd be some set curriculum that, that cohort of. Podcasts almost said businesses are people, but they're really podcasts would go through.

[00:05:50] And typically in an, in an accelerator world, the whoever runs the accelerator is also donating some of their resources that it's not a donation. They're actually providing all of those things in exchange for ownership, stake in the podcast. So, but the nice thing about having an accelerator. Is that if you get the right people involved with the accelerator, not, not the companies, not the podcasts running through it, but the right advisory board, the right people on the outside throwing services at this to really make it grow, you've got the right people, then it works great.

[00:06:28] But if you don't have the right people, not so much, you know, I think there's a lot of challenge was when it comes to running. Um, A podcast, coworking space, any sort of coworking space, really, again, I'm enamored by the idea of it, but the reality is oftentimes a lot less glamorous. I mean, at the end of the day, you really have to do something that people either can't get or would pay too much to get like the whole reason that.

[00:06:58] Coworking spaces exist other than the fact that people are stir crazy and want to get out of the house. I totally get that, but it still has to be both cheaper and more convenient. Not, not either, or it has to be cheaper and more convenient that than doing your thing at home. So when a podcast coworking space that those two pressures apply, it has to be cheaper.

[00:07:23] And I guess if you already have a bunch of microphones and equipment all set up and that lowers the cost, but it also has to be a lot more convenient. And right now that convenience of me sitting at home, talking to you is pretty darn high. How, what could I get more convenient somewhere else? Well, all those shared services that I mentioned, I think is a, is a big part of that.

[00:07:46] Maybe there's things I could do at a studio. At a shared coworking space for podcasting. I can't really do here. I mean, I've done just looking around the room, I'm going to do some estimates around five grand worth of equipment invested in my podcasting setup. So I'm kind of set, but a lot of people who are just starting out, haven't done that yet.

[00:08:05] And so for them to, it could be both cheaper and more convenient. Then being in, of course, you still have to, if you're thinking about opening a podcasting coworking space, and I'm thinking about it clearly, I'm thinking through it with you here on the program today, it's got to stay in business. Somehow it has to make money.

[00:08:24] I haven't quite figured that part out yet, but I do like the idea. I do like the idea of getting the podcasting band back together. Again. Now we also like the idea of you going to buy me a coffee.com coworking spaces have great coffee, or they should have great coffee. I have stopped going to coworking spaces because they don't have great coffee.

[00:08:47] Speaking of coffee, you can go to buy me a coffee.com/evo Terra, and buy me a virtual coffee to keep this program and my efforts. Going in fact, you can even sign up for a membership plan, handful of members, very inexpensive, and I'm putting it together. There's some special perks just for members. And if all else fails, please find me one more podcast or in your life who needs to know about podcast pontifications and send them a personal recommendation.

[00:09:16] Yeah, fire off an email to them saying you should be listening to this show. I love it. You should too, please. I appreciate it. It really helps the show grow. That's it I'll be back tomorrow with yet another podcast. Pontifications cheers. .

‍