The Business of Meetings 19: Christy Haussler: How to Design the Life You Want with Podcasting
We have an amazing guest today! We’re excited to welcome Christy Haussler, from Team Podcast. Christy is the queen of podcasts, and she has a fascinating story to share. She has helped more than two hundred and fifty people create their podcasts over the last five years. She is exceptionally knowledgeable about how and why you should do a podcast, and about the results that you can expect from doing one.
In today’s show, Christy shares her story. She talks about how she pivoted from corporate America to having a business of her own, how she became an entrepreneur, the value of podcasting, and about moving from South Carolina to the Florida Keys with her wife to pursue her dream and start a brand new life.
How it all started
Christy has a teaching degree but she soon realized that she did not have the right temperament for teaching. And she also realized that she could make a lot more money in business than she would as a teacher. So she started working in call center management, where she was managing both in and outbound sales teams for several Fortune 500 companies.
After about sixteen years, and various changes, the call center was closed down and Christy found herself without a job and having to start all over again.
Lessons learned
One of the lessons that Christy learned is that there’s no security in corporate jobs. And often, people simply settle for whatever the corporations want them to do, out of necessity, even if it’s not in their best interest or the best interest of their families.
Some beauty in the madness
Christy eventually found another job managing a call center, but it was a two-hour drive from where she lived. So she had to drive for four hours each day, just to get to work and back.
There was good in that, however, in that it allowed Christy to listen to every single audiobook in the library. And when the audiobooks ran out, she started listening to podcasts. That was back in 2010-2011 when podcasts were starting to come out.
Podcasts presented a whole new world
When Christy realized that she could download podcasts using WiFi, and then listen to them later, she felt as if a whole new world had opened up for her.
Automobile university
While driving in her car, Christy started learning about business and marketing, and that brought something out of her that she never knew existed before.
Starting a podcast
Eventually, she started doing a podcast of her own, about local businesses all over the country. It was at a time when local businesses were not yet familiar with podcasts, so Christy modeled her podcast on what the “gurus” were doing at the time.
Pursuing a dream
After doing both her podcast and working at her full-time job for some time, Christy and her wife decided to start over again and relocate from South Carolina to a location where most people spend their vacation.
They decided to move to the Florida Keys and start their new life there. Christy left her corporate job and scared herself to death by cutting her income in half and almost tripling her living expenses in pursuit of her dream.
Getting out of your comfort zone
If you bravely go ahead with a plan and put yourself out there, you will see how the universe conspires for you, and things just fall into place. Some people call it luck but Christy sees it as a willingness to get out of her comfort zone.
Relocating and reinventing themselves
Christy and her wife relocated, and they started afresh. They have been working together in their business for the last three years now, and they’ve been able to achieve both lifestyle design and location independence.
Taking just one step at a time
Christy discovered that by taking one step at a time, without trying to look at the whole picture, things worked out. So she decided that if a door opened in front of her, she would commit to walking through it, and only then face the next step if it were to present itself.
And doors kept opening, and she kept walking through them.
New beginnings
Christy had no idea when she decided to take only one step at a time, that everything would work out quite as quickly as it did, and that within a year, she and her wife would have settled into their new life in the Florida Keys.
A simple way to move forward
Sometimes in business, everything that goes into a big project can be overwhelming. And you may feel that you’re not getting things done in the right way.
Christy explains that all you need to do is to look for the next thing that will move the needle for you and commit to doing just that. When it’s finished, check it off the list and go on to the next thing. And so on.
And before you know it, you will see that you’ve made considerable progress towards the project as a whole.
Golden handcuffs
Often, the things we think that we want to show our achievements, like a big house or a nice car, end up becoming golden handcuffs or a ball-and-chain when an opportunity arises for us to make a move towards something that will truly fulfill us.
Willingness is key
If you’re willing to give up something good, to achieve something better, you may even find in the end that you have lost nothing at all because the universe conspires for you when you’re willing to follow your heart.
Podcasts are a great marketing tool
Organic traffic is any free traffic to your website. And podcasts have been proven to provide the most organic traffic for any business.
Podcasting can turn a typical marketing experience into an educational experience because the podcast allows you the opportunity to create content specifically for your target audience.
Taking the first step
Getting going with a new project is more important than perfecting it. You will naturally refine things in time, so get going as soon as you can.
The best tool for marketing
Podcasting is the best tool for marketing. And it allows you to reach out to people you want to have on your show, or to those you’d ultimately like to have as a client.
Links and resources
Recommended book: Start Ugly by Chris Krimitsos
Christy’s Podcast Monetization Secrets Podcast
Join Christy’s Facebook Group - Podcast Monetization Secrets
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