As many people know, Podcast Motor is a full service podcast editing solution. We offer three solutions.
- Podcasting Essentials – We take care of the audio editing, music, intros, outros, and sound effects. Along with tagging the MP3 files, fine tuning custom audio, and show note production.
- Concierge Service – Everything above plus we handle all of the uploads, so you only have to worry about recording awesome content and we take care of the rest. We take care of the media host, website, artwork, tweetables, SEO, optimization, and analytics and reports.
- Complete Solution – Everything above plus other customizations like video services and editing of your Skype or in-person video recording and complete show transcripts.
What many people don’t know is how Podcast Motor began and the philosophy behind it. Today we pull back the curtain and go behind the scenes with how Podcast Motor began and the man behind the business. It all started with our Founder, Craig Hewitt who considers himself a husband and father first, an entrepreneur at heart, and builder of really useful things.
From Engineer to Entrepreneur
Craig has an engineering background, but was working in technical sales before leaving that position to run Podcast Motor full-time. Like many people in the podcast industry, Craig started out as a podcast listener. He has always been interested in business, technology, marketing, and learning which makes podcasts a perfect fit.
Podcasts, Ideas & Opportunities
Listening to podcasts can be a way to learn new things and fuel your dreams with new ideas while accomplishing everyday tasks. Even a busy working dad like Craig can find time to listen to podcasts. One of the first podcasts that Craig became a regular listener of was Smart Passive Income by Pat Flynn. This fueled his love of business and cemented his interest in podcasting.
Like a lot of people just starting out, he spent some time just being a “wantrapreneur” before he ever found a business that took off. Then he took the plunge and started the Rogue Startups podcast. This is a podcast about using your talents and intellect to follow your dreams by building a business of your own. He co-hosts the show with WordPress plugin developer Dave Rodenbaugh.
Craig’s Aha Moment
A funny thing happened when Craig became a podcaster. First off, he fell in love with podcasting.
Second, he discovered a need. As Craig started to produce and edit his own podcasts he discovered how much time and effort it took. He also realized that to do it well, it required a fair bit of technical knowledge. He discovered one of those “pain points” entrepreneurs and startup founders are always searching for.
Craig was also a fan of Dan Norris and The 7 Day Startup, so once he knew what he wanted to do, he ran with it. Podcast Motor was founded in a week, and had over a thousand dollars in revenue within two months.
Podcast Editing and Our First Customer
Craig landed his first customer in February of 2015 back when he was doing everything himself. Then he hired an audio engineer to help out with the podcast editing, and then hired our current Producer and Account Manager, Becky Boylstein, to help out with writing and everything in between.
We now have a team of writers, audio engineers, and other support people while Becky is the glue that holds everything together.
Podcast Motor is finishing its second year of operation and now has a team of 12 people. We partner on a regular basis with over 30 shows.
One thing Craig has found surprising about running Podcast Motor is the amount of high caliber shows we have been privileged to work with. Some of the shows we have worked with include:
As Podcast Motor continues to grow, we want to continue delivering value and giving our customers the valuable gift of time by taking most of the time consuming tasks of podcasting off of their plate. We don’t want to be another service, we want to be a full-service solution.
Some of the challenges we have encountered are with communication, meeting customer expectations, and managing time. We are constantly trying to improve our service and our interactions with our customers. From us delivering the exact product and content the customer wants to the customer giving us their raw product early enough for us to spend the time on it that it deserves. We are constantly evolving as team members, individuals, and as a company.
2017 and Beyond
For the new year and following years the Podcast Motor teams wants to continue serving our existing customers in a valuable way while increasing our quality, knowledge, and offerings. We also want to grow the business by offering the best service possible and growing other podcasting software options and solutions.
How to Stay Motivated Going Forward
When I asked Craig how he stays motivated he offered a couple of compelling reasons. Podcast Motor is now his full-time business, so he has a vested interest in it succeeding. He also is excited about development and software solutions and is adding new products to the Podcast Motor portfolio. The newest one being the popular WordPress podcasting plugin Seriously Simple Podcasting.
“This is my full time job now, so it’s a ton of fun to see the business mature and continue to grow and evolve.
This year we acquired a very successful WordPress plugin, called Seriously Simple Podcasting, which gives us a great platform through which, I believe, we can help many more customers than our services business allows for.
Of course, we will always be offering the podcast editing and production services to customers, but Seriously Simple Podcasting offers another avenue to help podcasters make their shows easier and better.” Craig Hewitt
It’s All About Focus
When I asked Craig about any advice for aspiring business owners he said it is all about focus. Straying off course will negatively affect the business, but staying focused on the core business is the path to moving forward.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned from running Podcast Motor, and I think it applies to almost every business, is that you have to remain true to who/what you are.
When you try to be everything to everyone then you in fact don’t really create good solutions for anyone.
When we’ve been very specific about what we do, and for whom we do it, we’ve had really great customer experiences. When we stray from that it is much less obvious what value we deliver.” Craig Hewitt
We hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the back story of Podcast Motor and our Founder, Craig Hewitt. We sincerely hope that all of our readers and customers have had a wonderful Holiday Season, and we wish you the very best for 2017 and the New Year!
If you have any comments or suggestions for topics you would like us to write about please let me know. Wishing you the best of the holidays and a wonderful upcoming year.
Leave a Reply