Wauwatosa podcast company teaches people how to start out, increase podcasts
Elzie Flenard normally understood he wanted to operate his personal company.
He began to approach for it at age 16. But he also understood he required to get married and get started a family 1st.
“I figured that in purchase to do that, I must in all probability have some cash flow,” Flenard reported.
So he made a decision he necessary to go to faculty, get a position, have children, start off operating on his idea and then finally transition above to proudly owning his own company.
That was often the system.
Now, at age 39, he’s recognized as “the mayor” of Podcast City, a entire-services podcast company that teaches others how to start and improve their podcast model.
Flenard began Company NOW!, a radio exhibit turned podcast, in 2016. He’s supporting other folks do the very same with Podcast City, which he started in Wauwatosa in June 2020.
His podcast has been downloaded in extra than 20 nations. And he’s assisting hundreds of persons get off the ground with their individual.
“You can be like myself, a minimal boy from a small, little, small city, and your voice can be listened to actually all above the planet,” stated Flenard, who grew up in Mounds, Illinois. He explained there is 1 grocery retail store and gasoline station. No stoplights.
Then to now
Flenard went to university for engineering at Southern Illinois University. Following graduation, he moved to the Milwaukee spot for an engineering position in 2006.
In the past few many years, Flenard termed himself a “night time entrepreneur.” He’d go to his working day job, then come home and target on commencing his have enterprise, commencing with an audio advertising company Business NOW! in 2016.
Flenard, who’s an accredited modest organization expert, would coach and teach business enterprise entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs on how to use podcasts for their business enterprise.
He also generated and edited his possess podcast, which went by the exact same name, and put it out on line. In his podcast, he’d converse to small business owners and business people whom he wanted to find out from.
“I figured the finest way to do that would be to start out a clearly show and phone them up, and ask them if they’d want to be on the demonstrate, and fundamentally decide their brains,” he explained.
He’s produced much more than 150 episodes so much.
His first intention was to get as numerous enterprise-oriented converse shows on one on the internet station as he could.
But then he discovered podcasts.
“I fell in like with them mainly because I can listen to what I want to pay attention to, how I want to hear to it, when I want to listen to it? I am in like,” he claimed.
In November 2019, he stop his six-figure whole-time task and began to aim all of his initiatives on the podcast corporation.
Flenard stated his spouse and he both had the day off get the job done when he made the decision to inform her the news.
They sat down at the table for breakfast.
“I mentioned, ‘there’s some thing I want to talk to you about,'” he stated.
His wife is familiar with him well.
“She just reported, ‘show me the plan,'” he explained.
In June 2020, he begun Podcast City.
The plan
Podcast Town is based out of Serendipity Labs at the Mayfair Assortment in Wauwatosa. Flenard helps his shoppers and users in a selection of approaches.
Flenard claimed lots of folks never know how to get off the floor with their podcasts. So Flenard has created it his objective to assistance with their launches, and in the long run to support them change listeners into paying clients.
There are about 130 associates of the Podcast City local community. Associates are acknowledged into the community at no cost and can article videos, talk to questions and make polls. They also have discounted entry to state-of-the-art recording studios, the two in individual and virtual.
Flenard coaches podcasters on targeting and achieving an audience. He also hosts weekly meetings centered on greatest practices in the subject.
Practically all of the podcasts Flenard assists with are business enterprise related, as most of his clients are business owners.
Flenard claimed a podcast is normally a supplement to their enterprise.
“They are running their business enterprise, and the podcast is a advertising and marketing tool to help generate revenue and create interactions,” he reported.
Flenard does it all, and every single working day is different. Some days he focuses on income. Other days it is advertising and marketing. Sometime it truly is finance.
So why does he do it?
“The prospect to have a concept read by individuals at a low greenback amount is a fantastic chance,” he mentioned. “And to be capable to enable enterprise proprietors have that very same ability to get their enthusiasm out there and to connect their message is really inspiring.”
And why is he called “the mayor?”
He didn’t give the title to himself. He claimed many others began to call himself this, due to the fact of the way he introduced himself.
“It just form of trapped,” he explained.
Virtual summit
In November, Podcast City hosted a digital summit for folks of colour, specially to present podcasters of color and to instruct other individuals how to expand their model.
Flenard said numerous podcast listeners have a tendency to be white males.
“As a lot more and a lot more folks get into podcasting, it gets far more complicated to stand out,” he reported.
But he reported lots of podcasts are hosted by individuals of color.
“I assumed (that) hearing from people today who are accomplishing that would be impactful,” he said.
Flenard and other people talked over how to use social media to increase a podcast, how to build written content, hosting and how to market and current market podcasts just after production.
Flenard is organizing another summit in 2021.
To study a lot more about Podcast Town, go to podcasttown.net.
Evan Casey can be reached at 414-403-4391 or [email protected]. Adhere to him on Twitter @ecaseymedia.
