Accelerate Your Education Business With a Podcast with Sumantha McMahon [Ep. 74]

 
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Click play to learn how to accelerate your education business:

 
 

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Here’s what to expect from this episode:

You don't need a huge audience to get a major ROI from your podcast. (This is especially true if you work one-on-one with clients or have a small group coaching program.)

Today's guest, Sumantha McMahon, is here to share some great lessons for newbie podcasters or those considering starting a podcast. We chat about how her podcast has accelerated her education business, how she uses relationships to guide her selling, and the importance of finding your voice and setting clear intentions (and more!).

This episode will give you some great ideas for your podcast and your business. (And hey, this may even inspire you to add a new service to your offerings!)

Meet Sumantha:

Sumantha is a qualified business trainer with over 15 years of experience. She’s also an ex-teacher who set up her tutoring business in 2017. Sumantha currently supports fellow education business owners who want to launch, grow and scale their businesses. She does this through 1:1 mentoring, her Tutors’ mastermind, and The Training Jukebox, a hub for courses and resources. Sumantha is the podcast host for Upgrade Your Education Business, where she shares actionable advice every Monday.

Topics Covered:

  • Sumantha's background and the story behind her podcast

  • How she uses her podcast to complement and support her client work

  • The power of audio, finding your voice, and setting clear intentions

  • How Sumantha's podcast has accelerated her education business (and even led to a new offer)

  • The importance of planning, flexibility, and accountability

  • Managing expectations

education-business

Resources mentioned:

Connect with Sumantha:

  • Sara Whittaker 0:00

    Hello and welcome back to another episode of podcasting for educators. When you work with one on one clients, or you have a small group coaching program, you definitely don't need a huge audience to get a major ROI from your podcast. Hosting a podcast can allow you to reach a wider audience, start conversations with new people, and position yourself as an authority quickly. Our guest today Sumantha is a testament to this. Sumantha is a qualified business trainer with over 15 years of experience. She's an ex teacher who set up her tutoring business in 2017. And she currently supports fellow education business owners who want to launch grow and scale their businesses. She does this through one on one mentoring her tutors mastermind and the training jukebox, which is a hub for courses and resources. She's also the host of the podcast called upgrade your education business, where she shares actionable advice every single Monday, Sumantha uses her podcast as a way to bring in new clients and add more value to current clients. So she's on here today to share a little bit about what that looks like for her. And I think it's gonna give you some really great ideas, whether you already have a podcast or you are just considering starting a podcast. And even for those of you who maybe don't work one on one with people yet in any kind of like mentoring or coaching capacity, it might be kind of a cool service to add to your offerings. Alright, let's go ahead and get started. Your Podcast is a powerful tool that serves your audience and your business. But how do you manage it all bring in new listeners, and convert those listeners into customers. That's what this show is all about. Welcome to podcasting for educators. I'm Sara Whitaker, classroom teacher turn podcast manager. And I'm here to help you get the most out of your show, all while making an impact on other educators. Hello, Sumantha. Welcome to podcasting for educators. I'm so happy to have you here with us.

    Sumantha 2:07

    Thank you for having me.

    Sara Whittaker 2:10

    Before we get into the good stuff here, can you tell us a little bit about your background? And a little bit about your business?

    Sumantha 2:18

    Yeah, sure. So I'm Sumantha. I'm Sumantha McMahon. And I used to be a corporate business trainer who moved into teaching who has the normal story of burnout and who left in 2017. And I set up my own private tuition business, I was still doing a bit of freelance business training. And a couple of years ago, I set up upgrade your education business. And through that I specifically work with education business owners, helping them to launch scale and grow their businesses depending on which stage they're in. I do that through mentoring courses, and I have a mastermind specifically for tutors. And of course, I have a podcast.

    Sara Whittaker 2:57

    Yes, that's perfect. And we're going to talk about that in just a minute. I just love this line of work because I love when you can teach other educators that they can have these these new careers and their own businesses and still be in the world of education, which I just think absolutely, yeah. So what tell us about your podcast? What made you start a podcast to begin with?

    Sumantha 3:21

    So my podcast is called upgrade your education business. And I got my first taster of speaking like an audio format through clubhouse. We were in lockdown. And I didn't have anything better to do. So I was basically on clubhouse quite a lot. And actually, I have a confession to make. But when I thought about launching my podcast, I've never listened to a podcast before ever. I know. I know. So my decision actually was led Israel quite simply, really, I felt like I had something to say. And I felt like I couldn't say that with the current marketing methods I was using, whether it was email marketing, or social media, because if I tried to get everything from one episode into a single post, it would it would just be too much. So audio content, I think it's one of the easiest forms of content to consume. So it made sense for me. But also when I when I then did some research because because I hadn't listened to podcasts, I had to do some research. When I checked my niche, there really weren't and still aren't loads of podcasts about. So when I was researching to see what was out there, I realized that I wanted to create something that was filled with actionable advice because that's very in line with how I train and speak to people. But that style of podcasts didn't really exist. Instead, there were podcasts that, you know, they talk about topics rather than breaking them down into actions, which is great, but I felt like there was a gap that I could very naturally fill. So I you know, I hoped to open the door to more conversation with people. I hope to reach a wider audience and just help more people through rate. And actually as time has passed, and we were just talking about this that as time has passed is actually ended up having much bigger value in my business. Because it now ties all the services I offer. It just ties it all together. For instance, I have a mastermind for tutors. And I actually use certain episodes, to give them a head start to our group coaching sessions. So the podcast hasn't just been great in widening my reach. But it's been great. It's enhanced the service I'm actually providing clients.

    Sara Whittaker 5:31

    Yeah, absolutely. I think a podcast is such a good complement to client work. And I love that you brought up the fact of focusing on giving action steps that people can take and adding a lot of value. Because I think that's really what ultimately, in the long run sets your podcast apart from other podcasts is when you add that value, because that's what builds trust with people. There's nothing worse than you know, going to listen to a podcast that seems like you're going to learn something and then you get to the end of it. And you're like, Oh, well, that was that was not really what I expected it to be. So going in with that value mindset, I think is a game changer. And I totally agree with you. I actually talk about this all the time that this education space of podcasting, there is so much room for all of us here because there really aren't that many compared to a lot of the other niches in podcasting. So it's such a great opportunity. Now, you said you were on clubhouse, like so many of us during COVID. So was that like when you saw it was did that kind of help show like the power of audio for you.

    Sumantha 6:39

    I think it helps me show that it helps show me the power of audio. But it also helps me show how something how it was something I was very comfortable with. Because I wasn't this avid podcast listener, it really wasn't something that had crossed my mind. And so it did feel natural to me. And you know, we were just talking about the different styles of podcasting. Like you've got the really value driven ones, the action driven ones, and then you've got ones that they talk about a topic rather than giving actions. And I think that there's not only room for all of us, but room for these different styles. Because everyone has got a different reason why they might listen to a podcast episode, or they might not have the headspace to take on board all of those actions that an episode might be sharing. Instead, they do want something that's a bit more generic. And so what clubhouse allowed me to do was understand my natural style. I'm not very good at small talk, I wish I was but I'm not good at small talk. And so that actionable content came extremely naturally to me. If you asked me to talk about a topic, I'd end up teaching it as opposed to talking about it, because that's kind of where I naturally go. And so I think that was actually really key of just finding my voice and finding my style. So that podcasting is hard work anyway, but it didn't have to be stressful because I was trying to be someone I wasn't. And I talked earlier about tying everything together. I think that's really important. Because when someone meets me when they book a discovery call, I don't want them to be surprised. I want them to have already done their due diligence, and they know what they're gonna get.

    Sara Whittaker 8:14

    Yeah, I am with you on the small talk. I am not a small talk person. And I just think I've never really like thought about this before. But hearing you explain how you found your voice, I just think we're very similar and like our delivery styles, because I'm the same way. I would much rather just kind of like go into teaching mode. And that's kind of how I run my podcast as well. So yeah, we're very similar. They're very cool to hear you talk about that. Now, tell us a little bit about the success of your show in terms of getting clients like what has that been like for you? How has that affected your business?

    Sumantha 8:52

    Well, I'm delighted, I'm actually I was really blown away by how many clients have come my way through the podcast. And I think that, when I look back on it, I think that having the right mindset and focus is actually a really important component of that. I thought this was something that was going to take a really long time, but it actually didn't. And, you know, when I talk about focus, what I mean is that when you have a podcast, you it's really easy to get focused on download numbers. And it's an important metric to consider. But I knew that I wasn't actually aiming to be this top charting podcaster My aim was actually to position myself in my niche to help as many people as possible and to give potential clients this kind of try before you buy experience. So being really clear on what it is you need to track, I think really helps you allow your podcast to attract clients much faster. So the metric that's important to me, for instance, is how many people book calls with me because of my podcast. So when I start there, and I'm really clear on what results I want to track as my success rhetoric, it actually stays my content. It stays the kind of calls to action that I give in my podcast. And it allows me to know what's working and what isn't by just getting that feedback. And the most common feedback I do get is that they like that it's actionable. I don't skirt around a topic. But that's not to say that, you know, as I was saying earlier, that's not the style that you absolutely need in order to be successful. I think the point is, is that you need to stay in tune with your audience, you need to keep getting that feedback, so that you can figure out what's working and what isn't. And so you see that, like, those download numbers becomes so much richer, when you actually think about it in context. But, you know, having said all of that, and despite the fact that creating the podcast has been one of the best things I've done for my business, it is hard work. And it's time consuming. So I don't think I can emphasize enough about how important is to have that clear intention. And being really specific about the metric you're going to track and hearing feedback from your listeners. Because otherwise, there's this risk that it ends up being a really time consuming hobby, and not actually a valuable business activity.

    Sara Whittaker 11:10

    Yes, absolutely. I think that's one of the things that you really do need to have very clear before you start your show is like, what am I what is my goal here? What am I wanting out of this show? am I wanting to build my email list? am I wanting to get one on one clients? am I wanting to drive people to my resource, my TPT store, whatever it is having those goals in mind, and really having a way to track that is so important. And that's not? I mean, like you said, downloads are important. Of course, we want to know what our downloads are, we want to see our show growing. But that is by no means the end all be all and really not an indicator of whether or not your show is successful. So totally agree there, can you give us a little bit of insight as to like what kind of offers you talk about on your podcast so that people have an idea of that?

    Sumantha 12:00

    Sure. So I talk about, I do tell a lot of clients stories. So that really relates often to the one to one mentoring that I do. And I also talk about the tutors mastermind, which is group coaching, it's a kind of monthly subscription that people can join when they want, they can leave when they want rejoin when they want. And I'm about to launch some courses. And actually, you know, this development of my business this, this launching of courses as has come from my podcast, because of my podcasts, I've reached a wider audience. That means I've started more conversations with people on places like Instagram, the conversations from people has meant that I've got this feedback where people have actually asked for self study courses. So I'm now launching something probably for the first time with absolute clarity that my audience want it, I'm not having to guess, I'm not having to do those traditional target audience exercises where I invent it in my mind, I've got real life, people who are telling me, this is what they want. And actually, I wouldn't have been able to reach so many people if it wasn't for the podcast. So I do circle around those offers and those services when I'm when I'm talking about them in my podcast, but I'll be honest, my style of selling is very relationships LED. So I really start with the value and the relationship and the trust. So that when I then go to mention an offer, I wouldn't even really call it selling, it just becomes the seamless part of the conversation.

    Sara Whittaker 13:25

    Yes, and I just think that's such a good way to go about everything. And I love that you have even you know, you've got your one to one things and now you're going into this coarse model. And that's just a really good mix to have. Because anybody out there who might be a service provider who's listening, you know, when you start a podcast, if your goal is to get more clients, you can only take on so many clients. So to add that piece of being able to offer something like a mastermind a membership, a course, where you now can sell to many people and have this offer that many people can join. It's just such a great combination to have, because now you're just able to support that many more people. All right, podcasters that you know how many details come with producing just a single episode and using the right tools is the key to creating high quality episodes in the most efficient way possible. One of my absolute favorite tools I use is Zen caster. I have tried so many different platforms for recording my guest interviews and Zen caster is the one I've stuck with for so many reasons. It always gives me the highest quality audio because there is nothing worse than recording an episode that you can't use because of bad quality. It's so easy for you and your guests. Even the not so tech savvy ones. All they have to do is click a link and we start recording. Boom done. Plus, the video is crystal clear. So you can repurpose your solo and your guest episodes on social media and on YouTube. Oh and it gives you a transcript of your episodes, you can go to Zen caster.com/pricing, and use my code educators, you'll get 30% off your first three months of Zen caster professional, I want you to have the same easy experiences I do for all of my podcasting and content needs, it's time to share your story. So go to Zen caster.com/pricing, that ZENC a s t r.com/pricing. And use my code educators for 30% off. That's educators, all lowercase letters, the link will also be in the show notes.

    I also love that you brought up that your podcasts starting these conversations, it validates ideas of these things that you're creating, which is such a good feeling. Because there's nothing worse than you know, creating something which I don't recommend creating something and just crossing your fingers and hoping that it will land well with people. And kind of along the same lines. They're like I love looking at this is where downloads do come in handy is like looking at downloads for your episodes and seeing if there's any outliers there. episodes that have been really popular. That's like great information for any kind of future offers that you could create or any lead magnets that you could create, focusing those things around those popular topics. So yeah, your podcast gives you so much great information about your audience and their needs.

    Sumantha 16:29

    It does, it does. And also something that you made me think of was, I remember, I think it was my fourth episode or something didn't do so well, in terms of download numbers, and I just presumed it was because of the topic. Anyway, I carried on and you know, and I decided, let me just try something out. And I thought, now that I've grown my audience now that my podcast is a little more established. I just tried marketing that episode, I think it was episode four, but let's say was episode four, for argument's sake. I tried marketing that. And it suddenly the download numbers were boosted. And what I realized was that sometimes it's not just it's not the topic, but your podcast also allows you to experiment with your marketing, you have a tangible way of seeing whether certain content types are actually working, because you have a result that you can actually a tangible result you can monitor. So yeah, I mean, you know, doing the podcast, has actually given me so much, as well as meeting more people starting more conversations, positioning myself in my niche. It's also really informing certain business decisions and strategies.

    Sara Whittaker 17:36

    Yes, absolutely. Now, you've already shared some really good tips. Do you have any other tips that you'd want to give to anybody who's maybe considering a podcast, but they're worried that it might end up being a waste of their time?

    Sumantha 17:52

    Yeah, I think I think the most valuable thing I did was I invested time in planning. Before I actually launched, I took the time to actually define the style. I defined the focus. So I wrote this statement. That was, when you listen to this podcast, you will, and I filled in that blank. And it just allowed me to outline my first 10 episodes. I didn't script them, but I just outlined the titles. And that was really important to me, because one of my fears was, what if I run out of things to say, because a podcast feels like a huge commitment, because it's kind of forever it feels like,

    Sara Whittaker 18:30

    and that's what everybody says that like the number one fear I hear is I'm not gonna have enough topics to cover on this show. And it always ends up being the opposite.

    Sumantha 18:38

    Exactly. You'd be surprised, especially if you take, if you take, you know, the strategy you probably take when you're marketing elsewhere, you know, you take a topic and blow it up, put a magnifying glass on it, don't try and cram too much in one, which is actually a mistake I made when I first started. And actually a few things that I didn't do, but I wish I had was, I wish I had given myself like an approximate time for each episode like a time limit. Because because I didn't think of that my first one was way too long. And actually now if I were to redo that, I would have split it across at least two episodes. And even though it's the most listened to episode, I still think it was too much. And I only really got into a groove. It was very unintentional as I went along. So I think that having some form of consistency is really helpful with your episode length because, you know, it allows your regular listeners to kind of schedule listening to your podcast, like one of my one of my clients. She says to me every Monday when she goes for a walk, that's when she listens, but it's only a quick walk. So if I did something that lasts an hour, she would have to stop halfway and try and listen to it another time. And although I've I've established a pattern now, I think it would have been better if I'd done it sooner because then it also allows you to know how much content to plan for. It allows you to make decisions When you're editing of how much do I keep in how much do I take out. And another thing that I really, really wish I'd done really wished I'd done was batch created before I launched, I really underestimated how long everything would take, especially at the beginning, you know, it's new. And we were just talking about how we used to get really hung up on getting everything perfect. Now, you make a mistake in an episode, it goes out anyway, it's fine. So I really underestimated that. And as a result of that, I'm often in this on the weekly pressure to create, to record to edit to publish. Occasionally, I managed to clear on my schedule, so I can batch create a little bit, but it does take time. So if I were to do this, again, if I was to start my podcast, again, I 100% would have lined up, at least I would say five episodes. So I was five weeks ahead. But just having said that, just a little note on that is I probably wouldn't batch create too many in advance, because I quite like to talk about what's happening in my business right now. And of course, that changes and evolves as time goes on. So it's just finding that balance of keeping it recent, without putting yourself under loads of pressure.

    Sara Whittaker 21:13

    Yeah, it's such a balance that people are constantly trying to accomplish. But I am the same way like I, I'd like to be a little bit ahead but not too far ahead. Because these ideas will pop into my mind based on like conversations that are happening on social media, or maybe there's an update in the podcasting world. And I want to be able to have that flexibility to change around my schedule a little bit. But at the same time, I don't want to be on that week to week hustle. Because that is not fun. And it's so much pressure. When you're like your episodes supposed to go live the next day you like you always want to avoid that. And that's such good advice just about wanting to get a little bit ahead. Because what happens often is people you know, they put all this time and planning into launching their show. And then their launch week comes and then it's like, oh, I have to now like keep up with this week's. So I always think part of that launch process and the planning for your podcast should involve having some episodes batched up so that by the time you launch, you've got that library already. And you're already ahead, and then you just need to keep up with that. But it's a lot less pressure, if you can have some some content bashed ahead of time. Now, do you have? Do you have like a routine for your podcast that you follow week to week? Like? Do you have certain days that you sit down and record? Or is it kind of a little bit more flexible?

    Sumantha 22:40

    It's probably a balance of both. I did try to because I use time blocking quite a lot to batch create any kind of content really. But I do find with my podcasts, I need to be in the right headspace. And sometimes I'm just not. I can for some reason I can totally just switch on. If I'm writing content for something like social media, no problem. But with the podcast, I do find I have to be in the right headspace. So what I have in my calendar is I have a recurring event, which tells me I need to record my podcast. However, I move it around. As my week develops, I know that I need to get it done by the end of the week, but I just move it around, according to what suits me. And according to the mindset I'm in, also, you know, clients have access to my diary if they booked discovery calls or one to ones with me. So I don't really want to block out a chunk of time that they then can't book with me. But I've now got into the routine where I make sure I reserve at least one day for recording and editing. It doesn't take me a whole day anymore. Like the one that I did today took me about an hour, which is a huge improvement from when I started. Yes. So that's kind of my routine. And then I do have a routine as well. So my podcast episodes come out every Monday. First thing on a Monday I grabbed myself hot drink, and I listened to my own podcast episode. Oh, yeah. And I do it because I had to do Do you think so? So Oh, for sure. I always feel really silly doing Oh, yeah. But I'm just so paranoid that I've left a stupid mistake in there. Or, you know, I've suddenly coughed and I've left that in there by accident. So I listened to it. And it's really refreshing because sometimes I forget that I've said some of the things I've said, I've thought, Oh, that's a good idea. Why don't like that. Yeah. So I say, Yeah, I do have a routine. But you know, I think I think a really big part of being a business owner is knowing when you need to be rigid and strict. And when you need to give yourself some flexibility. You know, I'm running to businesses, I've got my tuition business, and I've got this business. And so that means some days get overloaded, some days are a bit emptier. And so I know that I need to be flexible with tasks like this. So yes, I have a routine that that kind of helps. I'll tell you one routine that does help though, and I use Trello for this but you don't have to. It's actually generating ideas. So I just dump ideas. I've also got loads of void notes on my phone, something will pop into my head always at the most inconvenient time, usually in the shower, usually in the shower. And so I'll quickly jump out the shower. And I'll record a very quick voice note. So when I'm then thinking of ideas or little things that I want to make sure I say, I just review some of my voice notes or review what I've got on Trello and my ideas. And I just track where I'm at with each one. So I do script mine so that they're clean. Well, I don't script the ones I do with guests, but my solo ones I do. And then I just know where I'm at. I'm in the process. Am I have I recorded it? How am I edited it? Is it ready to go? So that's probably the only thing that I do that's a little bit more rigid to just monitor.

    Sara Whittaker 25:41

    Yeah, absolutely. I think having whether it's Trello, or clickup, or Asana, whatever you use, having some sort of project management tool is so important. I also love doing like a brain dump, having a place where you store all those ideas that come to you at random times. And then yeah, being able to track the process and give yourself due dates. It's an accountability tool as well. So yeah, absolutely. And I just want to go back to when you said that you and I feel the same way, especially with solo episodes, you have to be in the right headspace. Like there's not, you don't want to sit down and record a solo. And just like your mind is just blank. And you're like, Oh, I'm just not feeling this right now. That's just another reason to be a little bit ahead. So that if you do sit down and say, Today's just not the day for this, you have that that gap and that space to wait until tomorrow or the next day without totally falling behind. On your show. Yeah,

    Sumantha 26:37

    and I think it just makes it less overwhelming. Because, you know, with a podcast, it really does feel like a huge commitment, you feel like getting married, you know where you're like this is for life. You know, it's, it's not like something like social media where you feel like you can take a break, because you're training your listeners to tune in every week, or whatever your frequency is, it's habit forming. And forming that habit is so so crucial, because a podcast is a long game, and is a continual game. So I think that using whatever techniques work for you, whether it's time blocking, whether it's having a schedule, accountability, whatever it might be, is actually such a big part of making the whole thing really manageable and not feeling overwhelmed thinking, how am I going to keep maintaining this? How am I gonna keep doing this?

    Sara Whittaker 27:26

    Now, as we kind of start to wrap up here, your podcast is a little over six months old now. So are there any lessons that you've learned so far that you'd like to share with any newbie podcasters that you haven't already?

    Sumantha 27:42

    I think the only one I would say, in addition to what I shared is just to manage your expectations. I wish someone had actually told me this. When you launch a podcast, that first episode is great. You know, you get all these listeners, and you get emails from podcasting places saying you've reached the top of the charts. And you think, Oh, my goodness, how I'm famous. And so it feels great. You know that first that first episode. But think about it from other people's perspectives you've got competitors are like, Oh, she's got an episode out. Let me let me listen to this new podcast, you've got people who are curious, you've got friends and family who want to support you, you've probably listened to about 50 times just to make sure you haven't made mistakes, because it's your first one. And then what happens is the novelty wears off a little bit. And so that's where that hard graft and that determination and perseverance comes in. Just because that first episode came out with a bang, and then suddenly it starts dropping doesn't mean that your podcast isn't successful. And it really circles back to making sure you're monitoring the right metric. Yes, download numbers is great for research. It's great for steering your content. But it's not everything. Just because you didn't get the download numbers this week. Doesn't mean that in six months time if you didn't remind people about that, but suddenly people would love it. It's just how it goes. So I wish someone had I think managed my expectation with that because it did feel like a roller coaster. Luckily, I was I really almost I gave myself a pep talk. And I was like Do not whatever you do focus on download numbers. And I was so strict with that, that the first kind of I think couple of weeks, I only allowed myself to look at it once. And that was it, just so that I didn't get hung up and so that any drops didn't demotivate me. So I think just really manage your expectations. Understand that it's a long game. And if you have that very clear intention, saying that when you listen to my podcast, this is what you're gonna get. And if you stick to that focus, then there's no reason why your content won't be targeted. And there's no reason why your ideal client not just any old client, there's no reason why they won't be attracted to you because there is their way of finding out if the two of you are compatible.

    Sara Whittaker 29:59

    I could not have said Is that any better myself about managing your expectations? That's something that people have no idea about? Because it it's, that's exactly what happens is, there's so much curiosity and like Buzz, and like you said, your competitors, like people are checking out those first episodes when you launch. And then you might see that drop, and you need to give it a few months, to really even out and to get a true feel for what your audience size is like. Totally,

    Sumantha 30:28

    totally. And what I found, and I don't know if this is common or not, you'll probably be able to say whether this is common, is my first one did really well, then a few of them. Were a bit roller coaster, you know, some didn't, some did now. So I'm on episode 36. This week, I'll be launching episode 36. So it gives you an idea of how, you know, small if you like my episode list is now it's consistent. It's totally consistent. And it has been, I would say for at least a couple of months. And it's rising. So every week I could if you ask me, How many download numbers do you get a week, I could tell you, except this month, suddenly it shot up, not this month, this week is suddenly shot up. So it does actually reach this, this kind of consistency. And that's really nice place to be. Because you then feel like yes, I've got my kind of regular listeners, people have got that routine. It's all about training people with how you want them to fit in with your podcast, how you want them to listen. And a lot of what we've discussed feeds into that things like the episode length, okay, this podcast usually is 10 minutes, great. I need to do some housework, that's probably going to take me about half an hour, one of the things I listened to is this podcast. So it allows you to train people to build that consistency as time goes on.

    Sara Whittaker 31:41

    Yeah, once you get to that, like 3040 Episode mark, it's like now you've got this great collection of episodes, people know that you are in this, like you are showing up for them every single week. And then when you hit that one year mark, that's like when I really see people's growth, just take off, like so I always say expect to like go into this with the commitment of at least sticking with it for a year, because then you're really going to be able to see the kind of impact that it's having on your business.

    Sumantha 32:10

    That's really good advice. And I look forward to my one year anniversary now.

    Sara Whittaker 32:13

    Yeah, it's very exciting. All right. Now, before we wrap this up for good, can you tell us any of your favorite podcasts right now for business or for fun?

    Sumantha 32:24

    Couple of them. So well, as you know, I'm very new to podcasts. So Oh, yeah. I'm probably the most ridiculous podcasts. The podcast has never listened to a podcast.

    Sara Whittaker 32:34

    But you know what I was gonna say, I feel like that might be a good thing. And it sounds like it was a good thing. Because you went into this not having listened to podcasts, like all the time leading up to it. So I think that kind of is is good for you to like, find your own voice and really do your own thing with your show. You know, because sometimes when you follow a lot of people, and then you do that as well, you kind of like unintentionally pick up on the same habits that they do,

    Sumantha 32:59

    if that makes sense. Yeah, I know. I think you're right. I think it could have gone one of either way. I think clubhouse gave me the indication that it's podcasting wouldn't be like, it was quite instinctive for me. If it wasn't, though, it probably would have been useful to listen to some podcasts. Because it's like when you learn to write, you start by tracing, don't you? And then you start developing your own handwriting. So sometimes just having an indication of the structure, you know, I Googled how to do a podcast. And it said, you must, you know, have a pre roll, and I'm not what's the pre roll? What's, what are they talking about? So, you know, I did have to navigate a little bit. But yeah, you're right, it allowed me to just find my voice, develop my unique style, follow my nose. And that's a really good way of doing it if you're doing this to attract clients, because then you can absolutely make sure that you're compatible with them, because you're being really authentic. Yeah.

    Sara Whittaker 33:49

    Okay. Okay, you asked before, but tell us your favorite podcasts.

    Sumantha 33:53

    And so a couple that I can think of is a quite like Diary of a CEO, especially recently, I found a lot of his interviews quite, quite interesting. And from a business point of view, I'm a really big fan of Amy Porterfield podcast. Also, there's one that I came across, and I haven't listened to loads of it. But what I've listened to our life is called the 10 Minute entrepreneur. And, you know, each episode is 10 minutes. And I quite like that. And I very intentionally try to listen to podcasts that are totally outside of my niche. Because I just don't want it to kind of influence me or, you know, there are so many different ways of doing one thing isn't there? So I just don't want to then question what I might be thinking, I want to just follow my instinct and I know what works for me and my clients. So I try not to get influenced too much by other podcasts in my niche

    Sara Whittaker 34:42

    100% And I feel like the same thing on social media to like limit the number of people that you have your eyes on that are in the same space as you because that comparison, and impostor syndrome tends to creep in as well. Okay, and I think you have a lead magnet that you'll share with us.

    Sumantha 35:00

    Well, if you're an education business owner, then I haven't a free ebook that shares four different ways that you might want to grow or scale your business. And then at the end, there's a list of passive income ideas. So I'll give Saara the link to that if you'd like it is completely free. And for each one, I go through examples, just to shoot some ideas around so that you have a springboard to find something that's really designed for you and your business.

    Sara Whittaker 35:25

    Perfect. Thank you so much. And we will definitely include the link for that in the show notes. And then lastly, Sumantha, can you just tell everybody where they can find you online?

    Sumantha 35:35

    So you can find me on Instagram at Sam talks business. And my website is www dot upgrade your education business.com

    Sara Whittaker 35:45

    Perfect. Well, thank you so much for coming on. This has been such a fun conversation.

    Sumantha 35:49

    Likewise. Thanks for having me.

    Sara Whittaker 35:53

    Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. To keep this conversation going connect with me on Instagram at podcasting for educators. I'm always looking for an excuse to talk about podcasting. If you're looking for support and launching, managing or growing your podcast, check out my online course the podcasting for educators prep school at podcasting for educators.com/prep school. I'll see you here next time.

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Podcasting for Educators is the podcast for TpT authors and other online educators. It's a show that will help you get your podcast in front of those who need it most - teachers, counselors, literacy specialists, SLPs, parents, and more! Each week, Sara Whittaker and her guests will share top tips and actionable strategies that you will need in order to launch, manage, and grow your podcast. You’ll learn how to leverage your show to build long-lasting relationships with your audience and promote your TpT resources, courses, and memberships, all while providing valuable and accessible content!

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