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The Unexpected Networking Power of Starting a Podcast · Abbey the Podcast Lady

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  Thank you. seen a lot of unexpected wins and
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  successes and perks of being a podcaster, but
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  today I want to touch on one that I did not see
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  coming, and that is networking. Hey, it's Abby.
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  Welcome to another episode of Abby the Podcast
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  Lady. Super happy that you joined me today. I
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  want to take you on a little trip into the past
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  that's going to lead into the present. I have
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  a background in radio broadcasting, and if you've
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  listened to earlier episodes of the show, I might
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  have mentioned that. have known since I was a
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  child that I wanted to be in some sort of the
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  media industry. And I really thought that being
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  a radio DJ was the end all be all to what I wanted
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  to do with my life. So from the ripe old age
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  of eight, listening to KCLD on my boom box, I
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  decided then and there I was going to be a radio
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  DJ. And I actually went to college to be a radio
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  DJ. I went to Brown College in Mendota Heights,
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  Minnesota, which is actually a very highly esteemed
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  college. producing radio DJs. Some radio legends
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  came out of there. I keep saying it still exists.
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  I was actually the last to graduate from there
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  before it went bankrupt, but that's a story for
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  another day. Being a radio DJ was all I wanted
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  to do. Not to sound like I'm bragging or anything,
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  but I had a natural knack for it. I took to it
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  like a fish in water. When I graduated from college
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  in 2015, I set a 10 -year goal for myself. I
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  said, I'm going to be on 93X in Minneapolis.
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  within 10 years. I had that goal in mind and
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  I wasn't going to let anything stop me. And it
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  just so happened that the week that I graduated
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  from college. They hired me to be a DJ at 93X
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  in Minneapolis. So my 10 -year goal immediately
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  went out the window. But that's because the staff
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  there saw potential in me. And they trained me
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  to be a DJ that was up to par with their standards.
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  And I absolutely loved it. It was the best. And
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  I worked there for about a year and a half until
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  a full -time opportunity popped up in St. Cloud,
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  Minnesota. And that's where I went to be a radio
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  DJ next. And I worked on the Hot AC format. I
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  worked on country. I did some fill in work on
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  the classic rock station. I managed the like
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  80s and 90s hit station. That was really fun
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  for a while. And then I kind of just outgrew
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  that space. I couldn't really move up in the
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  company any further than where I had reached.
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  And I didn't want to. either move companies or
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  move markets. I knew that St. Cloud was the place
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  I wanted to be. But what was interesting about
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  that is even though I was a personality in the
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  market, even though I had been here for almost
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  a decade, I had established myself somewhat as
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  a community member, I still didn't really feel
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  like I... I belonged fully in the St. Cloud area,
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  which not to say I felt like I was an outcast
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  or people were actively saying, you're not welcome
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  here. We don't want you here. It was just more
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  of a, I felt like I was just another face in
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  the crowd. And when I quit at the radio station
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  was when I started my podcasting journey. And
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  I am eternally grateful for that. That has led
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  me down some amazing roads. But I got to start
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  my own podcast because my non -compete was up
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  and I could start making content for myself.
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  And so I started this small. town tourist. And
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  what that entailed was finding different stories
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  around the area, sending messages to people,
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  connecting with people, helping share their stories
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  with the world. And it was so much fun. I had
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  such a great time making the small town tourist,
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  showcasing those stories, meeting new people,
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  connecting with new people. And what I didn't
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  realize at the time was that was actually networking.
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  That was networking for my business and for my
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  brand without even really intentionally trying
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  to go out and network or go to networking events.
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  Like I was just meeting people, forming connections
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  and sharing stories. And it was absolutely magical.
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  And because I did that, I was able to start my
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  own podcast production business because I would
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  have people on my podcast and then they would
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  go, well, I want to start a podcast. I've always
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  wanted to do this. Can you help me with that?
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  Of course, the answer was yes, because my favorite
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  thing is to be helpful. So I ended up starting
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  my podcast production business, Abby Graves Productions,
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  grew it to enough clients to go full time with
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  it, which is insane. And what a blessing and
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  what a ride that has been. But I didn't realize
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  that forming those connections and networking
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  through having a podcast was going to be something
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  that could launch into a full -time career for
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  me and a full -time brand that I am the face
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  of. And I just think that is so cool. So it has
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  taken me down all these wild roads. One of my
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  coolest networking things is I had Vicky from
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  Vicky's Camp and Country Fest on the Small Town
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  Tourist. And now I help her with her social media
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  at the festival every year. And I just think
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  that is so cool. All those little connections
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  that can come from starting a podcast, having
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  people on, talking to people that you want to
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  talk to that are in your circle or you want to
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  be part of their circle. It is just this amazing
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  connection tool. And I didn't really realize
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  just how important that was until last week when
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  I was presenting at my own networking group.
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  It's the Business Exchange here in St. Cloud.
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  I was invited to be a part of that group in November
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  of 2024. And I have just formed some really amazing
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  connections from that group. And I was presenting
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  this week because each week, every member gets
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  a chance to give a 10 -minute presentation on
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  what they do. And it was my week to present.
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  I made everyone make a podcast with me, which
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  they were a little reluctant, but they did a
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  great job. And I got to stand up there and just
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  kind of talk about what I do for a little bit.
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  And I realized as I was standing there talking
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  to this group that I network with every single
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  week, I'm like, my podcast is really what got
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  me to the point that I'm at in the St. Cloud
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  community. Because even though I was a radio
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  personality and I was a voice of the area, I
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  didn't really feel like I was very well known
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  in the area. And now that I'm a part of this
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  group and I'm a part of Forum of Executive Women,
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  I just keep having more and more people come
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  up to me and go, oh yeah, Abby, I just feel like
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  you're everywhere these days. And I just feel
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  like everyone's saying your name in rooms that
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  I'm in. And hopefully they're saying good things.
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  But I just feel like I just have been getting
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  more feedback from people going, oh yeah, Abby,
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  I know Abby. She's doing this, this, this, and
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  this. And she's here, here, and here. And I...
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  owe it all to having a podcast. I truly do. I
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  do not think that if I would have... taken the
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  plunge and started the small town tourist and
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  done what I wanted to do with it, that I would
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  be where I'm at today. So networking is just
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  one of those unexpected plot twists that I have
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  gotten from having a podcast. And I really feel
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  like it could be a strong tool for you as well,
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  no matter the industry you want to be in. I didn't
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  pinpoint an industry I wanted to be part of when
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  I started the small town tourist. I just wanted
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  to help share cool stories of things that weren't
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  getting enough. airtime in the area. So I just
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  would reach out to people and be like, hey, I
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  want to chat. And they almost always say, yep,
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  sure, I want to chat. I want to tell my story.
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  I want this platform. So I think that if you
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  are... Looking for a reason to start your podcast,
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  establish yourself as the expert in your field,
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  talk with other people that are like -minded
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  or in the same industry as you and figure out
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  the ways that you guys are doing things similarly
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  or differently or just sharing ideas or even
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  woes about what you go through. I think having
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  a podcast is a great opportunity to do that because
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  people... love talking about themselves, honestly.
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  Who doesn't want to hop on someone else's show
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  and share about the cool things that they're
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  doing? So if you're looking for just another
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  nudge to start your podcast and start that brand,
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  start that business, use a podcast to tell your
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  story and someone else's, networking is a great
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  excuse to do it. So that's all I got for you
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  this week on Abby the Podcast Lady. Just wanted
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  to share some thoughts that have been bouncing
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  around in my head, but networking, it's another
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  reason to start a podcast. Thank you so much
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  for listening. I'll catch you next week. Thank
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  you.