I was at a mixer the other day with someone who had a small food company was grilling me about my target market for the podcast
“I don’t care who the target market is, I do it so I can learn”
“Wait, I thought you were just a podcaster”
“Oh no, I’m a food scientist for a well-funded startup. I started from scratch”
I averted my eyes uncomfortably and he walked away
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Sometimes, we put our heads too far into the grindstone where all we wonder is when your face is going to be shredded to bits but today, I move my head a little bit away from it and look at the workshop.
I step back for a moment and realized that the past couple of months, I’ve interviewed some of the biggest brands in the industry such as Coca-Cola, Walmart, and KraftHeinz, but also interviewed some of the most innovative brands that are kicking butt and are slowly emerging.
3 years ago, I was so scared to interview anyone from a big corporation because they thought I’m just another kid with a podcast. In some places, I’ve been rejected quite harshly for wanting to collaborate.
In my latest article with The Spoon, one of the questions that came up was It seems like everyone and their mom has a podcast these days. How do you make yours stand out?
And it’s true, everyone can make a podcast, but there’s a craft to making it good.
Yet the same could be said for a cookie, anyone can technically bake a cookie. If someone makes a keto cookie, or a vegan cookie, you just need to understand the language.
In most seemingly easy professions, there is a language that the experts speak. For podcasting, its marketing, audio quality, tool access and brand building.
For food, it’s the language of formulation, documentation, and communication.
Anyone can do a podcast and anyone can do a food business but to be better than the rest, well, that takes the right attitude, the right resources, and the right (obsessive) personality.
Make a Podcast
Coincidentally, Seth Godin’s podcast about podcasts came out last week and it was an interesting listen about the medium in general. It’s in its infancy, and people have no idea how to make money off of it. Just like radio, just like TV, and just like the internet, all of the methods of advertising are not the same as advertising for podcasts.
Down the rabbit hole, Andrew Chen wrote a really long article about podcasts and a fact that really struck me is this:
“According to Libsyn, one of the oldest podcast hosting providers, the median podcast only has 124 downloads per episode — but the top 1% has 35K downloads per episode”
By the way, we don’t have 35K downloads per episode, but we are above median.
I’ve now used the analogy of making a podcast with having a kid. Yes, everyone has one and everyone thinks that theirs is amazing but you have to take care of your kid to make her exceptional. Only a few kids, become famous actors.
I’m currently booked to the brim on work, not just Better Meat Co, but other stuff. I’ve been getting a lot of money, but no sleep, but in the next few months, I have some very exciting podcasts I’m launching with two pretty awesome non-profits that help tell the stories of the food industry. Once I get more time, I want to do more of them.
Start a Food Business
Serendipity is a funny thing. Basically, once I told people I was stepping down as a cofounder, some crazy things have happened to land in my lap. A lot of people who are starting to ramp up their food businesses have contacted me. The money I lost during my cofounder tenure at Better Meat Co would have taken a couple years to replenish based on the increased salary but in ended up being replenished in a couple of months and it’s growing fast.
A combination of a friend moving away from his consulting business and some other superstars in the food industry kept giving me business, allowed me to meet some great people and create some interesting products.
Eventually, I’ll talk more about this, but there are a few things I’ve noticed. Mainly the fact that most people don’t understand how to start a food business and when they dive too deep into not talking to the right people, fundamental problems can arise. So talk to an expert or buy this book (use MYFOODJOBROCKS for 10% off)
However, I think there is no better time in history to start a food business.
Yes, starting a food business is very hard, but there’s no better time to do it.
People talk about a looming recession but perhaps that’s the best time to start a food business. Not a clean meat or a super innovative ingredient, but a really good cookie, or a really good salsa is all you need to make someone’s day feel better. In a recession or a depression, it’s easier to win using taste.
But overall, now I’m working to the brim. I’m enjoying life and things are moving, but it’s been a tough couple of months, so this article is to reflect that. Because the hard months are where the best types of change happens.
Craftsman Mindset
Most people do things for the fame and the money, but don’t want to get good at the thing they want to do. I think that’s what stops most people. In the book, So Good They Can’t Ignore You, they talk about the craftsman mindset, where your goal is to get better and better at your craft until people start to notice that it’s good.
If I asked you to draw a well-proportioned human right now, I don’t think you can do it. But if you practiced every day, for years, you’ll be better.
Though there’s a whole lot of meta-analysis on psychologically being good at your craft.
Just Do It, though bad advice in the wrong context, is exactly what you have to do, but a journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step. Once you’ve done your 10,000 steps, look up, and maybe even step back in awe.