Justin McGill
November 25, 2014 13 Comments AUTHOR: Justin McGill CATEGORIES: Productivity / Life Hacks

I just got into podcasts towards the tail end of the summer. It started with an episode of TechZing, which I found after reading this blog post on naming a SaaS app where Joanna referenced Justin Vincent (a co-host of TechZing).

Though I listened to a few episodes online at first, I decided to download a podcast player and listen on the go. This is one of the best decisions I’ve made!

I originally downloaded Podcast Addict since it was free and seemed to be the highest rated player in the app store. I have since shelled out the $3.99 for the Pocket Casts app and haven’t looked back. They even have a web player version.

Once I had my podcast player downloaded, I performed two searches:

  1. “Startups”
  2. “Bootstrapping”

I basically started off by downloading almost 200 episodes of Startups for the Rest of Us and listened to it as often as I could. I even started walking daily just to set aside time to listen. I didn’t consider this walking and listening to a podcast, but rather listening to a podcast and I just happened to be walking.

This made it easier to get in some exercise!

Podcast Listening Suggestions

After a couple of walks though, I knew I wanted to upgrade my headphones. I went to Amazon and got these wireless earbuds:

podcast-wireless-earbuds

About a month into listening to podcasts, I really started to find my groove.

I now listen to podcasts at 2 times the normal speed to sponge up as much as possible in as quick amount of time as possible.

I started at 1.3x, then 1.5x, then 1.8x and got to 2.0. I actually got up to 2.5 on some podcasts, but on others it is too difficult to comprehend, so my default speed is at 2.0x. This is the beauty of listening to podcasts inside a podcast playing app.

I graduated from just listening while I walk and drive, to listening when I play poker, work out, and even when I shower.

For shower listening, I purchased this portable bluetooth speaker:

portable bluetooth speaker
Unfortunately, I cannot work and listen to podcasts at the same time. One or the other suffers. My brain just doesn’t work that way.

For some reason, I have a difficult time with audio books. Even when I try listening to them in the same conditions as I do a podcast. I am not 100% sure why that is, but I think it’s more conversational and therefore easier to listen to.

Since I can’t do much else when listening, it allows me to listen at a faster speed and comprehend more of what I am listening to.

By being focused on the podcast, it helps to get some creative juices flowing. I am constantly thinking about how the things being said on the podcast relate to my business.

I have Evernote on my phone’s home screen as a widget so I can quickly access specific notes. I go in and jot something down whenever I’m listening.

My Podcast Subscriptions

I prefer podcasts to be in the 30 to 45 minute range. I don’t find myself too interested in a lot of the small talk about random things. Longer episodes can be hard as I have to split them up over two drives for example since I work from home, I don’t have long commutes very often. That said, a few of these go much longer and they are still enjoyable to listen to.

Startups for the Rest of Us
This is the first podcast I stumbled across by searching “startups” in my podcasting app. This is the most concise podcast out there. It really hammers home one topic for a solid 25 to 35 minutes and that’s it. No fluff. Each episode is packed with action oriented items. Rob Walling and Mike Taber always give insights into what they are working on and can pull on their great experiences as startup founders. I joined their Micropreneur academy in early October and am looking forward to attending my first MicroConf (a conference they host for bootstrapped founders) next year.

Bootstrapped Web
Along with the aforementioned Starts for the Rest of Us, this one is listened to all the time. It started out with Brian Casel by himself, discussing his journey and a second host came in around episode 30 or so named Jordan Gal. I really like Brian’s approach, so I was iffy on adding a second host, but it has really worked out well. Jordan adds an awesome dimension and great insights to the podcast.

Marketing for Founders
Currently on hiatus, but these episodes were golden. Tim Conley and Jack Zerby killed it with their marketing experiences and advice that can be directly applied. This podcast, probably more than any other, gave me lots of notebook fodder. Unfortunately, they had to put a hold on things because of health issues for Jack in May of this year. I’m still holding out hope that they can get back together.

Starting from Nothing
Just recently added this one to the mix. Went through and downloaded about 20 episodes. I’ve listened to a few so far and Andy Drish seems to have a really solid focus with the people he interviews and how they started with nothing to build to $13k/mo, $20k/mo, and even how one guy generated $120k in his first six months in business.

Entrepreneur on Fire
John Lee Dumas puts out a podcast episode every single day! There are over 700 episodes now. He has a rock solid format of getting different entrepreneurs to discuss their challenges, how they’ve overcome them and what they are working on next. Great format, but if you are just getting into podcasts I’d wait on this one. The only reason is there are so many, it will take you awhile to catch up!

Matt Kremer
I came across his blog when he introduced me to it through Twitter several months ago. I’ve been enjoying his content and was around when he first launched this podcast. It is primarily aimed at developers who are looking for more success through marketing their products. I understand the development side of things, so I enjoy this podcast.

Startup
This is an interesting one that just got started by Alex Blumberg. It documents the journey of him starting his podcast business, getting funding, discussions with his partner, wife, and investors, and more. It’s an instagram of audio basically.

Kalzumeus
This is from Patrick McKenzie who is a pretty well respected bootstrapper. He’s patio11 online. The episodes are usually all well over an hour, but they only come out once every few months or so. He’s had great guests and they share lots of actionable advice. One of my favorite episodes was with Nathan Barry as he discussed his book launches. This is probably because I’m working on a book myself.

Podcasts that are Up Next

Since some of the above podcasts are hundreds of episodes in, it has taken a long time to get caught up on them all. I will eventually get caught up and then start downloading from the new podcasts I am subscribed to.

Here are those podcasts I’m subscribed to, but haven’t had a chance to listen to more than 10 episodes of yet:

  • Matt Report – A podcast built around different WordPress based businesses.
  • Let’s Talk Serious Startups – Some big names come in to discuss various startup related topics.
  • Audience Hacker – Really caters to those looking to build an audience and demonstrates how you can leverage that audience.
  • The TropicalMBA Podcast – This kept being referred to as the “Lifestyle podcast” so it took me forever to find it, but this is all about working away from an office.
  • Linchpin – Good podcast discussing different sales and marketing strategies with a heavy focus on automation.
  • Nathan Barry – Designer turned entrepreneur. He has launched a couple of successful books and has other products as well.
  • The Tim Ferriss Show – Of Four Hour Work Week fame. This podcast has a big emphasis on productivity hacks.
  • What Say You? – This is the only non-business podcast I listen to and this is just because I am a HUGE Impractical Jokers fan. You get to hear another side of Sal and Q that is unfiltered. I wish Joe and Murr were on it though!

Conclusion

You’ll notice that podcasts often talk with other podcasters, so you start to feel a part of this “inner circle” as you’ll hear hosts of one podcast, be guests on another and vice versa.

Across all the podcasts, I enjoy the host’s stories the most. Some are more reluctant to talk about themselves and their projects, but those are the best details in my opinion.

What about you? Any podcasts you think I should add to the rotation?

13 Comments

  1. Jeff 9 years ago says:

    Hi Justin,
    “Startups for the Rest of Us” rules! But one podcast I started listening to recently is Conversion Cast. From the people at LeadPages.net. I don’t like the marketing hype so much. But the podcasts are short, and provide a lot actionable tips on how to improve your conversion rate on your landing pages.

    Reply
    • Justin McGill 9 years ago says:

      Good one Jeff – I’ll definitely add that to my list!

      Reply
  2. Lieven 9 years ago says:

    Hi Justin,
    That’s a nice list. I’ll check some of those out. But that only means I’ll have to find a way to drive more as sitting in the car in front of the house for an additional hour after I get home only to listen to them might be a bit silly.
    I also started out with Startups For The Rest Of Us. Seems Classic.
    Another one I enjoy is The Eventual Millionaire. Great interviews which always inspire me.

    Reply
    • Justin McGill 9 years ago says:

      Haha – totally know what you mean. There’s times I find myself driving a little slower just to try and time the end of the podcast with the end of my commute! I’ll check out the Eventual Millionaire as well – thanks!

      Reply
  3. Matt Medeiros 9 years ago says:

    Justin
    Thanks for including me with some of the top talent in the industry!
    I hope I can convince you to listen more often 😉 Check out my interviews with Brian Clark, Pat Flynn, and Jose Caballer. Lots of non-WordPress talk there.

    Keep up the good work!

    Reply
    • Justin McGill 9 years ago says:

      Thanks Matt – yours is on my list to get caught up with next! 🙂 Good names to add to my list as well Matt.

      Reply
  4. Joseph Ho 9 years ago says:

    Hey Justin great list of podcast. I will definitely added to my podcast player. Thanks.
    Joseph Ho recently posted…10 Best Business Tools You Must HaveMy Profile

    Reply
    • Justin McGill 9 years ago says:

      You bet – if you come across more, let me know!

      Reply
  5. Damian Thompson 9 years ago says:

    Thanks Justin for including us in this great list!

    BTW we recently rebranded from Linchpin to Demand Genesis and will be producing a brand new series of podcasts launched in early Jan. Check us out here: http://demandgenesis.com/
    Damian Thompson recently posted…The Challenges of Working on a Distributed TeamMy Profile

    Reply
    • Justin McGill 9 years ago says:

      Thanks Damian – I noticed the domain and the obvious challenge with Seth Godin. I like the new name and will be checking out the new episodes!

      Reply
  6. Aaron Chiandet 9 years ago says:

    Great list Justin, you have a few here that are new to me.
    I’m not quite on your jedi level yet of 2x speed in the shower but it brought up a question in my mind. Often times I will be driving and hear something I want to checkout, maybe a new tool or a blog post, it could be anything. I have a few options to record this thought, I can email myself or take a voice recorded note then come back to it when I’m at my desk. But what do you do when you don’t have these options available to you, like in the shower. How do you ensure you’re taking action on everything you want to pursue?

    Reply
    • Justin McGill 9 years ago says:

      Great question! I have an Evernote widget on my phone’s home screen. It allows me to open the note in one tap and just write down notes. Not the safest thing to do when driving.

      As for in the shower, I usually just have to make a great mental note and then add it to my Evernote once I’ve dried myself off. Probably TMI, but that’s how I do it. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Brandon Uttley 9 years ago says:

    Justin, I found this post from a discussion you posted in The Startup Entrepreneurs Network on LinkedIn. Great list! I love listening to Entrepreneur on Fire in particular. I also started my own podcast recently, Go For Launch (http://goforlaunch.io/podcast), and was fortunate to interview John Lee Dumas among other guests.
    Brandon Uttley recently posted…Tame The Small Business Tax BeastMy Profile

    Reply

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