#41 | Dave Gerhardt | Building & Monetizing a Personal Brand to $1M+

12/20/23 • 70 min

You know Dave Gerhardt. Maybe it's from his days running marketing at Drift. Or from his time hosting the Seeking Wisdom podcast with David Cancel. Or, maybe you've heard of (or are a member of) his B2B community, Exit Five.

Point is, if you've been working in B2B marketing at any point in the last decade, you know Dave.

In this rare podcast interview, Dave goes into detail on everything that's led him to this point––the solo founder of a $1M business.

You'll hear what he learned during his days at Drift, how his community first launched as a side gig, when he knew he could go all in on his own, and all of the details for how he currently runs his business (i.e. how his revenue streams have changed, how he prices sponsorships, where he goes from here, etc.)

Enjoy!

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode, the promotional clips, and handling the overall production of Louder Than Words.

Point is, if you've been working in B2B marketing at any point in the last decade, you know Dave.

In this rare podcast interview, Dave goes into detail on everything that's led him to this point––the solo founder of a $1M business.

Enjoy!

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode, the promotional clips, and handling the overall production of Louder Than Words.

Previous Episode

#40 | Amanda Natividad | Defensible Content

We’re back! The first new episode of Louder Than Words in more than 6(!) years.

Today, John welcomes marketing and creative extraordinaire Amanda Natividad to talk about her own journey as a creator filled with uncertainty and self-doubt to a full-blown influencer, how she approaches creating content that’s unique and more defensible, and how the freedom to create on her/their own terms at SparkToro works to their benefit.

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode, the promotional clips, and handling the overall production of Louder Than Words.

Next Episode

#42 | Amanda Goetz | The Messiness of Finding Your Content Niche & Going Independent

This week, John sits down with Amanda Goetz. Amanda is a 2x founder, 3x CMO, and now a full-time brand builder and creator on personal and professional growth inspiring 150k people each week through social and her weekly newsletter, Life’s a Game.

Amanda shares insights and experiences on:

Her experience transitioning to full-time content creation (and she’s worked through the anxiety that induces).
How/why finding validation and proof points, such as audience growth, engagement, and revenue, are important in building a successful content creation business (and how she founder hers).
How she’s balancing content creation with consulting to provide financial stability while pursuing creative endeavors.
The operational side of going independent, i.e., purchasing health insurance, setting up your LLC, etc.

Timestamps

(00:00) - Introduction
(02:11) - Leaving Corporate America
(05:06) - Dealing with Doubts and Anxiety
(06:02) - Navigating Fear and Self-Doubt
(07:00) - Identifying Inner Voices and Overcoming Anxiety
(08:00) - The Reality of Content Creation
(08:59) - Motivation and Inspiration for Starting a Newsletter
(09:56) - Passion for Writing and Personal Growth
(10:54) - Setting Goals and Writing a Book
(12:23) - Motivation and Drive as a Parent
(13:18) - The Business Side of Going Solo
(14:14) - Navigating Health Insurance and Financial Stability
(15:13) - Overcoming Challenges and Learning New Skills
(16:39) - Building in Public and Overcoming Blockers
(18:56) - Building a Side Hustle and Going Full-Time
(21:17) - Proof Points and Taking the Leap
(22:16) - Building a Newsletter and Monetizing
(24:11) - The Dangers of Comparison and Unrealistic Expectations
(26:03) - Building in Public and Sharing Vulnerability
(27:31) - The Reality of Content Creators and Financial Success
(28:30) - The Importance of Authenticity and Alignment in Sponsorships
(30:24) - Choosing the Angle of the Newsletter
(32:20) - Finding Newsletter Topics and Brainstorming
(34:40) - The Iterative Process of Writing a Book
(37:32) - The Importance of Messiness in the Creative Process
(43:13) - Betting on Yourself and Going All-In
(46:11) - The Book's Tone and Direction
(47:07) - Exploring Different Directions for the Book
(47:33) - Closing Remarks

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This episode of Louder Than Words is brought to you by Riverside, my preferred tool for recording and editing podcasts. Right now, Riverside is offering a 15% discount to Louder Than Words listeners. Just visit riverside.fm and use the code LOUDER during checkout to lock in your discount.

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Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode, the promotional clips, and handling the overall production of Louder Than Words.

Riverside is offering a 15% discount to Louder Than Words listeners. Just visit riverside.fm and use the code LOUDER during checkout to lock in your discount.