I contacted a few people in the RV community I was a part of and started freelance writing. I wrote for Winnebago and Outdoorsy and enjoyed stretching my writing muscles, but I still felt like something was missing.

After speaking with my husband about what other opportunities I could pursue while on our adventure, he quickly mentioned we’d brought a mic with us. So, while he was at work, I downloaded Audacity, plugged in my AT2020 USB mic, and ventured into the world of audio for the first time.

I found Behind the Voice Actors and auditioned for a few roles to test out my new setup. I took that audio, dropped it into my DAW, and rolled up my sleeves to get to work. (Fun fact: I am still working on a project I auditioned for over two years ago! You never know what’s going to happen when you put yourself out there.).

It wasn’t long before I felt comfortable with my basic editing skills. I’m pretty sure I watched a couple of YouTube videos and just kind of ran with it (per usual). I started writing scripts and thinking of different people I could talk to. I thought about what topics might be interesting and what others might find enjoyable to listen to. As a psychology major, I thought, I’d really like to hear what others think and feel about particular emotions.

So, I started reaching out to friends and people I knew. My first interviewee? A neighbor who lived in the RV next to us. She was getting her Master’s in sociology in Oregon at the time, and I wanted to pick her brain. So, she and I sat down at my RV diner table and talked for two hours about what her research was telling her and her cohorts. My 2nd interviewee? My husband – who hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2013 and was always eager to share his story. This time, it was about adaptability in the face of a large and, to some, insurmountable goal.

I shared what I had been working on with others online because I was excited about my newfound skills and the conversations it allowed me to have with people I knew. Naturally, people started asking me more about what I was doing, and, later, how I could utilize my skills for their business. What began as an experiment, eventually landed me my first official paying podcast client.

Over two years later, podcast production and management are part of my full-time work-from-home repertoire. This is what I do.

I am sharing my story with you because I want you to know two things:

You do not have to spend four years on a degree learning how to do something to be able to offer a skill to paying clients.
Don’t reinvent the wheel. Take advantage of resources (courses, videos) that teach you how to do the skills you are interested in pursuing.

Almost everything I know today is due to research conducted and time spent on my own (mainly because there weren’t a lot of subject matter experts at that time). While I think that has traditionally been an important way for us to learn new skills, we are about to enter a new era in our history when it comes to business and tech and there is no need or cause to start from scratch. We live in a really neat time, people!

Podcast Assist is a labor of time, expertise, and (absolutely!) love. Gina Horkey, Hailey Thomas, and myself have come from extremely different working backgrounds and each of our journeys have been different, but we’ve brought our unique and specific skill sets to the table to create a product we are immensely proud of.

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what this podcasting thing is all about, we teach you everything from the conceptual and theoretical to the practical and doable. We also provide access to a community of individuals just like you who are interested in learning a new and valuable skill set that can be offered to clients.

Our next course launch is January 23 – 27th, so sign up for our email list and be the first to know when we’re live!