Join Sadaf Beynon and Matt Edmundson in the first episode of a four-part series as they explore the world of podcasting with guest Steven Pemberton, host of "Voice Like a Lion" and CEO of Elevatum. Discover Steven's journey into podcasting, the challenges he faced, and the importance of perseverance in building a successful podcast.

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Timestamps:

00:06 Introduction to Podjunction Podcast

01:52 Steven Pemberton's podcasting journey

03:08 Evolution of Steven's podcast

04:19 First challenging guest experience

06:09 Reflections on guest interactions

09:14 Matt's early podcasting experiences

12:08 Handling difficult guests

15:01 Challenges in early podcasting days

18:21 Importance of starting and evolving

21:57 Phases of podcast development

25:02 Closing remarks and next episode preview

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Key Takeaways:

1. Embrace Perseverance in Podcasting: Steven highlights the importance of perseverance in the podcasting journey. He shares his personal experience of starting with no listeners, except occasionally his mother, and how he continued despite initial challenges.

2. Integrate Personal and Professional Aspects: Steven discusses how he initially tried to separate his personal life from his business in his podcast but realised that integrating both aspects made his content more authentic.

3. Learn from Every Experience, Even the Difficult Ones: Steven recounts an experience with a particularly challenging guest, which was initially discouraging. However, he advises new podcasters to keep going despite such setbacks, as these experiences are part of the learning process.

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Unlock the potential of your podcast today! Don’t miss out on transforming your podcast into a powerful business tool—visit Podjunction.com to discover resources, tips, and opportunities that can take your podcast to the next level. Subscribe now and elevate your podcasting journey!

Sadaf Beynon [0:06 - 0:21]: Welcome back to Podjunction podcast, where podcasters learn to grow their business and learn how to use the microphone and that too. My name is Sadaf Beynon, and with me is Matt Edmundson the Magnificent.

Matt Edmundson [0:24 - 0:25]: It's like this pause.

Matt Edmundson [0:26 - 0:27]: Have you forgotten who I am?

Sadaf Beynon [0:27 - 0:31]: I was going to say Max, and I went, no, Matt Edmundson.

Matt Edmundson [0:31 - 0:31]: Oh, ok.

Matt Edmundson [0:32 - 0:33]: So you're trying to form a joke in your head.

Sadaf Beynon [0:33 - 0:36]: Yeah, it wasn't working, so I reverted.

Matt Edmundson [0:36 - 0:50]: So that worked well. Yeah, that worked well as an intro. Well, it's great to see everybody. Great to be on another podcast talking about podcasting and how to use it to grow your business. We got a new guest today.

Sadaf Beynon [0:50 - 0:50]: We do.

Matt Edmundson [0:50 - 0:51]: Who's the guest?

Sadaf Beynon [0:51 - 1:03]: His name is Steven Pemberton. He's the host of Voice Like a Lion, and he also is the CEO of Elevatum, I Believe, and which is a digital agency.

Matt Edmundson [1:03 - 1:13]: Yeah, he's been on eCommerce podcast. Right. So I've talked to Steven before. What a legend this guy is. And obviously he's got his own podcast, so you got to sit down, have a chat with him.

Sadaf Beynon [1:13 - 1:13]: I did. Yeah.

Matt Edmundson [1:13 - 1:14]: How did it go?

Sadaf Beynon [1:14 - 1:15]: Very well.

Matt Edmundson [1:15 - 1:15]: Yeah?

Sadaf Beynon [1:15 - 1:17]: Yeah, Awesome. I enjoyed it.

Matt Edmundson [1:18 - 1:19]: So what are they going to learn today?

Sadaf Beynon [1:19 - 1:33]: So today we are going to be talking about his own personal journey into podcasting. That's what we're starting off with. So we're going to be learning about the perseverance. Perseverance. Learning about the importance of perseverance in your podcasting journey.

Matt Edmundson [1:33 - 1:52]: Okay. It's going to be one of the perseverance journey. Yes, like that. So, yeah, this is going to be Steve. We're going to have this conversation, then sadaf, and I'll be back to carry on the conversation after this clip. Don't go anywhere. We'll see you in a sec. Grab your notebooks, grab your pens, because Steven is a legend and you're going to want to know. Want to write down what he says. So here we go.

Sadaf Beynon [1:52 - 1:57]: So, Steven, let's start off with your podcasting journey. How did you first get into it?

Steven Pemberton [1:57 - 3:07]: So the way that I first got into it was a little over or going on almost two years. There was somebody who is really important in my life, especially now, and they spoke over me. It's like, hey, you're gonna be a voice like a lion to this generation. So I thought, oh, that's really cool. Maybe I'll do something with that. I thought, you know, that would be an interesting name for a podcast. And so about six months later, after receiving that, I decided that I was gonna start A podcast. That's why there's a line behind me. That's why the name of the show is Voice Like a Lion. And when I started the show, it was just so funny, because when I started, it was just supposed to be a video journal. It was just me talking to me, and it was me being able to process. It was almost like a private form of therapy, if I'm honest, because I was just going. It's like, hey, today was amazing. And here's the things that I went through, and these are the people that I talked to, and this is what I learned from the people that I talked to. And it wasn't even supposed to go out. Like, I have so many episodes recorded that I haven't even released because it was just me talking to me. And in the beginning, there was nobody listening to that thing. I would have one listener every now and then, and that was my mom. And that would only be if I sent it to her.

Sadaf Beynon [3:08 - 3:14]: I love that. So how has your podcast evolved since you first started?

Sadaf Beynon [4:16 - 4:19]: Great tip. I'm writing that one down.

Steven Pemberton [4:19 - 5:52]: But with the person who reached out to me, he said, hey, this is who I am. I've been on a zillion different podcasts. I would love to come on your show. So I said, okay, great. I'll have this person on my podcast first, and then I'll have this other author that I really enjoyed his book. I have him come on. And I can tell you that if there was ever an episode that makes you want to quit, it was that very first episode for me. That guest, I mean, he was the meanest guest I had ever encountered. I mean, I've been an entrepreneur for going on five years. Years. I've talked to so many people, and this guy was just the meanest guy. And I went, really? This is my first. This is my first guesting experience where he's coming on my show, on my first hosting experience. And it's like he was just ripping me apart and that. But what was so fascinating was after the show ended, because it's supposed to be. Usually I go about 30 minutes to an hour, just depends on how the flow goes. And it was really fascinating. That show lasted 15 minutes. And when that show was over, he was just like, wow, that was amazing. You did a great job. I was like, that whole time you were yelling at me and getting upset at me for every question I asked. It's like. But somehow I did amazing. It's like, okay, great. And. But that's my thing. For anyone who is. If you're newer in podcasting and you're having those experiences where you're a host and it just doesn't feel like it's clicking, you're missing steps, you don't feel like that you can get it all together. It's fine. This. Keep going. I promise you that it'll be okay. The people who are guests are not really going to care. They're just excited to be there.

Sadaf Beynon [5:56 - 6:04]: If that got you curious and you want to catch the full episode, be sure to subscribe to the show. We've got plenty more great conversations coming up.

Matt Edmundson [6:09 - 6:36]: Welcome back. I really want to listen to that episode now. I don't even know if it's still up, but I really want to listen to that episode that he was talking about. I'm like, what was so mean about this guy? But that was great. Thanks, Steven. You know what? One of the things I can say about Steven, when we record interviews, like for EP or push, you hit the sort of the stop recording button.

Sadaf Beynon [6:36 - 6:37]: Yeah.

Matt Edmundson [6:37 - 9:14]: And there's a sort of this it's done now kind of thing, and people get in the conversation. They enjoy it, but there's something about hitting that record button to stop the recording that just puts everybody back at ease. And Steven, at the end of it, we. I wished I'D recorded it, but we hit the stop recording button. And he was so kind. He was really kind to me. And you do get these guests that come on and they'll say to you things like, oh, man, you were just. You are epic. That was a really great conversation. Really appreciate that. The way you talked about this was super helpful. The way you interviewed or asked that question. He said, that was so insightful. No one's ever asked me that question before. And, and, and he took his time just to go out of his way to say, well done. And most of the time, guests, I mean, guests are great, right? They. Most of the time, they get that great. They come on the show and they are grateful to be there. And some people say, I really enjoyed that, and that's basically about all you're going to get out of them. But one guest in three, one guest in four goes out of their way just to say something really helpful and super positive, and you kind of go, this is a reason. This is going to help me keep going. And so I really valued what Steven did that. So, as a complete aside, nothing to do with the. The tips that we are talking about today in terms of perseverance, but I would encourage you, if you go onto a podcast as a guest, right, which you will inevitably do if you start podcasting. So not only will you get guests on your show, you will be invited to go on other people's show, and I suggest you do that, actually, so you see what it's like from the other side of the table. But when you go onto a podcast and the button is stopped, you know, you've hit the. Even when it's recording towards the end, you know, people really like it if you praise them and it's recorded as well. But go out of your way to say something super positive to that host, even if it was a bit of a train wreck of an interview, because it will just help them, you know, And I've been on an awful lot of podcasts and I've learned this just actually, everybody starts somewhere, and it may be that I'm being interviewed by someone at the start of their journey, and I was awful at the start of my journey, and I. And actually, it's incumbent upon people like me to go, you know what? Keep going. You did this really well. That was super good. With your next guest, try this. They might find it super helpful. Give them a bit of advice, give them a bit of encouragement, and sow back into the community, I think. Super helpful.

Sadaf Beynon [9:14 - 9:22]: Yeah. Tell us more about your journey then My journey? Yeah. When you first started, you said you were not so great. Tell us more about that.

Matt Edmundson [9:22 - 9:37]: I just. I had no idea what I was doing or how I was doing it. There was no real playbook back then. And so we. In our last episode, we talked. Kendall talked about doing research. We didn't do any of that.

Sadaf Beynon [9:37 - 9:39]: No. Jumped in.