What It’s Really Like to Start an In-Person Podcast — Lessons from Creator Manny Coelho

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If you've ever wanted to start a
podcast but didn't know where to

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begin, this episode is your
blueprint.

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It's a behind the scenes look at
what it really takes to launch,

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grow and sustain a show that
connects with people.

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I'm John Quick, host of Stories
Worth Hearing, where we explore

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the journeys of creators,
entrepreneurs, and difference

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makers who have powerful stories
to share.

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Today I'm joined by Manny, the
creator and host of The State I

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Am In, a podcast where every
conversation points north.

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His show dives deep into the
stories, people, and ideas

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shaping life in Alaska with a
voice that feels both uniquely

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local and universally human.
Manny is only 12 episodes in,

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but that's what makes this
conversation special.

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He's right in the middle of it,
building his show, finding his

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rhythm, and learning the lessons
that every creator faces in

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those early days.
In our conversation, he opens up

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about how he got started, what
he's lame so far, and the

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challenges that come with
finding your voice in a crowded

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world.
We talk about the creative

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process, favorite guests, and
the drive that keeps him showing

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up when most podcasts fade.
And we look ahead at his hopes,

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his vision, and what he wants
the state I am in to become for

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Alaska and beyond.
If you've ever thought about

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starting your own podcast
business or create a project,

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this is one you're going to want
to listen to from start to

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finish.
Well, Manny, thanks so much for

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joining us.
I'm really excited to have a

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conversation with you and kind
of hear how you started a

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podcast.
So thanks for joining us today.

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Yeah.
Thanks for having me, John.

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This will be fun.
So I think for our listeners,

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they'll get a sneak peek kind of
behind the curtains of what does

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it look like to start a podcast.
I think there's lots of folks

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out there that want to start a
podcast or maybe start a podcast

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and did a couple episodes and
realized it was really tough.

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So for folks listening in,
you're going to want to listen

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to the full 30 minutes to get a
real peek behind the curtain on

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what it takes.
So first, my first question to

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you is this many what inspired
you to start to start the state

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I'm in?
Was there a specific moment or

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conversation or story that made
you realize you wanted to share

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stories through a podcast?
Yeah, well, I've been a consumer

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of podcast for probably about a
decade now.

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And so think about a kid wanting
to be a rock star.

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He probably saw a crazy concert
one time or some album that was

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amazing and made him think maybe
I want to pick up a guitar.

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And that's basically what it was
for me for the last decade or

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so.
Just listening to a variety of

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shows from, you know, I think
the first thing I ever listened

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to was Dave Ramsey's like branch
off of radio into the podcast

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world and then Ali Ward Ologies
with Ali Ward, Joe Rogan, of

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course, Andrew Huberman, just a
variety of different shows and

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personalities.
And the long form thing really

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got a hold of me about last year
around election time because

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I'm, you know, listening to
Bernie Sanders for two hours.

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I'm listening to RFK junior for
two hours, Donald Trump, you

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know, Elon Musk, these people
that are all over national

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headlines and people know the
insurance and outs of their

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lives.
And, and I was like, whether or

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not I believed or I guess not
believed them, but agreed with

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their ideologies or their
politics, their philosophies, to

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sit down with someone for at
least an hour or two hours, you

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get a better insight of who
these people are.

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And I would honestly say for
every single one of those people

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I just mentioned, regardless of
what what I went into, my

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opinions about those people, my
perspective of them changed

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after listening to those shows.
And so I thought, why can't we

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take that form and just bring it
to Alaska?

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We have great people in this
state.

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We have politicians in this
state, We have amazing business

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owners.
And I was like, it would be

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really cool to kind of take that
format and just sit across the

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table with someone in our state
of Alaska, you know, less than

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1,000,000 people.
But I think others would find

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value in it too.
And so I just went for it.

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That's awesome.
So what's now the meaning behind

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the name?
The State I Am is such a unique

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title.
What does it represent for you

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personally, and how does it
reflect the kind of stories or

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themes that you want to explore
in your podcast?

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Yeah.
So the state I'm in it first and

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foremost, I live in Alaska.
So it's all-encompassing of the

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things, the issues, the people,
the culture, the history that is

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Alaska.
So the state I'm in physically

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is Alaska.
And then the other thing is

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just, you know, for me
personally, I'm kind of a deep

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thinker and I go through, you
know, different phases of life

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as a father, as a husband, as,
you know, someone who has

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different pursuits out of sight
outside of the podcast world,

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you know, things I'm working on,
on my health or my education.

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And so I'm, I kind of always go
through these different stages.

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And, and so I wanted to
introduce that into the show as

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well.
And, you know, it kind of formed

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this mantra of keep N, which is
the, you know, I guess the

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thesis or the, you know, value
system of the podcast.

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And and that's just that I
would, you know, look to keep

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North or, you know, keep Alaska
by looking at preserving the

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things that we care about, the
way of life, It's culture, you

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know, it's resources, you know,
that everything in the show

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would be kind of geared towards
that.

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You know, we have a specific way
of doing things here, you know,

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hunting and gathering and, you
know, we have fishing and it's

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just, it's a part of life.
And the other part is keeping

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north as far as direction, you
know, where we're headed, you

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know, who's leading us and what
are the issues that we're

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concerned about that my
neighbors are concerned about

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that I'm concerned about, you
know, for my kids and their

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future.
And then the last thing is just

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kind of the faith aspect of
keeping north by just kind of

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looking heavenward and being
like, you know, how does this

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all relate to my own faith?
And the other thing is I had no

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intention of this.
But more and more I you sit down

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with someone and talk for a
couple hours, you're going to

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start getting into like the
deeper questions of God and you

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know, how the world works and
you know, the deeper issues.

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And so all of that was kind of
wrapped up in this phrase of the

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state I'm in.
I just thought it was so fitting

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and I absolutely love it.
That's awesome.

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So starting a podcast can feel
overwhelming.

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You know, I can just speak from
experience.

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So how did you actually begin,
you know, choosing equipment,

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making your studio, you have an
in person experience.

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Talk to me about what some of
that look like.

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Because it's one thing to start
a podcast that's remote, which

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is what most most people do.
It's another thing to start a

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podcast where you're asking
folks to come and sit down with

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you for a couple hours.
So walk me through kind of what

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that look like for you.
Yeah, it was really important to

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actually try to sit down with
someone in person.

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And so right off the bat, I knew
that, you know, I wanted to

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have, of course, amazing audio
or the best I could get for it

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at the time.
And then I, I wanted video as

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well.
And so, you know, thank God for

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YouTube.
I guarantee there's many people

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that are like, how do I improve,
you know, in this or that,

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whether it's, you know, farming
or, you know, how to make

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something, you know, you go to
YouTube and, and thank God for

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that resource.
And I was right along with them,

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you know, YouTube University and
there's so many people, great

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people out there sharing
information on, you know, types

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of equipment you should use
based on what you're going to

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do.
And so I knew I wanted to do an

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in person, you know, video
podcast.

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And so I just started started
YouTube again.

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I think PSS media was probably
the biggest one that stood out

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to me to really kind of walk me
through the steps of how to

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start a podcast.
And the hardest part, honestly,

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John was just saying I'm going
to do this and and starting.

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Well, what goes through your
brain or process to kind of pick

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the type of guests that you want
to be on the show?

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Maybe you know, what kind of
process did you go through for

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the first, you know, 12 that
have been on the show and has

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your process tweaked along the
way?

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Yeah, I think one thing I've
always kind of realized is that

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everybody has a story, but not
everybody is advertising that

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story.
And and I guess maybe not

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everyone wants to advertise
their story.

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And that's completely fine.
You know, not everyone is going

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to be putting out an album or a
book or a podcast or, you know,

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putting themselves out on social
media.

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And that's that's totally fine.
But what I noticed was that

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there are those people out there
that have decided to take steps

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forward and something that is
important to them.

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So that's the first step that I
took was just looking at, at

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people in my community, people
in my state that had something

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that they were passionate about
and they took steps towards

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sharing that with others.
And so there was, you know,

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people just in my local vicinity
that, you know, took small

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steps, you know, they weren't
publishing books or anything

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like that, but, you know, maybe
they were on a radio show, maybe

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they were doing a lecture
series.

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You know, those are the people
that I reached out to first

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because fun.
Those are the issues and the

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topics that are the closest to
me in my community.

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But then it's it's a local
resource of someone that's

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easily accessible that it
already wants to get something

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they're passionate about out
there.

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And that was the easiest place
to go.

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So I think of the business
owners that are, you know,

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killing it, you know, that are
doing amazing things.

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You know, the business owners in
the community are, are huge

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because in every community,
those are the people that had a

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good idea and they took a step
forward in a big kind of way.

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And then from there, honestly,
John, it's like from one story

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to the next, people are like,
you know, who has a really cool

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story?
Is this person or you know who

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you should talk to is this
person?

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Because especially in a small,
you know, Alaska has a very

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small town feel to it.
You learn very quickly that you

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can, you're like two people away
from talking to someone and

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it's, it's, it's pretty cool.
I started just where it was at

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and it's just kind of grown from
there.

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Was it tough to get those first
couple guests because you're,

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you know, it gets easier as you
go along the way.

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It's just from my experience.
But those first couple guests,

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what was that like?
I mean, hey, do you, you want to

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come on my new podcast, talk to
me a little bit about that

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because I think sometimes that's
daunting for a lot of folks.

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You know, they can get the
Riverside and they can buy a mic

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and they can do those things.
But oh crap, now I got to

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convince this person to come on
my show.

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What was it like those first
couple guests?

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Yeah, I think part of it, there
was a few people where I had

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already established some trust.
And so I think they knew that my

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heart behind it wasn't to, you
know, Zing him with some crazy

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questions or I had a specific
angle in mind.

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It was just, hey, I think what
you're doing is really cool.

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And I think other people would
have, would appreciate hearing

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your story or hearing what
you're doing.

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There were some cold calls.
Definitely a people had no idea

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who I was.
And that was a, that was a

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little bit more intimidating.
But I think, you know, if

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someone at least, you know,
stayed around for the

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conversation, you know, and
didn't just hang up the phone

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and hear the heart behind it is
that you're really just trying

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to share a story.
And I think that people like

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that and I, and I, at least what
I, what I've learned is that

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people like hearing the stories
on the other end of it too.

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And so I would say fear was a
was definitely a big part of it

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going into it.
But the more I just got

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comfortable and asking, the more
I realized people are open to

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this.
And even if they they say no,

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it's not because they're not,
they don't believe in what I'm

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doing.
A lot of times public speaking

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isn't comfortable for a lot of
people.

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So you know that that's part of
it.

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But I would say it's been pretty
positive.

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I've been surprised because I
thought for sure like to be it,

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you know, just a dozen episodes.
I, I think a success for me is

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anytime someone says yes.
And so far I've, I've got a lot

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of yeses and I'm, you know, just
thankful for everyone that has

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has agreed to it to this point.
That's awesome.

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00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,040
So take me a little bit behind
the scenes of like your creative

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00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,320
process of how do you prepare
for an interview?

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You know, do you have a pre
interview with the folks?

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Is there a conversation
beforehand?

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Are you sending over show notes?
Is there post production that

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00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:32,400
goes into it after you know, the
the episodes recorded and you

239
00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,840
got to do edits, take us a
little bit, kind of peek behind

240
00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,320
the curtains of what your
process is like from from A-Z.

241
00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,120
You don't have to spill all the
secret sauce, but just for folks

242
00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,840
out there what you know, it's a
lot more work than just showing

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00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,480
up and looking at a camera.
Totally.

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00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:53,480
I mean, I really appreciate
shows and I mean books, movies,

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00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:55,880
anything where a lot of research
is done prior.

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00:11:56,200 --> 00:12:00,800
So there are a lot of people
that do share their lives on on

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00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:02,600
social media.
And do you have like, you know,

248
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they'll create a page for
something they're passionate

249
00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:06,960
about or their for their
business or for their movement

250
00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,960
or what you know, social issues
that they're working on.

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And, and it helps me knowing
what the goal is of my show and

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00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:18,840
to reflect that with what
someone else is doing online

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00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:22,000
that's accessible.
I can kind of do my research

254
00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,520
ahead of time to see, like get a
feel for this person.

255
00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:27,000
What are they, you know,
passionate about what is, you

256
00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:28,640
know, their goal and what
they're doing.

257
00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:32,720
And then I look internally to,
you know, this show, I'm like,

258
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OK, how can we, you know, how
can we develop that more?

259
00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:39,400
And, and that really helps a
lot, especially, you know, with

260
00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:41,920
authors.
I'd love to read books, you

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00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:44,440
know, before I have, I've had a
couple authors on the show just

262
00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:48,040
that live in in Alaska and in
their experiences.

263
00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:51,400
And it's great to read those
stories to just have a firm

264
00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,160
foundation on who this person
is, what their story is, because

265
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that just adds so much to the
conversation.

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And so it, when you finally meet
them and you sit down at the

267
00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,840
table, you're kind of picking up
the conversation just from what

268
00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:05,120
you've learned through their,
through their writing and, and

269
00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:06,960
you can kind of do the same
through social media.

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00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,040
I do do a guest form, just kind
of a basic guest form.

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It started off really bare
bones.

272
00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:14,640
It's kind of gotten like way too
detailed now.

273
00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,080
And I think I'm going to back
off a little bit, but the guest

274
00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,040
form does help.
I'm just to kind of talk about

275
00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:22,000
some minor things with, you know
what, you know what their time

276
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,240
availability is like, you know,
maybe someone doesn't want to

277
00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:26,880
sit down and talk to me for over
an hour or two hours.

278
00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:29,800
You know, it kind of helps weed
out some of those aspects.

279
00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:32,760
But it does definitely give me a
little bit of a head start in

280
00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:36,000
planning the episode as it as it
gets closer.

281
00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,560
That's awesome.
So take me back to maybe one of

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00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:45,160
your favorite moments with a
guest so far and or a moment

283
00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:48,640
where you thought, ma'am, I'm
actually doing this and it's

284
00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:50,680
making a difference.
This is pretty cool.

285
00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:54,560
Well, I joke that every new
guest is my favorite guest.

286
00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:57,320
Nice.
It's kind of the way it goes.

287
00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,600
And I think that's for a variety
of reasons.

288
00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,160
I think it's because just
starting out, you know, I'm not

289
00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:06,240
talking to, you know, the same
type of person.

290
00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:07,680
We all have different
personalities.

291
00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:11,280
We all have different pursuits.
And I, I intentionally have had

292
00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:15,640
a variety of people on my show,
from geologists to doctors to

293
00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,960
authors to just, you know,
policemen and business owners.

294
00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:21,840
And, and so everyone kind of has
their own thing that they bring

295
00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:24,480
to the table.
And so every time I get a chance

296
00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:27,480
to sit down with, with someone
new, it's like it's a whole new

297
00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,320
experience.
And I, I think that that comes

298
00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:34,800
through on the other side for
the listener as well, because

299
00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:37,440
you're not going to hear the
same thing, you know, week to

300
00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:39,040
week.
And I, and I really, I really

301
00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,800
like that aspect of it.
But I will say that my most

302
00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:44,520
recent guest, you know, he's a,
he's a Army veteran, you know,

303
00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:48,440
he parachuted into Iraq in 2003
when that war was just kicking

304
00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:51,320
off.
And he's authored a couple books

305
00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:55,560
and he, he just has an amazing,
amazing story that is very

306
00:14:55,560 --> 00:15:00,680
human, very relatable, Not a
cush cookie cutter house with

307
00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,560
the white picket fence story.
It's, it's kind of rough and but

308
00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:07,520
it's, and it's really raw.
But I think what's so cool about

309
00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,640
that and what's so cool about
all people that that share their

310
00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:13,800
stories is that, let me put it
this way.

311
00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,240
I like to picture humanity just
kind of holding hands in a giant

312
00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:19,440
circle.
But we have these dividers on

313
00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:22,520
either side of us.
And when you get the opportunity

314
00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,320
to hear a real story, you know,
someone that's sharing their

315
00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:28,760
struggle, sharing their highs
and lows, I feel like those

316
00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:31,920
dividers just kind of come down
and we see each other.

317
00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:34,040
And we say you went through that
too.

318
00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,360
You felt grief, you felt this
kind of pain, you felt this kind

319
00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:39,680
of trauma, or you felt this kind
of success.

320
00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,040
And there's like a connection
that happens when you see that.

321
00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,760
So I think with Robert Stark, my
guest that I previously had

322
00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:49,480
putting his story out there, it
was really like, man, this is

323
00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:52,240
the humanity that we need.
I think this is the kind of

324
00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:55,160
stuff that really connects
people to one another.

325
00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:59,120
And, and I think that's, that's
definitely the, the thing that

326
00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,000
makes me say like, I'm going to
keep doing this because if I can

327
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,960
keep putting, you know, stories
out there to where people can,

328
00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:07,800
can just connect with like the
heart of stuff versus just the

329
00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,160
comment section online, I think,
you know, some good can

330
00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:13,480
definitely come of it.
That's awesome.

331
00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,720
So it's it's one thing to have a
great looking studio, getting

332
00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:21,080
good guests, having a good
experience, you know, with with

333
00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:24,160
a guest, one or two hours.
It's sometimes a whole nother

334
00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:28,160
thing to then go figure out a
way to then market that podcast.

335
00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,680
Talk to me a little bit about
what your marketing hat looks

336
00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,720
like, what you've done, some of
the things that's maybe worked

337
00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:39,400
or hasn't worked for folks
wondering, man, I have this idea

338
00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,440
for a podcast.
I'd love to get it out, but I

339
00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:44,280
don't have any idea how to
market it.

340
00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:45,800
I mean, my mom will listen to
it.

341
00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:47,960
I know that, but I don't know
but he else besides that.

342
00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:51,000
So talk to me a little bit about
what your process is like on the

343
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,920
marketing side.
Yeah, so it's this isn't my my

344
00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:56,880
full time job.
You know, I have other stuff

345
00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:00,280
that I do and and, you know, I
have a family and I have a, you

346
00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,040
know, full time job.
This is a total creative outlet

347
00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:05,560
for me that I feel like is doing
some kind of good in the world.

348
00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:09,480
So to talk about like marking
marketing, it is like just a,

349
00:17:10,599 --> 00:17:13,760
something that I'm basically
just doing starting where I'm

350
00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:14,960
at.
And that's, you know, like I

351
00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:18,760
said, word of mouth is, is huge.
Using the free resources that

352
00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:21,680
you have available through
social media and Facebook and

353
00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:26,040
Instagram and TikTok and things
like that can, can grow fairly

354
00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,480
quickly.
One thing I have started doing

355
00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:30,720
though, is looking into
advertising through those

356
00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:34,920
platforms because I've learned
that their targeting is way

357
00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,440
better than mine will ever be
and they know exactly who will

358
00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:40,680
link up with your show.
Think it's interesting.

359
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,160
And so I'm starting to explore
that a little bit more.

360
00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:45,880
You know, I, I have a certain
amount of capital that I want to

361
00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,240
put into that each month.
And so, but it's not, it's not

362
00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,160
big on my radar right now,
especially just starting off.

363
00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:54,880
You know, when I, when I started
this, I read a book by Jonna

364
00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:59,000
Cuff called, it was called Start
and he used to be part of I

365
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:00,640
think the Dave Ramsey team at
one point.

366
00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:03,000
He's kind of like a business
entrepreneur type.

367
00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,280
And one of the things he said
and emphasized in that book that

368
00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:08,600
has always stuck with me is that
you should focus more on

369
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:12,080
practicing than promoting.
And I think that's exactly where

370
00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:14,680
I'm at right now.
Is it, you know, this

371
00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:17,080
conversation with you, this is
practice for me, you know, being

372
00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,960
a dozen episodes into it and you
know, every episode that I that

373
00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,600
I do, this is all practice.
I'm learning something every

374
00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:25,760
time.
So, you know, I, I hope it

375
00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,520
episode 100, you're going to get
a much better quality show than

376
00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,280
at episode 12.
And, and that's kind of my, my

377
00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,200
mindset going into it is that
everything that I do is, is

378
00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:38,400
building the brand and building
the identity that I want for

379
00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:40,640
this show.
So I don't think I'm really

380
00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,480
emphasizing the marketing part
of it yet, but it'll definitely

381
00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:46,640
come.
Nice, so most podcasts don't

382
00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,760
make it to episode #10 you've
made it to 12.

383
00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:52,520
What keeps you going?
I mean, you got your husband,

384
00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,320
your father, you got other
things you're doing on the side

385
00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,960
of podcast is not a small task
to tackle.

386
00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:01,760
What keeps you motivated to keep
going?

387
00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:05,040
Yeah, I think every listener is
a the motivator.

388
00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:07,960
You know, whether you know, 5
people listen to it or 100

389
00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:11,280
people listen to it.
I think just knowing that this

390
00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:14,120
work could be resonating with
someone else is definitely a

391
00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:16,320
motivator.
The other part of it is that

392
00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:18,760
there's not a whole lot of, I
don't feel a lot of pressure

393
00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:20,600
with it.
Like I said, this is definitely

394
00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,800
like a creative outlet for me.
It's something that I'm doing

395
00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:28,600
kind of is a hobby that I would
really like to develop more, but

396
00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:31,080
the pressure isn't there.
You know, the pressure isn't

397
00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:32,840
like I need this amount of views
this month.

398
00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:34,680
I need this, you know, kind of
income.

399
00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:36,680
I need the show to generate some
income this month.

400
00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:37,960
You know, that pressure isn't
there.

401
00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:40,960
This is like purely just
creating.

402
00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:42,880
And I think that's what keeps me
going.

403
00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:45,440
That's what keeps me coming back
to the, to the camera, keeps me

404
00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:48,360
coming back to researching, you
know, potential guests and stuff

405
00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:50,840
like that.
That's awesome.

406
00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:53,280
So let's say a new listener
listens in.

407
00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,280
What do you hope that they walk
away with?

408
00:19:56,360 --> 00:20:00,120
Is it inspiration?
Is it maybe a different outlook

409
00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:03,080
on life?
What's a win for you for a new

410
00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:05,840
listener?
I would say a win for me would

411
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:09,880
be for someone to approach the,
you know, approach the

412
00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:14,120
conversation with an open mind.
Or maybe, you know, they're

413
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,400
planted in their opinion on, in
one way or the other based on

414
00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,080
the guests that I'm having or
not that I have a whole lot of

415
00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:21,880
controversial topics on this
show.

416
00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,520
But you know, as you talk with
people, you know, you, you

417
00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:29,080
figure out that, that you may
not see eye to eye.

418
00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:33,040
And I, I think the value of a
long format podcast is you're

419
00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,920
able to have a conversation with
someone and your opinion might,

420
00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,280
might not be totally changed,
but at least you'll start to ask

421
00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:42,240
some questions or maybe you'll
learn something.

422
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,600
And I think the important part
with that is for the host is to

423
00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,720
kind of facilitate that to where
it's not a hostile environment.

424
00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:52,160
It's not, you know, in an
environment to where I am, I am

425
00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:54,440
letting you know, I'm definitely
not going to be swayed in my

426
00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:58,280
opinions or my beliefs, but that
I'm open and I'm at the table to

427
00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,440
have a conversation in a
civilized manner, in a way

428
00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:03,160
that's respectful of one
another.

429
00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:07,280
And, and so I hope every person
that listens senses that and

430
00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:10,200
comes away with inspiration for
sure, because there's plenty of

431
00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,520
inspiration, inspirational
stories in the state that, you

432
00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,520
know, maybe they learn something
about themselves or maybe, you

433
00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,720
know, allow them allow
themselves to consider an

434
00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,720
opposing opinion and and find
some common ground.

435
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:26,640
So when you look to the future,
maybe a year or two from now,

436
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,480
what are your some of your
biggest hopes and dreams for the

437
00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:33,160
podcast specifically, you're
looking back two years from now,

438
00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:36,480
What do you think you could look
back on and say, ma'am, I'm

439
00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:38,440
really killing it.
What are some of those hopes and

440
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:40,600
dreams?
Yeah, the so, so many.

441
00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:44,440
I think one of the things is
yeah, just a smaller technical

442
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,440
stage is just to be more
comfortable in the in the

443
00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,840
process of networking with
guests and with editing and

444
00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,520
with, you know, the video
production and, you know, maybe

445
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,920
I want to have another camera,
go for a different camera angle

446
00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:59,760
or, you know, those kind of just
technical aspects.

447
00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,480
I think the way it looks is very
important to me and because I

448
00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:06,720
also, you know, I talk about
long format stuff, but I do that

449
00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:09,960
because I, I definitely want
those sound bites and those,

450
00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:12,440
those video clips to be shared
because I think that's how you

451
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:16,120
get people to engage with, with
your content is, is, you know,

452
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:18,880
to hear, you know, 30 seconds to
a minute of something and be

453
00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,360
like, Oh, that sounds like an
interesting conversation.

454
00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:23,680
I might want to listen to that
full episode.

455
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,000
So there's, there's that aspect
of just getting more comfortable

456
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,640
with the technical part.
And then the other part is just

457
00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,160
growing the network.
You know, I would like to see

458
00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:35,920
higher profile people in the
state sitting down across the

459
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,720
table from me.
I think immediately what comes

460
00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:41,560
to my mind is, is politicians,
you know, our governor, you

461
00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:45,200
know, some of our senators and
congressman, but not so much to

462
00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:48,480
even discuss politics, but maybe
just to sit down and get a feel

463
00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:52,080
for who they are is people.
And where do they like to go to

464
00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:54,360
eat, you know, when they're on
the peninsula, you know, what's,

465
00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,280
what's their, you know, most
recent book that they've read,

466
00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,320
you know, this and this could be
current or former.

467
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,320
And I think that that's there's
a lot of value in that,

468
00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:05,640
especially in a small state.
And like I said, where you're

469
00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,560
only two or three people away
from those coming into contact

470
00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:10,560
with those people.
So I think about that, you know,

471
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,720
maybe some higher profile
Alaskan politicians, but you

472
00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:18,560
know, business owners, you know,
the oil and gas industry, you

473
00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,920
know, people from, you know, the
the fishing industry in the

474
00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:25,120
commercial fishing and you know,
a lot of the issues in the big

475
00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:26,800
players surrounding those
issues.

476
00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,360
Honestly, I'd be proud to still
be doing this in two years and

477
00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:34,400
to have, you know, a couple 100
episodes under my belt and just

478
00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:36,800
to say that I'm still going for
it would be a win for me.

479
00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:39,760
That's awesome.
So tell folks where they can

480
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:43,680
find the podcast, all the
things, we'll put all the

481
00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:45,800
details in the in the
description, but for folks

482
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:47,760
listening and where can they,
where can they find your

483
00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,480
podcast?
Yeah, so you can find the state

484
00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:52,960
I am in on all podcast
platforms.

485
00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:57,040
So Apple podcast, Spotify,
wherever you listen and then on

486
00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,960
social media, you can find me at
the state of the state I am in

487
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:05,040
podcast and that's on Facebook,
Instagram and TikTok.

488
00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,480
And then YouTube, YouTube is
kind of kicking off a little bit

489
00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:11,920
smaller following there, but
that is also at the state I am

490
00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:13,280
in.
Of course, you if you're

491
00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:15,600
interested in being a guest or
want to reach out to me

492
00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:20,760
directly, my e-mail is
manny@youguesseditthestateimin.com.

493
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:23,640
Well, folks listening in, I
would encourage you, I'm going

494
00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:25,440
to put all the links into the
description.

495
00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,120
Go check out the podcast.
And you just got kind of a

496
00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:31,520
master class on what it looks
like to start a podcast from

497
00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:36,960
scratch and B12 episodes in, in
a in person, studio long format

498
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:38,360
podcast.
So man, I want to thank you so

499
00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,240
much for joining us here.
We wish you nothing but success

500
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,080
and you're welcome back anytime.
Hope you have an awesome rest of

501
00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:45,760
your day.
I appreciate it, John.

502
00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:46,560
Thank you so much.