#198 - The End Of PGU

What do you do when the podcast you love no longer fits where you are headed?

In today’s episode, I share why I decided to end Podcast Growth University and what that choice taught me about podcasts, podcasters, and podcasting. I talk about staying honest with your goals, knowing when a show still makes sense, and understanding that not every podcast needs to last forever to matter.

This episode is for creators who want to grow with purpose, make smarter decisions, and use their time well. If you have been thinking about your podcast strategy, your priorities, or your next move, this conversation will give you something real to think about.

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If you want to learn more about podcasts, reach out to Kevin:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Email: Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com

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Show notes:
(1:21) When priorities need to shift
(3:20) Why focus beats doing more
(5:25) Rechecking why you started
(8:03) The truth about real priorities
(11:07) Why pivoting can be wise
(14:51) Final message for podcasters
(15:34) Outro

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🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri

With over 3,000 podcast episodes of experience, Kevin Palmieri brings you Podcast Growth University. Your go-to show for growing your podcast, building an audience, and monetizing your message. Learn the strategies that actually work from someone who’s done it consistently. Subscribe for weekly growth tactics that help you turn your podcast into a business

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) It feels very strange as a podcast coach who podcasts to say that this is going to be the final episode of Podcast Growth University, but it is. (0:10) And will it be forever? (0:11) I don't know, but I am excited to talk about why, because I think it goes hand-in-hand with all of the things that we've been talking about over the last almost 200 episodes of this show.(0:25) Hey, podcast people, welcome to Podcast Growth University. (0:30) I am your host, Kevin Palmieri. (0:32) Over the last five years and thousand episodes that I have been on, I have learned a lot about podcasting, what to do, what not to do, and the common mistakes that people, including myself, have made.(0:45) This weekly podcast is focused on helping you grow, scale, and monetize your show. (0:52) Every single episode will be focused on that. (0:55) Let's do it.(0:58) Podcast Growth Nation today for episode number 198, The End of PGU. (1:04) So I try to practice what I teach, right? (1:08) Because most of what I teach is based on what I've practiced for long enough that I saw a very good result.(1:15) So it made sense to teach other people to do it, right? (1:17) So I try to practice what I teach always, always, always, always, always. (1:21) And if you've listened to this podcast for any length of time, you know I'm always talking about making final decisions and going back to what we talked about last week, procrastinating, eliminating, automating, delegating, all that stuff, doubling down, all that stuff.(1:38) And sometimes that requires you, now not always, and I'm not saying this is going to be the case for you, but sometimes that requires you to do uncomfortable things and take time from something that you enjoy doing and put it into something that you either enjoy doing more or is more needed or whatever it may be. (2:00) So Alan and I were talking yesterday and we've grown a bunch in the business and we've grown a bunch as people and we just understand things at a higher level than we ever have in the past. (2:12) And the whole point of Podcast Growth University was eventually to have its own type of business model, right?(2:24) Podcast Growth University is going to be the free stuff. (2:26) And then I'm always going to do free stuff, obviously. (2:28) Then we're going to have Podcast Growth Nation.(2:30) We're going to have a Facebook group where we post in it every day. (2:32) And then we're going to have group coaching that's just from Podcast Growth and we'll have different stuff, right? (2:37) We have the packages and all that stuff.(2:40) And I think as we've done this for, I'm coming up on what, 52 weeks? (2:47) I'm coming up on four years of doing this, I think, this show, which is crazy to me. (2:51) That doesn't even make sense.(2:53) But 52 times four is 208. (2:57) So yeah, I'm 10 episodes away from four years. (3:01) I love this.(3:02) I thoroughly enjoy doing this and we are just having really good success in the business with things that we should just double down on. (3:11) And that's the hard part about this. (3:14) And maybe you'll look at me differently and say, well, you're giving up on the podcast thing.(3:18) I don't know. (3:19) I don't know what you'll think. (3:20) And no, I'm not giving up on the podcast thing.(3:21) We're still going to do seven episodes a week with NLU. (3:25) But it's just this doesn't make the level of sense that it once did. (3:30) I think that's probably like the most candid explanation I can give.(3:34) And the time is better spent just growing next level university. (3:40) So that's the other interesting thing too. (3:42) And this is a conversation for everybody.(3:45) This is like a lesson I've learned and that I hopefully can pass on to other people. (3:49) I think we used to live in a time where you had to do the specific thing that you wanted to help other people do. (4:00) So I guess by definition I have, right.(4:04) I've grown and scaled a podcast to a coming up on multimillion dollar business and million listens and all that happy jazz. (4:12) Then you start a podcast about podcasts because it makes sense. (4:15) It's like, well, I want to be the podcast guy.(4:17) I want to help people with podcasts. (4:18) I'm going to start a podcast about podcasts. (4:20) When in reality, I don't know if that's really the way this, the economy of, of creators is going because there's people out there that like just have done hundreds of live events that could definitely coach people on how to do hundreds of live events.(4:35) Cause they eventually got to the point where they did it successfully. (4:37) So it doesn't mean you should have a podcast about live events necessarily. (4:40) Right.(4:41) So that's something we're kind of learning is we thought NLU was going to be like success. (4:46) We were going to teach people how to be successful in fitness, finance, and family. (4:52) Then podcast growth.(4:53) You was going to have its own complete turnoff runoff of business where it was just podcast stuff. (5:00) And then Alan was going to have the same thing, but for business growth university, and that was going to be just business owners. (5:06) And it just makes sense to do one thing really well, because we can help more people if we just do that one thing really well.(5:15) And I can still connect with podcasters and I can still add value and I can still do breakthrough sessions. (5:20) I can do all that. (5:21) Alan's doing the same thing with business.(5:22) So it just gets to a point where it's like, if you check in constantly with why you're doing something and it gets to the point where you realize, okay, the reason I started it is not the reason I'm doing it anymore. (5:35) Or the reason I started it, things have pivoted and I haven't pivoted. (5:38) It goes back to a lot of the fundamentals we've talked about.(5:43) And this is why I tell people all the time, I might be, I'm not saying I'm the only one, but I am a podcast coach who does not think everybody in every business should have a podcast. (5:53) I just, some people, it's just not going to serve them at the level that they think. (5:57) And their time might be spent better elsewhere, right?(6:00) And I think that's kind of what we're seeing here. (6:03) Not that I don't love this. (6:04) I do love this.(6:05) I honestly, there's a part of me that doesn't want to stop. (6:08) There's a big part of me that doesn't want to stop. (6:10) I'm usually somebody who's very quick to make decisions.(6:12) Like we had the conversation and we were talking about one department and I said, he said, what do you think? (6:17) And I said, can it done, gone. (6:19) And then when we got to this, I was like, I don't know, man, it's weird.(6:22) It's weird imagining this not happening anymore, but I do think it is the right choice as much as it sucks. (6:32) And as much as I don't know, maybe you'll look at me differently. (6:34) I don't know.(6:35) I hope not. (6:35) But you know, that is the hard part of this is we are trying to, and always getting more clear on like, what is moving the needle? (6:43) What is moving the needle?(6:44) What is moving the needle? (6:46) Right? (6:46) We've talked about the Pareto principle, the 20% of effort that gives 80% of results, right?(6:53) We have a lot of places right now where we're putting in, we know where the 20% is that gives us the 80% of results. (7:01) And I'm not, it's not just like financial results. (7:03) I'm not saying that it's just results in general, aligned results, maybe is better.(7:07) That's a better, a better thought process. (7:11) So I think the lesson for everybody is you just have to continue forever. (7:17) Re-checking why you're doing what you're doing.(7:19) Is it still serving the purpose? (7:20) If so, awesome. (7:21) If not, why not?(7:23) How do we realign? (7:24) Is it worth realigning? (7:25) Are your time, energy, effort, and focus better off somewhere else?(7:30) That's the question. (7:31) And that's why, like, I don't know, will this come back at some point? (7:33) Maybe.(7:34) I don't know. (7:35) I don't know what's going to happen. (7:37) I never thought I was going to have a podcast about podcasts.(7:39) I didn't, I didn't know. (7:41) I didn't know. (7:42) So I'm not going to come on here.(7:44) The last thing I'm gonna do is come on here and say, well, you know, I got, I got really busy and I don't have time to do it. (7:48) Nope. (7:48) That is not the, that is not the excuse.(7:50) That is not the circumstance. (7:52) Oh, I'm overwhelmed and I can't keep up. (7:54) Nope.(7:54) That is not the excuse. (7:55) That is not the circumstance. (7:56) I wouldn't lie.(7:57) I don't want to lie about that. (7:59) It just isn't the best priority right now. (8:03) That's the truth.(8:04) That's the truth. (8:05) And I think that's a truth that we all have to get comfortable with ourselves first, with all, all stuff, with all stuff, whatever it is, if you would rather, if it's more important to you to sleep in than it is to go to the gym, that's a decision, right? (8:21) Okay.(8:21) That's a priority. (8:22) You're choosing that. (8:23) Same for me.(8:25) It's the opposite. (8:25) I prioritize the gym more than I do sleep. (8:28) And that's not a good thing.(8:29) I'm not saying that as like a hustle porn thing. (8:31) No, no, that's not a good thing. (8:32) I need to make sure I'm getting a healthy amount of sleep.(8:35) And I just think this is a conversation and a thought process for all of us. (8:40) What is the best use of your time? (8:42) You only have so much time.(8:44) You only have so much time. (8:46) And another thought process too, this is an interesting thing. (8:49) When one thing changes, everything changes.(8:53) So when you understand something new at a deeper level, theoretically, you have to revisit everything because everything changes a little bit, right? (9:01) Imagine you just found out that you're colorblind and for your entire life, everything you thought was red is blue. (9:09) You have to like, every time you see something, you're going to have to run that through a new filter.(9:14) Every time you see something and you're going to look at all your clothes and you're going to look at all your partner's clothes and maybe the color of your car and the color of your house and the flowers and everything you have, everything's going to look a little bit different. (9:27) Every picture you've ever taken, you're going to see through a new lens now, right? (9:31) I kind of think that is a similar thing to this, where when you learn something, it affects everything.(9:40) It affects everything. (9:41) And the learning for us was there are things that we do really well, that if we just continue doing really well, we can have the same but probably a higher level of impact by just doubling, tripling, and quadrupling down on those things. (9:58) And then the other conversation is, well, how long do you do something for before you figure out whether or not it's worth it?(10:05) I don't know. (10:06) I don't know. (10:08) I would, for me, this isn't about, like, I don't really care.(10:14) I don't care about the listens, really. (10:16) I don't care about getting clients from the show. (10:18) I don't, like, I really don't.(10:20) I mean, I've done 200 episodes and yeah, we've gotten like a handful of clients, but I don't, it's not set up that way. (10:26) I really don't care about that. (10:28) So I would do a thousand episodes without getting any level of success from this quote unquote, just because I enjoy doing this.(10:35) So it's not that, it's not like I didn't get certain results and certain timelines and certain metrics by a certain date. (10:41) This is not, I mean, that's not it at all. (10:43) When it comes to this show, it's for me, I just enjoy doing it.(10:47) I very much enjoy doing it. (10:50) And yes, very honestly, very transparently, the thought process was, well, eventually it would lead to some sort of its own business model, right? (10:59) Because the goal is, you know, it would pay for itself or whatever, whatever the goal for it is.(11:04) But as things change, the strategy changes too. (11:07) So one, I want everybody to think of the perspective of it's okay to pivot. (11:17) Pivoting is, I think that is like one of the main keys to success.(11:21) Being consistent is amazing. (11:23) Being committed is amazing. (11:25) Being consistent without decision making is not great.(11:28) Being consistent without nuance is dangerous because you just do the same thing. (11:32) It's great, right? (11:33) That's really good for success.(11:35) But if you don't check in on why you're doing the thing, that's a whole nother conversation, right? (11:40) That's a whole nother conversation. (11:42) So yeah, this is going to be the last episode of PGU.(11:46) Forever, I don't know. (11:46) For a while, definitely. (11:48) Will I revisit?(11:49) Don't know. (11:50) And like, I don't have anything written down. (11:51) This is very much me just trying to authentically share with you out there what's going on in my mind and yeah, kind of working through it.(12:03) And there's definitely like a little piece of me that's embarrassed. (12:06) I don't know why. (12:08) I don't know.(12:10) Because I don't like to start things unless I'm going to do them for very, very, very, very long. (12:14) And again, 200 episodes is a long time, but not really to me, right? (12:17) Different contrast, different perspective.(12:19) So I think there's a little piece of me with that too. (12:22) Is like, are you now going to think everything I said in the past was useless information? (12:26) And if you do, you have every right to, that you have every right to.(12:30) I don't think that's the case. (12:32) I think this is a really good thing. (12:35) And I think it's me taking the advice that I would give somebody else.(12:38) But I also understand if you don't feel that way. (12:41) So I don't know. (12:42) How do I end this?(12:43) How do you end a podcast? (12:45) I've never done that before. (12:46) I've never ended a podcast.(12:48) This is what I would say based on this, continuously check in with yourself to figure out whether or not the actions you are taking towards your goals are still aligned. (12:59) And then like really check in with your ego, really check in with what you want to do. (13:06) All of those things.(13:07) I enjoy doing this and I enjoy doing a lot of other things. (13:14) And there are only so many priorities that you should have. (13:19) But yeah, I could do an episode every week for sure, right?(13:21) It takes me 20 minutes, half hour, whatever. (13:24) But what could I do with that 20 minutes or half hour when it comes to answering client emails or whatever it is, right? (13:31) That is the never ending juggling act and the never ending comparison that we all have.(13:37) Opportunity cost that is a real thing. (13:40) All right, I'm going to get out of here. (13:42) What do I hope for you?(13:43) I hope for you that me freestyling and just sharing my thoughts, like my raw thoughts, my new awarenesses was some level of valuable for sure. (13:52) I hope that for sure. (13:54) And I hope you find where you're going, whatever that means.(13:59) Like I'm just, I'm not the guy that's going to say you should, you have to have a podcast forever. (14:04) Yeah. (14:04) If you want to be a podcaster forever, you have to have a podcast forever.(14:07) I am going to have NLU forever. (14:10) That's never going to go anywhere. (14:11) That's my baby, right?(14:13) But everybody's different. (14:15) So figure out like, what are the goals? (14:18) What is, what about it is meaningful to you?(14:22) I think those are important things to have because it's very easy just to fall into the day to day. (14:26) Okay. (14:27) I do this every day.(14:28) I do this every week, whatever it is. (14:30) And you forget why you started in the first place. (14:32) So maybe that would I hope you reconnect with your why.(14:35) And I think this is a really good example of that. (14:39) I can still, like my goal is to help people, right? (14:42) That's always been my goal.(14:43) My goal is to be the type of person I needed when I was at my lowest point. (14:46) That will always be my goal. (14:47) I can still do that.(14:49) I mean, I am still doing that obviously. (14:51) Right. (14:51) NLU we do an episode every day and I'm on shows to talk about podcasting and I always have opportunities for people to reach out.(14:59) So like that's never going to leave. (15:01) So if you listen to this and you don't listen to next level university and you want to continue on the journey, check out next level university. (15:07) We do an episode every day.(15:08) And like, seriously, if you have questions that you never asked, or if there's anything I never, I didn't talk about that you wanted to hear, email me or message me on Instagram. (15:18) Or if you have my WhatsApp, send me a, send me a WhatsApp message. (15:21) I will answer all that stuff.(15:22) I will answer all of that. (15:24) That might even be more valuable because I can be very, very, very specific with you and what you're going through. (15:30) So that's my final call to action as always.(15:35) And I have to change this part as always keep on crushing it, keep on podcasting if it's aligned and I will see you when I see you. (15:47) Thank you for listening to another episode of podcast growth university. (15:51) If you found value in this episode, please take a couple of seconds and leave a review in the link below.(15:59) And you can always reach out to me on Instagram. (16:02) My handle is at never quit kid. (16:04) I am happy to answer any and all questions you have.(16:07) We'll talk to you on the next episode.