What would you do if you had to pick yourself up from your bootstraps and start over again in business, all on your own? Ben Albert was in that position — and he’s today’s guest on TDM, talking with host Mark DeGrasse about how he built a new marketing business using the podcast model. Ben is now the owner and founder of Real Business Connections, a marketing business involving podcasting. He found himself furloughed during the pandemic and so he reached out to his high school alumni on LinkedIn and invited them onto his show. He grew an audience and a list of impressive testimonials, as well as providing himself with a salary, in one short year. His journey into the business of podcasting is a simple story about doing the work and being humble when you’re doing it. And, if you do want a smart ‘cheat’, start local, and then grow from there. And when you look back and realize that you’ve done it all on your own, remember that no, you didn’t in fact make the bootstraps, and there’s a pool of knowledge always there for you to continue to tap into. Real Business Connections is Ben Albert’s business – and the name of his podcast. He interviews executives, entrepreneurs, convicts, behavior scientists, sales trainers, wellness experts, and more.Ben believes it’s hi’s role to extract the best nibbles of wisdom from these experts so he can compress decades of wisdom into minutes for his listener.Key Takeaways:02:58 The benefits of local focus for podcasting and content creation04:40 Finding a Rochester business podcast niche06:00 Doing the work as a marketer when you’re just getting started09:20 Why focusing locally is the easiest cheat you can do13:06 The benefits of a controlled environment (your podcast space)15:47 Ben’s technique for collecting testimonials21:44 When to ask a guest for a review25:10 Are you really doing it on your own?27:53 How the Five Frameworks can help you30:30 Fun and fulfillment as core valuesConnect with Ben Albert:Website - https://realbusinessconnections.com/Be sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmarketer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-marketer/This Month's Sponsors:Conversion Fanatics - Conversion Rate Optimization AgencyGet 50% Off Monthly Blog Writing Service - BKA Content More Resources from Scalable[Free Guide & Assessment] 7 Levels of ScaleFREE EPIC Challenge More Shows You'll LovePerpetual Traffic - The #1 podcast for learning paid traffic and improving