Episode Details

Starting this podcast wasn’t an easy decision. It takes up nearly half my time. And for months, it wasn’t making any money.

But fast forward to today, and the podcast is now profitable and central to my creator business.

So I did something different this week.

I recorded a solo episode breaking down everything I’ve learned:

- How I built and monetized a niche podcast

- The exact growth engine that powers the show today

- Some killer AI workflows I’ve learned for your job search and PM job

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Timestamps:

Part 1: How I Built and Monetized a Niche Podcast

0:00 - Exponential Growth Finally Happening

1:21 - How I Grew This Podcast

4:31 - Learning From 80 Episodes

8:46 - How Podcasts Make Money

10:50 - My Dream Job: OpenAI

Part 2: Breaking Into Product Management & Career Growth

13:36 - Roadmap to Becoming a Product Manager

14:05 - Why 2025 is Great For PMs

21:22 - AI PM Skills Roadmap

23:02 - Finding Your First Paying Customer

26:12 - Zero to 250K Followers Strategy

32:21 - LinkedIn $525K Salary Jump

34:24 - High-Effort Content Strategy

38:05 - Newsletter Success Stack Rank

Part 3: Getting PM Jobs & Career Advice

40:51 - Presenting Soft Skills on Resume

42:46 - Breaking Into US PM Jobs (International Students)

46:08 - Is Product Management Right For Me?

49:54 - Time Management & Prioritization Mistakes

52:15 - MBA to PM Roadmap

55:41 - Finding the Right Mentors

57:56 - Sprint Prioritization Framework

59:39 - Detecting Product Passion vs Money Focus

1:01:41 - Platform & AI Product PRDs

1:04:09 - Product Management Beliefs That Changed

1:05:41 - Newsletter Revenue & Churn Management

1:07:02 - Time Management & Focus Strategies

1:09:07 - Common Misconceptions About Content Creators

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Key Takeaways:

01 — Podcast Turnaround

This podcast is now passing 50K listeners per episode, 11K subscribers on YouTube, and has become central to my creator business. The exponential growth kicked in around episode 80 after consistent investment and improvement.

02 — Quality Over Equipment

Obsessing over microphones, cameras, and lighting hits diminishing returns fast. The real growth came from improving trailers, clip selection, and backing off endless equipment upgrades to focus on profit generation.

03 — Creator Time Investment

The podcast now consumes 50% of my time but generates significant monthly profit. Success required treating it as a long-term experiment, reinvesting everything for 50+ episodes before expecting returns.

04 — Content Platform Strategy

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