I Gained 15 Paid Clients & Grew Podcast Downloads by 80% – P2P Student Kara Walker

Hey Friend!

Today, I’m interviewing one of my long-time students, Kara Walker. We’ll discuss how Kara achieved such incredible results: She gained 15 paid clients, increased her downloads by 80%, earned $900+ a month, and had her podcast rank in 20 countries. She did all this while earning a consistent income from her show while working less than 10 hours weekly.

Kara will walk you through her journey, including her mindset, actions, and the different courses of mine she’s taken to serve her clients even better. This will allow you to determine whether creating an income-producing podcast is a journey you also want to take.

Interview With P2P Student Kara Walker

Stef: Kara has been a student for a long time. Before we dig into all that, what is your podcast called? What do you do? 

Kara: My podcast is called Money and Mental Peace. I help students find scholarships and pay for college without student loans. I graduated from college debt-free, not knowing what I was doing, and grateful that God led me into a business to talk about what I figured out and did to help students. That’s my thing!

Stef: I have so many students who do so many incredible things in the world who help people get that leg up in their lives and not have to go into the business world struggling to get their first job (with a salary that pays the bills) without all that debt behind them. So, “amen” to your mission, girl.

Let’s discuss your journey with me. Could you tell everyone how you found me and what steps led you to work with me?

How It Started

Kara: I needed business support because I had started a business finding student scholarships for college students. They still had to apply to them, but I was the interim person.

I needed some accountability, support, and friendship, but I didn’t know how to do business. One thing led to another: I searched “time blocks,” and guess who came up on Google Podcasts? I then connected with Chelsi Jo and, ultimately, you through her. I didn’t think it was this long, but it’s been about two years since the start.

Stef: Remind me, did you take Clarify Your Calling? Did you go through all three steps?

Kara: Yes! I didn’t think I was going to. I even knocked on the DMs of past Podcast to Profit students, asking, “Do I really need to go through all of this?” But it was super helpful to go through all of the steps.

Trusting God in the Decision-Making Process

Stef: So you went through each step in my school: Clarify Your Calling (CYC), Podcast Pro University (PPU), and Podcast to Profit (P2P).

What were your fears, roadblocks, and all of that? You are a very mindful spender. You know how to live by the values you set around spending money. Were you apprehensive about investing with me?

This investment could be the catalyst

Kara: Oh my goodness, yes! I didn’t only graduate college debt-free, but I had money left over because I was getting grants and scholarships. I was holding that because I was trying to start a business. But this investment could be the catalyst. Even so, I am such a saver, and much prayer was put into this.

I didn’t feel led too much one way or the other and knew I had the money. Seeking wise counsel, I prayed, “God, please turn me another way if I’m not supposed to do this. I just don’t know.” Eventually, I clicked purchase, went through the mastermind, and said, “Okay, I guess it’s supposed to be.”

I don’t mean you always need to make all your decisions like that, but I think that was a good testing and trusting process.

Stef: I think the importance of the prayerful pursuit before we say “yes” to something is knowing that even as we walk and move forward, God will ultimately close the door if it’s not right, even if we’re already in it. Because of many things, I didn’t get a “yes” or “no” either way, so I would go forward.

I’ve learned that sometimes He closes the door after a period, but it is because I need to be in that room for that period. Or He doesn’t close the door at all, and it is a total yes. Then I recognized that when I moved forward without prayerfully asking Him, I got burned. Earlier this year, I got burned, and I lost $15,000 on an investment because I did not pause and pray.

The Value of Asking Questions

Stef: Whether it’s my program or anybody’s program, God has to be invited into that decision-making process. I love that you brought that up, Kara. Then you joined P2P. What was the program like?

Kara: I joined last year and this year—I actually did it again because it was that good. So yeah, it was definitely intensive, encouraging, and supportive, with support and great accountability. Honestly, it was even better because it was six months long.

When I started P2P the second time, I was already busy with clients, finding student scholarships, and trying to complete the course. It was hard, so I said, “Stef, I know how to do all this stuff; it’s just the time.” You were like, “Welcome to success. It’s harder.”

I don’t want to say I’m majorly successful. I still work part-time. This is not my main gig, so it was better because it lasted longer. I’m so glad it’s a six-month program now.

P2P extended to a six-month program

Stef: Yes, it used to be three months for those of you who are new. Podcast to Profit used to be a three-month intensive course. Imagine trying to cram everything in P2P in three months. It was a little bit much for people, so we extended it to a six-month program, allowing people to dive deeper into each step and finish it within that timeframe.

What was your favorite part of the program?

Kara: I loved your words of affirmation—and sometimes your lack thereof (I don’t mean you weren’t encouraging)—if we needed to know things. I was one of the squeaky wheels who probably had five posts in the group weekly, so I had other people tell me things. It helped me practice “progress, not perfection”. However, being able to talk to you was also a favorite part.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Stef: I think one of the gifts you brought in was being unafraid and unapologetic about asking. You posted, asked the questions, followed up, and got clarification.

You did a great job around those things. Like, “Hey, you guys said this thing, but I’m not entirely sure.” And that’s so important for people because most people are so afraid. They’re afraid of raising their hand. They’re afraid of asking questions and throwing their hat in the ring. Why?

You’ve probably gotten the most out of this program, out of anyone who’s ever taken Podcast to Profit, the hundreds of people that have gone through the program, because you ask.

And those of you considering joining or currently in Podcast to Profit, show up, post, and ask the question. You were like, “What should I ask Stef this week? There’s no change. I’m going to ask something.” Because there’s an opportunity.

Kara: I kept track of how many questions I had, whether they were asked every other week or something. I looked ahead to what was coming up in the next couple of weeks if I needed to ask a question about that because I was getting my money’s worth.

Kara’s Success – 15 Paying Clients + More!

Stef: So what were your wins? You’ve been through all my stuff. You have clarity, and now you have a podcast. In Podcast to Profit, we’ve refined your podcast, torn it apart, and rebuilt it. We’ve worked on keywords together and built a course. I worked on pitching with you. You’ve done everything with me over the last two years and been an alumni in the program.

What’s happened for you? Could you talk to us about it? Did you start from zero? Did you have nothing and no one? Where are you today?

Kara: I had the business idea and had begun CYC and PPU, so there was some foundation. I was a bit more than a basic beginner starting P2P this year because I had done some past work, but I still felt like a beginner because I still didn’t have “what does my person want?” and the pitch nailed down.

Since I started P2P this year:

• My superfan number has risen by 150%.

• I experienced compounding growth in my podcast. In October, I aired the fewest episodes in my podcast history (because of life happening), but I had the highest number of downloads ever.

• Downloads increased by 80% in less than half the time I had the same number of downloads before

• I gained 15 paying clients and several more discovery calls who eventually became clients.

• My podcast ranked in 20 countries. Some of them were even top ten, five or 3%, a little bit more obscure countries, I will admit. But you might as well count any top percent. Eventually, it hit a top 1.5% podcast spot.

A podcast offers a one-to-many success

And even more than the tactics, it’s the concepts I learned. Somebody tried to recruit me for a direct marketing project, and I explained I wasn’t interested. They asked why, and I politely replied,
“It’s a 1-to-1 thing. This podcast is one-to-many.”

The most successful thing I’ve experienced is that I now have clients through word of mouth and from the podcasts I air. In these podcasts, I work with clients live, talking with them about what they’re doing in college. I tell the listeners what kind of scholarships I ended up finding. After I air the live call episodes, I often get discovery calls, so that’s a one-to-many success. That’s my jam.

Stef: Not having to chase leads all around, letting them come to you is joyful because it’s like somebody knocking, asking, “Hi, I’m interested in working with you.” It feels so peaceful and authentic. And that sale is so simple and seamless because they already want what you have to offer.

You vetted them through the podcast; they hung out with you and knew you. It’s the easiest conversion ever. In one of our first conversations, you told me about your dream and vision for your show. I remember telling you that this would be a success. I see in you a successful business.

Now, you have 15 paying clients. For you to have $500-$1000 a month on top of the other job you’re working in right now, that’s real money you are applying to this life you’re living. You’re young, like, “Let’s grow!” You have so much runway in front of you. And I’m just so excited.

Using Podcasting to Get More Clients

Stef: When you get clear on your niche and who you serve, get the podcast foundation solid, build the thing you’re going to sell, and learn to sell it, you start selling it. And here’s the great news: When you’ve sold to one client, you can sell to 10 clients. When you’ve sold to 10 clients, you can sell to 100 clients. When you’ve sold to 100 clients, you can sell to 1,000 clients.

It’s the same thing over and over and over and over. Now it’s time, discipline, and consistency, which I know you have, so I’m excited.

Kara: I do, but sometimes it’s less and more depending on the month. But I’ll keep doing something. There were some months I had to replace some episodes, but it was still applicable. It’s fine. I got the downloads.

Podcasting is the easiest, most freeing business model

Stef: That’s the point of podcasting, though, right? There are no rules, and it can be simple. It can be as little or as much as it needs to be based on life circumstances. To anyone reading this, do you want to be tied to marketing on social media seven days a week? What if life happens, you get sick, or your kid gets sick? What if you need to go and take a hiatus or you’re busy at work?

Podcasting is great. You can batch, scale down, scale up, or click pause in the middle of an episode if something’s going on. It’s so freeing. In my opinion, it’s the easiest, most freeing business model that we have the opportunity to capitalize on, pour out, give, serve, and connect.

Kara: I can hand a business card to someone and share, “It’s free content. It’s a podcast.” And they’re not all weird and like, “You’re trying to sell me something,” but I could still sell them something, you know?

Stef: Oh my gosh, I love this. I’m so excited for you. I’m grateful you came and shared your success with us today and what that journey was like. Why don’t you remind everybody where they can listen to you if they’re in college or know somebody in college and want to connect?

Podcast that helps students find scholarships

Kara: Sure thing. I work with college students and a lot of parents connect with me. I’m talking to college students because that’s who I was, you know? You can find me on Money and Mental Peace on any major podcast platform. I help students find scholarships and pay for college without student loans so they can thrive and do the next step after college without being beholden to someone. I had the freedom to start a business one month after I graduated college. It sure did not look like it does now. It was rough, but I tried it.

Give yourself, give your kids, the freedom of that. I really appreciate Stef for helping me to make it happen.

Stef: Oh girl, you’re welcome. Big hugs. Thanks, Kara!

Ready to Use Podcasting as Your Platform for Growth With Your Clients?

If you are ready to start your podcast, check out Podcast Pro University. Or you may not know where to start or what your brand should be. You may be completely confused and need clarity. I offer a workshop for this.

Lastly, if you already have a podcast and are ready to monetize it to gain visibility, scale, make consistent income, build a course, and generate clients and leads, you can apply for the Podcast to Profit program or check out my Bootcamp.

I pray this blesses you!

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