Before I became an entrepreneur, I was promoting my music. I was active on Myspace pages and then Facebook pages and websites. I was promoting events, running the merch booth—the whole shebang.
On the side, I was a sales executive for a corporate firm, but my passion was in the creative space. Then life took an unexpected turn.
Table of Contents
Pandemic
When the pandemic hit, my business got hit, and I got let go from my corporate job. I got fired during the pandemic. I didn’t think I was going to be an entrepreneur; I hadn’t planned that out. It just happened.
My music persona, “Music Ben,” was broke and unemployed, so I had to become “Business Ben.” Business Ben is an entrepreneur, and I had to figure it all out from the ground up.
My New Classroom
While I had a music podcast, I started a business podcast because I didn’t know how to do business. Rather than waiting for the perfect plan, I took action. I started learning, experimenting, and rebuilding.
The podcast became my classroom for several reasons. I wanted to document the journey and create a record of my progress and what I was learning. It forced me to seek out information and talk to people who knew more than I did. It was also a way to start offering value to others, even before I saw myself as a business professional.
Building My Reputation
The podcast became a powerful tool. I was bringing on business leaders. I wasn’t a business leader yet, but people saw me connecting with business leaders. It raised my social proof and my reputation while I was learning directly from these people. Think about it—people charge money for their time, and I was somehow getting it for free.
While all that happened, it was building the foundation of my own business. I was meeting people and building a network while learning from some of the best in the industry. This process wasn’t just about creating a podcast; it was about creating my future.
Conclusion
My journey shows that you don’t need a perfect plan to start. When I lost my job, I didn’t have all the answers. My podcast became a way for me to learn from experienced leaders, expand my knowledge, and grow into the professional I am today.
I’ve learned that success doesn’t come from having all the answers. It comes from showing up consistently, growing through the process, and turning every experience into a step forward.
Turn every experience into forward momentum.
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