Stone Payton: [00:00:01] Lee, let’s talk about how successful Business RadioX Studio partners make money.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:07] Well, the obvious way is when a client sponsors a show or any type of content that we create. And we usually do that by reverse engineering the show to help our clients build relationships with the people most important to them, that’s kind of the bread and butter of what we do and how we do it. So, that’s where a lot of the revenue comes in.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] But when you have a studio in a market, you have lots and lots of ways to make money. We have one studio partner who has sold naming rights. He has naming rights for shows. He has naming rights for his studio. There’s lots of ways to leverage naming rights. That’s a value that a lot of local businesses want to be affiliated or associated with your studio. So, you can make money by doing that.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:57] We do broadcasts at events. A lot of people have found that having us appear in an event is a win-win and we get paid for doing that in a lot of cases. Other things that we can do to help is to take content and then kind of add some flair to it or add some distribution to it and add just more distribution and getting the word out in a variety of different platforms.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:27] Because you can take your audio and then transcribe it. And then, you can create a video around it. And you can do lots of things, grab a clip from it and put it in Instagram. So, a lot of people get paid for doing this kind of content concierge work.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:42] And then, there’s other things that are being kind of creative. You can hire us to do a first draft of a book. Having facilitated conversations around some content topic and having professional interviewers interview you about your expertise, you can get a lot of that information out of your brain onto a page, and get it transcribed, and then have that information there. And it’s a lot easier to edit that than it is starting from a blank page. We’ve done audiobooks for people.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:17] And people have donated. I mean, we had a thing in our studio in Atlanta for a while where people were just hitting their credit card into a machine and they were donating hundreds of dollars at a time. You can sell sponsorship on your newsletter. There’s lots and lots of ways that you could be monetizing your studio. And it’s just your own creativity. And I know in your studio, Stone, you’ve done a lot of creative things to just create additional revenue streams.

Stone Payton: [00:02:48] Well, just before we started this session, I was trading emails with a guy who wanted to do a podcast called Kitchen Folk Tales. And he what he wanted to do – he’s a former chef – he wanted to highlight the whole experience of what happens behind the scenes in kitchens. And it turns out he’s a great host. So, what we’re doing for him, I’m actually producing his show in the studio, non-prime time, like in the evening or something like that.

Stone Payton: [00:03:25] The show concept, at least at this point, I didn’t feel like really fit the the model for Business RadioX. I didn’t really want to publish it on Business RadioX, and I told him that, but I really wanted to help the guy out. He also works at the local beer market. If you’ve been listening to any of our material for very long or any Cherokee Business Radio material, you know I like my beer.

Stone Payton: [00:03:50] So, we had Daniel start coming in and recording these episodes. And so, one of the first things that came of that is I don’t pay for beer anymore. And I’m learning that, actually, the more he’s doing this, the more I think it might fit into the Business RadioX model. And we may actually start publishing him on the Business RadioX Network. But at the moment, I’m getting some hard cash revenue from him. And like I said, I haven’t bought a beer in three months. And so, that’s a neat little thing.

Stone Payton: [00:04:26] Similar to that, in one of our local networking groups, there’s a guy who recently self-published a book. It wasn’t a business book. But he wants to do a little bit of a podcast and he’s looking at doing an audio book. I did the same thing. I said, “Come on in. I’ll try to help you think it through. And if you do it with us, you know, maybe that’ll work. But if not, I’ll at least be able to help you.” And it turns out he’s in the tire business, and I just had two new tires put on my wife’s car, didn’t cost me a dime. Now, that’s one that I probably won’t do anything beyond just trying to help the guy out. So, that’s fun.

Stone Payton: [00:05:03] I have a couple of clients where it’s just not practical for them to come in the studio. I mean, the best core model, yes, is having them come in the studio and help them use that environment and the platform to build those relationships face to face. But in this case, it’s just not practical. But, of course, there’s a world of difference in working with us to produce, even if you’re going to do a podcast that includes virtual interviews.

Stone Payton: [00:05:29] So, I actually have a couple of clients where I essentially remote produced the show. The host will call in, the guest will call in, but still is professionally produced and is part of the Business RadioX Network, so they’re happy to write the check because they get that return. And so, that’s been fun.

Stone Payton: [00:05:48] And then, I have collaborated with a local outfit that specializes in video content. And so, we’ve already done one and we plan to do more business. We have a business author who came in and we did an interview for them, which, you know, we don’t charge people to do interviews. But then, what I pitched her on and what she decided to do was a much more structured kind of interview where I asked her ten specific questions about the book.

Stone Payton: [00:06:20] And then, she has that now is kind of a synopsis or almost like an audio trailer of her book. Well, we didn’t hop in the car. We walked because it’s all right here in Woodstock. We walked down to the video place and they did some video. And then, we collaborated on the project, we both made money. She is thrilled.

Stone Payton: [00:06:40] And in one more, I’ll mention to you, there’s an organization called 1 Million Cups, and they are thrilled to have me make available the opportunity for the people who present at 1 Million Cups. These are entrepreneurs who want to share their story and ask the community for help. And they are thrilled at 1 Million Cups to include, just kind of as part of the process, once you come through that process and present, we also set up an interview for you at Business RadioX, which, again, we don’t charge for that anyway, but I got the spot. I didn’t have to pay a nickel to get the sponsorship. I get to come along for the ride every time they do it. And some of those people are marvelous prospective clients.

Stone Payton: [00:07:23] So, I mean, there’s virtually no limit to the ways you can help people and make money when you have this platform available to you and when it’s part of the Business RadioX Network. It’s not just Stone and a microphone in his garage.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:43] Right. And then, also, you mentioned the importance of barter in a local market. Having this available to barter, you’re providing a tremendous value while still fulfilling the mission of Business RadioX, of telling the stories of the community and being the voice of business for the community. You have an asset there that can be traded for lots and lots of things. And this way that you open up your service to people who may not be able to afford the traditional service of sponsorship, but they still want to participate and they still want to support what you got going on. You can find a win-win solution for those folks as well.

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] This is such a great question and it’s such an important aspect of the business model for so many of our studio partners, but let’s dive into a little bit, Lee, how to work with your local Chamber of Commerce?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Yeah. Working with Chambers of Commerce is critical, I think, for any successful studio. Every successful studio has a partnership in some form with the Chamber of Commerce and their local market. It may not be a pain where the Chamber is paying them to work together, but it could be symbiotic in the sense that it could be a trade, where in exchange for the highest level of membership, that we spotlight all of the members or certain members that the Chamber finds important through their studio.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:51] Or in the case like in Atlanta, we’re actually located inside of the Sandy Springs Chamber of Commerce. And, you know, we are literally side by side with the Chamber here to help them tell the stories of business locally. But every studio partner that is successful has a partnership in some form with the Chamber of Commerce, because the Chamber of Commerce is kind of a marker of this is where business takes place, this is where business people are valued, this is where business people hang out. So, we always want to be associated with that group because that is very similar to our mission of becoming the voice of business in the community.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:34] And I recommend anybody who is thinking about opening their own studio to get to know the leadership of your Chamber of Commerce and the business associations that are in your local market. And then, seeing if it’s the right fit, if they value what we’re doing. Because if they don’t value what we’re doing or if they don’t think that we can be helpful, then you might have a difficult time actually opening a studio in your local market.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:00] So, I think partnering with the Chamber of Commerce is almost kind of a go or no-go point of decision making. If you can’t build or you can’t foresee building a really good relationship with your local Chamber of Commerce, you might have a difficult time really immersing yourself into the community there. So, I think Chambers of Commerce are super important in every community, and I think our partnership with them is super important.

Stone Payton: [00:02:27] Well, and I would add to that, at least this has been my experience here in Cherokee County. There are also often some other business organizations that are marvelous to partner with. And I would encourage you to at least explore that here locally, the Woodstock Business Club and an outfit called Young Professionals of Woodstock. Why they let me join? I don’t know, because I’m not young. But that’s been terrific. And then, the bigger organization of which that is a subset in Woodstock has been just terrific for me.

Stone Payton: [00:03:01] I will say this, though, do seriously entertain the chamber too. I think in most communities, you’re going to find larger organizations that have more budget. You’ll be a little higher up the food chain. But I don’t think I would neglect either one. I think I would encourage you to do both the smaller, more local kind of business organizations and the Chamber of Commerce.

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] So, Lee, in your experience, how long does it take for a new Business RadioX Studio partner to really become an indispensable mega-connector in their community?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:12] I don’t think it takes very long. I think this is really where people are surprised about how quickly, when you go to market as a Business RadioX Studio partner, how quickly people appreciate what you’re doing, number one. And they want to connect with you, number two. And they are creatively looking for ways they can connect you with other people. So, to become a mega-connector in your community or to become indispensable in your community, I think it happens, literally, within days of even just letting people know you’re thinking about doing this.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:49] I mean, to me, the way to test the market is just start pulling people on LinkedIn locally. Just say, “Hey, I’m thinking about opening a Business RadioX Studio where I interview business leaders in all walks of life at any stage of their business journey. Do you know anybody I should interview?” If you just do that and pull ten people or 100 people in your network right now, you’re going to be inundated with people suggesting, number one, other people and themselves. You’re going to find that people are hungry for this type of experience. People want to be interviewed. They want to tell their story.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:31] And if you’re raising your hand and saying, “Hey, I want to be the person who is telling the stories in my community. I want to be the person that is supporting and celebrating the business folks in my community.” People are going to just have lots and lots of suggestions for you. You are going to be the belle of the ball. It doesn’t take long at all for you to be seen as that critical linchpin person, that indispensable mega-connector in your community, just by raising your hand and saying, “I want to do this kind of work.”

Lee Kantor: [00:02:02] And then, once you do that and you start getting all of those people that want to be guests, you’re going to find it doesn’t take much longer than to get companies that say, “I want to support the work you’re doing. This is important to our community, and I want to be seen as somebody who is a good corporate citizen. I want to help you tell more of these stories. I want to help you become that voice of business. And I want to help you help other people become the voice of business in their niche within that community.”

Stone Payton: [00:02:31] So, I agree with that 100 percent. I don’t think it takes long at all to begin to enjoy those benefits. And let me tell you a little bit about what my experience has been in Woodstock one year in. At one year in, everything you just described is magnified tenfold. Just last week, one of my clients arranged two lunch meetings, specifically designed to help me talk to them about sponsoring and hosting a show.

Stone Payton: [00:03:03] And so, she set these meetings up from start to finish. We went to these two lunches last week. She opened up the conversation, describing for them why we got together, why she thinks it’s such a great idea. She raved about her own personal experience. And she is not trying to earn a referral fee or anything like that. She is so wholly committed to the mission and purpose of Cherokee Business Radio and Business RadioX. And she cares a lot about these two people. And so, she was really doing everything she could. And I suspect both will become clients. And that has started to happen more and more and more.

Stone Payton: [00:03:50] And, also, I’ll mention to you, I’m very connected with the nonprofits and the community leaders here in town. I have a great relationship with the outgoing mayor and the incoming mayor because I’ve also made my platform available, not for them to come in and talk so much about trying to get people to vote for them. That wasn’t the frame at all. It was just a talk about the legacy they were trying to leave.

Stone Payton: [00:04:16] In Donnie’s case, the legacy they were trying to leave and the work that he had done over the last 16 years in service of the community. And then, for Michael Caldwell coming in, his vision and plans for what was going on. But I have a very deep, real, authentic conversation with all of the local leaders here in Woodstock and several county-wide, and that’ll just continue to grow. So, yeah, everything Lee said, yes, it’s going to start happening fast. And, buddy, when you get one year in, it is substantially magnified.

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Lee, how would you describe the transition and what it would be like for someone who is a service-minded former corporate exec, or they’re getting ready to transition out of that role and seriously entertaining this business opportunity? Do you feel like it would work for them? Do you feel like that’s particularly so? Or what is your thinking on that?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] Now, a lot of folks are retiring now, or they were forced out, or they chose this isn’t working for me anymore and they’re looking to explore a new career. I think the Business RadioX Studio partner opportunity is a business opportunity they should consider if they have certain qualities.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:54] Our business opportunity is not great for that transactional minded person who is just looking, “Hey, I just want to make as much money as possible. I don’t care if I burn and churn through clients.” If you have that type of personality, we’re not going to be a great fit.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:11] But for the people that are service-minded that want to serve other people, that want to support and celebrate the work of business and their community, that love the business community, that just wants to stay connected to the business community, still want to be relevant, and still be an influencer in their community, being the Business RadioX Studio partner in your town or city or county is a great way to do that.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:37] We have a wonderful way to really serve that community by telling the stories of all of the whole business ecosystem from the smallest company to the largest in a friendly, conversational, authentic manner. And there’s a great revenue stream, multiple revenue streams, dozens of revenue streams that come along with it. There are so many ways to make money using our service, and you don’t have to be the best salesperson. You just have to do the work. Just tell the stories.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:09] People come up to you after being interviewed and say, “How can I help? How could I get involved? What do I have to do to get a show? How can I be part of this?” Because it’s almost magical in the sense that you do this kind of work. Everyday you have an easy lever to pull to meet as many people as you want, whoever you want to meet in town, by asking them and inviting them to be a guest on your show.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:34] And then, once they’re a guest, they’re in your kind of pipeline, then you can sit there and, over time, invite them to be a sponsor, to be a member, to be a host, to be a co-host, to ask them if you can show up at their next event that they do. There are so many ways to just easily, organically, without being salesy, just invite them to continue to participate and be part of this.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:00] And then, the best part is you can follow up with them. This isn’t a situation where once they’ve been through your process and they’ve even said, “No. I’m not ready to sponsor something or I’m not ready to spend money with you,” follow back up in a few months. Invite them back on the show. You have a lever that you can pull at your disposal to really communicate and create great relationships with whoever you want in your town and your community, so that over time, you can sell some of them something.

Stone Payton: [00:03:31] So, just before we came on to record some frequently asked questions, I was creating and have printed out two raffle items for a local charity that’s very important to me. And I’m going to give them a few hundred bucks cash as well. But what I can do here with very little hard cost, I have these two raffle items.

Stone Payton: [00:03:54] One of which is that we’ll come out here in Cherokee and do a local onsite broadcast at your place of business or a local event. And, you know, you can put a value on that, anywhere from 2,500 to five grand because that’s what we get for that kind of thing. And it’s probably going to help them raise a couple grand.

Stone Payton: [00:04:15] And then, the other one is, I made a raffle item out of a dedicated series where they could do up to eight episodes and they could invite their key clients, their most trusted prospects – I mean, their most coveted prospects and their most trusted market partners.

Stone Payton: [00:04:32] But because I have this platform available to me, I can be that very generous person in town. And, yes, if your service-minded and you want to have that role and that reputation in your local community, there’s just a lot of neat things you can do.

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Lee, what if I’m really a shy introvert? Is this business opportunity still going to work for me?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:08] I believe it can work for you. I’m the shyest introvert that I know. And I custom built this for me to cover up what I perceived as weakness of being a shy introvert in the business world. My dream of dreams was, rather than me going to these networking events and schmoozing and being around people in this very social way, that gave me a lot of anxiety and stress, I said, “Why can’t there be a way for these people to come to me rather than me go to them?” And that’s why I created Business RadioX. That’s why this whole concept exists is to help me, as a shy introvert, do lead generation and business development.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:55] So, what I did is, I reversed engineered a radio show to help me reach my most important prospects and sales opportunities using this platform by interviewing people, by supporting and celebrating their work, by doing something for them first, by giving them the gift of an interview, by giving them the opportunity to tell their story, to give them the recognition and attention that they crave and desire.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:25] Which, in turn, allowed me as the facilitator, ask questions and be curious the things that I naturally am and that I’m good at, rather than me being the one that has to initiate the conversation. I just have to ask questions. I have to be a good listener. Those are all traits of an introvert.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:45] And so, introverts, I think, are uniquely suited to do this kind of work. And, in fact, I believe they’ll find it the most rewarding work that they do because they get to be that center of attention without being the center of attention. They’re holding up other people. They’re supporting and celebrating the work of the people around them.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:06] Which, in turn, creates this level of reciprocity where these people that you’re interviewing want to give back to you. They want to help you do more of this. So, they’re actively referring you more guests. They’re actively referring you more business opportunities. They want to get in business with you because you made them feel so good, so heard, and that they want to give back in some manner.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:29] So, by doing this kind of work, the shyest, most introverted person can run a successful business on their terms in a way that doesn’t create anxiety, that alleviates anxiety. And they can kind of lean into their superpowers, their strengths as a listener, and as somebody who wants to help other people, without having to be that hyper extrovert people, the life of the party person. You can be the person behind the person by holding up the other people, by supporting and celebrating their work, and helping them articulate and tell the story that is important to them.

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] So, Lee, what if I’m not a great salesperson? Will this business opportunity, being a Business RadioX Studio partner, still work for me?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:10] Yeah. I think this is kind of one of the benefits of being part of the Business RadioX Network and being a studio partner in your local market. You don’t have to really be a great salesperson because the selling happens so elegantly and it doesn’t require that kind of classic work through these talking points to move people to a close.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:36] Like, you don’t have to work that hard. Everything kind of leads itself to the next thing because it’s so well designed from an experiential standpoint. Anybody that’s been a guest, it’s so easy to get them to, number one, take a call. I like to frame it as just explore ways to work together. And explore ways to work together isn’t really necessarily selling them something, it’s just to see if there’s ways that you can symbiotically kind of work together to help each other’s cause.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:11] And in some cases, it is trying to sell them a show or a sponsorship. But sometimes it’s also of, “Hey, you know, if you’ve got something happening later on, we’d love to have you come back in six months or a year to come back and continue to tell that story.” Every person that goes through our process is going to leave wagging their tail and they’re going to be happy they were part of this. And they are going to want to come back at some future point to continue to tell a new story that they’re up to.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:39] So, I think the selling happens very elegantly. It’s very well designed. We have specific processes in place that make it very easy for anybody just to kind of gradually invite someone to participate and buy something from us, number one. And, also, we have a great community of people that are doing this work already. The studio partners in other markets are so generous when it comes to sharing who they’ve sold something to or how they’ve sold something to somebody else.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:13] So, if you are talking to an accountant, there’s somebody in the system that has sold something to an accountant, then they would be happy to share with you, “Hey, this is how this account leverages the platform. Maybe your accountant can do the same thing.” And that social proof of having already kind of a library full of sponsors that are in a vast variety of different industries and businesses, for you to lean on and to say, “Look, this person is doing what you’re doing in this city, of course it’ll work for you in our city.”

Lee Kantor: [00:02:45] So, I think that combination with that great kind of generous community that we’ve built, and having a service that is so geared to serving other people, and to holding other people up and supporting and celebrating their work, that just inherently builds some reciprocity where this person you’ve just interviewed wants to help you, that is looking for ways to help you, makes it very easy for our studio partners to sell somebody something, even if they are not a classically trained salesperson or even if they’re not even a great salesperson.

Stone Payton: [00:03:20] Well, at the risk of sounding a little bit immodest, I actually think I am a good salesperson. And I have some track record, and experience, and results that would suggest that that’s true. What I never was and I never enjoyed before I found Business RadioX, I never was good and did not enjoy prospecting. I always found that a challenge. I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t like the positioning that I was able to accomplish when I was trying to just get in front of people.

Stone Payton: [00:03:57] So, the prospecting void is what it filled for me so well, because once I started working inside the Business RadioX system, it’s such a different level of positioning, it’s so much more elegant. It begins with serving first. And when I am in some sort of networking situation or even just kind of a one-on-one conversation, I am able to invite them to come on a show to talk about their work, to share their story and promote their work. And that positioning is so different than let’s have a cup of coffee, or let’s talk about each other’s businesses, or what have you.

Stone Payton: [00:04:40] And so, when I sit down and decide I want to build relationships with this type of person or this very specific individual, having this tool available to me and reaching out to them to invite them on a show, I mean, that is worlds apart from what everybody else can do and is doing in terms of their prospecting. And then, like Lee said, the rest of it, I think it probably helps if you have some solid sales mechanics. I mean, we try to offer a lot of that in our BRX Academy. But, man, the prospecting is just a gift to me.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:22] Right. And that’s where having a lever that you can pull that’s going to work, you know, 60, 70, 80 percent of the time that you have a way to reach the people most important to you to invite them on a show, like a machine that you know that if I do this on Monday, I’m going to have a guest by the end of the week. And you know that if I do that ten times, I’m going to have at least half of them come on the show.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:49] What other business has that type of a machine that is enabling you to reach the exact people you want to reach just elegantly without being salesy, by serving them first, by inviting them to be a guest on the show. It’s just really remarkable that we’ve been able to kind of crack the code when it comes to this side of the business.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:13] So, if you can do that right, just imagine how successful you can be in moving some of those people to becoming revenue producing clients within your studio.

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Lee, what if I don’t feel like I’m a radio broadcaster or a host personality kind of person? Can this business opportunity still really work for me?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:12] I believe it can. I don’t think being in radio previously is a must have quality. In fact, sometimes it’s a must not have quality. Because you might be too tied to a model that doesn’t work, really, and you’re not flexible enough to adjust to the new kind of way people consume content, and the way to leverage a platform to really serve your community and make money in your community. So, I think being a radio broadcaster is not necessarily a deal killer.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:43] I think that the people that are successful in this model are people that want to help other people. We can train anybody to be a good host. And train them to be an active listener to want to hold up their guest. They don’t have to be the star. They don’t have to be the entertainer, the life of the party person. People aren’t tuning into our shows necessarily because the host is so entertaining. They’re there to get information. And our hosts, typically, are very good at supporting and celebrating the work of their guest and getting that information out there to get that story out there.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:25] Our guests appreciate the opportunity to tell their story. So, a successful Business RadioX host or a successful Business RadioX Studio partner is one in which they create an environment where those stories can be told in a very easy, authentic, conversationally minded manner.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:47] A typical radio broadcaster wants to be the belle of the ball. They want to be the star. They want to be the one who people are tuning into to be heard. They want to be Joe Rogan or Howard Stern. That’s typically not the makeup of a successful Business RadioX Studio partner or host.

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Lee, what are some ways the Business RadioX opportunity is different, in your mind, than just being a podcaster?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:10] Yeah. We get this question a lot and there’s a lot of confusion around podcasting and what we do. Well, our work is recorded and distributed as a podcast. Our work, I don’t feel, is as being a podcaster. We’re really kind of a servant leader in the communities we serve. And we’re the voice of business for those communities we serve.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:37] So, the activity we do is we record audio and then we share it through a lot of the podcast directories and distribute it that way. But I don’t consider ourselves a podcast. Or I see a podcaster usually as someone who wants to see themselves as a thought leader, or a guru, or an entertainer, and they are doing a podcast in order to kind of live that dream.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:03] What we have found is that most podcasters don’t make any money because their typical way to monetize is by building an audience and hoping to sell sponsors or ads to their podcast so they can continue to have fun doing that activity.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:19] In our business model, the way that our studio partners make money is that they show how to leverage the platform to help their clients build relationships with the people most important to them, whether it’s the hard to reach sales prospect, whether it’s the existing client to nurture that relationship, whether to serve the community and tell the stories of business in the community, whether it’s to broadcast from events, conferences, trade shows that are happening in the community.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:51] There’s lots and lots of different ways that our studio partners make money using our platform and the technology that we deploy. Podcasting being one of those things. So, I think that our opportunity is very different, even though it may, on the surface, look similar.

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] What is a good location for a Business RadioX Studio?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:05] Well, historically, Business RadioX Studios have been located in executive suites, in co-working spaces, Chambers of Commerce. They’ve been located in kind of centers of influence where business takes place. And that business can take place in a lot of different ways, depending on the market.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:24] Another criteria for a good location is an affordable rate. We’re fortunate that a lot of our studio partners pay little or nothing for rent when it comes to the location for their studio, because they provide such an important service for the place that they’re located. Why don’t you talk a little bit about in Cherokee how you were able to kind of find a place that was the right fit for you?

Stone Payton: [00:00:48] Yeah. I’ve got a really sweet setup here in Cherokee County. We live in Woodstock, Georgia, which is a community outside of the main Atlanta area. It’s about 15, 20 minutes north of Atlanta proper, I guess, and, like, less than a mile from my home. Cherokee is the county that I live in, so we have Cherokee Business Radio, and I have a great little studio office there in a place called The Innovation Spot.

Stone Payton: [00:01:22] And what I chose to do, one of my very first clients when I came out here is in the business of equipping offices with really good, high quality furniture. They do the walls and that kind of thing. So, he put up one of those sound dampening walls for me, and I just traded out some sponsorship stuff. And then, I got some logos of all of the community organizations, like in Woodstock and the Woodstock Business Club. And then, of course, him as a sponsor, that was part of the trade out, and got these little logo things made. So, on one wall, you have all that. And then, I’ve got some sound dampening tiles, a few on the other side of the the wall.

Stone Payton: [00:02:11] And everybody around here knows I like hats, so I started collecting hats from all of these businesses. So, I have all of these local business hats hanging in the studio. But we’re part of a co-working place, so we have business attorneys, we have CPAs, we have people in the commercial property, and casual business. So, I’m right there in the belly of the beast. I mean, the whole ecosystem is right there. Local business oriented events are often held there. And it’s a real sweet arrangement.

Stone Payton: [00:02:48] Now, you know, one of our, probably, top performing studio partners in the whole system, a guy by the name of John Ray, he has a studio inside a bank. And he trades out, he does a show for them, but they don’t charge him any rent. And they love having that foot traffic in there.

Stone Payton: [00:03:09] We have another guy – actually, Lee, he was our very first studio partner – Mike Salmon, out in Gwinnett for Gwinnett Business RadioX. He’s actually in a hotel, and it’s a hotel that really specifically caters, more than anything, to business travelers. So, there’s lots of options. But, man, I’ve got a sweet set up here, I’ll tell you.

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Lee, we say it and it’s true, but let’s talk a little bit about the why behind it. Why Business RadioX may be the best business opportunity available under 50K?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:15] Yeah. A lot of businesses are expensive to get into and they quickly get up into the hundred six figures range. And our business opportunity is, in my opinion, extremely affordable. And the speed in which you can start recouping your investment is really amazing. You can almost start making money before you even launch if you do it right. So, I think that that’s why Business RadioX might be the best business opportunity under 50K that’s out there.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:47] We have a way that you can start selling sponsorships before you launch. We have a way that you can start putting sales prospects into your pipeline before you launch. There’s lots of markets available still in this country, so there’s tons and tons of opportunity out there. We have a system that has been working for many years now in multiple markets.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:11] And if you want to do this kind of work that’s fulfilling, that is rewarding, that you feel good about yourself, where you get appreciated by people every single day, there’s not a lot of opportunities out there that give you that kind of feeling of accomplishment every single day, that emotional satisfaction that you’re making a difference and having an impact on lots and lots of people every single day.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:34] And that’s one of the beauties of this, as well as having a way that just has a pipeline that is almost never ending, and it’s filled at the speed you want to fill it, and that you could easily move people into buying opportunities just very organically in a non-salesy way. So, in my biased opinion, I think Business RadioX might be the best business opportunity under 50K that’s out there.

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Lee, a question that comes up from time to time is, why should I work with Business RadioX instead of just doing this kind of thing on my own?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:11] Yeah. That is a great question. And I’ll tell you, in my opinion, these are the tradeoffs. Doing it on your own is much less expensive. You have all the equipment, probably on your phone right now, to do pretty much anything that we do. So, sure, you can execute interviews on your own.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:33] The problem, though, in terms if you’re trying to use it as a way to generate business and to sell, you know, five, six, seven figure business, it’s difficult to pull that off in the eyes of your buyer because it’s going to look self-serving. It’s going to look like you’ve done everything you’re doing in order to sell this person something.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:56] So, by working with Business RadioX, number one, you have people that are professional that this is all they think about every single day. This is the work they’re doing every single day. They have a portfolio of success, each one of them individually and collectively, where we’ve interviewed the who’s who of business from around the globe. We’ve interviewed from the smallest emerging entrepreneur to the most seasoned CEO, executive of billion multibillion dollar organizations. We have interviewed everybody in between as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:34] So, when you work with Business RadioX and then your show is a subset of the Business RadioX Network, you already passed that sniff test of this is a legitimate business talk experience. This interview is going to be professionally done. It’s not some guy that is going to have a podcast today and it might disappear tomorrow. We have a history of a decade-and-a-half plus of work that we’ve done in a variety of places, for a variety of people successfully in multiple markets nationally at tradeshows and conferences, some of the largest in the world. So, when you work with Business RadioX, you get that cover of that brand that is already proven and successful and great at what we do.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:22] When you come in as yourself, it looks like you’re coming in as yourself. Your prospect is going to see that it’s just you and it’s you talking to them, which means there must be some catch in there than what are you doing this for. And it looks like a manipulation. It looks like you are just kind of setting them up to sell them something.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:43] When you work with Business RadioX, it looks like they are being invited on a talk show that is part of a network, that’s part of a brand, that is legitimate, that has been doing this for a long time. It makes perfect sense. Their sales radar is way down. They don’t see that you are ultimately trying to sell them something which you may or may not be doing.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:07] Because in our model, we don’t try to sell every guest something. We try to serve the ecosystem. We try to position our clients as the voice of business for that niche or the market that they serve. So, they aren’t necessarily trying to sell somebody something. They are trying to serve the niche ecosystem or community that’s important to them. And we give them the tools and platform to execute that.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:30] Typically, podcasters are out for themselves and it looks that way. It looks obvious that Bob’s podcast is about Bob so Bob can make more money. Bob rarely is doing it for the good of the community or the ecosystem. Bob is typically doing it to line Bob’s pockets.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:48] Where Business RadioX is more mission focused. We’re here to serve the community. We’re here to help our clients become successful. We’re here to help position our studio partners and their clients as the voice of business for the niche or the market that they serve.

Stone Payton: [00:04:03] For me, one of the most important aspects to consider when looking at this decision is speed to revenue. We just have all of the machinery in place that really does serve the purpose of converting the activity to actual green dollar ROI. That time period is much shorter. And that experience is much more seamless, smoother when you’re working with us. Now, I’m not suggesting it would take you 17 years to figure out and replicate, but it might take you two, or it might take you five. And most businesses, if their objective is to grow their business, that speed to revenue has to be an important consideration.