We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gary Scott Thomas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Gary Scott thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?
Business ownership was actually kind of thrust on me as the radio station I had worked at for 31 years was sold. My general manager and a few coworkers decided to try and build a streaming station. I decided to try to start a podcast 2 years ago and tried to make it a quality operation and invest in it to separate it from a person with a phone who lasts a total of 7 episodes on average . I have built a team to help me with what I don’t know and keep me focused on what is essential . There’s times I think I should have started earlier but it believe everything happened at the exact time it was supposed to happen, and I’m probably more prepared to handle both of these situations than I would have been 10 years ago
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I started my journey in radio in 1976, and never thought I could have a career. I never thought the industry owed me anything , and just decided to work hard and give 100% every day . It seemed the future emerged from that attitude . I did the morning show at KRTY for 31 years , until the station was sold . I left the FM dial as the most listened to country music morning show in the United States . I have continued to do the morning show at KRTY.com, and the audience response has been exciting . As has the reaction to my podcast @garyscottthomas.com The pandemic allowed me more time to focus on interviews , which radio had always kind of limited you to 5 minutes . I have really enjoyed going deep with my guests . That’s what we offer on our podcast , a chance for partners to be a part of this journey . Our analytics show we are growing a very loyal audience who supports our mission and our clients . We offer different packages that can literally be customized for partners , because we are limiting the amount of businesses we are working with , because we value quality of our performance for a partner’s advertising needs. I look forward to growing my business along with my partners , reach out to us today !
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I showed up every day . Sounds easy , but it’s not . There were days , heck , weeks and months that I didn’t feel like doing a show . But you go in and give your best , and realize you’re not trying to create a perfect show for that day but you’re painting a picture , every show is another stroke . I decided to use Facebook to increase audience participation, and began asking questions that people could reply to with their own story or creativity . I’ve had a number of social media leaders telling me I was one of the first to do that . I hit the 5000 limit for friends (why that number?) and created a fan page . I have added Instagram, using it to tell folks about the latest podcast guest and also interact , with a daily dad joke and other peeks into my family life . We use twitter just to link to the podcast , and my kids are helping me by doing promo videos for my podcast episodes . We are growing with the help of my project manager, always looking for new ways to connect and build upon the brand I’ve been creating in San Jose and Silicon Valley since 1991!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Like most I’m sure there’s my stories than I have time to go into . When I was programming and hosting the morning show in Colorado, we got our ratings , we were already #1, and increased our numbers ! Management asked for a meeting , I figured I might be getting a bonus , whereupon I was informed they had sold the station and introduced me to the new owners. They informed me I was too talented for what they had planned , so they let me go. Wait , what ? I was devastated, but it lead me to take a job in San Jose , and that situation literally turned out to be the single best career and personal decision of my life . I would not have had this amazing run at a radio station , a podcast business , but most importantly my wife and kids and my renewed faith. When you are going through a tough time , tell yourself it will be years before you know the true impact , and this could be the beginning of your best decision !
Contact Info:
- Website: garyscottthomas.com
- Instagram: garyscottthomas@instagram
- Facebook: Gary Scott Thomas
- Linkedin: Gary Scott Thomas
- Twitter: GaryScottThomas
- Youtube: http://youtube.com/channel/UCHkpXNSh_A3Uxvdoj0rMz3A