► Tell us about you and your podcast
Invest in Sqft is where success meets opportunity and knowledge unlocks fortune! I’m Matt Shields, a seasoned entrepreneur with 25 years of business experience in my arsenal. Throughout my journey, I’ve learned that the quickest path to success lies in learning from those who have already blazed the trail.
In our podcast, we delve deep into the strategies employed by the wealthy to not only grow their fortunes but also safeguard their wealth. Drawing from my personal experiences and a network cultivated over decades, we uncover the coveted secrets that can empower you, the ambitious business owner, to achieve extraordinary success.
Through candid interviews with accomplished individuals, we unlock their stories of triumph, failures-turned-victories, and the invaluable lessons they’ve learned along the way.
But that’s not all. Our podcast goes beyond inspiration and knowledge sharing. One of the companies I co-founded has acquired multi-family real estate, accumulating an impressive $60 million in assets. We’ve mastered the art of spotting investment opportunities that often remain hidden from the general public.
What does this mean for you, our esteemed listener? It means you get exclusive access to the hidden gems of the investment world. By tuning in to “Invest In Sqft,” you’ll be among the select few who discover these extraordinary investment prospects that most people will never hear about.
So, if you’re hungry for success, eager to learn from those who have paved the way, and ready to explore untapped investment opportunities, then this podcast is your ultimate destination. Join us as we unravel the secrets of the wealthy, empowering you to grow and protect your wealth, and embrace the life you’ve always dreamed of.
► Why & how did you start this podcast?
The idea of starting a podcast had been swirling in my mind for years. But it wasn't until March of 2020 that I took the plunge, determined to unravel the mysteries of podcasting for myself.
As always I sought out advice from the experts—the trailblazers who had already mastered the art of podcasting. And among the towering figures in this domain, there was one name that stood out like a beacon of wisdom: Seth Godin.
Armed with Seth's insights I began reaching out to entrepreneurs from all walks of life. Their stories, experiences, and triumphs would be the fuel that powered my podcast. From industry titans to fearless startup founders, each guest brought a unique perspective and a wealth of knowledge to share.
My preferred form of communication has always been verbal.. over the years I can't tell you how many people have told me "You can talk to anyone" or "How did you get them to talk about that" I've always been a much better verbal communicator than a writer so this was a natural step.
► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?
As with anything in life, if it's important to you you'll make time for it. I haven't had a W-2 job in 25 years so I do have flexibility with time. The question that I asked myself was whether this was the best use of time. Prior to starting the podcast, I didn't have a platform that I was known on, I did not have a voice that I could use to reach people with my messages.
I decided that creating that network was worth the time investment and I also knew that I would be learning so that's always useful in business.
We have funded the podcast ourselves and now it's started to put us into the position of being able to monetize in various ways.
► What do you gain from podcasting?
One of the unexpected perks of the podcast has been that as our businesses have challenges and struggles I relay to our team "Can we find an expert in this industry" or "Let's find someone who is great at X".
I then get to spend an hour or so asking questions from the best in the industries.. This helps me solve our own problems while at the same time building relationships with these leaders which can be leveraged in so many ways.
► How does your podcasting process look like?
At a high level, we use LinkedIn to find the leaders who are on our show. Calendly to allow guests to schedule and organize the timing of the recordings.
We record on Riverside. I will do the initial edit using Descript. I have an editor. I'm not sure what software he uses for that part of the process.
We then host the episodes on Libsyn. We also use Podpage for our website provider.
All of our recordings have been virtual and depending on who the guest is and what they have available I may read their book, listen to their shows or read their blogs. My goal is to learn about them so that I know what types of things they have experienced in their life... when you put the setup work in the guest is normally much more giving of information.
► How do you market your show?
We are listed on all of the podcast platforms and to be honest this is one of the areas we are trying to figure out what works the best for.
► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?
So many things you want to be as descriptive as possible when you are writing intros but always keep the listener in mind. Don't write or talk about yourself and what you've done but talk about what the listener is going to get or learn from listening. Once you figure out that description, distill it down to 10 words that explain the show and then incorporate that description into the beginning of every show. It's tempting to create a canned intro so that you don't have to do that every time but I've found it's better for listeners if the intro is unique each time.. Since it is unique that a 10-word descriptor is important to grab the listener early in the show. What a lot of people don't consider is that you will constantly have new listeners to the show so you need to incorporate that introduction so they know what they will get with investing the next 30 minutes with you.