From being unnoticed to a thriving podcaster: Diogène Ntirandekura shares his podcasting journey

From being unnoticed to a thriving podcaster: Diogène Ntirandekura shares his podcasting journey

By Jim James, Founder EASTWEST PR and Host of The UnNoticed Podcast.

 

Throughout the years of working as a System Applications and Products (SAP) consultant for a big consulting firm, Diogène Ntirandekura felt unnoticed most of the time. Despite the hard work, he never had any promotion — until he became independent four years ago and established ERP Happy. The business offers digital transformation solutions including Enterprise resource planning (ERP), Customer relationship management (CRM), and project management tools.

 

Image from ERP Happy

 

In 2020, he launched his own podcast titled “Consulting Lifestyle.” He also recently released a French podcast to cater specifically to his Francophone-speaking audience. During his feature on The UnNoticed Podcast, he talks about how his podcasting journey began and how it has helped him improve his solo practice.

 

What is “Consulting Lifestyle”

Diogène started listening to podcasts only in 2015, particularly to Pat Flynn’s podcast called “Smart Passive Income.”

When he created his own company back in 2017, he had the idea of having his own podcast because he’s inherently fond of listening to and speaking with people. However, he was unsure of what his topic will be.

In 2019, he flew to San Diego and attended an event organised by Pat. Meeting other podcasters who talk about business-related subjects and have a substantial following, he was able to get clarity. He purchased Pat’s course and followed his step-by-step guide on how to launch a podcast.

 

He unveiled his podcast, “Consulting Lifestyle,” for two reasons.

  • A Platform that Offers Help. The first reason is to have a show offering advice and help to his fellow consultants. Back when he started his career in consulting, Diogène wasn’t really aware of what the job entails and of the work dynamic in a consulting firm. His podcast touches on different topics concerning B2B consultants — from leadership and personal development to ERP, CRM, and marketing.

  • An Avenue for Learning. Later on, when he became independent, he realised that there’s one dominating business model among consultants: to sell their hours. However, he’s aware that other business models also exist. For his second reason, he uses his podcast as a platform to invite talented and unconventional guests, understand these other business models, and apply what he can to his practice.

 

Image from Consulting Lifestyle

 

Now with over 80 episodes, “Consulting Lifestyle” has become a thriving podcast that offers knowledge, and helps consultants decide which lifestyle they want to have and how they can build a consulting business around it.

 

Producing “Consultancy Lifestyle”

“Consulting Lifestyle” is currently hosted via Buzzsprout. The podcast also has a separate website, which contains information about the show, its episodes, and guests.

During his podcast’s early stages, Diogène did almost everything — from pre-recording, recording proper, to post-recording — except for the show’s graphic materials.

The pre-recording phase includes finding guests on LinkedIn, Facebook groups, and through his network. He reaches out and secures guests through the calendar app called Calendly. This phase also covers researching information to improve the flow of his and his guest’s conversation. Though he never sends a questionnaire to ensure that the show is unscripted, he lets his guests understand what sort of conservation they will have.

The recording phase is all about the interviewing proper. He uses Zoom and Squadcast, though he prefers the latter because of the app’s better audio and video quality.

The post-recording phase, on the other hand, sees him editing the recording and promoting his content on social media (mainly on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook). As stated, he taps another individual for the graphics.

As he tries to unload some of his tasks, Diogène now has a virtual assistant helping him with audio editing, graphic creation, and show note writing among others. He still handles the recording and takes an active part in social media promotion. Before, producing and promoting the podcast takes up around four hours. But now, he tries to cut it down to three hours.

 

Learning from Others

For Diogène, “Consulting Lifestyle” has become a significant source of knowledge. He believes that every guest he has on the show has something to share; something valuable to provide. And since he launched his podcast, the learnings he — and his audience — have acquired have been at different levels.

 

Image from Unsplash

 

Business-wise, there have been topics about pricing, marketing, being an entrepreneurial consultant, and collaborating. There are also episodes that share something about personal growth as his array of his guests have different backgrounds: There are digital nomads and there are people with kids who still managed to grow their business or passion.

Because of this very nature of his podcast, Diogène does not see “Consulting Lifestyle” as something that eclipses his consulting business. Instead, he considers these two things as complementary. Through his podcast, he learns strategies and experiences from other people and applies them to his practice.

It also enables him to have the “Know, Like, Trust” factor. As the podcast allows him to talk about his struggles and milestones, he’s able to build trust in his audience. His sharing of valuable information on consulting practices and digital information also helped him gather more listeners who want to know more about these matters.

 

On Frequency and Duration

One of the hallmarks of successful communications is consistency. For podcasters to be able to be consistent in uploading content, Diogène notes that publishing weekly is recommended. For instance, his “Consultancy Lifestyle” podcast airs every Monday.

However, the frequency still boils down to the nature of your podcast. If you have long-form podcasts that feature interviews and detailed information that takes time to digest yet provokes a lot of engagement, he suggests opting for a smaller frequency.

For the duration, he limits his podcasts to between 30 to 40 minutes. However, there are exceptions; some episodes can last longer depending on the topic being discussed and the flow of the conversation.

 

A Podcast for Francophones

Diogène recently launched a new weekly podcast called “Transformation Numérique.” Airing every Wednesday, it’s a show about digital transformation and is specially dedicated to his French-speaking audience. Across the world, different areas speak French, including Quebec, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and some African countries.

One of the reasons behind the new podcast is to cater to the Francophones who send enquiries to his other show, “Consultancy Lifestyle.” The other reason is directly linked to his business because he also has French-speaking clients who can’t communicate through English.

 

Why Podcasting?

If you are unnoticed and you want to break out, the first thing you should do is to reach out, expand your network, and connect with people in your niche (Linkedin, for instance, is a great platform for professionals, especially Business-to-business (B2B) people). For Diogène, no matter which medium you choose to let your voice be heard, the important thing is to network, exchange ideas, and learn from each other’s stories.

 

Image from Unsplash

 

When it comes to choosing a medium, it actually depends on you. Whether it’s through podcasting, writing emails, or making videos — what matters is opting for a medium that you’re comfortable with; a medium that will help you share your message or story most effectively.

Diogène notes that podcasting offers an advantage because doing audio has fewer constraints than doing a video. Audio consumption, in general, is also longer. People tend to watch videos only in seconds. Sometimes, they only read the subtitles. With a podcast, you can get the most attention from people. It can also be done while listeners are doing other things like engaging in sports or washing the dishes.

To learn more about Diogène and his podcast, visit www.consultinglifestyle.fm. His consulting business can be found at www.ERPhappy.com.

This article is based on a transcript from my Podcast The UnNoticed, you can listen here.

Cover photo by Jonathan Farber on Unsplash.