Years and years ago, I lived in Kailua, Hawaii. Kailua is one of the most beautiful places in the entire chain of Hawaiian islands, which by themselves are among the most breathtakingly beautiful places on the entire planet.

So you could say it was a pretty nice life, at least as far as aesthetics go.

Hawaii, as you can imagine, has a lot of tourists. So shortly after I arrived in Hawaii, I got a job as a tour guide. My friends gave me a hard time over this, the new arrival from the Mainland getting a job as a tour guide. One of my friends even called me "Mr. Kama Aina" which means "local boy"; all in good fun of course. But it was a good job. It allowed me to discover hidden spots on the island of Oahu that even many natives and longtime residents didn't know about.

What's more important is I was able to give brand new tourists an experience they never would have if they tried to navigate the island on their own.

I could recommend restaurants and shops visitors would never know about if they just hung out on the Waikiki strip and went only where the hotel staff recommended. Even during short rides between the airport and the hotels of Waikiki, I would take a short detour to point out some of the cool attractions available downtown, such as Iolani Palace, the statue of King Kamehameha I, City Hall.

Why stick with the boring old H1, as the "interstate" highway is called, when I can go on Main Street and show off some of the things Honolulu has to offer? ( btw, I don't know how there could be an "interstate" highway in Hawaii, but I digress ;)

The job didn't pay terribly well, but I really enjoyed it. Looking back, I think the reason I enjoyed it is I was able to show people things they wouldn't know to look for themselves. For just a few moments or hours, I was the most important person in their world. Not only because I was responsible for their safe transportation around the island, but because they wanted to see the island, and it was my job to show it to them!

Now I want to fast forward to the present day. I no longer live in Hawaii, and honestly have no intention of doing so again for various reasons. But the joy I get from showing people things they'd never think to look for hasn't left me. And these days I'm not showing amazing spots on the North Shore of Oahu; I'm showing the incredible freedom that comes from owning and operating things like podcasts, websites, blogs, YouTube channels, and the like.

Lots of people are wanting to get involved in this "modern gold rush" of podcasting, but where to turn? Where to go? Facing it all on your own is overwhelming. Just do an internet search for "podcasting equipment" or "podcasting hosting" and you'll see what I mean.

There are literally thousands of options to choose from; how can you possibly know what is right for you?

It's why people like me set up shop as coaches and consultants.

I've been in this business for 8+ years. I know the industry like the back of my hand, and more important I'm skilled at crafting stories. When you get right down to it, marketing is all about telling a story. And I like to think I'm above average when it comes to telling stories. (You might like a story I recently wrote about a writer who was struggling to get her work done :)

If you're a creative getting into the digital media space with something like a blog, a podcast, a YouTube channel, a website, and if you're looking for a "tour guide" to show you the ropes and make sound recommendations on what equipment to buy, what strategy to adopt, what content to produce - and IF YOU'RE WILLING TO LISTEN TO WHAT I SUGGEST - then we might be a good fit to work together for, oh I don't know, a month, 3 months, 3 years.

I guess until one of us gets tired of the other ;)

To schedule a complimentary discovery call to see how we mesh as content creator and content consultant, then find a time that suits your schedule at this link:

https://jamesdnewcomb.com/coaching/