The evolution of The Virtual Success Show Podcast and how Barbara and Matt have effectively ‘fired’ themselves from podcast management
Virtual Success Show
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Episode breakdown
In this episode, Barbara and Matt, share with you the evolution of the Virtual Success Show podcast and give us a behind the scenes look at how they have utilised their own virtual teams to bring the shows to life. This episode focuses on the step-by-step process that Barbara and Matt followed to make their idea of co-hosting a podcast show, a reality.
- Don’t overthink an idea – sometimes it’s best to adopt the approach of “Ready, Fire, Aim”
- Working out what the potential road blocks could be
- Finding the right person for the right task, in particular, specialist tasks
- Be aware that nailing a process takes time – they are not something you can create in one day
- Don’t let yourself as the project or business owner be the bottleneck in the process.
It's really important to just start, sometimes, without having too much of a major plan.
In this episode
00:00 - Introduction
Matt and Barbara introduce the episode by reflecting on the evolution of the Virtual Success Show podcast and how their virtual team has streamlined its production. Barbara highlights that after recording, the episodes flow smoothly through Dropbox to iTunes, their website, and social media without their active involvement, showing how a well-organized virtual system allows them to focus only on recording. They emphasize that the strategies they’ve used for the podcast could be applied to any collaborative project, not just podcasts.
02:58 – How the Virtual Success Show started
Matt and Barbara share how the Virtual Success Show began spontaneously during a casual coffee conversation. The idea came from Barbara noticing clients struggling despite the support from The Virtual Hub, and she suggested a podcast. Within half an hour, they had a plan, and within a week or two, they recorded their first episode, highlighting how quickly the project moved from idea to execution.
04:36 – Ready, Fire, Aim
Barbara and Matt explain that the key to launching the Virtual Success Show was starting quickly without over-planning. They emphasized the “ready, fire, aim” approach—recording a few episodes to test the concept and see if they enjoyed it. Initially, they used minimal resources: a simple website, a basic logo, and some editing help. Early feedback and the fun they had co-hosting confirmed it was worth continuing. They also realized quickly which parts they enjoyed (recording and sharing) and which were less appealing, like writing episode blurbs and creating transcripts.
07:49 – Working out potential roadblocks
Barbara and Matt describe how they realized they were becoming the bottleneck in their podcast process. They disliked writing episode blurbs, which led to last-minute scrambling, and their support assistants were stressed because they were waiting on content from the hosts. They recognized that this task was an “energy vampire” that neither enjoyed and decided it required a dedicated solution. They acknowledged that while their support assistants were capable, some tasks—like creating quality blurbs—needed someone specifically skilled, prompting them to find the right person to take ownership.
10:25 – Finding the right person for particular tasks
Matt and Barbara explain how they solved key workflow challenges in producing their podcast. Matt trained Rose, a skilled Australian support assistant, to handle writing episode blurbs, ensuring she had the experience and writing ability for the role. They recognized that some tasks, like transcriptions, were not suitable for their existing support assistants, as it required specialist skills. Using Rev.com for transcriptions greatly improved accuracy, speed, and team satisfaction. This process highlighted the importance of aligning tasks with the right skill sets, reducing frustration, and maintaining quality while improving efficiency and team confidence. They also mention improvements in Asana workflow and personnel changes that further optimized the process.
15:55 – How we fired ourselves from managing the podcast
Barbara and Matt describe reaching a pivotal point where they could step back from managing the podcast. With a clear process in place and the right team members—Michelle, Rose, Vanessa, and the podcast editor—the team could coordinate and manage tasks independently in Asana. Each person understood their role, accountability, and deadlines, allowing the podcast to run smoothly with minimal oversight from Barbara and Matt.
17:09 – Great people, great process
Barbara explains that the podcast now runs almost entirely without their involvement because of a strong team and clear processes. Each person knows their role and deadlines: Michelle checks Dropbox for unedited shows, coordinates with the editor, and informs Rose when ready. Rose handles transcripts with Rev.com, Vanessa creates snippets, and Michelle manages social media and website posting. The team works in a smooth workflow independently, with Barbara and Matt barely needing to intervene.
18:09 – Nailing a process takes time
Barbara emphasizes that the team’s independence is crucial because questions waiting on Matt or her could slow things down. The key was creating the process over about six months, learning from roadblocks, and refining workflows so they could “fire themselves” from day-to-day management. Matt adds that now everyone plays roles they enjoy, while he and Barbara only focus on recording. Episodes are uploaded to Dropbox, and the process is set and forget. Early promotion and feedback, including through their Virtual Success Facebook group, helped guide future shows, with VAs managing much of the engagement and social media.
20:18 – It’s up to YOU to set your team up for success
Barbara and Matt emphasize that success with virtual teams requires initial focus and hands-on involvement to build a clear process. Owners must drive the project or assign a project manager, define roles, and enable the team to succeed. Delegating tasks they don’t enjoy allows them to continue the project without burnout. Patience is crucial, as early mistakes are often growing pains rather than employee failures; the bottleneck is usually the owner or the process itself, not the support assistant. Choosing capable people and aligning them with the right systems transforms them into high performers. Mistakes often reveal gaps in training or process rather than flaws in the team.
24:31 – The reason things work is because YOU make them work
Barbara emphasizes that success with a support assistant depends on the owner’s effort and guidance. You can’t expect a support assistant, even a skilled one, to independently develop strategy; the owner must lead, set up processes, and make it work.
24:52 – Wrapping things up
Matt and Barbara summarize their key points for running a podcast efficiently: start quickly with a “ready, fire, aim” mindset, build a system within your current resources, refine it over time, and assign tasks to the right people so you focus only on what you do best. They emphasize leveraging specialists for editing, transcription, snippets, and publishing, while a support assistant can manage the process. Even with limited resources, using tools like Rev.com and external editors makes it achievable. The focus is on creating clear processes, putting the right people in the right roles, and iterating as you go.
