Ep373: Ryan Estes – You Should Always Honor Your Relationships

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Quick take

BIO: Ryan Estes is an American Buddhist entrepreneur and the founder of Kitcaster, a podcast booking agency. He is an expert in leveraging podcasts for meaning and profitability.

STORY: Ryan and his wife co-run a marketing agency. Ryan’s wife came up with a fantastic product idea that she shared with Ryan. He agreed that it was a great idea; he took it over and executed it the same way he would implement a client’s vision. One problem, though; he never consulted his wife, whom the idea belonged to. Feeling sidelined, Ryan’s wife lost interest in the product causing a rift between the couple. In the end, they had to let go of the project for the sake of their marriage.

LEARNING: Honor your relationships even in business. Your business partner is your most valuable asset, cherish and protect them.

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“If you have a business partner, somebody that complements you and you have the perfect rhythm, cherish and protect that relationship.”

Ryan Estes

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Guest profile

Ryan Estes is an American Buddhist entrepreneur. As the founder of Kitcaster, a podcast booking agency, he facilitates thousands of extraordinary conversations. Ryan is an expert in leveraging podcasts for meaning and profitability.

Kitcaster serves more than 150 agency clients and is gearing up for its first software product in 2021.

Worst investment ever

Over the past 10 years, Ryan has been the owner-operator of Talklaunch, a media marketing agency he runs with his wife. The agency does social media content, paid media, organic search, website creation, and more.

Taking over his wife’s fantastic product idea

Ryan’s wife had this great idea for a skincare company, specifically, a natural deodorant company, and she was excited about it. She came up with this fantastic formula that worked well.

Ryan took over this entire idea and put it through the wringer the same way he would do with a client. He rebranded the idea, built the website, put everything together, and launched the company, all without consulting his wife.

Wife loses interest

Even though the company was having middling successes and Ryan was planning to expand a line, his wife continually became less interested in the business. Ryan couldn’t figure out why she was not engaged in this company, yet it was building traction.

Unbeknownst to Ryan, his wife had hoped that this idea would become a collaborative project for the both of them. Something that you would work on together and bond as a couple. However, Ryan never bothered to find out what were his wife’s expectations from the business. So when he took it over and alienated her, she lost all the interest she had.

Choosing to save his marriage

The business was starting to cause a rift between Ryan and his wife. Once Ryan realized his mistake, he apologized to his wife, and together they decided to let go of the project and focus on something else for the sake of their marriage.

Lessons learned

Draw a line between business and your marriage

When you go into business with your partner, be sure to draw a line between your marriage and your business. Articulate in a conversation all the ways your business relationship could go wrong. Evaluate how your business relationship can affect your marriage and find ways to protect that relationship because no amount of money is worth ruining your relationship.

Always remember that your spouse is your most valuable asset

There are so many parallels between a marriage and a business relationship, and therefore, differences will arise, and ideas will differ. But, the value of somebody who understands you and is vital to you from a business side is more important than any revenue outcome. If you have a business partner who complements you, cherish and protect them.

Andrew’s takeaways

Honor your relationships even in business

When it comes to doing business, honor your partner’s ideas and thoughts. Do not drag your relationship through whatever your next idea is; discuss it with them first.

You and your spouse will have differing expectations

You and your spouse will probably want different things from a business partnership. So if you do not clarify your expectations, your partnership will be a train wreck.

Actionable advice

Discuss parameters and rules before getting into a business with your partner. Talk about worst-case scenarios such as how you will handle the company if you break up, who gets the final say when one of you wants to make a decision and the other doesn’t. Make sure that you have an exit strategy in place in case things go a certain way.

No. 1 goal for the next 12 months

Ryan’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to grow Kitcaster into an absolute behemoth. He, therefore, wants to stretch it out to about a $2.5 million runway.

Parting words

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“Thanks for letting me tell the story.”

Ryan Estes