{"id":1585,"date":"2025-08-27T00:09:29","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T00:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/27\/dont-just-grow-to-grow-real-talk-from-a-serial-founder\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T00:09:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T00:09:29","slug":"dont-just-grow-to-grow-real-talk-from-a-serial-founder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/27\/dont-just-grow-to-grow-real-talk-from-a-serial-founder\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t just grow to grow: Real talk from a serial founder"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are some lessons you only learn when life hits you hard.<\/strong> This week\u2019s master stared down the loss of his business \u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of Q4 was the biggest punch in the face for me that year. It was the most stressed I\u2019ve ever been in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 and came out the other side with a six-figure agency. Today, he shares the kind of vulnerability and real talk you rarely get from entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

And his advice just might help you duck a punch.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\nRyan Atkinson<\/h2>\n

Founder and CEO at Spacebar Visuals<\/a>; Host of The UpFlip Podcast<\/em>
\n<\/h3>\n

Fun fact:<\/strong> In business school, Ryan got the lowest grade in a class called Founders Club. He went on to grow his own six-figure business. <\/p>\n

Claim to fame: <\/strong>Named to Austin\u2019s 25 Under 25 and the Tippie Young Alumni Board. His podcast about entrepreneurship has hit over 2 million downloads. <\/p>\n

Lesson 1: Don\u2019t just grow to grow.<\/h2>\n

If you believe the hustle-culture hype that thrives on LinkedIn, the only way to get ahead is to eat and breathe the grind, right? I\u2019d say \u201ceat, sleep, and breathe,\u201d but the grind never sleeps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought when I [created] Spacebar, I wanted to grow as much as possible, hire as much as possible,\u201d Ryan Atkinson says. And his business did<\/em> grow \u2014 second only to his stress levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is probably TMI, but I had canker sores from stress. I couldn\u2019t even listen to music, because music would make me anxious,\u201d he confesses.<\/p>\n

Atkinson reached a point where he had to reevaluate both his business and life goals and consider what he was growing toward. (Something that many entrepreneurs won\u2019t admit.) His advice to you solopreneurs, startup founders, and small business owners?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is still growth, but it\u2019s not growth at all costs.<\/strong> Grow to hire correctly. Grow profitably. Grow mindfully.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lesson 2: It\u2019s okay to start cheap.<\/h2>\n

Video is no longer a nice-to-have for marketers, but that doesn\u2019t mean you have to drop half your net worth making the next Marvel movie.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet’s say you’re a startup company, where you have a limited budget. You can’t spend 20 grand on a video. Honestly, Upwork is a great place to get started.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

I took a sip of my tea just so I could do a spit-take. The solution isn\u2019t <\/em><\/strong>to write a check to his video agency?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be Spacebar,\u201d Atkinson laughs. \u201cBut you can\u2019t do an iPhone type of video if you want to make a good first impression on prospects.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re a startup marketer, you have 1,000 things you need to be doing. You have reporting. You have campaigns. You have email marketing. And video is not easy to get right. So, go to Upwork, find someone that can do it for $500, $900.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be clear, he\u2019s not talking about dropping that cash on run-of-the-mill TikTok posts. This is about investing in videos that meet your audience at key steps on their buyer\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to have a top-of-funnel explainer video because people need to know who you are. You want a brand overview video. And you want a product demo that brings your product to life. If you could only do three assets with video, do those.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Atkinson went on to break down exact recommendations for each of those videos, but since I couldn\u2019t squeeze \u2019em into one newsletter, I\u2019ve linked a longer guide down below.<\/p>\n

Lesson 3: Podcast for a different purpose.<\/h2>\n

As a fractional podcast host, Atkinson has helped launch more podcasts than most people have consumed. So I asked him the key to getting a successful show up and running.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing a podcast is incredibly hard. It\u2019s almost impossible to do it independently now,\u201d he admits. \u201cI love podcasting so much, but the more I get into it, the more I\u2019m realizing it truly is pay-to-play.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Atkinson explains that unless you can pay for broad distribution, or unless you\u2019ve got a ready-made audience \u2014 say on LinkedIn or in a newsletter \u2014 it\u2019s unlikely you\u2019ll grow to a point where monetizing your podcast is worth the time you put in it.<\/p>\n

But even if you\u2019re never a top 100 podcast in your niche, there are other reasons to do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPodcasts can be reused as a blog post, email, [or] for SEO.\u201d Not to mention repurposed for YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn. So even if the podcast itself is slow to gain traction, the effort can pay out in cross-functional content.<\/p>\n

And your show can even be an icebreaker for those hard-to-reach clients:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use it sometimes to let us talk with prospects and get introduced to them. Reach out to your [ideal customer profile] like, \u2018Hey, you want to be a guest on our podcast?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Once you interview them, it opens the door to further collaboration and conversation.<\/p>\n

Just \u201cdon\u2019t think you\u2019ll be a top 50, even top 100 podcast in two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lingering Questions<\/h2>\n

This Week\u2019s Question<\/h3>\n

\u201cWhat sparks joy for you?\u201d \u2014 Jayde Powell, Founder and head of creative, The Em Dash Co.<\/span><\/p>\n

This Week\u2019s Answer<\/h3>\n

Atkinson says:<\/span> \u201cProfessionally, when you take a bet on something and it works.<\/p>\n

Personally, being with family, friends, working out, and reading books.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next Week\u2019s Question<\/h3>\n

Atkinson asks: \u201cIf you could only invest in one tool to help your company grow for the next three years, what tool would it be?<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

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