Dillan interviews Michelle Varghese (@mvarghoose).She's a writer, podcaster, and community manager. She co-hosts the Build a Wealthy Spirit podcast with her sister—a show helping people get more financial stability, fulfillment, and joy out of work and life. She also writes articles on Substack and manages the Small Bets community, among other projects.They discuss: how Michelle left her job to pursue her creative career, how to take long periods of time off work, how to navigate seasons of r...
The Grindstone community does a Q&A with Mario Joos (@mariojooss)—the #1 YouTube Retention Director in the world. He's worked with massive creators like MrBeast, Brave Wilderness, Jose Zuniga, and more.They discuss: how often YouTubers should post, quantity vs quality, what Mario thinks about creator burnout, best times to check video analytics, the #1 way to save time as a busy creator, how Mario uses his own advice in his videos, how to find endless motivation, the importance of niching...
Dillan interviews Joe Previte (@jsjoeio). He's a full-stack software engineer who has created tons of projects that live on the internet—including: courses for programmers, Spanish language programs, and most recently Cowork With Friends. He started his online career by sharing his travel lessons on his first blog, and has since grown a hefty Twitter audience.We discuss: how Joe got 42,000 Twitter followers on accident, the power of sharing "How I" content instead of "How To" content, ho...
Dillan interviews Steph Smith (@stephsmithio)—a serial online creator. She's the author of books & courses like Doing Content Right, Doing SEO Right, and Doing Time Right. She’s the host of the a16z podcast and the Shit You Don’t Learn in School podcast. She has a massive Twitter audience. And her latest project, "Internet Pipes," teaches all of us how to make sense of the chaotic mountain of online data.We discuss: not having a niche, how to be one of one, how she accidentally grew a com...
Dillan interviews Mario Joos (@mariojooss)—the #1 YouTube Retention Director in the world. He's worked with massive creators like MrBeast, Brave Wilderness, Jose Zuniga, and more. They discuss: what retention actually is, how Mario got introduced to the YouTube world, Mario's 5 steps to doing research, why Average View Duration and Click-Thru Rate are useless metrics, the first 3 things Mario notices when watching a video, the differences between big and small creators, huge mistakes newer cr...
"No matter the circumstances. If you don't have time. If life is getting in the way. If you don't have the energy. If you don't think you're good at this...Just keep doing it."Dillan interviews Diane Callahan—aka Quotidian Writer. She's a YouTuber and podcaster in the fiction writing world. Her aim is to help creators tell better stories and 'just keep writing.'We discuss: balancing authenticity and professionalism, what to do when people don't take you seriously, why you don't need confidenc...
"Now that we know what we're going to do, we need to put it on the calendar so we know when we're going to do it."Today, Dillan (@dillanroytaylor) shares his simple weekly system for being super productive and managing time and tasks in a stress-free, organized manner. •••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He tracks his journey of scaling his first company, te...
"The key to great storytelling is change, meaningful change. Readers want to look at the beginning and end of a story and see that something has happened."Dillan interviews Diane Callahan—aka Quotidian Writer. She's a YouTuber and podcaster in the fiction writing world. Her aim is to help creators tell better stories and 'just keep writing.' We discuss: what makes stories good or bad, Diane's creative career, how Diane uses YouTube as a lead magnet for her business, how to collaborate with ot...
"I get the most done when I am in a dark room, away from all civilization and happiness."Today, Dillan (@dillanroytaylor) shares his 3-step process for working undistracted for hours every single day.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He tracks his journey of scaling his first company, tells stories from 3000+ coaching sessions, and interviews creators who ...
Dillan interviews Andy Arthur Smith (@andyarthursmith), a musician and certified goofball. He's crushing it online with over 4 million followers on all platforms, most notably on TikTok and Instagram.You'll learn: how musical creators deal with copyright rules, Andy's recording process, how to find a trustworthy manager, Andy's history of being a weirdo, and what it's like to have your childhood hero follow you on Instagram, and much more.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators who want to ...
"It's okay if you're not feeling confident. Of course you're not if you've never done this. Of course you feel that way. But you can change that through your inputs and your effort."Join Dillan (@dillanroytaylor) as he guests on The Typical Life Coach Podcast to share valuable lessons on starting a business, doing outreach without being creepy, and getting strangers to open up. The Typical Life Coach Podcast is hosted by John & Natalie Strasser:https://typicallifecoachpodcast.buzzsprout.c...
Dillan interviews Andy Arthur Smith (@andyarthursmith), a musician and certified goofball. He's crushing it online with over 4 million followers on all platforms, most notably on TikTok and Instagram.You'll learn: why you should never give up when you think it's too late, the power of hiring a social media manager, why you should decide to go all in on content, what Andy would do if he lost all of his following, how to collaborate with sponsors, and much more. •••Doin' The Thing is a show for...
"Most people don't actually know how to push themselves until failure."Today, Dillan (@dillanroytaylor) shares an insight he got from working out with his friend on pushing your body (or mind) until failure. •••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators and business builders who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He tracks his journey of scaling his first company, tells stories from 2500+ coaching sessions...
"We didn't just start reaching out to brands to sponsor us. We waited until we had a decent following to prove we were worth partnering with." This is from Grindstone's January Creator Interview. Dillan interviews James & Anthony Deveney (@RaidersLostPod), hosts of Raiders of the Lost Podcast—the best TV/film podcast on the internet.You'll learn: how they diversify their income streams as full-time podcasters, their Patreon tiers, and how they separate their business partnership from thei...
"$500 client: I just feel as though with this investment I am about to make in you, that we should understand how our lives are about to change and I need results and you need to bring them, I am entrusting you with our livelihood and lives.$50,000 client: Money sent, thanks."Today, Dillan (@dillanroytaylor) shares his journey of raising his prices as a solopreneur, as well as the different levels of clients.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators and business builders who want to build the...
"I could use this time for short-term pleasure. I could watch a movie or go out drinking with friends...Or I could spend two hours really grinding every day and see what comes of it."This is from Grindstone's January Creator Interview. Dillan interviews James & Anthony Deveney (@RaidersLostPod), hosts of Raiders of the Lost Podcast—the best TV/film podcast on the internet.You'll learn: how they built a business from their passion for film, the difficulties of creating when no one is liste...
"How do you grow an audience? One person at a time, one upload at a time, without stopping."This is from Grindstone's November Creator Interview. Dillan (@dillanroytaylor) interviews Joe (@CupppaJoe5), the #1 Call of Duty: Warzone coach on the internet.You'll learn: how he got 200,000 YouTube subscribers while juggling a full-time job, what motivates him when he's feeling down, and what he sacrificed to get here.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators and coaches who want to build their thi...
"Treat your current customer/listener/reader like they're paying you $10,000."Today, Dillan (@dillanroytaylor) shares the one question that skyrocketed his coaching business. You can use it to do the same with whatever you're building.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators and coaches who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dillan Taylor—certified life coach, writer, and CEO of Grindstone. He tracks his journey of scaling his first company and tells stories from 250...
"Get people to click, then get them to stay. That's all the algorithm wants."This is Grindstone's November Creator Interview. Dillan (@dillanroytaylor) interviews Joe (@CupppaJoe5), the #1 Call of Duty: Warzone coach on the internet. You'll learn: what makes videos perform well, how to make a Call to Action that's not annoying, and how Joe preps before shooting his videos.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators and coaches who want to build their thing better and faster. It's hosted by Dill...
"Do you really want to hear about how to get more YouTube subscribers from a guy who only has 300?"In this rebranded and relaunched episode, Dillan (@dillanroytaylor) explains why he quit the podcast earlier in the year. And what he learned from doing so. You'll learn: the difference between quitting and giving up, the kind of content beginners shouldn't make (and the kind they should make instead), and the future of this podcast moving forward.•••Doin' The Thing is a show for creators and co...