417 How I Went From Beginner Podcaster to Charging Clients: A Prince Edward County Story

**Episode 417:** Rain or Shine Podcast
**Host:** Kelsey Reidl, The Rain or Shine Podcast

From Beginner to Pro: What an 8-Year-Old Podcast Trip Taught Me About Getting Out of Your Own Cage

Episode 417: Rain or Shine Podcast
Guest: Kelsey Reidl, The Rain or Shine Podcast

Quick Summary:

Recording live from the car en route to a Wave members' event in Prince Edward County, Kelsey reflects on the origin story that started it all — a fully sponsored podcast tour of PEC eight years ago — and unpacks why deciding to stop being a "beginner" changed the trajectory of her business. She also gives an honest, real-time update on prepping for maternity leave.

In This Episode:

The full story of how a Toronto co-working space event led to a sponsored six-episode podcast series in Prince Edward County
Why the word "decide" is about cutting off other options — and how that mindset let her charge money as a beginner podcaster
The concept of "caging yourself" and the subconscious limits we set around time, money, and ambition
An honest, unfiltered life update on juggling client work, speaking gigs, and a looming mat leave
How staggered payment plans and SEO/AI visibility made stepping back from the business easier
Why she's choosing to fully pause the podcast rather than "hustle" to pre-record content

Key Takeaways:

Getting to the next level often requires a literal decision to stop operating like a beginner — pricing, consistency, and professionalism included.
The stories we tell ourselves ("I don't have time," "I'll never...") are self-imposed cages — identifying them is the first step to breaking out.
Long time horizons, not quick wins, are where real business and personal growth happen.
Staggering client revenue (via 6–12 month payment plans) can make stepping away from a business — for any reason — far less stressful.
Consistency, not constant presence, is what builds long-term trust with an audience.

Memorable Quotes:

On the meaning of commitment: "I'm not gonna hang out in beginner land anymore."
On expectations of instant results: "When you stretch the time horizon, success is inevitable."
On earning trust: "Consistency breeds trust."

Resources Mentioned:

Kelsey's Website: www.KelseyReidl.com
Kelsey's Instagram: @KelseyReidl
Wave (Kelsey's community for women entrepreneurs)
The June Motel — founded by Sarah Slack and business partner
Love Child Social (co-working space, Toronto)
Build a New Life blog/program (Prince Edward County business development initiative)
Anice Jewelry — founded by Brit
Drake Devonshire & Frontera Flower Farm (Wave event venues)

About the Host

Kelsey Reidl is an entrepreneur, fractional CMO, and host of Rain or Shine (formerly Visionary Life). She's been podcasting for 8 years, helping entrepreneurs show up consistently and build sustainable businesses. She runs the WAVE Mastermind and specializes in marketing strategy, website design, and business growth. Kelsey is a mom to a 2-year-old, an avid mountain biker, and a firm believer in the "rain or shine" mentality.

[Kelsey]: Hey, visionaries, welcome back to the show. This is a bit of a different episode — I'm recording live from my car with just a mic set up. It'll be imperfect, but I didn't want to miss the chance to record during a solo car ride, because I'm getting so many thoughts and so much inspiration right now.
I'm on this long drive because I'm heading to our next Wave event in Prince Edward County. I cannot wait to host 25 women tomorrow — it'll be Friday, July 17th when the event happens, though you'll be listening to this a little later. We're gathering at the Drake Devonshire for a Wave members-only brunch, then heading to Frontera Flower Farm for a day of fireside chats, panel discussions, and building flower bouquets while we network.
This is kind of my final big event before maternity leave, and it feels a little nostalgic. I'm excited to pour my heart into this, knowing I'm about to pause for a while. So this episode is going to be random thoughts — me riffing, with you as my company while I drive through beautiful Prince Edward County.
[TIMESTAMP: The Prince Edward County origin story]
I'm about to meet our fireside chat speaker, Brit, founder of Anice Jewelry, and then one of our Wave members, Sonya — a lawyer in Prince Edward County who's actually a former client of mine, and who's covering my maternity leave inside Wave. Full circle.
This trip is nostalgic because — if you've been a listener since the very beginning, and I mean seven or eight years ago, back when this show was called Visionary Life — I had this go-get-'em attitude I still carry, just maybe not to the same degree.
Here's the story: about seven or eight years ago, I came up to Prince Edward County twice on fully sponsored trips, recording six podcast episodes each time. I'm pretty sure how it started. When I first became a freelancer, I joined a co-working space in Toronto called Love Child Social, at King and Bathurst. They hosted events, and at one of them, Sarah Slack — one of the founders of the June Motel, which went on to become huge — was speaking. I stuck around afterward, told her how amazing the talk was, and asked her to be one of my first podcast guests. I think she was around episode 12.
From there, she connected me to a program in the county called Build a New Life, which spotlighted business owners — many from Toronto — who'd picked up and started businesses in Picton and the surrounding area. At the time, PEC wasn't the trendy destination it is today with the wineries and bachelorette parties — it was much more under the radar.
I got connected with someone from the local business development center and pitched a six-episode series. I recorded with apple orchard owners, the June Motel founders, Sunday's Company (a botanical skincare line), a thrift shop owner, Sonya from the Vic Café, Aaron from an organic farm, Rob from Jim and the Armory, and the women who started the local yoga studio. It went so well I came back for a second series. Getting paid to record episodes that early in my podcasting journey felt incredibly special, and Prince Edward County has had a soft spot in my heart ever since.
[TIMESTAMP: Getting out of "beginner land"]
Looking back at my confidence then — I was a true beginner with no business charging money for my show. But I think I made a decision. The root of the word "decide" is about cutting off all other options. I decided I'd release an episode every week, and I have, since 2018 — over eight years now. I decided I was taking this seriously, not just dabbling.
So even by episode 10 or 14, I felt confident enough to charge money, even though that's not the "normal" trajectory. My commitment was strong enough that I told myself: I'm not going to be a beginner at this. I'm going to figure it out, do a great job recording and editing, be the most curious interviewer these people have ever had. I gave clients blog posts and edited audio files for the business association. I cut off the other options and made the decision.
Maybe there's an area in your life where you're acting like a beginner — and you might genuinely be one — but to get to the next level, you have to decide: I'm not staying in beginner land. I'm charging my worth. I'm raising my prices. I'm being more professional. I'm staying consistent, because inconsistency isn't what a pro does. An Olympic-level athlete doesn't train inconsistently. So stop playing in beginner land in the areas where you actually want growth.
[TIMESTAMP: The concept of "caging yourself"]
This connects to something I think is really important: catching the stories you tell yourself. I could have told myself, "I'm such a beginner, I have no media training — who am I to charge for this?" I could have caged myself to recording only locally, or said, "I'll do four episodes, and if the downloads aren't in the millions, I'll cancel." Instead, I didn't cage myself. I said, "I don't know where this is going, but I'll show up every week, keep exploring, and reassess after six, 12, 18 months." I'm playing the long game.
I don't love the idea of a "microwave society" — press a button and it's done. I don't even have an Amazon Prime account; it's almost a stake in the ground against expecting instant results, because the good things in life — including the businesses we build — take time, nurturing, and development. When you stretch the time horizon, success becomes inevitable. But so many people just want the ten-second heat-up button.
We cage ourselves subconsciously all the time — around health ("I'll never get under 160 pounds"), lifestyle ("I'll never have more than three weeks of vacation"), and especially around time: "I don't have time for that. We're so busy." That's a cage you've built, saying you're not open to making space for a new priority.
When you let yourself out of the cage and decide "I'm not a beginner anymore," that's when you see massive results — the better body, the better relationship, the better lifestyle. Catch yourself in those micro-moments, because they write your future.
[TIMESTAMP: Mid-July life update and preparing for mat leave]
Shifting into a life update: it's mid-July, and honestly I thought work would have slowed down by now. I'd hoped to be wrapped up by end of July and ready to prep the house for mat leave. But it's been full — opportunities kept coming through May, June, and even July, and I've had trouble saying no, because this business is one of my babies. I just booked a speaking gig at Toronto Metropolitan University, I'm in talks for a live training on AI and ranking on ChatGPT about four weeks before I give birth, I still have this PEC event, I took on one-to-one clients right up until mid-May, and I'm getting last-minute marketing audit bookings from people who know I'm going on leave, so there's urgency. I'm also recording my last few episodes and booking out community calls.
If you're an entrepreneur planning a mat leave and the last six weeks have felt chaotic, please reach out — I don't want to feel alone in that. Some of it is a mirror: I said I'd stop taking projects on by a certain date, and I bent that rule because the opportunities excited me.
I'm genuinely excited to pause the podcast for a few months. Some people run maternity leave like nothing's changed — pre-recording episodes, keeping launches going. That doesn't feel right for me. I'm not trying to trick anyone into thinking I'm still fully here, and I'm grateful this podcast isn't a huge revenue driver or a media empire on its own — it's part of a funnel, so I don't have to keep the wheels churning while I'm away. More than anything, I never want to burn out, and pushing hard in these final months doesn't align with where I'm headed.
A lot of my clients pay on six- or twelve-month payment plans, so revenue is naturally staggered — someone who signed in January will still have payments coming through the fall, someone who signed in May will finish their plan next April. If you have that ability to stagger revenue (with contracts in place), it makes a leave like this so much easier.
Going into my first mat leave with Freddy, I worried about "starting from behind" after disappearing for three months. But the truth was the opposite — once I started easing back in, I was strategic, focused, and intentional. I cut the clutter work that wasn't moving the needle and came back stronger — like taking quantum leaps rather than two steps forward, one step back. My SEO and visibility in AI search engines kept bringing in applications for speaking, marketing, and one-on-one work even while I was off. I had a templated response: "I'm fully booked for the next few months — if you want to work with me, my first available date is [X]," and I'd always collect a deposit. Most people were happy to wait.
If you're in a season like this — a sick relative, a new baby, postpartum, a health crisis — know you're not digging a hole with every day you step away. You can use that time to zoom out and think about the business and life you actually want. Disappearing just to disappear isn't always great for the business, but disappearing with purpose still builds trust — because consistency, not constant presence, is what earns it.
Even on leave, I kept showing up in small ways — not baring everything, but giving glimmers into my life. Instagram and the podcast are where I feel most creatively alive, so even during my last leave (scroll back to January–March 2024), I was creating from an inspired place, not a regimented plan. If you're stepping back, ask yourself: what can I lean into? Where do I feel joy or creativity? You're the CMO of your business, whether you like the title or not — and a good CMO is strategic and a little creative, even solo. Those micro-wins during quiet seasons keep you trustworthy, top of mind, and planting seeds for the future.
I hope this rambly one resonated. I'm a few minutes from Picton now, reconnecting with old friends and soaking in some rare me-time. Have a wonderful rest of your day, and if anything resonated, tag me on Instagram — I'm @kelseyreidell. See you in the next one.

417 How I Went From Beginner Podcaster to Charging Clients: A Prince Edward County Story