#16: Leading Remote Teams and Podcasting for Business Growth

Michael Sacca is a modern renaissance businessman who inspires tens of thousands of entrepreneurs each week with his podcast Rocketship.fm and has climbed the ranks to become the President of a multi-million dollar business that supports companies and creators across 30 countries. He’s leveraged his experience in a wide array of roles—like coder, podcaster, web design consultant, product developer and sales lead—to grow his skillset as an entrepreneur, leading to several successful business ventures and, eventually, a leadership role at someone else’s company. He recently became the President of Crew, a business that matches freelance web designers and coders with companies in need of their services. His ambition, leadership skills and experience as a jack-of-all-trades wowed his superiors and fueled his rise through the ranks after starting there as a partnership manager. Meanwhile, he continues to run Brandisty, a web platform for storing and distributing brand assets, and Rocketship.fm, a podcast for entrepreneurs that reaches tens of thousands of listeners twice a week. Michael has a truly impressive toolbox of talents, but he’s very down-to-earth and honest about the sometimes haphazard nature of his career progression, which has at times been motivated simply by the need to make a buck. In our interview, he also opens up about his teenage years buying and selling Smashing Pumpkins concert tapes online, how he’s managed to change his mindset as he moved from role to role, the stresses and challenges of becoming a leader, and how nobody in business has all the answers all the time. Michael is very active around the internet, and there are lots of different ways you can continue to follow his story. For starters, you can tune into Rocketship.fm to get exclusive insights from his interviews with the brightest minds in tech and entrepreneurship. You can also find him on Twitter @michaelsacca, follow his posts on everything that has to do with freelancing on the Crew blog, or read up on his latest adventures and musings over on Medium. In this episode with Michael Sacca, you’ll learn: — How trading concert tapes online prepared him for entrepreneurship — How to start a business as a web design consultant — Why necessity can be a good motivator for your career — Why you should quit your business if it’s making you miserable — How to decide to end one business venture and embark on another — How to transition from being your own boss to being someone else’s employee — How Crew helps freelancers and project owners work with each other — How to land a leadership position where you work — The stresses that come with leadership roles — How to lead and inspire a distributed team — Why you don’t have to be perfect to be an entrepreneur ---- Download show notes and transcripts at www.powderkeg.co This episode of Powder Keg is brought to you by DeveloperTown. If you’re a business leader trying to turn a great idea into a product with traction, this is for you. DeveloperTown works with clients ranging from entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 companies who want to build and launch an app or digital product. They’re able to take the process they use with early stage companies to help big companies move like a startup. So if you have an idea for a web or mobile app, or need help identifying the great ideas within your company, go to developertown.com/powderkeg. Thanks again to everyone who has shared an episode of Powderkeg, subscribed to us on iTunes, or left us a review. It’s the only way we’re going to spread this message and reach new people and we could do it without you. We’re coming out with new episodes every Tuesday, so make sure you subscribe on iTunes or at powederkeg.co/itunes