425: How to Find Your Entrepreneurial Rhythm and Stay Ahead of the Content Curve with Jim Carter III

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How do you stay ahead of the curve and find ways to make an impact through social media?

Jim Carter III

I get this question a lot from the Leaders of Transformation Podcast community, and I’ll be the first to say that SEO, social media marketing, and content creation are something I work with consistently — but they definitely aren’t my area of expertise.

The algorithms used by Google, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are a mystery to many. Thankfully, some people dedicate their professional lives to making an impact through social media and SEO!

My guest on today’s episode, Jim Carter III, is one of those bold individuals who specialize in marketing your brand online, what makes an impact on social media, and how to harness your passion into a brand that makes waves.

If you’re looking for ways to find your entrepreneurial rhythm, increase user engagement, or want to learn how to repurpose podcast content for social media — you’re in the right place. But before we get started, let’s get to know Jim better!

Who Is Jim Carter III?

The fantastic team at Oscar Hamilton suggested that I invite Jim to the show, and I’m so happy that I took them up on the recommendation.

One of the first things I noticed when talking to Jim was his down-to-earth attitude and humble spirit. He’s built seven-figure businesses and works closely with podcasting giants like Lewis Howes, but I quickly realized in our interview that talking with Jim was like chatting with a friend.

The first thing that stood out to me was how Jim’s passion for service and the desire to work with non-profit organizations started from an early age.

“I’m an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, so I grew up in service and spent most of my childhood being in the outdoors and connected in service. … In order to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, you have to orchestrate what’s called a service project. And it’s a test to go through all of the planning, coordination, and donations [to create a way to serve others]. You put the whole thing together and present the report to a board who evaluates you.” – Jim Carter III

According to Jim, his time in the Scouts really ignited his passion for service. Learning to coordinate a service project at an early age taught him what it means to lead with service and connect with people. But as Jim continued to grow and venture into his career in tech, life started pulling him away from his original path.

“As I got married and started having children, I floated between entrepreneurship and taking full-time positions. Then I moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and I lost my path. The really honest answer here is that I got ‘busy,’ and I used that as an excuse for a lot of years.” – Jim Carter III

I’m sure we can all resonate with Jim here. Sometimes when we get into the hustle of entrepreneurship and grow a family, we lose sight of the things that are essential to our happiness.

Jim was trying to raise a family in the Bay Area, get startup companies off the ground, and keep hustling to succeed. Eventually, that constant grind caught up with him, and Jim realized he needed to pivot after years of trying to make things work.

Jim’s Entrepreneurial Pivot and Connection with Pencils of Promise

One day, while he was scrolling through Instagram, Jim found a post from a friend that would radically change his approach to work and guide him back toward a life of service.

“I had seen an Instagram post from a really good friend of mine that I was helping build his business up. He had tagged a book by Adam Braun, the founder of Pencils of Promise, which is a non-profit out of New York City. The book was about how he launched this organization [even though] he had a wonderful path forward laid out in the finance world because he knew that he had something different inside of him.” – Jim Carter III

After reading about how Adam Braun built Pencils of Promise organically by following his passion and leaning in to make a difference, Jim began researching more into PoP. He found that their site lacked security measures and could use a boost to make them stand out from the crowd online.

Jim asked his friend who posted on IG if he could connect Jim with Pencils of Promise because he identified with their cause and wanted to improve their site to help them make a more significant impact.

This connection gave Jim the opportunity he needed to reconnect with service through his background in tech. Once Jim helped PoP revamp their site, they started ranking better in organic searches, donations increased, and the non-profit started to grow exponentially.

“And that sort of was this catalyst that unlocked me from that point forward. … I was addicted to this realization that I don’t need to be everything to everyone, but I can be a specialist where I can pour into people. … I wasn’t doing it because I was trying to find a client. I was doing it because I was passionate and energetic about making a change.” – Jim Carter III

While we talked about Jim’s pivot back toward service and how his knowledge of tech changed the way Pencils of Promise ranked online, it opened the door to explore how Jim balances his passion for service, family life, and entrepreneurship.

How Can You Balance Work, Family Life, and a Desire to Serve?

I realized during our conversation that Jim has a lot going on. He’s currently CEO of his content marketing company, Carter & Custer, running the Fast Foundations Mastermind, working to help non-profits make a greater impact, and a #girldad to top it all off.

When I asked him how he balances everything he does daily, his answer was incredibly insightful:

“[The way I see work life balance] is a result from talking to a good friend of mine Kyle Depiesse. I think about it less a balance and more of a rhythm because is there really balance? Can you honestly be a ‘busy entrepreneur’ and tell me you’ve got a balance? I would love to see it. I love the entrepreneurial life, but I don’t have the privilege of shutting my brain off.” – Jim Carter III

Jim’s view of life as more of a rhythm than a balance really resonated with me. Instead of putting life on a scale and giving it equal time, you move to the beat of where life is taking you. Sometimes that means letting your brain stay in work mode while you aren’t working, and other times you listen to your body telling you to shut it down completely.

“For me, rhythm works. It’s making sure that when I’m on, I’m on. I’m energetic right now. I’ve got my coffee. I’m fired up. I’m not thinking about anything else, and I’m grateful to be here. But when we’re done with this conversation, I’m gonna take a break, text my wife, and see how she’s doing.” – Jim Carter III

Letting yourself tune into the rhythm of life removes the pressure of focusing on a “balance” and opens opportunities to move with life. It allows you to move in harmony with the world around you and helps you stay grounded.

I grew up in an entrepreneurial household and realized at a young age that entrepreneurship isn’t a vocation — it’s a lifestyle.

And that lifestyle can either make or break you. You need to be careful as an entrepreneur that you’re still headed in the direction that you want to go. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in a place where you are extremely busy but gaining no traction.

How Can You Increase User Engagement Online?

Jim’s background in technology, web design, and search engine optimization gives him unique insights into what you can do to make an impact online.

As an entrepreneur and business coach, I love to learn more about what I can do to make a more significant impact, so I had to ask him about user engagement and how you can increase engagement. His response — look to your data.

“I’m a data nerd. I love a good data sheet because data can tell you the most beautiful story ever. … It’s what can give you the clarity to actually go do something. … When you start measuring data, that means you can do something about it.” – Jim Carter III

Nowadays, everything we do to build our brand comes with data sets. Whether we just posted something to social media or launched a podcast episode, there is data attached. You can see your number of views, likes, downloads, etc., right in front of you.

And if your numbers are starting to dip, it’s time to ask yourself why. Do your overall views trend up or down when you cover a particular topic? Have you seen a shift in engagement when posting a video vs. a photo on social media?

Answering questions like these can help you dig deeper into your data and unlock your potential for optimized user engagement. Overall, learning how to read the story of the data will help you right new chapters toward success.

How Can You Stay Ahead of the Curve in Podcasting?

If you’ve followed the Leaders of Transformation Podcast for a while, you know that I like to build up other people in this industry.

Since Jim is a leader in digital content marketing and serves multiple podcast clients, I had to ask him what the most crucial thing podcasters can do to grow their audience right now. He responded that video is essential to growing your fan base as a podcaster.

“Right now in 2022, [the most important thing] is having a video component to your show — hands down. We’re recording this podcast on video, and because of that, we can do so much more with it. There’s no problem with having an audio-only podcast, but we are now in a video first world.” – Jim Carter III

When you think about it, creating a video component for your podcast makes perfect sense. Video content is everywhere on social media. Instagram has expanded its Reels platform, Facebook Watch is thriving, and TikTok is the number one app in the world right now.

Additionally, filming your podcasts opens more doors for your content, which Jim touched on during our conversation:

“When you have a video component, it unlocks [ways for] you to be able to do so much more with it. And that gives you this breadth of utilizing new platforms and channels new opportunities [for your podcast]. If you aren’t doing it yet, I would encourage you to.” – Jim Carter III

If you aren’t leveraging video for your podcasts yet, it’s time to hop on that bandwagon. You don’t need a whole studio to make high-quality video content. In fact, the opportunity to shoot high-resolution video is simple with the latest camera and microphone tech.

Learn More About Repurposing Content and the Importance of Consistency

I’d need to start writing a chapter book to fit all the details Jim and I covered in this podcast episode, so if you’d like to learn more about how you can repurpose content for social media, you should listen to the entire episode now.

Before I let you go, I want to leave you with Jim’s insight into what you can do to make the most of your repurposed podcast content on social media.

“Each channel is different by design, and we have a different way that we consume content based off of different channels. … Think about [your podcast content as] one awesome source police of content and finding the right utility for it on the right channel.” – Jim Carter III

When you can look at the perks of each social media platform and tailor your content to each channel, your repurposed content will shine. So take some time to study the platform, analyze your data, and create content based on those determining factors.

If you’re looking to grow your business or learn more about other entrepreneurs making an impact, get involved with Leaders of Transformation today — it’s much more than a podcast.

I offer transformational leadership coaching to help you be better, do better, and make a greater impact. You can also join our community to receive uplifting newsletters to help guide you on your entrepreneurial journey.

Additionally, if you’re an entrepreneur with an established brand but don’t know how to break into content marketing, I highly recommend getting in touch with Jim. His company, Carter & Custer, is equipped with the tools you need to be seen online and organically boost your business’s internet presence.

As always, thanks for listening.

– Nicole Jansen

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