You’ve seen him on seemingly every podcast out there. Literally hundreds. And now, the man with the Golden Microphone, Mr. Larry Long Jr, opens up on what podcast guesting has meant to his business.
I started my Zoom meeting and double checked my hair and background while I waited for him to log on. At the top of my screen, I saw he had entered my waiting room and quickly clicked the “admit” button so as to not keep him for longer than the thirty minutes I booked on his Calendly. Before I knew it, I heard Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” playing on my AirPods.
No, I wasn’t talking to Pharrell. It was just another Thursday meeting with Larry Long, Jr. 
We know that starting a podcast is one of the most effective ways to amplify your expertise, grow your personal brand and network with amazing people, but Larry has reaped those benefits by simply guesting on others.
Larry is in a unique position. The former sales superhero has an outgoing, encouraging personality and an unmatched animation, and after years of inspiring others with his speaking on the side, he transitioned his career from being a sales leader at Teamworks to CEO, or “Chief Energy Officer,” at LLJR Enterprises.
And because of his inspiring charisma, he’s asked to be a guest on a different podcast almost every week. Without starting his own, he helps create new sharable, repurposable content and reaches new audiences with every episode.
“The game chose me,” he said. “It’s been crazy. Every podcast opportunity has come to me, either from a referral or someone who just saw me or heard me on another podcast, and it’s been like that over the past year.”
He said his podcast demand picked up during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which he decided to leave his full-time job and venture out on his own. He started streaming what he called the “Midweek, Midday Motivational Minute” every Wednesday afternoon at 12 p.m. on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
After people saw his inspiring streams, they wanted him on their shows. And while he would love to start his own show, it isn’t in the cards for his new venture just yet.
“To produce your podcast, it takes time, It takes energy, it takes resources that I’m not in a place for right now,” he said. “But we identified my business model, and number one is speaking, number two is coaching, then number five is podcasts.”
From sales to entrepreneurship to being a Black father, he’s talked about it all on shows big and small and it’s been a major asset in helping him grow his new business, which has allowed him to be more involved in his family’s lives.
“I no longer work in corporate America,” he said. “I get to drop my kids off and pick them up at carpool. My daughter’s in gymnastics, and I’m there every practice. My son’s in baseball,and I’m going to be there every practice unless I’m traveling for an engagement. Just having that flexibility? I would have never been able to do that if I was working for a company, and the podcasts up my exposure.”
So, while we still think you should definitely start a podcast, being a guest on other shows is a great way to get your name out there, reach diverse audiences as you build your own, and get the reps you need!
For more Larry, follow along on Linkedin. And if you’re interested in guesting on podcasts we produce (or even the ones we don’t), we’d love to hear from you.
