Episode 2 – Amanda Stevenson [Optikids Fitness]

For Episode 2, we welcome Amanda Stevenson from Optikids fitness a fitness program designed for kids to be active and have fun. Optikids is a unique program that runs before and after school at the Kororoit Creek Primary School, which is situated in the Outer Western Suburbs of Melbourne.

Amanda’s philosophy is to create an atmosphere of fun for the kids, to build up confidence, teamwork, resilience and friendships. She is a highly motivated mother of 4 kids and personal trainer and wife in partnership with Russell her awesome husband. She is also a marathon runner and general fitness geek.

I have known Amanda for a few years through the local running club so it has been awesome seeing how she has changed and transformed her life to where it is now.  She is driven to help her community and the people around her and has a thirst for helping others. Today we talk about her journey and the changes she needed to make in her business for it to continue to survive. She talks to us about what she had to do to adapt and survive…and  with her devoted family she has raised the bar to go outside her comfort zone and go online.

Armed with Google, a tripod, an old iPhone, some sticky tape and a couple of old noticeboards, she converted parts of the house into her film studio. Her family also became her production team.

The Production Centre

The Technical Equipment

Ready to Film

The Production Crew

Cue Cards

High Tech Equipment

Ready to Film

She attributes a lot of her success to applying some of the things she has learnt from her Business Coach, whom she met in a chance meeting a couple of years ago. Through networking and putting herself out there, Amanda has built a reputation for her love of not only her family but the kids that take part in a program. She does it for the pure love of maintaining and living a healthy lifestyle.

She has had to make a lot of changes and she has had to overcome what many in her industry are now going through. Instead of giving up she found a way to continue to serve her community of families who live her and are appreciative of what she is doing for the community. Instead of waiting for the economy to improve, she evolved and took it head on. She truely is an amazing woman.

As a result, she has transformed her whole business to operate online. There are still many unknowns as to when the current world situation will change, but regardless of what happens, I am sure Amanda and her team will change it up and forge ahead to more success in the future.

From the humble beginnings of the upstairs rumpus room she quickly adapted and transitioned her film studio to the garage. She learnt on the go and her production got better every time she went live on air. It goes to show that you don’t need a lot of money to get things started. Just a team of supporters and the ability to find a way to make it happen.

Fancy New Tech

Looking Pro

Ready to Shoot

Lights, Camera, Action

Thank you very Amanda for your time and for sharing us your story. I hope you all enjoy listening to it.

We will of course keep everyone in the loop with Amanda’s progress in the future. Thank you again Amanda for your enthusiasm and you drive. I know your family would constantly be telling you this, but you should be very proud of what you have achieved so far. Thanks also for being part of our project.

Love to you and all your fans.

Luki & Lisa

How Not to Make a Podcast [Journal #1]

Photo by Jonathan Farber on Unsplash

Don’t Wait until you start a University degree, and more importantly, don’t wait until the time is right. When you decide the time is right and it is something that you want to do, just get it done.

Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels

With the wind in our faces and our tongues hanging out our mouths, like excited puppies on a road trip winding through the Great Ocean Road, we definitely were on our way.  There was no turning back. We now actually have a live Podcast Channel and it is available on Spotify and Apple Podcast amongst other platforms available  everywhere!

We are currently well on the way to our 4th interview (at the time of writing this post) and about to drop our 2nd Episode with the amazing Amanda Stevenson. She is a dynamic personal trainer who runs a fitness program and works with young kids at a  local Primary School.

Part of what we want to achieve is to document our journey to show  how easy it can be done to start something like this. It also doesn’t matter if  we stuff up along the way. The good thing is that, it doesn’t really matter.  Who cares right?

One of the challenges that we initially thought we would have was the fact that we both lived in different States in the country. The other thing was, what the heck were going to talk about, and who would listen to what we had to say. Driving through the day, especially in these times, everyone seemed to be advertising a podcast. It seemed that if anyone was going to launch one, it was now. There are now over 100 Million people around the world who listen to podcasts, and the numbers are growing each year.

Here is a listen to a few reasons why we shouldn’t do a podcast:

• We don’t have the equipment to start one.
• We are both busy working and studying already. We don’t have time.
• It must be expensive to launch something like this.
• What are we going to talk about?
• Where do we start?
• Why would anyone listen to us.
• How do we get listeners?
• How do we get onto Apple Podcast and Spotify?
• How do we find people to interview?

The list can go on and on forever right?

All of the reasons above are all reasons why we are doing this. It is a challenge and it is an exciting new frontier for us. Although the industry seems new, Podcasts have been around over a good decade now.

It is also important to keep in mind that before 8 weeks ago, Lisa and I did not even know each other. In fact , we still haven’t officially met. The reason we have connected is because of the existence of this digitally connected world. The good thing about this for our situation was that because it was a pretty major assignment for us. We had to at least follow through to a working product that could be assessed.

We did our research and we assigned tasks evenly and we just got it done.  There are many podcast platforms out there that we could have used:

• Buzzsprout
• Podbean
• Transistor
• Simulcast
• Captivate
• Spreaker
• Blah
• Blah
• Blah

So the point is that there are a ton load of choices to choose from. Our main points of difference that we were looking for was that we just wanted the platform to be:

• Totally Free
• East to use
• Able to be used with gear we already had
• We could record with multiple people involved
• It could get us onto the main listening platforms
• There were available resources to learn how to podcast
• One that had a track record within the industry
• It had to be the easiest and shiniest platform out there (Kidding…..not really!)

The internet is a weird and wonderful place for everything and anything. The one thing to point out with the platforms above that I have pointed out, was that none were free. When you look for stuff on the internet for a while, you kind of find out what is bullshit and what is not out there. There you go, I said it! Shhhhh. What, some of the stuff on here is rubbish! Crazy right!

All the platforms mentioned above may have some free trial period, and a couple have some very basic functionality that is free, but in my eyes, none of them were useable for what we wanted. We actually started to set up our channel on one platform, but it wasn’t very useable or editable from a hosting point of view. There were a handful of templates we could use, but we couldn’t edit most of it. We wanted to create something that was our brand.

The interesting thing I realised on my search for a hosting platform  was that many of the major blogs that spruiked these lists of platforms, were most likely earning affiliate commissions on the links that were on these lists. Therefore, this is why these platforms are all not totally free. They are being pushed to make money for the blogs for people who sign up from their personalised links. (Of course this is what we want to eventually do though right?)

Enter Anchor.fm. We actually set up our details on another platform before I found this one. At the end of the day, this hosting platforms did everything we wanted it to do. I only found it by accident whilst doing some research on another subject I was studying. I found this article on Anchor.fm by one of their founders on Medium, a writing and ideas platform. (More on this later, because this company is mind-blowing).

Side Note – Check out Medium for articles on EVERYTHING! If you are going to search for ideas on where to start or just want some inspiration, do yourself a favour and cruise through their pages.

In a very short amount of time, we just got things going and started. We didn’t use fancy equipment microphones or sound studio. And not long after, we were recording away.

Photo by Jaz King on Unsplash

There you have the beginnings of how we got started on our podcast journey. We still have no idea what we are doing most of the time, but we are having fun doing this.

More on our journey soon. Oh yes, you also don’t need to start a blog. It’s just something we are doing as we can share the love with building this project together. I am also just enjoying writing content at the moment, which is weird for me. Slowly, I am learning and finding my groove. This is one message that I want to continue to put across,

Just find what you love and keep searching for it. Never stop learning and exploring.

Love you all

Luki & Lisa

Living the Zeitgeist Life.

What the heck is Zeitgeist you ask? The easiest explanation, according to Wikipedia, is that the word means “The spirit of the age.”  This age is the age of opportunity and experiences. It is a world of connectivity where anyone is able to share and contribute in the life of others. Through my journey, I want to  show people that no matter what your situation, the journey is about the many new experiences that are encountered when you open new doors. This is the Zeitgeist life. How is it I ended up making a podcast together with a complete stranger?

The past decade of my life has been a never-ending journey of self-discovery and persistence. After going through divorce and separation, I found myself also being out of work within a short space of time. After some soul searching I somehow found the energy to swing into action. I needed to find some options, and quickly.

As circumstance would have it, this all  happened around the  same time that Uber started to operate in Melbourne. The year was 2013 and the company was constantly in the news for its illegal status as a new way for people to get about around town. It was described as another option instead of using taxis.  At this time Uber had been around for six months  so the battle was already in full swing for a number of months. The Taxi industry was reeling from the Victorian Government’s decision to deregulate the way it distributed its licenses to new operators.

For the most part I was oblivious to all of the implications that arose through this new ridesharing industry. I only understood part of what was going on and I was only  interested in the ability to find an income quickly . This was the opportunity for me to get on my feet again. Looking back, according to the ABC online news, the new ride share industry didn’t officially come into being until the legislation was passed in early 2016. It meant that my first stint as an Uber driver was operating  illegally.

I remember vividly how it all started and my circumstances at that time. My previous job required a car which I  had leased, so I still had it at my disposal. It was relatively new as I only had it for a couple of years at that point. After  I did a bit of research on the company, I enquired online, and I quickly  booked myself  in for a meeting to get set up .

I  did my orientation on a Thursday afternoon in a seedy brick  building on Inkerman street, St Kilda which took about 45 minutes. I had a 5-minute interview, watched some  training videos and I did my test on paper with a grey lead pencil. I was the only one that actually turned up for that particular orientation session. After I handed in my test, a guy gave me an iPhone to use and he walked me around my car with his clipboard. Within 5 minutes he ticks me off as being approved. My life in the new gig economy had started.

Little did I know at the time, this was the beginning of a quiet revolution. The Taxi industry had a monopoly in the hire car industry, and I quickly realised how big an impact Uber was on that industry. In a previous work life, I was a bookkeeper. One of my clients bought and sold Taxi licenses as part of their business. Some licenses at its peak could demand up to $1m.  It was big business. At the time there were many people whose plight was written about on the front page of the Herald Sun and other local newspapers. All of their stories were all similar in that they were all about to lose their life savings.

Many people put their money into Taxi licenses as part of their Superannuation strategy.  I started to get it. I slowly understood why Uber was so hated by all the Taxi drivers. There seemed to be a lot of angst on the roads as I encountered areas where I picked up people next to the city Taxi ranks.  As much as I understood how they felt, I didn’t feel it was anything to do with me. Here is why.

• Firstly Uber served its purpose because I needed  to stay afloat financially.  This gave me time to look for what I called a normal job. In my eyes, if the Taxi industry was doing its job efficiently and was cost effective for everyone, then there would be enough business for everyone.
• Secondly, the good cabbies would always be busy, and they should be able to survive and still make a good income.

I did eventually find myself some more permanent work and lived a normal working life for a time. Fast forward five years, and I found myself again behind the wheel as an Uber driver. Things had changed since the early days. It was easier for me get back online, however, there was one major hurdle. My actual car was probably a bit long in the tooth and at the time had 280,000km already on the odometer. I possible could have used it, but I would have needed to get it checked and then I would have had to rectify any issues, which potentially would have taken time and money to get on the road.

It wasn’t as easy as one guy with a clipboard walking around a car and ticking it off as being ok to use. Conveniently, I found a way to drive on the Uber platform again and as a bonus be driving  a brand-new vehicle was organised through a third-party  provider. Now people can actually rent cars to use for ride sharing purposes.

I have been a full time Uber drive now for two years and it has been a tough grind, but it has kept me afloat all that time. There are a couple of reasons why I still drive.

• It suits my life at the moment.
• I travel regularly
• I study
• I look after my three teenage kids at the same time.

I am often asked whether I make money from Uber. The answer is of course I do, otherwise there is no point to it. It hasn’t been easy though. Like anything, it is hard work. I generally work a six- and seven-day work week and because of this my health and fitness  has taken a hit.  The positive is that I am flexible for my kids and I can adjust my week accordingly. It’s not what I expected to be doing for my career as I hit my 50^th year on this earth, but I know this is what I needed to do to get to my plan B.

Its not rocket science and it’s not a hard job to do, but I tackle it like any other. I got better and better at it. I now know enough to understand the intricacies of the App and traffic patterns to keep busy even during the quiet days. However,  the best part of all of this is that it  gives me  the freedom of being flexible for my current lifestyle.  I also drive a new car every 8 weeks because renting a vehicle  gives me the option to changeover to a different one all the time.

There is so much noise that surrounds Uber that is more than just the company itself.  To me,  it’s just noise. I have never worried about the politics of the industry or whether Uber is good or bad for the economy.  What I do know is that It is good for me. It suits me and I use it as a means to an end. People are also able to use it as they please. It is convenient for everyone and anyone whether they are drivers or riders or even both. I do what I do for my family and this fact continues to drive me every day.

Being in the front seat is like being in the front seat of my own life, I own it and I drive it, and until the next destination, it is my life of convenience. It is the Zeitgeist life and here I am now on a podcast channel. Mind Blowing! More to come from my journey ahead.

Acknowledgements

Our ongoing goal is to use and develop our own material and content, however with the spirit of teaching and learning, on our journey to build this podcast project, we want to be transparent with our learnings and how we are evolving. We want to show that anyone can do what we are doing with a bit of research and and some motivation.

All images used for the purpose of the website have been obtained through services which provide royalty free images which are free to be used for any purpose including for commercial uses.

We would like to acknowledge these people for their talented work and give them credit for their art and images.

Any video images used for media  in our promotional content will have an acknowledgement  on our Live Work Digital YouTube Channel here. All clips are also using royalty free video.

 

Nathan Dumlao https://unsplash.com/photos/6VhPY27jdps

Bayu Jefri https://www.pexels.com/photo/silhouette-of-people-by-the-seashore-1387037/

Pexels https://images.pexels.com/photos/230544/pexels-photo-230544.jpeg

Toa Heftiba https://unsplash.com/photos/6bKpHAun4d8

Jonathan Farber https://unsplash.com/photos/gjHmip_Lmg4

Shawn Ang https://unsplash.com/photos/nmpW_WwwVSc

Pixabay Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Cristian Dina white-smartphone-1851415.jpg

Johnny Doomsday

Jeremy Bishop https://unsplash.com/photos/_CFv3bntQlQ

Retro Microphone by Jonny-Doomsday FreeVector.com

Full restaurant image [Toa Heftiba] 

Coffee Drinks [Nathan Dumlao]

Microphone [Jonathan Farber]

Silhouette of people jumping on the beach [Bayu Jefri]

Surfing the wave [Jeremy Bishop]

SEO tiles [Pixabay]

White Phone with Likes, Connections & Message bubble [Cristiano Dino] 

Restaurant with a couple of people [Shawn Ang]

Person buying something with phone [Pexels]

Anyone can do it!

This whole project has been developed to show people how to go about starting anything online. The internet is a vast and wonderful ocean full of information and it can be very overwhelming.  To be build this website, we used Google and  the collective knowledge of the both of us. However it is not as easy at it seams. Everywhere you go there are thousands of doors with just as much information behind them. It is easy for people to be disheartened because they don’t know where to start.

There is one key message we do would like to stress to everyone. One of the most important aspects of building an online presence is to ensure any copyright and intellectual property is protected. This is for the benefit of everyone. Never use anyone else’s work or information. Something that may seem harmless at the beginning, may end up putting you in a difficult position in the future.

One of our strategy’s was to ensure all the images and media we have used are all royalty free from a number of well known websites. [We used Unsplash, Pixabay & Pexels, but there are many others available for people to use].

There also many website free applications that can help build your website and brands with all of them having many templates available for the first time user. You can play around and  you can make as many mistakes as possible. The reason we used WordPress here was because I did just that a number of years ago. I played around and built some different things and my knowledge grew for there.

Lisa and I did our research and we even found anchor.fm for the podcast platform. It was easy to open an account with them and they have there own teaching episodes on their podcast channel.  There is plenty of information to get answers for when we got stuck with things,. Everything is free and all we needed was a profile and an app on the phone. No fancy equipment required! We just made it happen. The App was also easy to use and navigate through.

As much as we have used royalty free images in the spirit of sharing and collaborating online, our next blog post will acknowledge some of the freelancer images and videos we have used to create media for our use to build our brand for the podcast.

We also have licensed our website and content through here. More on this kind of licensing is going to be covered at a later blog post.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

So if you are stuck, or you don’t know where to start, drop us a line and make contact with us and maybe we can point you in the right direction. GO FOR IT!

Live Work Digital……….Peace & Love

Luki & Lisa

Episode 1 – Thalia Kouts [Ethica Activewear]

It is my pleasure to introduce to you the founder of a new leisure wear brand called Ethica Activewear. Her name is Thalia and I met her around 18 months ago in the most random place. She was a passenger in one of my trips an Uber driver. Today she gives a brief insight to her journey from idea to reality. In a crowded segment, she has built a point of difference to her brand by using economically sustainable materials. Her garments are made of bamboo and also out of recycled plastics.

Ethica Activewear is a  high-end, contemporary and functional activewear brand that can be worn from studio to street. Their ethos is to develop an eco conscious brand that will lead the way for others to follow in its footsteps.

On her own, she sourced the materials, designed her garments, created a following of 3000 followers on Instagram and launched her e-commerce website in the middle of the biggest pandemic event in our lifetimes. Through all of this, she has maintained her life as a full-time primary school teacher.

In her own words, “She would rather get things done” rather than spending too much time on planning. She did her research and she set about achieving little goals along the way. She has had some tough times along the way and hot some road blocks but she drove herself forward with the support of close friends and family.

Upon releasing this episode, Thalia was a feature on the Channel nine news in Adelaide and also the weekend newspapers. Through connections and reaching out to people, she continues to ask questions and asks for help when she needs it. More importantly she is continuing to learn the skills needed to drive her business forward. She is truely living the Zeitgeist.

She is testament to how anyone can start a side hustle from scratch. If the dream and the drive is big enough, anyone can do it. Remember the name and the brand as it will be here for a long time to come. We wish her well on her journey and we look forward to seeing her grow and be highly successful. We also thank Thalia for being involved in our very first episode.

Until next time, Live Work Digital…….Peace and Love!

Luki & Lisa