Start a Podcast Production Business

90-Day Tracker

Companion to "The Real Week" and "Your First 90 Days & Going Deeper."

1. Weekly log

Week	Outreach sent	Booked	Recorded	Episodes published	Downloads per new episode at 30 days	Guest relationships continued (note / check-in / quarterly touch)	Hours spent (target: 6-9 for a weekly show)
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Weekly rhythm from "The Real Week": outreach 30 min, prep 45 min, recording 60-90 min, edit 2-3 hrs, publish 30 min, promote 60-90 min, maintain 30 min. When a week overruns, the overrun is almost always in edit or promote: change the edit policy or book fewer, better guests.

2. Day-90 checkpoint lists

Relationship-engine lane.

☐Ten or more interviews recorded

☐Two or more guest relationships continued past the episode

☐One coffee call, referral, or work conversation that exists because of the show

☐A dream list that keeps refilling

Media-business lane.

☐A stable publish rhythm never broken

☐Downloads per episode trending up across the quarter

☐Searchable packaging on every episode

☐At least one cross-promotion or guest appearance on an adjacent show

Shared checkpoint, overrides the rest. You still want to record. If true and the numbers lag: patience and outreach. If false: a season break, a cadence cut, or a graceful finale episode. A finished show is not a failed show, and two shows in three never reach episode ten.

Podfade defense is structural, not motivational: a written episode-idea list, a banked buffer, a seasonal format with planned breaks, a cadence chosen for energy. Almost no day-90 problem is solved by a redesign.