Growing Steady | Intentional Creative Business Podcast

Hosted by Wandering Aimfully

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Episodes

272

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the show

Growing Steady is for online creators who want to grow their business without burning out. Each week, we (Jason & Caroline Zook) share practical lessons on building businesses that are profitable, predictable, and still leave room for a good life.

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60 recent

August 13, 202618 min

$115/mo, $4,200/mo, and $85,000+

Eight months into the year and the seeds are finally starting to sprout! A lot of numbers in this one, but that's a good problem to have. 🌱 In this episode: What it feels like going from $35K/month in coaching revenue to $30K total in eight months (on purpose!) SceneRoll's huge leap forward thanks to Claude's Fable 5 model, now at 6 paying customers and ~$115/month MRR (momentum!) Solo Content Studio hitting $4,200 in recurring revenue just four months after launching as a cohort (Caroline's insane Instagram growth driving it) Teachery 4.0 is 70% rebuilt , the "AI harness" approach that makes it feel like 100 people are working on it, and the September goal to finish the last (hardest) 30% The retirement of Teachery's $550 lifetime deal, the new pricing tiers ($750 → $950), and how $85K in lifetime deal sales became the financial bridge we needed How we're making this all happen with a toddler and late nights 👶 Hope you enjoyed the update!

July 30, 202626 min

So much has happened in 3 months 😂

Leon's still sleeping (7 AM as of recording this) and here's 25 minutes of updates to cram in. Let's go. 😅 In this episode: How SceneRoll went from stalled to suddenly VERY capable (thanks to Claude Fable) The launch of Solo Content Studio , our second app of the year ($14k launch) Going from $0 to ~$2,000 in MRR in two months with a new business Rebuilding Teachery 4.0 is well underway and a chat about the “harness” approach we’re using Teachery's first price increase in 12 years, the October launch goal, and what happens to lifetime deal holders What 4 Claude subscriptions and $800/month in "dev fees" actually gets you What do you want updates on? Shoot us an email and let us know if you want more eps!

April 28, 202623 min

I'm climbing cringe mountain (again)

Learn more about Solo Content Studio at https://solocontent.studio After years of burnout and staying off camera (and content creation), I'm finally climbing Cringe Mountain. Want to come along for the ride with me? 😂 In this episode: The shift we're seeing in growing an audience in 2026 (and what stopped working for us) Why email alone isn't enough anymore and why we're back on Instagram My personal two-week challenge to post daily reels (imperfect ones) What Solo Content Studio is and how it cuts our newsletter writing to 11 minutes How an automated blog generated 150 posts and started driving real sales Becoming the student again If you've been putting off showing up online, this one might be the nudge you need.

March 24, 202618 min

Our first app of 2026 launches... tomorrow!

It's the night before our launch and I'm recording this from bed while Leon sleeps upstairs and Caroline finishes a few things with our SceneRoll sales page 😂. This is the quick story of building SceneRoll, from closing our coaching business after eight years last summer, to discovering AI building tools like Lovable and Claude Code, to the frustrating weeks of trying to get video previewing and exporting to actually work in a browser. OOF. Today it finally clicked! And I can't believe how fast and smooth SceneRoll feels to go from an audio file and B-roll clips to a finished vertical video! Tomorrow we go live with a usage-based credit model and an exciting multiplier bonus for early buyers. Hope you'll check out SceneRoll.com and grab some credits!

March 13, 202612 min

Caroline's first solo unfiltered episode 🙈

Caroline's first solo unfiltered episode! 😱 Recorded while tidying the art room 😂... We're both more excited about business than we've been in years Leaning into AI with curiosity instead of fear has been one of the best decisions we've made Going back to work full-time in January was intentional (work fills my creative bucket, which makes me a better mom) Walking away from WAIM Unlimited after 8 years was a leap of faith, but it wasn't a growth edge anymore Role split: I'm leading content/design (vibecoding.to, Instagram, TikTok, UI for SceneRoll + Teachery), Jason's leading product Found a fun NotebookLM → Canva workflow for reels Leon at 6 months is the best stage yet, her personality emerging, smiles, laughs Honestly might be the happiest I've ever been, trying to soak it in and stay present instead of disappearing into the laptop!

March 9, 202613 min

I haven't been this excited in... 17 years 😳

Unfiltered episode recorded on a Sunday walk while Leon naps: Haven't felt this excited about building since iWearYourShirt in 2009 Claude Code (especially the Mac app) has been a game changer (way beyond what Lovable could do for us) Built an autonomous Teachery blog engine in ~2 hours: 3 articles/day, Telegram updates, auto-published Also built a content digest that turns voice memos into tweets and newsletters that sound like me Made my first real commit to Teachery's codebase! WOW! The tension: endless ideas, not enough hours, still wanting to be a present dad Prediction: 2026 creative output will be 10-30x any previous year. Does it feel that way to you too?

January 22, 202619 min

Unfiltered thoughts from Jason about Teachery

Trying a new thing with our podcast! We're going to record and release unfiltered episodes. On my walk this morning I had some thoughts about Teachery I wanted to share: Where the business started The main 3 evolutions Teachery has had The big ah-ha moments in 2025 that reignited my passion for Teachery The next version of Teachery I'm stoked about (v4.0) The first BIG financial goal I've set for Teachery in a lonnnnnng time! Hope you enjoy and look for more of these episodes from each of us soon 👍👍.

January 5, 202619 min

257 - We’re back! As parents! Update + a look ahead…

After a few months away, we’re back behind the mic with a real-time life and business update. In this episode, we share what the first four months of parenthood have been like, how our parental leave actually played out, and where our work is headed next. We talk about: Life with baby Leon and what surprised us most in the early months How stepping away from WAIM Unlimited and work impacted us What’s happening with Teachery and why it’s entering a new chapter Two very different paths we’re considering for what we build next—and why we’re torn Why clarity still comes from action, not overthinking This episode is part catch-up, part behind-the-scenes, and part open-ended invitation to follow along as we figure out what the next iteration of our work looks like in 2026. 🔗 Leave a comment: https://youtu.be/cbKe5NAzzUE

August 12, 20251 hr 12 min

256 - Last ep before baby! What pregnancy has been like…

In this episode, we’re answering a handful of questions about our pregnancy journey so far (36 weeks as of recording!) We talk about everything from favorite (and least favorite) parts, to how Jason’s been helping, to what’s surprised us most along the way. We also chatted about: How we’ve prepared financially for baby What it’s been like stepping back from WAIM Some of the more emotional, unexpected shifts we’ve experienced Plus, a few questions about what work and childcare might look like and the baby’s future citizenship in Portugal.

July 10, 20251 hr 10 min

255 - Our Final WAIM Launch: The FULL Recap...

We just wrapped our last-ever launch of WAIM Unlimited. All while 7 months pregnant, grieving the loss of two family members, troubleshooting a broken-down car, a 5-hour medical snafu, and somehow still exceeding our high goal for our launch. Let’s break it all down. In this episode, we’re going to cover: What actually worked (and didn’t) across email, Instagram, affiliates, YouTube, and more A surprise takeaway about boosting IG Reels The total revenue, MRR, and where we spent money Honest reflections on marketing, momentum, and managing real life during a major launch If you’re curious about what went into a “final launch” of a signature program, the tactics, the lessons, and everything we did to beat our high goal this one is for you. *** 🚀 Want bigger launches with less stress? Our Calm Launch Formula program can help you plan your next launch in LESS than 2 hours! Sales emails, sales copy, pre-marketing, bonuses, your entire plan ready to go in just ONE sitting. Use code podcastsarecool to get 50% off at wanderingaimfully.com/deal ⚙️ Give Teachery a try today for free! Looking to create online courses with a platform that lets you customize everything? Give our course software a 14-day free trial at teachery.co 💌 Want to get a weekly jolt of business inspiration and learn tactics and strategies that can help you increase profits, have more predictability, and feel peaceful with your biz? Sign up for our weekly email at wanderingaimfully.com/newsletter