🎙️ Pat Flynn Sold SPI. What Is He Making Space For?

👋Hey there Podcaster!

This week, Pat Flynn, entrepreneur and podcast guru, announced that he sold Smart Passive Income, the wildly successful company he started 18 years ago.

For many podcasters, Pat has been “the podcast guy.” Through The Smart Passive Income Podcast, Ask Pat, his courses, and his work as an educator, he has helped countless creators launch and grow their shows and businesses.

I was happy for him when I heard the news! I was also shocked.

Pat’s name and face have always been synonymous with SPI. It’s difficult to imagine one without the other.

The more I learned about his decision, though, the more it made sense. It also arrived at an interesting time for me. I’m already experiencing what can happen when we create space in our lives.

Pat’s decision reminded me that sometimes we need the courage to protect that space and follow where it leads.

Smart Passive Income: SOLD!

Pat and his longtime business partner, Matt Gartland, sold 100% of SPI Media and SPI Labs to email marketing wizard and entrepreneur Liz Wilcox.

The transaction was completed in April, although they waited until last week to announce it publicly. During that time, Liz stepped into a leadership role and helped create renewed energy and growth within the SPI community. (She doubled the size of the community in just a few months!)

Pat had received other offers over the years, including two eight-figure offers! He turned those down because he believed the buyers would dismantle what he had built and treat the audience as a source of revenue instead of a community of people. (Kudos, Pat!)

The financial terms of the deal with Liz haven’t been disclosed, but Pat said it was not an eight-figure sale.

His priorities seem clear: find someone who understands the mission, values the community, and can give SPI the attention it deserves.

I’m curious to see what the brand looks like without Pat leading its day-to-day operations, but I have confidence that it will continue to flourish under Liz’s leadership. Pat will also remain connected as an advisor and make occasional appearances on the SPI podcast.

Read the official announcement about the sale of SPI.

What Is Pat Making Room For?

Pat has described the last few years as “straddling two ladders.”

One ladder was SPI.

The other was the work he had started building around Pokémon.

His Deep Pocket Monster brand began as an experiment. Today, it has an audience of more than 2.3 million, he hosts massive live events, and Pat’s family is actively involved.

Now, he’s using that momentum to pursue something even larger.

In addition to continuing Deep Pocket Monster, Pat has invested in a new production studio (he bought an 8,000 sq. ft. building!) and is exploring storytelling, filmmaking, and ideas for children’s entertainment. His larger purpose is to positively affect children and families.

People have called him the “MrBeast of Pokémon.” Pat imagines a different future.

He wants, “in a sense,” to become the next Mr. Rogers.

Pat speaks about that ambition with humility. No one could replace Fred Rogers. What inspires him is the way Mr. Rogers helped children understand values, imagination, emotions, and the world around them.

I love how Pat is turning a personal passion into a larger purpose. I also admire the courage it takes to say that ambition out loud. It’s big. It’s different. And it takes him beyond what most people have known him for throughout the last 18 years.

Watch Pat and Liz discuss the sale and what comes next.

His decision also feels personal to me.

In March 2020, as I was preparing to launch iRonick Media, I appeared on Pat’s show, Ask Pat 2.0.

We talked about my old podcast, The Marc and Lowell Show, but the part that stayed with me was his advice about the business I wanted to start.

You could hear how nervous I was. I worried that offering podcast production and consulting might put me in competition with people like Pat. He helped me see how the hands-on producer role I loved could complement what others were doing.

I left that conversation feeling like Pat had given me the permission and confidence I needed to launch iRonick Media.

Now, his decision to sell SPI feels like another form of permission. It comes while I’m already living inside the space I created by pausing the Podcasting Morning Show and exploring new projects that light me up.

Creating Space for What Lights You Up

Around the same time of Pat's announcement, BC Babbles, one of my Podcasting Morning Show co-hosts, asked a candid question in our Empowered Podcasting Facebook group:

“Has anyone here thrown caution to the wind, dropped their only paying PT job…so [they] could finally give their passion projects some real attention?”

My first response would be to make sure he can afford to walk away.

Could he cover his expenses without that income? Does he have enough of a cushion? If he needed the money again, is he confident he could find similar work?

If leaving is financially manageable and truly feels aligned, though, I would encourage him to seriously consider creating that space.

For me, alignment shows up in the experience of doing the work. It genuinely lights us up. We’re excited to return to it. We can lose ourselves in it and enter a flow state where our attention becomes fully absorbed in what we’re creating.

The possibility of money or attention may add excitement, but those rewards can’t be the only reason the work feels appealing.

Disliking a job can tell us what we want to leave. The deeper question is whether something meaningful and energizing is calling us forward.

Nothing Changes Until You Make Space

I’ve shared a lot recently about my decision to pause the Podcasting Morning Show.

The schedule had become overwhelming and unsustainable. Stepping away gave me room to rest, reconnect with my creativity, and explore possibilities I couldn’t properly consider before.

You can hear more about that in “The Cost of Coming Back Before You’re Ready.”

My situation is different from Pat’s and BC’s, but the same belief runs through all three stories:

Nothing changes unless we make space.

Creating space can take many forms. Pat sold a company. I paused a show. For someone else, it might mean reducing a schedule, declining a commitment, delegating responsibilities, asking for help, or leaving a job.

We can consider the risks, protect our basic needs, and create a path back if we need one.

Then, at some point, we have to decide whether we’re willing to move through the fear.

Change often waits for us at the edge of what feels familiar. If we want to experience it, we may need to give ourselves permission to reach that edge and push through it.

What’s currently taking up the space that something more aligned needs? And what might become possible if you responsibly made room for it?

Make More Room for Your Best Work

Sometimes making space means getting support with the work that is consuming your time and creative energy.

Through iRonick Media, I help creators develop new podcasts, improve the shows they already have, and manage the production responsibilities that can make podcasting feel overwhelming.

If you need a consultant to help clarify your direction or a production partner who can help bring your ideas to life, I’d love to talk with you.

Contact me about iRonick Media’s consulting and production services: [email protected]

I'm grateful to be connected with you and to be part of your podcast journey.

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All my best,

👋Marc Ronick

This content was composed with assistance from OpenAI.

Some of the links in this newsletter may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them at no extra cost to you.