The Best Networking Tool for Under $50/Month: Why You Need to Start a Podcast Today | 1PM: 173

In this game-changing episode, Bertrand Ngampa reveals the single most powerful networking tool available to anyone—and it costs less than $50 a month. It's not a great resume. It's not money. It's not connections you were born with. It's a podcast. And if you're serious about breaking into any industry, building relationships with top entrepreneurs, or accessing circles that seem closed off to you, this episode will show you exactly how to do it.

Why a Podcast Is the Ultimate Networking Tool:

Everyone wants content. Everyone understands the power of a personal brand. Everyone is trying to build theirs. When you have a podcast, you're able to give them content—and that opens doors that money and resumes can't. For less than $50 a month, you can start interviewing the top people in your niche or industry, get their expert advice, build real relationships, and gain access to them in a way that cold emails and LinkedIn messages never will.

The Strategy: The Dream 100 Podcast List

Here's the framework Bertrand used and is sharing with you:

1. Make a list of the top 100 people in the industry you want to break into. These are the entrepreneurs, influencers, thought leaders, and experts you want to learn from and connect with.
2. Start reaching out to them for podcast interviews. Use your podcast as the vehicle. "Your Name Podcast" or "Your Name Show"—it doesn't have to be fancy. Just start.
3. Interview them. Ask great questions. Let them share their story, their expertise, their insights.
4. Turn that content into books, courses, relationships, or whatever serves your goals. The interview is just the beginning—the real value is the relationship you build and the access you gain.

The Magic Happens Before and After the Podcast:

Bertrand shares a critical insight: when he used to interview people, the most valuable moments happened before and after the recording. They'd sit there and chop it up. "What are you working on? What are you building? How can I help?" That's where the real networking happens—not in the formal interview, but in the informal conversation that podcasting facilitates.

The Power Question: "Who Do You Know?"

One of the most powerful things you can do at the end of a podcast interview is ask: "Who do you know in this field that I should interview next?" If you had a good conversation, they'll naturally want to recommend you to other people. That's what good friends do. They'll open their phone and say, "Oh yeah, my friend John, my friend Cindy, Kimanzi—you should talk to them." That's how Bertrand got access to Freeway Rick Ross and countless others. One interview leads to three more. Three leads to ten. Ten leads to fifty. It compounds.

The PR Agency Hack (For When You're Starting Out):

If you're having trouble booking guests early on, here's a genius strategy: reach out to top PR agencies. PR agencies spend their entire existence trying to book their clients on podcasts. Tell them: "I just started my podcast. I would love to book your clients on my show to help them develop their stories."

Here's why this works: entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives—regardless of industry—all have origin stories they need to tell. Everyone has a story of how they got into the industry or how they reached the position they're in. And they use similar narratives every time.

When someone comes on your smaller podcast, they can practice. They can mess up. They can refine their messaging. By the time they get to the bigger stages (the TEDx talks, the major podcasts, the keynote speeches), they've ironed everything out and it's hit after hit after hit.

The Comedian Analogy:

Think about how comedians develop their material. They start on small stages at open mics and local comedy clubs. They test jokes. They see what lands and what bombs. They refine punchlines. They scratch entire bits that don't work. By the time they get to Netflix, you're watching a perfectly polished hour of comedy—but you didn't see the hundreds of small shows where they figured it all out.

Your podcast is the small stage where top people can practice and refine their stories. And they'll thank you for it by opening doors, making introductions, and building real relationships with you.

Bertrand's Big Goals (On Record):

Bertrand is putting his goals on public record right now: he wants to interview Gary Vaynerchuk and Minister Louis Farrakhan. He's going to use his podcast to make it happen. As he builds his podcast and releases more episodes, he'll reach out to their teams with proof of his audience and track record. He'll keep following up until—boom—he has them on his podcast.

And when it happens, you can come back to this episode and say, "He told us exactly how he was going to do it."

The Execution Plan:

You don't need to interview someone every day. Start with once a week. Reach out to someone, schedule the interview, record it, release it the following week. Rinse and repeat. Over time, you'll build:

• A catalog of valuable content
• Relationships with industry leaders
• A personal brand that opens doors
• Expert knowledge directly from the people doing what you want to do
• A network that would cost tens of thousands of dollars and years to build otherwise

SHARE THIS PODCAST: If you've been trying to break into a new industry, connect with top entrepreneurs, or build a network but don't know how, share this episode and tag Bertrand @bngampa on all social media. Let's help more people realize that podcasting isn't just content creation—it's the ultimate networking hack. Leave us a 5-star review and subscribe to The 1% Man podcast so you never miss strategies like this that give you unfair advantages. Start your podcast today. Interview your Dream 100. Build relationships that change your life.