Podcasting guru Michael Geoghegan is a partner with three other wine enthusiasts in Grape Radio, a podcast devoted to wine. It costs $1,300 to buy a sponsorship of one of the weekly shows and Grape Radio is almost sold out out. Geoghegan expects the venture to do $55,000 in revenue this year with about $12,000 in expenses. That’s a very respectable gross profit of over 75%.

He breaks out weekly expenses this way:
$300 for audio editing

• $100 for hosting and bandwidth
• $200 for gifts for guests
• $250 for miscellaneous

Grape radio is registered as an S Corporation in California. Capital costs were as follows:

• Professional studio: $25,000 (Geoghegan says a professional-looking studio greatly enhances your sponsorship appeal)
• Portable audio equipment: $2,000
• Miscellaneous studio equipment (sound deadening, microphone booms, etc.): $2,500

The biggest benefit, though, is that Grape Radio is becoming a major influencer in the wine industry. It’s the 7th most popular wine blog and the top wine podcast. The $55K is just a start. The partners can build this franchise into a top media influence in its market with a diversified revenue stream if they choose to do that.