⚾ Locked on remote work in Cincinnati | Destination Ohio OoO

Hey – Welcome Back!

The next few weeks are going to be a little different here on Out of Office.

Remote workers come in all shapes and sizes - and this show is for all of them. But who are they? Where do they live, and how do they work remotely?

A month ago, I announced I was going on the road this year to learn from remote workers in different countries. Well, that day arrived.

🛫 A few weeks back I broke out of my home office and set off to meet a variety of remote workers in the wild. With my backpack loaded up like Dora the Explorer, I was ready to find out who was setting the pace for remote work in the Americas.

My plan:

Visit non-US locations scattered throughout the Americas to meet local remote workers.

Opportunity Strikes: The Guest I Didn’t Plan For

There’s nothing like being able to work from anywhere, right?

There’s real freedom in that. But working remotely also impacts how successful you are in certain industries. Take sport for example – and the huge fan bases built around local teams. Now imagine reporting on that team every day for your podcast.

It’s a model that wouldn’t work unless you were a super fan yourself. And it’s a model that is quickly outstripping the old school ‘announcer’ approach from large sports networks. This was a tale that needed to be told.

🛬 So when I landed in Cincinnati to meet the crew, pick up equipment, and start my ‘On The Road’ tour of Central America - I jumped at the opportunity to meet up with a local podcaster who had found a way to convert remote work into global success.

And that’s how my Central America tour came to have a bit more Middle America in it than previously planned.

And how my first stop ended up being in Ohio -

First Stop: Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati isn’t just another city in Ohio - it’s a remote work haven.

🕹️ Remote work in the US has risen from 6% in 2019 to 17.9% in 2022. That’s a 198.33% increase in people working remotely in the States.

👨‍💻 4.3% of people in Ohio work remotely

🤑 According to recent studies, work from home jobs have allowed Ohioans to save $191 million, or $134.55 per employee

🏘️ Cincinnati is #3 best city to work from home in the US

Turns out you get more bang for your buck here than nearly anywhere else in the US, if you work remotely. Cincinnati scored a lofty 61.03 overall, exceeded only by Tulsa, OK (61.59) and Rochester, NY (64.15).

Arriving in Cincinnati: A Day at The Ballpark

I arrived in Cincinnati, home of the Reds baseball team. They’re a big deal.

On arrival I got to touch base with Jeff Carr who has figured out how to turn his passion for baseball into a highly successful remote career.

Jeff is a pro podcaster, and a jock of all trades who channels his love for the great game into a dream career that has given him everything he’s ever wanted. I met up with him at The Great American Ballpark, which Jeff calls his home away from home.

🌭 Fun Fact: The Cincinnati Reds, founded in 1881, are one of the oldest and most successful major league baseball franchises that exists today.

He loves this place. The man sees at least 20 games a year here!

So, we took a walk around the grounds, taking in the sights and sounds as I asked him some questions about what he does, and why.

Here’s what I discovered -

Jeff Carr: Living That Home Run Life

Jeff grew up as a huge baseball fan, but wasn’t very good at the game. So he decided to talk about baseball as a career instead. He spends 5 days a week podcasting about his favorite team - the Reds - Monday through Friday.

📣 Check out his podcast Locked on Reds.

When he’s not talking about his team, he’s managing podcasts for every other major league baseball team in America. There are 34 other podcasts in his company’s network!

😇 Jeff’s Remote Work Blessings

Like many remote workers, Jeff enjoys the ability to mold his own schedule. Because there are no set hours, he can always show up for his friends and family, and the things that need to get done are done - which makes everyone happy.

He calls them his blessings, because they make his life so much better.

🤸‍♂️ When given the chance, 87% of people will choose flexible work over rigid hours. In today’s culture of constant busyness, flexibility = freedom.

🍧 Best Things About His Remote Job

According to Jeff, nothing compares to working remotely and not having regular office hours. It’s great to do something that you love - but it’s not enough. He warns that you need more than a job you’re passionate about to strike a healthy balance.

For Jeff it’s covering his favorite team, living in his hometown and having a better work-life balance thanks to remote work.

That makes sense for an Ohioan, in a State known for having one of the worst work-life balances in America. Finding balance is not an easy mission.

“That’s what everyone’s searching for.”

🤹🏼‍♀️ Remote workers enjoy the healthiest work-life balance, followed by hybrid workers, then office workers – who are the least satisfied.

🗺️ Favorite Elements of His Remote Work Life

Developing relationships with people across the world blows Jeff away a little. He has a podcaster, who covers the Marlins in Britain for Locked on Marlins, and his co-host for Locked on Reds is in Hawaii.

“I’d never know these people without remote work.”

Remote Work: Knocking It Out of The Park

In industries like news and sport, a distributed team isn’t just a location preference. It’s a competitive advantage. A way to find and harness unique talent.

🏆 Jeff’s company’s network ‘Locked on MLB’ is beating massive rivals like ESPN.

The ESPN model is all about score reporting and updates. While Locked on MLB’s remote model means that their podcasters care as much about their local team as their listeners do.

The difference is easy to hear when you compare the two. One is overproduced news hype, the other is meaningful insight and discussion from someone who isn’t just talking at listeners, but to them.

Real passion and life-long enthusiasm for a team can’t be faked - Jeff said so himself. He’s an ultra-talented podcaster, but what makes him great is his personal investment in the Reds.

He couldn’t be as effective covering another team, in another location and he knows that from experience.

⚾🏡🎙️ In Jeff’s case – remote work has given him the flexibility to bring key components together – his furious passion for the Reds, his hometown of Cincinnati, and his podcasting platform.

It’s a success formula that knocks it out of the park with every episode. 

A New Riff on Old Traditions: Levelling the Playing Field

After jumping in the car, Jeff took me for a not-so-traditional whisky tasting at New Riff Distilling in Newport Kentucky. They’re called that because their whiskies are a ‘new riff on old traditions.’

The place was huge!

We sat down and the waitress brought over bourbon, rye and single barrel samples. I was extremely happy that we filled up on spaghetti and chili at Skyline before arriving.

But it got me thinking about how many different types of whiskey there are, each with its own unique age and flavor. It’s the same with remote workers - no two are alike.

They may come from the same barrel, and share similar characteristics, but ultimately every person has their own path to working remotely. Some do it full time in the city, some part-time as a side-hustle, or as a way to travel the world.

Others go at it as hybrid workers. Remote work exists to make life better for everyone. You could say we’re a new riff on old office traditions. And like whisky, the more you indulge the better it gets.

Jeff and I chatted for some time about being able to pursue passions as a remote worker and we ended the day on a high note, signing off the show together.

What an amazing day!  And now it’s your turn -

Remote Workers: Feature in Out of Office!

From whisky tasting, to urban art walks, cooking classes and a helicopter experience - I’m searching for the next few remote workers to visit and interview.

Are you from Europe, Asia or Africa?

If you have a great remote work story to tell, and something amazing for us to do together in your country, please apply! I’ll reach out to everyone who does personally, and will choose the stories our community will value the most.

🥘 Next week, I’m off on the next leg of our ‘On the Road’ tour to meet someone special in Guatemala. Subscribe so you don’t miss it!

That’s it for this week - and remember - the future of work is Out of Office.

Andrew