Shifting directions: from productivity and balance coach to podcast launch strategist
If you follow me on Instagram – or if you’ve visited my website in the past couple of weeks – you may have noticed that things look a bit different around here 👀
After giving my productivity and balance coaching business a fair chance over the past three years, I’ve decided to change the main focus of my business to help small businesses, personal brands, and thought leaders launch podcasts.
While I’ve loved serving fellow business owners in this way, and the *amazing* people I’ve worked with have seen great results, the business is just not growing at a viable pace. As my mentor Jess Eley has advised me: transformations are much harder to sell than tangible services.
Business is already hard as it is, so for the past year, I’ve kept my mind open to opportunities that could allow me to explore a more tangible service.
“Can I ask you some questions about starting a podcast?”
After running Building Balance (my podcast) for over two years, I’ve gotten some questions here and there from business friends who want to start podcasts.
About a month ago Katie Johnson, a coach for digital nomads, asked me if she could pick my brain about podcasting. And after a call with her, offering podcast strategy and editing to other thoughtful humans felt like an obvious choice as my more tangible service.
Katie’s podcast, Diary of a Digital Nomad, is launching June 28, 2023 – just 5 weeks after having picked my brain. Check it out here >>
Why I wish more small business owners, personal brands, and thought leaders had podcasts
For the past year or two, I’ve told a few business owner friends that it would be amazing if they started podcasts – because…
1. I’m tired of the same old voices sharing the same old ideas. “Business celebrities” repeating the same tactics and strategies isn’t helpful to the business industry as a whole.
2. Suuuuuper interesting thought leadership pieces are getting lost in fleeting social media posts. When great ideas are shared in podcast format, they can exist as evergreen assets (and bring SEO magic to websites!)
3. Most other forms of content don’t quite match the familiarity and intimacy you feel when you’ve got someone in your ear. I’ve felt this way both as a creator and consumer – podcasts are my favorite content medium.
BTW – this is not an exhaustive list but let’s move things along 😅
Why help others launch podcasts?
Launching a podcast can feel like an overwhelming project, especially for small business owners and busy professionals who have to-do lists 17 miles long.
But I’d love to show people that…
✔︎ podcasting doesn’t have to be as time-consuming or arduous as some make it seem
✔︎ podcasting can be a great way to grow your visibility, network with peers and experts, as well as nurture your current audience
✔︎ if you create intentional episodes from the start, they can serve your business or personal brand for years to come (even if you later decide that you don’t want to continue making new episodes)
Ultimately, it'll feel immensely fulfilling if I can help even just a few interesting experts and thought leaders put their podcast ideas out in the world.
Drawing from my experience
The skills and knowledge I gained as a podcaster and business coach focused on productivity and balance will also be helpful in my role as a podcast strategist. I’ve got firsthand experience of how effective planning, routines, systems, and work-life balance are key to follow-through on a podcast project.
By keeping these principles in mind, I can help aspiring podcasters create a podcast without sacrificing their free time or sanity in the process.
Plus I’m trained as a psychologist which has been immensely helpful in helping me personalize my services to the needs of each individual.
So what’s gonna happen to my productivity and balance resources?
As of now, I’m not planning on actively marketing these services, to not stretch myself too thin.
I’m taking a sabbatical from Building Balance soon, and may start working on a new podcast project.
It was time for a change 👍
They say change isn’t easy…. but it has actually felt pretty easeful and straightforward to me. This transition felt like a no-brainer (a word I haven’t resonated with until now!)
My decision to shift from being a productivity and balance coach to becoming a podcast launch strategist represents a new chapter in my multi-skilled journey, driven by my enthusiasm for podcasting and the desire to hear new voices bring their interesting ideas into the world.
I’m beyond excited that I’ve already got aspiring podcasters to support, and I can’t wait to see what opportunities come my way when I give the podcasting world a bigger piece of my time.