Loved, Not Loved & Learned After One Year of Podcasting

I have been podcasting for one year!!! I thought it would be fun today to talk about things I’ve loved, not loved and what I’ve learned in one year of podcasting. Let’s jump right in.

I can’t believe how fast a year can fly by. I have loved this podcasting journey.

Things I’ve loved about podcasting

I think the first thing that I’ve loved is it just feels really easy for me to just talk. Instead of writing or having to be on video, podcasting has just felt like we’re just on the couch or across the table from each other grabbing one of the three drinks on our desk and drinking and having a fun, casual conversation.

Sadly, I feel like not many accountants can do this. Not many can teach or have just easy flowing conversations. So I’m excited to talk each week and just be a different voice in this space. I hope that comes across the airways. Like we’re just friends and it feels easy to talk because it feels easy to just chat on my end. I’ve really loved that about podcasting.

It’s also really helped me hone in on my signature topics and what I like to speak about. I think podcasting has really helped me create what those signature topics. It is also based on feedback like downloads of the higher numbers of downloaded episodes, and also just feedback that I’m getting from you. That has been a cool impact that I didn’t necessarily expect was just being able to really hone in on some of those topics. I thought that would be interesting to bring up in case you are someone that might want to be speaking soon. I think a podcast is a great place to start.

Another thing I’ve loved about it is that you have content for so many places. I’ve been able to repurpose this content into emails, social media posts, and Pinterest posts. It’s just been great to have one piece of content that feels easy to do. Which for me is just talk and then be able to use that in so many other places. That has been a really awesome thing that I’ve loved about podcasting.

Another thing I’ve loved about having a podcast has seemed to just open up connections that I didn’t expect. It’s almost like you have this new asset that you can leverage and you can use in your networking and just connection building. It’s been easier to swap and have something that feels valuable to bring to someone else’s audience as well has having guests on this show. That has been just a different advantage of having something to offer other people. I didn’t really expect the value and just the impact that that itself would have. I do think it has helped me gain a new level of authority even just having those topics solidified. It’s helped me feel competent and show that confidence and bring that confidence to you because I feel so sure about the things that I’m passionate about.

If you’re someone that has struggled to know what those signature topics might be, figure out how to establish that level of authority. If you like to just talk and you want to have content in lots of different places, it may be time to start a podcast. There is room for you in this space too. I feel like it’s so easy to feel like everybody already does that. But there is room for you because people really need to hear your voice. I feel like once you start to own that in your way, I’ve just been able to set blinders and focus on not what everyone else is doing, but what I want to bring to you, my amazing, awesome listeners. Those are some of the things that I have loved.

Things I haven’t loved about podcasting

I felt like it would be a disservice to not tell you the things that have been hard that I haven’t really loved. One of those would be it has been tough to be consistent when life happens. I have had to take some breaks and that has been really hard for me that I didn’t do it “perfectly”. I feel like probably a lot of people can relate to this, but when you set out on these business journeys and you know that consistency can be a key to growth, it can be really hard to not fall into perfectionism and feel like if I miss one thing that everything’s going to be ruined. It is hard to be consistent. I have really had to fight for.

It’s still been hard for me to find a good routine and rhythm. I’m making it happen but it still just feels clunky. Sometimes I’m recording late at night, or early in the morning, and I just don’t have necessarily the best flow. But you know, that makes me think of this – you might be in the same place with your bookkeeping or in other areas of your business.

I met a sweet mom, business owner, at a conference that I went to recently. She really encouraged me that in some seasons it just doesn’t look pretty. You might try all the time blocking things or having set work hours. Sometimes you just have to work to get it done in those crazy busy seasons. You just need to take it as a win that you’re doing it and you’re doing your best to show up consistently. That really spoke to me because sometimes I can easily get in my head.

I start thinking about how people say you should be doing things? They say you might get burned out if you work certain hours or certain times. Sure there are points to that point, but I do think in some seasons you have to put your head down and do the work. When you have little babies, sometimes you just have to make it work in those weird pockets of time.

If there’s other things that are being difficult for you, like your bookkeeping, in your business, just keep going. Keep doing the thing.

Things I’ve learned about podcasting

Now for a few things that I’ve learned from one year of podcasting. One would be that you’re not going to be really great in the beginning and that’s okay. I’m not sure that I even want to go back and listen to those first few episodes that I’ve recorded. I do think I’ve been getting better and better along the way. You don’t necessarily feel really good in the beginning, but it’s fun to see the progress that you make as you do things that are difficult or even just new in business.

I want to encourage you if there’s something else that you need to just start it’s okay to not be amazing in the beginning. To really just gain the skill, I think we all need to continue to work through and master different skills. The only way we’re going to do that is by practicing. That’s why action is so important.

I did have a great coach to help me launch this podcast. I’ve had another coach just walk me through things along the way. But really, I’ve learned the most doing it. We could spend so much time in our day and age getting educated about how to do things the right way. Really, I think you learn from actually doing it. And that’s the best learning that we can do. Taking the steps, taking the actions, and then just tweaking them as we go.

I do feel like this has been another area in business that has taught me that messy action will teach you so many skills. You will get better. That has been exciting to see the progress, see the growth, and see the confidence. I think I even use less “ums” than I did in the beginning.

It’s been fun to see that practice has really made progress. It hasn’t made perfect. That is what my tendency is. We don’t want perfect, but it has made progress and that is so important.

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