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0:00:01 - Speaker 1
Welcome to the 100th episode of the Unafraidi Podcast and for the biggest lessons I learned about the power of podcasting and stepping outside your comfort zone. And welcome to the Unafraidi Podcast. This is the show for consultants and coaches who want to forge their own paths to success and their businesses and their careers and their lives. I'm your host, betsy Jordan. I'm a business mentor and I'm a brand messaging strategist. You can find more about my VIP services on my website at wwwbettsudordoncom. So let's talk about what we're going to be talking about today.
I cannot believe I'm finally at the 100th episode. When I launched this podcast I think back in like July of 2021, my goal was simply to use it as a container to express my message, maybe expand my reach, but I've accomplished so much more from the experience. I cannot I cannot forget the overwhelm I felt when I was just getting started and now I can't believe I'm at this milestone. I'm not really that kind of person who reflects on milestones. I tend to be more shy about my accomplishments. You know, like my business anniversary, it has come and gone at least, like I would say, 15 times, and I've never acknowledged it in a single email or a social media post. But for this podcast, which is really different for me, it's really near and dear to my heart. I want to celebrate this milestone, but I also want to share with you the lessons that I learned, both about podcasting but more about how it helped me work on my fears that typically pop up whenever we step outside our comfort zone. So the lessons that I learned about podcasting will help those who are new to podcasting or thinking seriously about starting a podcast. But the lessons I learned are really about dealing with the fears that come when you're stepping outside your comfort zone, and it's relevant for all aspects of growing your own business, especially at consulting our coaching business, when you are the face of that business. So the lessons that I learned will help if you're trying to figure out about getting started, or you're working on your first website, or getting out there marketing yourself and landing clients, or maybe you're like me, where you're working on content to build your thought leadership. So but if you're specifically interested in starting a podcast, just for this episode I put together a very short cheat sheet on this 10 steps to launch your own podcast. So head on over to wwwbetzydordancom and remember Jordan's with a Y slash podcast hyphen starter hyphen guide to get your access to it. So now let's get into the four of the biggest lessons I learned from 100 podcast episodes.
So lesson number one anytime, anytime, anytime, anytime you step outside your comfort zone, the learning curve is going to be steep. This is true in anything that you do. You know, for example, I'm new to the Denver area. I just moved to Denver last year after living in Orlando, I think from 1991 until last year, and the learning curve of just what it takes to navigate around my new world has been absolutely overwhelming. You know, particularly finding a new hairstylist, doctors and all that kind of stuff. I want to start hiking and exploring the mountains. All of that is new to me.
This is especially true with podcasting, as there are so many moving pieces and parts. There's your home studio, there's the tech that goes with recording and editing, and there's the strategy, the graphics, the show notes, what you're going to put on social media to drive traffic, what you're going to send in your emails. There's a lot to it. It's absolutely overwhelming. And what gets confusing about this learning curve overwhelm is that whole. I should already know how to do this myth, you know, which makes people like me and maybe a people like you judge, like why we don't know what we don't know, you know. So when I'm starting a podcast, I'm thinking, well, this just would be another way to create content. And I've created tons of content over the years. I've got over 100 videos on YouTube, over 100 blogs.
So the learning curve to me and that overwhelm was sort of a blindside and I judge myself that this whole experience of starting my podcast was so overwhelming like it really was. Because why would this be overwhelming? Because you know, I should already know how to do this, because I already know how to create content. But the thing is is I didn't know how to create a podcast episode. It really was new to me, and so the way that I got out of it is number one. I stopped judging myself and I accepted where I was at in the process. So in episode 98, I interviewed Laura Prescott on how to have an adventure mindset and she compared it to climbing a mountain, and I think that that's actually what happened for me is that what she said is that you won't get to the summit of the mountain until you accept the year in the parking lot, and so, as it relates to podcasting, I accepted that I was in the parking lot. I'm not at the summit, you know. It's not like I'm one of those big influencers that has like tons and tons of subscribers and downloads and all of that kind of stuff. I was new and I'm still new, relatively it's only a couple of years old. But podcasting is a new skill and I really shouldn't already know how to do this. And I think it's interesting because when I work with my clients all the time, especially people who have been seasoned professionals like the ones I work with it's very confusing to not know, like, why don't I know how to grow my business. It's like, well, it's new and I had to accept that as it relates to podcasting.
The second thing is I created hacks for myself to hook what I didn't know to what I did know. So when I first started podcasting, you know, I was encouraged to write scripts and all of that, and it was so much harder for me because I kept reading the scripts and I felt all this pressure, you know. And then if I messed up a word, then it's like, oh gosh, forget it, I can't do anything, I have to start all over again, you know. But the thing is is. I do know how to deliver training programs, though, and I know how to talk around content, and so that was my hack is I started putting especially my solo episodes in a PowerPoint format, and that kind of tricked my brain into like, hey, wait a minute, this is something you actually do know. And so that allowed me to hook from what I didn't know which is all around how to do a podcast episode, how to record all that kind of stuff to something I did know, and so that gave me a sense of comfort, like Okay, I can do this because I know how to do that, or I know how to do this. So that's really important.
And number three, when you're dealing with a learning curve, it is super important to hire the right support. So the best thing that I did is I hired Hollyfield Consulting. So I work with the husband and wife team, samantha and Nathan, and they are amazing. So Nathan is amazing at the technical side and Samantha is really great with the strategy and the writing and all that kind of stuff. So that combination made a huge difference for me, because they're experts in this. So not only did they take away the mystery of all the aspects of starting a podcast. They supported me on the journey.
So I remember there's a lot of. There's so many different times where Samantha gave me feedback on certain things that I should do and I would, you know, text her in the middle of it like, oh my gosh, this is not working. And she's like you can do it, it's doing fine, you're getting so much better. This is all the things that is working for you and that got me past it. So if you're looking for personalized support from people who care about changing the world as much as you do, I highly recommend that you reach out to them. They are amazing what they do, but they share our our consultant and coach hearts. You know where. They're idealists, like we are, and they care very much about helping organizations like ours who are committed to social good. So I highly recommend them.
So let's just talk more broadly here. Let's talk about application to you. So those are my podcast lessons, but I want to help you apply these lessons to enhance your success. So are you trying something new with your career or your business and is the learning curve overwhelming for you? I want you to dial into acceptance. You know, get out of judgment, and how can you work on cultivating that acceptance that you don't know everything and it's okay, and in fact you do know some things, though that are transferable. So how can you really tap into those things? So how can you build in that tension Like, yeah, there's some things I know I can hook on that, but there's a lot of things I don't know and I could be okay. And then, what type of help do you need to invest in with that will help you stop the spin and start moving you towards your goals, podcast or otherwise? Who's the right support that could help you so that you can get out of that learning curve, overwhelm and start acquiring the strategies, the skills and the tools that you need to either bring your business to life, bring your podcast to life, become a speaker or anything else that you're trying to do to take your consulting or coaching business to the next level. So that's my first big lesson.
Now let's talk about lesson number two. Any time you step outside your comfort zone, you're also going to have a new wrestling match with imposter syndrome and fears. So what was way worse for me than the learning curve was when I started a podcast. It brought back all these fears about being seen and imposter syndrome, stuff that I thought I addressed a long time ago, you know, especially when I first left Disney and I started my own business. And then when I pivoted my business from consulting to the brand mentoring I do right now like I had all of that, I'm like, all right, I thought we got this resolved, we're good, I know how to handle that.
But then when I started my podcast, it was like, oh God, what if I put Kanton out there and nobody wants to hear from me? What if I? Nobody likes it? Nobody's impacted. This is just like it's so embarrassing, like, oh my God, I'm going to be out there. And the other thing for me about podcasting is it forces you to show more of your personality versus just best practices, and I was much more comfortable just sharing my best practices on a blog or something like that. And now I have to talk about myself and I have to talk about what I learned, because I've been literally the best hider on plain sight. You know like I'm one of those people like I got tons of content out there, but you know you're not really seeing me. But podcasting really forced me out of that fear of being seen. So that's really hard, and so what helped me overcome it is number one.
While I'm dealing with all of these emotional issues around my fear, my imposter syndrome I'm dealing with clients all the time who are dealing with the same thing. So I had to be consistent with how I helped my clients who are starting a business or trying to set fees that reflected their worth and they're talking to me about the vulnerability and they're talking about their own imposter syndrome and all of that. I had to be congruent, or whatever I'm recommending to them I had to apply to myself. You know that I had to accept that my fear is normal, it's expected, it's a sign of growth, and that my fears can be my friends. You know they're just trying to keep me safe and so they're there to help me be protected, you know, and not be vulnerable, and it was up to me to win their trust so that they could join me on the journey. So it really helped me to stop wrestling my fear and embracing it, because I'm talking to clients all the time who are dealing with it and I did not want to be one of those people where just do what I say but I'm not going to do it, you know. So I had to do that for myself.
The other thing that I did is I let my vision for my service through my podcast grow bigger than my fears. So one of the quotes I use all the time with my clients, especially when they're dealing with fear, is from Audre Lorde. She's a poet and she says when I dare to be powerful to use my strength and service of my vision, it becomes less and less important whether I'm afraid. I just love that. Can I say that one again because I love it so much.
When I dare to be powerful to use my strength and service of my vision, it becomes less and less important whether I'm afraid. This is what my podcast ultimately is about. I called it enough already because I wanted to talk to people about getting fed up with all these things that hold us back from achieving our full potential and to come to acceptance that we're enough already and I really needed to be congruent again with what my vision for this podcast even is and apply it to myself. So I love my vision for service, that I'm putting stuff out there that I hope will make a difference to other people, and that's way more important than me questioning my worth or me worrying. If, like, oh, I'm the one who don't get any downloads, but if nobody likes it, you know, like that kind of thing, the vision is bigger and then, ultimately, what I really landed on is I focused on serving an audience of one. I let go of any vanity metrics and worry about, you know, like, this is what the most successful podcast hosts wound up achieving like right away, and this is what they could accomplish future in the future, like, I just stopped worrying about that. I just thought about if just one person benefits from what I put out there, then it's enough, just one. I don't have to be everything to everybody. I just need to be the right thing for the people that are are meant for me, and if just one person benefits and that made a huge difference.
So what about you? Whether you're working on a podcast, whether you're working on content for your first time, you're getting out there marketing yourself, starting your business, leaving corporate to start that business. You know, whatever it might be, becoming a keynote speaker and author. Do you have any fears or imposter syndrome standing in the way of what you want to accomplish, and how can you engage those fears in a compassionate way? Again, no judgment. But what are the reasons Like? What is it that they're concerned about? How are they keeping you safe and what are ways that you can win their trust so that they'll come along with you on that journey? And how can you let your vision for the impact that you want to make get bigger than that fear, you know? Do you need to create a vision that will help you see, like, this is what this is all about. Do you need to write it down? You know? How can you let that vision get bigger and how can you reduce any pressure of an overnight success story or those vanity metrics and just let your goal be that one person is helped by what you want to offer or say how can you really right size your focus and just think this is the person I'm here to help and that person is listening or that person is responding. That's enough for me. So that's my second biggest lesson.
Now let's talk about lesson number three. Lesson number three is about maximizing your strengths, and maximizing your strengths and podcasting and business and in life is always a winning strategy. So podcasting, success, like all things, like growing a business or becoming physically fit or whatever it is that you want to accomplish in life requires consistency, and in order to be consistent with anything, you have to enjoy it, and I really love my solo episodes, but I absolutely love my interviews. So even though I retired from consulting and now focus solely on helping consultants and coaches build their personal brands and their messages and get them helping them would get words to get clients excited to work with them and all that kind of stuff I'm a qualitative researcher at heart. That was my favorite part about being an OD consultant. I loved doing interviews and focus groups and taking all that information and organizing it and all of that kind of stuff and I loved it. And I thought, when I pivoted my business from consulting to what I do now, I thought I was just going to have to let go of this skill and never use it again. And then I started my podcast and I started doing more interviews and it was like a sense of coming home, like a part of my, a part of my professional life that I thought I lost. That came back to me and so it was really fun.
For me is I interviewed some of my favorite executives that I worked with as a consultant over the years. I interviewed Jim McPhee and my Crofton from Disney. I interviewed Sarah King, mark Johnson from Wyndham and so many others, and I learned so much about their unique leadership philosophy because of the framework and the and the format of a podcast that I never really appreciated when I worked with them, like I saw their approach, but I didn't really understand how that connected to their leadership philosophy and what I really discovered is like wow, I can do leadership branding in a way that I never even realized before and it was really powerful, just so meaningful for me to be able to see that this is who they are and why they believe what they believe. I also interviewed thought leaders like Dorick Clark and Simon T Bailey and Katie Anderson, and what's been so fun for me is it gave me a deeper glimpse into what makes their ideas so unique, so compelling. I interviewed experts in photography and videography and website conversions, storytelling, keynote speaking, sales mindset and so much more, and I learned so much about the specific aspects of growing a business, growing a brand, growing your thought leadership. And I also interviewed my clients.
One of the things I love to do when my clients finish up their work with me, when they get their websites done, is I bring them on my show and even though I spent hours and hours and hours of them through their mentoring and their website development, all that kind of stuff, when I got them on the podcast I discovered so much more about their whys and what drives them. I don't know if it's something about the format of a podcast that just allows them to open up in that particular way that mentoring was not the right vehicle for that. But I love that and I just appreciate them so much more. So it's not just the learning component that I love. You know, I really do love that. I love being that first student and being able to just listen in and see all these amazing people and all the different ways that they contribute to the world. But I love amplifying it even more. I love to amplify the ideas and success of other people. You know, people who are brand new that I can help bring awareness to all the things that they do, and people who have a message, who have a perspective that I could help reinforce and celebrate.
So I'm at a point now, if I can no longer do these interviews, something very important to me would be lost. You know that it's no longer like I have a podcast that I hope to monetize. It's no longer that I have this whole thing that I want to do to elevate my perspective and my brand and the marketplace and all that kind of stuff. Really, at the end of the day, right now I'm at this place where, if I don't do these interviews, I would be really sad I'd be missing out on my favorite part of my business. And so the thing that I realized about this is you know you're on track with something if you do it for free. Even if I didn't get a single client from my podcast, I still want to do these interviews. That's how much I love them.
So what about you? So let's talk about the application. I don't want this to be about me and my podcast journey, and you know you should learn from my lessons and just celebrate with me. I want this to be meaningful for you and this conversation. So I want you to think about you know, is there an aspect of your business that you just love? You know what brings you joy, you know what makes you feel that you're on purpose, and how can you do more of those things? And then, possibly, how can you hire out for the things that you really can't stand, like I can't see myself ever sitting here editing this podcast. That's not my thing. I'm going to hire out for that. But the thing about the interviews, as I mentioned, like I really love that. So I'm going to stick with that for a long time, you know.
So think about for you, like, what are the things that you absolutely love about what you do as a consultant or coach? What aspects of marketing? I'm sure that there's some aspects of marketing you actually love. You know, if you're a people person, you probably love to go to networking events. Do more of that. If you're an introverted content creator, like I am, you know create more content. You know there's a lot of things that you could do to use your strengths and if you use your strengths on a regular basis, you will achieve that consistency which will lead to your success. And then, lesson number four Podcasting in general, as I mentioned, is a whole lot more fun than I expected, but it's also a whole lot more impactful than I expected.
So I'll never forget the first intro call I got with a podcast listener turn client and how they quoted me, you know, and they started saying you know how you said X, y and Z. I'm like I did when? And they're like well, you know, an episode whatever. I'm like wow, like dang, there's something here with this podcast that is not just helping me expand my reach, but it's ideal for attracting the right people to me. You know, and the truth is and we know this from a marketing standpoint we're not for everyone. You know you become all things. You know if you're talking to everyone, you're talking to no one. You try to become all things to everybody. You're going to be talking to no one.
But the thing about a podcast is that when you start sharing your ideas and message, like in content, it not only attracts potential clients and establishes your credibility with them, but it also qualifies them for you. So since launching my podcast, I'll tell you, the percentage of my intro calls that are filled with the absolute right people has dramatically gone up, which you can imagine is a lot more of an easier conversation about, like how we can work together, because they already know you. You know you're sitting and listening to this podcast episode. You're getting to know me. You're going to know if I'm the right person for you just because I'm having this conversation with you. So that's the power of getting out there. I know, from a marketing standpoint, many, many of my clients struggle with it. You know they might want to just kind of go with referrals, but the thing about the referrals is that that person that the referrals referring you to really doesn't know you. They know the referral person, but if you have content out there, they're getting to know you and they're going to decide like, oh yeah, I really like what this person has to say. I resonate with them. We share a lot of perspectives in common.
You know, the other thing that's interesting about having more of the right people call me is that this allowed me to do a lot of different things with my business. So because I have a lot of people that I've been working with since I started my podcast that you know, they're consultants and coaches that come from a variety of different industries. They serve a lot of different people, but they all have shared values around service, impact and authenticity. So I've been able to take these clients and turn them into a mastermind community. So I have a community that meets every single week for actionable training around marketing, sales, persuasive communications and copywriting, and we all get together but everybody has stuff in common. Because I was able to attract more of the right people. So now I can bring them all together because there's a through line between all my clients.
I also use my podcast episode to support my mentoring, which makes my coaching time way more effective, because once I get one on time let me say this again once I get one on one with my clients, I'm not teaching them, I'm just using the time to apply different things. So, for example, I have a series on my podcast on identifying your ideal client. So if I'm working with my clients on articulating who is their ideal client and really understanding them, I can give them that podcast episode. Listen to that. Now, when we do the coaching time, they already have a perspective. So now our time is much more efficient because we're getting into how it applies to them and their businesses.
I also have enough episodes on my podcast that I can curate them to offer different types of value to my audience. So, for example, if you head on over to my website at wwwbettsudordencom, when you get in there, you're going to find my custom business development library quiz, which gives you like four short questions to help you figure out, like where your business is at. You know, like what stage is that, and then what you're going to get on the other side is a personalized playlist of the enough already episodes, along with downloadable resources and tools that are tailored to you and your business stage, so that you can have what you need to propel yourself to the next stage. I wouldn't have this as an option to provide to you if I didn't have my podcast. You know, the other thing I have on there is something for my Disney files, so people always want to know about Disney best practices, so I decided to create a curated list of interviews from Disney executives and consultants with all kinds of OD consulting related resources, ebooks and tools. So now that I have content video and now audio versions I could also offer brand new VIP services on content creation a thought leadership acceleration.
But the biggest impact and satisfaction I feel is that when people are telling me that there's something that came out of the interviews like one of my interviews I did was with Pujo Madan on how to create a soulful, unprofitable business I get so many comments about that interview around, how that really inspired them to go deeper and connect more with their heart and that really resonated with them. So there's a lot of things that you can do in your business, but when it comes to podcasting, there's just a different level of impact that you can provide. So let's bring this now to you the reflection application. How can you apply this? Get out of just you know, this is Betsy's lessons into you and your world.
So in a business and life, sometimes our greatest successes come from the things that we don't expect. You know, if we just you know, sometimes, like when we go forward with something, we don't even know necessarily where the outcomes are going to be. And I'm really glad that I didn't envision the outcomes that I got from my podcast, because it might have kept me from achieving them, because that I would have not allowed this whole experience to be a learning and adventure journey and let things unfold, you know. So how about you? When you think about what you're trying to achieve? You know you might have really clear goals, like I want my business to achieve this number of figures by the end of this particular time period, you know. Or I want to have this type of impact, you know. But if you take a beat and focus more on the journey of discovery, you can turn the whole experience more as a venture that will take you where it needs to go and you'll achieve different things that you might not have expected, probably even more, but you did, in a way that's just not quite as overwhelming.
So those are my four lessons, but let me recap them into three key points and perspectives that I would love to pass on to you. So number one stepping outside your comfort zone creates a massive learning and curve and another wrestling match with fear and imposter syndrome. The thing that you need to focus on is to expect it, don't judge it. And one needed get help. Number two achieving success in anything requires consistent action and to stay consistent. Lead with what you love, your natural strengths, your authentic passions, is the path to your purpose and success. And number three if you detach from the goal and attach to the journey towards your goal, what you'll accomplish might surprise you and you're going to have a whole lot more fun along the way. So let's go.
Let me give you a few other next steps. So, number one regardless of what goal you have, whether it's starting a podcast, starting your business, starting to work on content marketing yourself, whatever it is that you want to do I just would suggest take one first step towards that goal and then the next one. I'm a big believer in breaking things down into smaller steps, so do one thing with excellence and then move on. And if you want to start your own podcast, please be sure to grab my cheat sheet on the 10 steps to getting started at wwwbetsudordoncom. Forward slash podcast hyphen starter hyphen guide.
So as I wrap up this episode, I just want to thank you. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a listener. I am so appreciative of all the comments and the feedback that I've gotten on the podcast and I just appreciate you being a part of my tribe and being a part of this community. And if you're not yet a subscriber, you can do so wherever you're listening, and I'd love it if you can just rate and review my show. And until next time, thanks so much for listening and remember to be you and all you do, because you are enough already.
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