It’s absolutely surreal to be recording episode 101! What a year, what a journey in producing this content and sharing it with YOU, the listeners. When I first thought about starting a podcast, I wasn’t sure where it would go, what it would lead to, and how it would impact not just my business but YOU, the true goal diggers doing the hard work.

As we approach 2 million downloads on this show, I thought it would be fun to share the 5 big lessons I’ve learned in creating the Goal Digger Podcast and share some of the things I’ve loved and loathed when navigating growing this show to be one of the top female-led business podcasts out there!

Are ya ready? Let’s dive on in:

Lesson #1: “Done” is better than “perfect”:

In life, in business, especially in podcasting. I remember when I first started dreaming about creating the show, I was SO worried about having the perfect intro, the perfect format, the perfect recordings, the perfect show notes, but I learned quickly that perfect doesn’t exist and instead of striving for perfection, striving for solid content is so much more important. The hardest part of starting was simply just starting and letting the “perfect” goal dissolve.

Lesson #2: Batch working will SAVE you

In the beginning, I was recording a few episodes each week, whenever it would work for the guest or whenever I could have an outline ready to record. Little did I know that batch working would save me and help me to really get “in the zone!”

What this means is that I will sit down and record 5 episodes in one sitting, scheduling interviews back to back to back. It’s amazing because I can really get my space set up, be prepared, and excited, and get in the mindset! I’ve found that the flow really comes when I do this AND it helps me to really focus and see the overall strategy of the podcast so much more than recording one-off episodes!

Lesson #3: Pivot when it feels right

it’s easy to create a show and think it has to stay the same and that it can’t change. You’re going to hit points where your show has to stay in alignment with you, your goals, and what feels good to you. We’ve changed a few things throughout the show’s one year of existence.I went from one show a week to two shows after we had a system down and knew that we could support it internally! That helped me do more solo shows and teach on subjects while still giving a diversity in our guests and topics.

I dropped sponsors after having them for 10 months to pursue more alignment with my brand and mission while still knowing that we could have a strategy that made sense. I decided to open up and share some more personal experiences including things like our struggles with miscarriage and fertility while knowing it might not apply to all listeners or people might not be interested, it was an important part of our journey.

Lesson #4: Hone in on your interview style

let’s be honest, we aren’t all Erin Andrew’s and most of us “hosts” have never led an interview or hosted a forum for people to share their story and help teach others. I’ll be the first to say that my ability to lead great interviews has grown since starting and that I’ve learned a TON about how to facilitate great interviews while also keeping them focused on the topic at hand. It’s an art, it’s something you have to learn, and what better way to learn than in opening yourself up to make mistakes and to put it in action.

Lesson #5: Create a space for feedback, ideas, and community!

Having our Facebook group has been awesome and as our space has grown to over 5k community members it’s served as an awesome place to ask for feedback, to generate new ideas on topics, to hear thoughts and insights, and to create a place where listeners can come together the troubleshoot, support, and encourage one another. I love having the community to help pour into our GDP audience while also having a place to share the latest and greatest episodes!

The Truth:

Starting a podcast seemed daunting. I put it off. I was afraid. But it’s been one of the best leaps of faith I have taken and one of the most fun parts of my job! Getting to show up and serve people for free and land in earbuds all over the world each week is something that I absolutely love and celebrating the fact that we are 100 episodes in is no small feat.

It’s been a ton of work, a lot of hours, and oodles of strategy to make it worth every penny, every minute, and every recording but I can without a doubt say that it just may be my favorite passion project to date! Thanks for joining me for every breakthrough, every learning curve, and every moment! I love you, guys!

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