Launching a Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs with Sharon Louca

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:08

Hi, and welcome to podcasting one on one with Rachael.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:12

This podcast is for busy female entrepreneurs who run their own

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:15

businesses and want to start a podcast or who may already have a podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:20

I want to share practical information and tips on how you can get your podcast

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started and managing it along the way.

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I'll also be interviewing other female podcast hosts to give you

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real insight into what it's like.

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Have Hi,

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and welcome to this week's episode this week.

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I'm joined by Sharon Louca, who is the founder and host of the Women's

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Business Network, which is multi award winning, which is amazing.

Rachael Botfield: 00:00:57

And the host of the Connect, Unite, Empower podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:00

So welcome Sharon.

Sharon Louca: 00:01:03

Thank you.

Sharon Louca: 00:01:03

Thanks for having me on Rachael.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:04

It's lovely to have you here and come and chat about your podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:08

So let's start with, just tell us a little bit more about you and what you

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:12

do with the Women's Business Network and of course about your podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:01:16

So

Sharon Louca: 00:01:17

I started out in business 15 years ago and Started

Sharon Louca: 00:01:20

a business completely from scratch.

Sharon Louca: 00:01:22

I've got no clients, no contacts.

Sharon Louca: 00:01:24

So thankfully I discovered in my very early days, business networking

Sharon Louca: 00:01:29

and everything changed from there.

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I had a full client list and I moved into office premises in 2014.

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And had my own meeting room.

Sharon Louca: 00:01:38

So it just seemed the ideal opportunity to start my own networking events.

Sharon Louca: 00:01:42

So I used to host monthly in person events to people in my local network.

Sharon Louca: 00:01:48

And then when the pandemic happened, we had to go online.

Sharon Louca: 00:01:52

I ran free weekly online sessions for my members.

Sharon Louca: 00:01:55

And we then suddenly grew this audience both nationally and internationally.

Sharon Louca: 00:02:00

And Very bizarre at the time.

Sharon Louca: 00:02:03

And I think it just helped me to recognize that I loved the networking side of my

Sharon Louca: 00:02:08

business and wanted to do something more.

Sharon Louca: 00:02:11

I'd always wanted to expand it, but couldn't, hadn't quite

Sharon Louca: 00:02:13

sort of decided how to do that.

Sharon Louca: 00:02:15

So when the pandemic happened, it gave me the opportunity and I launched

Sharon Louca: 00:02:19

it as its own limited company then.

Sharon Louca: 00:02:22

And I've been supporting women online for the last three and

Sharon Louca: 00:02:25

a half years, which has been

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:26

fantastic.

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:27

Yeah, that is fantastic.

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:29

I think COVID was such a changing point for online networking

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as a whole because we all knew that we needed to do something.

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:37

And I know from listening to your podcast episodes like from guests

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and from your initial one, there was definitely that need there for

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:44

people, especially running businesses.

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:47

I mean, I hadn't started mine then, but I can imagine it'd be, I mean,

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:50

it was a scary time for everybody, you know, work concerned as well as

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:53

personal, but yeah, great opportunity.

Rachael Botfield: 00:02:57

To grow and see that need for people having that kind

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:00

of online support, really.

Sharon Louca: 00:03:02

Yeah, no, definitely.

Sharon Louca: 00:03:03

And it was really just, it was at the request of my members because we had

Sharon Louca: 00:03:07

our last meeting on the Friday before we went into lockdown the following week.

Sharon Louca: 00:03:11

And so there was sort of, word was about that something was happening

Sharon Louca: 00:03:15

and we might have to stay at home.

Sharon Louca: 00:03:17

And it was just, my members said, is there anything we could do somehow online?

Sharon Louca: 00:03:21

So I wasn't really aware of Zoom at that time.

Sharon Louca: 00:03:24

It was all something completely new.

Sharon Louca: 00:03:25

I hadn't done online networking, although I then got to learn that it

Sharon Louca: 00:03:29

had been going on prior to the pandemic.

Sharon Louca: 00:03:31

And it just, it was just that way of really supporting each other

Sharon Louca: 00:03:35

through really uncertain times.

Sharon Louca: 00:03:37

So we'd have one person in tears one week, and then the next week they'd be

Sharon Louca: 00:03:41

the one who was lifting everybody else up because they were having a better week.

Sharon Louca: 00:03:44

So yeah, it was a really strange time, but we were really grateful that we

Sharon Louca: 00:03:48

had that online platform where we could all go and support each other.

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:51

Yeah, absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:03:53

I know my friend Hayley Hudson, who's a VA, she started the VA lounge

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precisely for that reason that she needed, she has like a coffee lounge

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for like, she calls it like VA sanity, but that's what they needed.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:05

Those people that were running their online businesses and suddenly the

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:08

pandemic happened and, you know, having that ability to be able to reach

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:13

out and do that has been incredibly.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:15

And, since I started mine I haven't done it in the midst of the

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:19

pandemic, but it's been so valuable.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:22

I just thought networking was this like stuffy thing that, you know, you have to

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:27

go to and put your suit on and do your business card, all of that kind of stuff.

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When actually that's completely not the case.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:34

And, you know, my eyes have been completely opened now,

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:37

so, which I think is great.

Sharon Louca: 00:04:39

That's what it was like.

Sharon Louca: 00:04:40

Yeah.

Sharon Louca: 00:04:40

I was going to say, that's what it was like when I started 15 years ago.

Sharon Louca: 00:04:43

Yeah.

Sharon Louca: 00:04:43

Very stuffy and hand your business cards out, but yeah, thankfully

Sharon Louca: 00:04:47

it's all all changed since

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:49

then.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:49

Yes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:49

Yes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:49

Absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:50

Thankfully.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:51

So.

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:53

So you've recently launched your Connect, Unite, Empower podcast, which is all

Rachael Botfield: 00:04:57

about showcasing networking and the benefits of having it for your business.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:03

And especially for women out there that might be starting new or not really

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:08

part of a network out there to show you exactly how, and we've just got it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:12

Chatted a little bit about how valuable that support can be.

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:15

So why did you want to start a podcast, you know, from, from your business?

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:19

Why did you feel like you wanted to create a podcast to support

Rachael Botfield: 00:05:22

your networking business?

Sharon Louca: 00:05:24

It was something that I've been thinking of for a couple of years, to

Sharon Louca: 00:05:26

be honest, before what happened happened, but and I think it was just a way for me

Sharon Louca: 00:05:31

that I was meeting people who were already in the networking scene and already knew

Sharon Louca: 00:05:37

about networking, but I wanted to be able to reach those people who hadn't

Sharon Louca: 00:05:41

discovered networking or that had and dipped their toe and had been frightened

Sharon Louca: 00:05:45

away because they'd had a bad experience.

Sharon Louca: 00:05:47

So I saw the podcast as an opportunity to reach other people to.

Sharon Louca: 00:05:52

To let them know that the benefits that there are of networking and how everything

Sharon Louca: 00:05:57

has evolved over the last few years, and that there is that support out there, if

Sharon Louca: 00:06:02

you're sitting at home running a business on your own, you don't have to do it alone

Sharon Louca: 00:06:06

and all the challenges that you're facing, there is support out there to help you.

Sharon Louca: 00:06:10

And through the podcast, I hope we can get that message out and also just

Sharon Louca: 00:06:15

Really focus on some of the key issues that people do experience in running a

Sharon Louca: 00:06:19

business so that people listening know that they're not, they're not alone.

Sharon Louca: 00:06:23

They're not the only, this is not a unique thing that's only happening to them that

Sharon Louca: 00:06:27

we, many of us have experienced it and we can share our knowledge and experience

Sharon Louca: 00:06:31

and how we overcome those challenges.

Rachael Botfield: 00:06:33

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:06:34

Podcasting is such a great way to do that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:06:36

To reach a new audience, to reach the people that, you know, may not just

Rachael Botfield: 00:06:40

discover you through social media.

Rachael Botfield: 00:06:43

You know, that's one thing we know podcasts are great for and having,

Rachael Botfield: 00:06:47

hearing that personal experience as well can really, that's what you want to get

Rachael Botfield: 00:06:52

your message across really, isn't it?

Rachael Botfield: 00:06:53

And that really does help.

Rachael Botfield: 00:06:55

A lot of podcasts tell stories and I think that those kind of stories are

Rachael Botfield: 00:06:58

really important, especially as business owners, that you can hear those, hear the

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:02

experience, especially if you're somebody that has been, you know, maybe coming

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:06

from the corporate space into the online space and then realizing that it's not

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:10

the stuffy way that it is, like I did.

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:13

I mean, this was only three years ago and I, that's exactly what I

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:16

thought it was, that kind of thing.

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:18

Also run by men.

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:20

No offence to any men listening I know lots of good men, but that's, you know,

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:24

what conjures up in the mind and I can, you know, see why it could be off putting.

Sharon Louca: 00:07:30

And I think as well, when people perhaps network through

Sharon Louca: 00:07:34

their corporate employed role, it's a very different experience

Sharon Louca: 00:07:38

because you're representing a company, a brand, you're talking

Sharon Louca: 00:07:41

about something outside of yourself.

Sharon Louca: 00:07:43

Whereas then if you suddenly start your own business and you've got

Sharon Louca: 00:07:45

to network, you are the business.

Sharon Louca: 00:07:47

So it's a whole different experience then.

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:50

So what did you find were your biggest challenges to

Rachael Botfield: 00:07:54

getting started with your podcast?

Sharon Louca: 00:07:56

It was definitely the technical side.

Sharon Louca: 00:07:58

I had no shortage of people that I could interview.

Sharon Louca: 00:08:01

I I think when I thought about it two years ago, props was a little bit

Sharon Louca: 00:08:06

nervous about, about holding the, the interviews, but I knew that I'd be able

Sharon Louca: 00:08:11

to overcome that and I, I even recorded three episodes about 18 months ago that

Sharon Louca: 00:08:17

I still sat on my computer somewhere.

Sharon Louca: 00:08:19

I.

Sharon Louca: 00:08:19

But I think for me, it was just that technical side of getting it

Sharon Louca: 00:08:23

connected to the right platforms, recording your intro and your outro,

Sharon Louca: 00:08:27

getting your music and everything.

Sharon Louca: 00:08:28

And all that just seemed, and I'd speak to people and say, it's really

Sharon Louca: 00:08:32

easy and I'm not technical and I can do it, but I just couldn't get

Sharon Louca: 00:08:35

my head round and probably didn't.

Sharon Louca: 00:08:38

Give it the time to, to try and be able to do it myself.

Sharon Louca: 00:08:41

So it just sort of got shelved really.

Sharon Louca: 00:08:43

But it was always there in the back of my mind that I knew I would do it at some

Sharon Louca: 00:08:46

point, but it just always seemed to get pushed to the back back of the to do list.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:50

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:50

I do hear that a lot about the tech things and it isn't that

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:53

you're not capable of doing it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:55

And like you say, it's always finding the time as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:57

For context, I probably should have mentioned this at the

Rachael Botfield: 00:08:59

beginning of the episode.

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:00

Sharon won my, was the winner of.

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:03

The prize draw that I ran before Christmas in 2023 to win getting

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:09

your podcast launch for free in 2024.

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:12

So Sharon won, which was amazing.

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:15

So that's how we've been working together.

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:17

So I've been helping and supporting Sharon in getting her podcast launched and.

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:22

Like one of the things, like you said, is the tech side of things and having

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:27

somebody to support you with those kind of things, just giving you that advice.

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:31

Do you think there was more to the process of podcasting than you thought there was

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:35

when you started, when we started going down the process or were you already

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:39

pretty aware of what was involved?

Rachael Botfield: 00:09:42

I had some

Sharon Louca: 00:09:43

knowledge, I think and I think that's why when I was at that

Sharon Louca: 00:09:46

networking event and you said that there was a competition to, to win, and I just

Sharon Louca: 00:09:51

knew I was like, right, I'm entering that.

Sharon Louca: 00:09:54

That is for me.

Sharon Louca: 00:09:55

I want to win.

Sharon Louca: 00:09:56

I definitely manifested it.

Sharon Louca: 00:09:58

So when I got your email to say I won, I was over the moon because I

Sharon Louca: 00:10:01

thought this is the nudge and the help that I needed to, to be able to

Sharon Louca: 00:10:05

finally get this podcast launched.

Sharon Louca: 00:10:08

So with

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:08

the challenges that you said about the tech and the

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:10

recording and things like that, and then you also felt a little bit nervous

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:14

about recording the episodes, and I know you talked about as now listen to

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:18

your episodes that, you know, that's something that you struggled with and

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:22

have overcome in your networking as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:25

So do you feel like.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:27

All of that just kind of came together when you started making your podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:10:30

You were able to like, draw on your experiences during your networking and

Sharon Louca: 00:10:34

Yes, I think definitely when I look back to recording those

Sharon Louca: 00:10:38

first few, I call them episodes, but they were just literally recordings.

Sharon Louca: 00:10:42

I do remember feeling, not feeling very comfortable with it.

Sharon Louca: 00:10:45

And then I think 18 months down the line, the fact that I host my own

Sharon Louca: 00:10:49

network and I've done, I do a lot more recording of videos now than I was then.

Sharon Louca: 00:10:55

And I think just the whole putting yourself out there more just really helped

Sharon Louca: 00:11:00

me to feel a little bit more comfortable with the recording side of things.

Sharon Louca: 00:11:04

So that I have really enjoyed.

Sharon Louca: 00:11:06

And so literally for me was literally just all that technical setup and being

Sharon Louca: 00:11:12

able to get, get those episodes out there.

Sharon Louca: 00:11:14

That was the biggest challenge for me.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:16

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:17

I remember when you said you were nervous.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:18

And when I listened to the episodes, it didn't come across in that way at all.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:22

I thought your networking and, you know, running your own business

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:26

network has, has put you in great stead for doing the episodes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:30

I didn't feel that you know, but I thought you were really quite

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:32

natural when you were doing it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:34

So that's, that's great.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:35

I know recently at the time the episode was recording, you had

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:38

just, you've just got up and did a big speaking event as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:41

Yes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:11:42

Just to digress slightly, but I know that was a really big really big win for you.

Sharon Louca: 00:11:46

Yes.

Sharon Louca: 00:11:47

Yeah.

Sharon Louca: 00:11:47

And I think the fact, and I think that again was because I knew I'd

Sharon Louca: 00:11:50

got this big speaking event coming up that suddenly the podcasting didn't

Sharon Louca: 00:11:55

seem quite so frightening anymore, because that was like the easy option

Sharon Louca: 00:11:59

compared to having to stand up on stage in front of a room full of people.

Sharon Louca: 00:12:02

So that I think definitely contributed to the confidence

Sharon Louca: 00:12:06

on the podcasting recording.

Sharon Louca: 00:12:07

But I think it's like with anything and what I've always

Sharon Louca: 00:12:10

found that I've always had to do.

Sharon Louca: 00:12:12

Because I was very shy and lacked confidence in the early days, I've

Sharon Louca: 00:12:16

always had to think about and prepare what I was always going to say, even

Sharon Louca: 00:12:20

down to preparing my 60 seconds.

Sharon Louca: 00:12:21

I used to have to type them out and read them because the nerves

Sharon Louca: 00:12:24

would just get the better of me.

Sharon Louca: 00:12:25

And there was no way I could, I could say it so people

Sharon Louca: 00:12:28

understood without reading it.

Sharon Louca: 00:12:30

And for my episode, I really thought about and sort of prepared a bit of an outline

Sharon Louca: 00:12:36

script of what I wanted to say, because I think it's just that If you do get

Sharon Louca: 00:12:40

nervous, your mind can go blank, can't it?

Sharon Louca: 00:12:42

And you just want to, you just want to make sure that you get all the key

Sharon Louca: 00:12:45

points that you want to want to to get into the episode, make sure that you

Sharon Louca: 00:12:49

you, you say everything you want to say.

Sharon Louca: 00:12:51

So like with everything and the same with preparing for my My speech, when

Sharon Louca: 00:12:55

I stood up and spoke, that was five weeks of preparation and practicing.

Sharon Louca: 00:13:01

And every single time it was different, but I just literally bullet pointed

Sharon Louca: 00:13:05

the key areas that I needed to cover so that I knew that there was,

Sharon Louca: 00:13:09

and that included stories as well.

Sharon Louca: 00:13:11

So it's always easier when you're telling stories of experiences that

Sharon Louca: 00:13:14

you've been through, because you can recall those and talk about them

Sharon Louca: 00:13:17

without having to worry about a script.

Sharon Louca: 00:13:19

So yeah, yeah, we're, we're, Quite a lot of preparation has always

Sharon Louca: 00:13:23

had to go into it beforehand.

Sharon Louca: 00:13:25

But I think it's because you, I just always want to be able

Sharon Louca: 00:13:28

to deliver something of value.

Sharon Louca: 00:13:29

So, I like to put the time and effort into preparing and

Sharon Louca: 00:13:33

thinking about what I want to talk

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:34

about.

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:35

Yeah, and I do think it's important, especially, you know, when you're creating

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:38

the episodes, is that you're, you know, You know, you're thinking about the

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:41

message that you want to get across.

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:43

You're, you know, you're creating this podcast with an ideal listener in mind,

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:49

and you want to make sure that the information that you're sharing is as

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:52

relevant and useful to them as possible.

Rachael Botfield: 00:13:55

And if that means scripting out, some, some people are able to

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:00

do it off the top of their head, depending on, on what the topic is.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:04

I, myself, I don't, I don't I don't script them out there are certain phrases

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:08

that I might want to, like, script out and I have bullet points, but you're

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:10

right, having those main highlighter key points that you know you can keep coming

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:15

back to, to keep, to refocus you, to make sure that you're keeping on track.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:19

So that is something to, to bear in mind, you know, when, if you're the

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:24

one starting your podcast, is to think about how you best And perhaps as you

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:28

continue in podcasting, it evolves as with everything that you do that you, the

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:32

more comfortable you become, the easier it is to get that information across.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:36

But it is, I think it's always nice to have those bullet points there

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:40

to be able to refocus yourself.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:42

I mean, I have my bullet points here for this episode as well to make sure that

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:46

I'm asking the right kind of questions.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:49

I want to be able to share, you know, the knowledge that we want to share.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:52

with everyone who's listening.

Rachael Botfield: 00:14:54

Yeah.

Sharon Louca: 00:14:54

And I think that's important because I think it is easy because

Sharon Louca: 00:14:57

it is, it is very relaxed, isn't it?

Sharon Louca: 00:14:59

Podcasting.

Sharon Louca: 00:14:59

It is literally having a conversation and having a chat.

Sharon Louca: 00:15:02

And I think that's why you, you want to make sure that it isn't just you

Sharon Louca: 00:15:07

having a nice little chat and not, not delivering the value that you want to

Sharon Louca: 00:15:11

and the impact that you want to make

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:13

through it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:13

Yeah, absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:14

Cause it is.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:15

It is quite easy to, to, to digress and, and although it's really nice to, to go

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:22

down an avenue that perhaps you might not have thought where it was going to

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:25

take you, and obviously it does depend on the topic and the type of podcast

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:29

that you're putting out there, but yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:31

important to think, am I, am I then going to bring it back around to,

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:35

you know, the, the salt, the, the reason why you wanted to, to create

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:39

this episode in the first place?

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:40

Yes.

Sharon Louca: 00:15:41

Yeah, definitely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:43

So what do you think the benefits have been of having

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:47

somebody to support you through the whole process as opposed to you deciding to

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:52

take those steps to do it on your own?

Rachael Botfield: 00:15:54

It's

Sharon Louca: 00:15:55

made a huge difference because I think left to my own devices,

Sharon Louca: 00:15:59

I'd still have recorded episodes sitting on a file somewhere and

Sharon Louca: 00:16:02

probably wouldn't have found the time to to get them, get them out there.

Sharon Louca: 00:16:06

So it's made it, it's, it has enabled me to launch my podcast basically.

Sharon Louca: 00:16:11

It's just yeah, yeah.

Sharon Louca: 00:16:12

It's made such a huge difference.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:14

Do you think as well?

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:15

So, because you've obviously then when you won the prize, you

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:18

had that commitment, didn't you?

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:19

You've then got this commitment to doing it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:21

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:22

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:23

And do you find the, because I know we had calls kind of every

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:26

couple of weeks, didn't we?

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:27

Like we, we had those kind of calls.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:30

initial kind of strategy calls and how we were going to work it out.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:33

Did you find those calls helpful?

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:35

Did you think that what we had, because I know they've kind of got shorter as

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:39

we've gone on because we, there's less to kind of, that we need to touch on than in

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:43

the beginning because you know, you then know exactly what you need to get done.

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:48

Do you think those calls really Benefited you in getting an idea

Rachael Botfield: 00:16:52

of what the whole process was?

Sharon Louca: 00:16:55

Definitely.

Sharon Louca: 00:16:55

And I think right from the first call we had, you were very

Sharon Louca: 00:16:58

clear in what your process was.

Sharon Louca: 00:17:00

I love the way you got the Trello board that we shared so we could communicate

Sharon Louca: 00:17:05

anything you needed from me, or I could see what was, what was planned for when.

Sharon Louca: 00:17:09

And I think the fact that we'd decided on a launch date and then we tracked back

Sharon Louca: 00:17:13

with the calendar of what had got to be done when it just really helped me to

Sharon Louca: 00:17:17

focus and make sure that I, I recorded.

Sharon Louca: 00:17:20

It's recorded in time so that there was the time for you to do all the editing

Sharon Louca: 00:17:24

and everything before we, we launched it.

Sharon Louca: 00:17:26

And whilst we'd, I think when we probably spoke initially, it was like, well,

Sharon Louca: 00:17:30

we'll aim to launch on this date, but it was almost as though that w that

Sharon Louca: 00:17:35

was always going to happen, wasn't it?

Sharon Louca: 00:17:36

I think because you've got that process in place, it wasn't a,

Sharon Louca: 00:17:39

we'd like to do it on that day.

Sharon Louca: 00:17:40

This is how it's going to work and it will happen.

Sharon Louca: 00:17:43

And it did happen.

Sharon Louca: 00:17:44

So I think, I think the way you've, you've set up your process has been fantastic.

Sharon Louca: 00:17:48

and I think the The way that we've had those check in calls has just helped

Sharon Louca: 00:17:53

me to, to make sure that I'm on top of everything I need to be giving

Sharon Louca: 00:17:56

to you and understanding where we're at and anything I needed to approve.

Sharon Louca: 00:18:00

The whole process has just been really seamless and that's why I've shouted

Sharon Louca: 00:18:04

about it several times on social media.

Sharon Louca: 00:18:06

It has been a really, really good experience.

Sharon Louca: 00:18:09

I'm

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:10

really, really pleased you've had a good experience.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:12

I, I always think having that schedule, that timeline in place and knowing

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:16

exactly when you need to get things done by, I mean, For myself, for this

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:20

podcast, that's what I do for myself.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:22

I have key dates in my diary and have them in my schedule.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:26

And, and I think that those are key.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:28

That kind of planning is, is key to, to succeeding with any project that

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:33

you're doing, whether it's podcasting or anything else that you want to do

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:35

in your business to make sure that you have that accountability as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:39

And sometimes it is just having that accountability, isn't it?

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:42

And having those things And almost sometimes when someone else is helping you

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:47

do it, it's almost easier than having to do it yourself because you're not the one.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:52

And it's making those decisions as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:55

You know, when you choose to dive in, when you haven't got someone to be

Rachael Botfield: 00:18:58

accountable, you know, you can always kind of move the goalposts slightly and

Sharon Louca: 00:19:01

that's going to say business when you're working on

Sharon Louca: 00:19:04

your own, if there is always that, Oh, well, I won't do that today.

Sharon Louca: 00:19:07

I'll leave it till tomorrow.

Sharon Louca: 00:19:08

Or whatever.

Sharon Louca: 00:19:09

Whereas it is always nice when you're working with somebody

Sharon Louca: 00:19:12

that, you know, That that you've got that structure in place and

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:16

it will be followed.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:17

I like that as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:18

There is, I think there's a lot to be said about that because I, you know,

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:22

when we all have those busy days, you know, you push things when actually

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:25

maybe you just then scuppered yourself for something else and you think,

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:28

actually, I shouldn't have done that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:30

But you know, there are lessons that we live and learn, don't

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:32

we, in business, everything.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:33

Changes sometimes in our, what we've got, time we've got to do.

Rachael Botfield: 00:19:38

How have you enjoyed creating your first season of your podcasts?

Sharon Louca: 00:19:42

I've loved it.

Sharon Louca: 00:19:43

It's got, it's, I can't believe how quickly it's gone.

Sharon Louca: 00:19:45

It has gone awfully quickly.

Sharon Louca: 00:19:47

Yeah.

Sharon Louca: 00:19:48

It's gone really quickly.

Sharon Louca: 00:19:49

Yeah.

Sharon Louca: 00:19:49

And yeah, I'm just excited to continue with it really.

Sharon Louca: 00:19:53

Yeah.

Sharon Louca: 00:19:53

Yeah, I think when we, when we said, and you said like the first six episodes,

Sharon Louca: 00:19:57

and I thought it can't just be a one off six and then I don't do anything else.

Sharon Louca: 00:20:02

Cause I think when you've put that effort and work into it, you just

Sharon Louca: 00:20:05

think you want it to continue, want it to continue offering the value.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:08

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:10

That was what I was going to, one thing I was going to ask is like, I know we

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:13

have chatted and you said that you, you want to carry on the momentum.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:17

How have you felt with cause I know some people start their podcast and

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:21

they do a weekly one or perhaps they do you know, a continuous one or

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:24

episodic, I think they call it an apple.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:26

So, or choose to do it in seasons.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:28

And we've done this one as a six part series.

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:30

Do you think that that was the way that you would continue or do you

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:34

think that you would, you know, try something different or how,

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:38

what are your feelings about that?

Rachael Botfield: 00:20:39

I think the

Sharon Louca: 00:20:40

way we did it where we launched a fortnightly episode,

Sharon Louca: 00:20:43

I think I would certainly do.

Sharon Louca: 00:20:46

That as a minimum, I wouldn't do it.

Sharon Louca: 00:20:47

I, I don't think I'd want to commit myself to a weekly one.

Sharon Louca: 00:20:50

I've got contacts who, who literally are dropping a seat a new episode every week.

Sharon Louca: 00:20:56

And I just think the thought of , of the pressure of having to do that

Sharon Louca: 00:21:00

felt a little bit too, too much unless you're in, in this position

Sharon Louca: 00:21:04

where you've got a good batch of of recordings already to, to work through.

Sharon Louca: 00:21:09

So I think it would be either a, a fortnightly, episode, or again, perhaps

Sharon Louca: 00:21:14

do another six, six episode series.

Sharon Louca: 00:21:17

But yeah, I think if I, if I end up going it alone, it's like, Oh, that

Sharon Louca: 00:21:22

this, that you've kept me accountable.

Sharon Louca: 00:21:24

And it's like, could I, could I keep myself accountable to, to do it?

Sharon Louca: 00:21:29

So I think, I think sometimes it is that you would need to, if

Sharon Louca: 00:21:34

you go in it alone, you've got to make that commitment to do it.

Sharon Louca: 00:21:37

Yeah, absolutely.

Sharon Louca: 00:21:38

And you all know this from obviously you've got your podcast, so.

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:41

Yeah, it is.

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:41

And I think like one of the biggest things that I tend to say to people

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:44

who want to launch podcasts is having that time in your business.

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:48

Like you say, it is a commitment and making sure that you're

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:52

able to dedicate that time.

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:54

That time that it, it needs to take to, to do your podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:21:57

I mean, lots of people run their podcasts themselves, you know, successfully

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:01

and, and because now you've had this experience, you know what's involved,

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:05

you know what needs to be done.

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:06

Mm-Hmm.

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:06

So you have got all that experience and skills from this, you know, the

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:12

series that you've just created.

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:13

So that will, you know, stand you in good stead.

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:16

And I think that you know, it's something that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:22

You know, you, you and also you've got these six episodes, now you've

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:25

got all that awesome content with your episodes and you can

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:30

repurpose those episodes as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:33

You know, whilst you are, you know, coming up with your next season

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:36

or deciding what you're gonna move forward with your podcast as well.

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:38

'cause that's one thing that I do that's easy to forget for everybody

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:42

is about repurposing those episodes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:22:45

Yeah and I

Sharon Louca: 00:22:45

think it's remembering as well that podcasting is another form

Sharon Louca: 00:22:48

of marketing your business, isn't it?

Sharon Louca: 00:22:50

So again, it's, it's, it's time that it's important time that you can dedicate to

Sharon Louca: 00:22:56

another arm of your marketing strategy.

Sharon Louca: 00:22:58

So yeah, it is, I think just, just making that, setting that intention and setting

Sharon Louca: 00:23:04

that time aside to make sure that that it

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:07

does continue.

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:07

I mean, we.

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:09

We all set time aside for, like I say, for our marketing activities and having

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:15

a podcast is like, so for example, so the way that I use my podcast, it is my kind

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:20

of theme, my pillar for, for my content.

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:23

So I've created that content once you don't, I don't have

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:26

to go think about more ideas.

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:28

for my content because I'm using my podcast as that,

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:32

that basis for the content.

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:33

Although there is that extra element of the production side of things

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:38

with the podcast, but I'm not doing it twice in effect of having to

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:42

think of other stuff for production.

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:44

Social media as, as well as my podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:46

And it's not just every episode.

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:47

It's not every post is like, listen to this, listen to this.

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:50

It's, you know, pulling those key things that you've already

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:53

talked about in your experience.

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:54

And then using those as, you know, jump off points for other

Rachael Botfield: 00:23:57

bits and pieces for your content.

Sharon Louca: 00:23:59

Yeah, no, that's right.

Sharon Louca: 00:24:00

It's funny.

Sharon Louca: 00:24:01

I was on a networking meeting this morning and there was a lady on there who does

Sharon Louca: 00:24:04

videos and she said exactly the same.

Sharon Louca: 00:24:06

You can record a video, but then you can do so many things with it.

Sharon Louca: 00:24:09

Like you say, social media posts, potentially a blog post.

Sharon Louca: 00:24:12

You could cut the video down.

Sharon Louca: 00:24:14

into small snippets and things.

Sharon Louca: 00:24:15

So yeah, yeah, it's yeah, it's the same.

Sharon Louca: 00:24:18

Does that again?

Sharon Louca: 00:24:18

It's

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:19

the time, isn't it in an ideal world, but I mean, it's

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:25

something that, you know, we all striving to do with our businesses

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:30

is create those bits and pieces.

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:32

You know, sometimes we feel we have to do it immediately or straight away.

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:35

It's not something that you're ever going to lose.

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:37

You've always got those podcast episodes and they will always be there ready for

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:40

you, you know, do little bits on and take little bits from as you go ahead.

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:46

So they're always going to be, be there.

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:48

I know your episodes will always be, you know, the evergreen, they're always

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:52

there sharing your experiences and your guests talking about their experiences and

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:56

networking, the things they've learned.

Rachael Botfield: 00:24:58

All those kind of advice and tips that they're sharing, they're

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:01

all evergreen for anybody that

Sharon Louca: 00:25:03

wants to do.

Sharon Louca: 00:25:03

And I suppose that's the nice thing against your social media posts, that they

Sharon Louca: 00:25:07

just sort of get lost, don't they, after, in some cases, within minutes, can't

Sharon Louca: 00:25:13

they, they can disappear and you know.

Sharon Louca: 00:25:14

That leads on to the next thing.

Sharon Louca: 00:25:16

But but yeah, that is nice to have that evergreen content there, but like you

Sharon Louca: 00:25:20

say, new people will discover you at new times and be able to learn from

Sharon Louca: 00:25:24

the content that you've put out there.

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:26

Yeah, absolutely.

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:27

I do.

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:27

I do like that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:29

I do like that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:30

Have you got any.

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:32

Lessons you've learned for the future.

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:34

I suppose you've already touched on that a bit about knowing you don't want

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:37

to drop the momentum of the podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:25:39

Is that kind of like one of the biggest takeaways?

Sharon Louca: 00:25:41

Yeah, I think, I think what I am so grateful for

Sharon Louca: 00:25:44

is that you have, have started me on this journey that I don't think

Sharon Louca: 00:25:48

I would have started on my own.

Sharon Louca: 00:25:49

I, it's always something I wanted to do, but I think, I think in hindsight, it

Sharon Louca: 00:25:55

probably wouldn't have happened because I'd have had another look at the tech and

Sharon Louca: 00:25:58

thought, no, too, too much like hard work.

Sharon Louca: 00:26:00

I won't bother again.

Sharon Louca: 00:26:03

So, yeah, no, I'm just really grateful for what, what you've done, how

Sharon Louca: 00:26:06

you've, how you've helped me and, and even just, just sort of learning more

Sharon Louca: 00:26:11

about the process and how it works and, and how you set things up with,

Sharon Louca: 00:26:15

with your intro and your outro and, and show notes and things like that.

Sharon Louca: 00:26:19

It's just been a really good learning experience.

Sharon Louca: 00:26:21

So no, thank you very

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:22

much.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:22

Oh, you're welcome.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:23

It's been lovely working with you.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:25

I think.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:25

When you know those things now it does take away some of that

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:29

initial fear and overwhelm that you've got when it comes to it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:33

Because those are the kind of things that you don't need to worry

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:35

about now for your next season.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:37

You've already got those, you already know what those are and how you do them.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:41

So I think that, I mean it's the same with anything isn't it, once you start doing

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:44

it and learning more about it you've got, it gets rid of some of those, your fears

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:49

and stuff that you had to, to begin with.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:52

Yes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:52

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:52

I'd love to ask you just one last question.

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:55

Have you got any advice for anybody that's looking to launch

Rachael Botfield: 00:26:59

a podcast for their business?

Sharon Louca: 00:27:01

As I say, I am so pleased that my podcast is finally launched.

Sharon Louca: 00:27:05

So I think if it is something that That people are like me have looked

Sharon Louca: 00:27:10

at it and haven't done anything with it, then definitely find somebody

Sharon Louca: 00:27:15

like come to Rachael and get her to help you to get everything set up.

Sharon Louca: 00:27:20

Because I think if you, if you, if you.

Sharon Louca: 00:27:23

sort of just looking at it and you just don't know where to, where to

Sharon Louca: 00:27:26

turn, then definitely go to somebody to help you at least get started.

Sharon Louca: 00:27:30

Then potentially they can, they can train you to, to be able

Sharon Louca: 00:27:34

to manage it yourself on going.

Sharon Louca: 00:27:35

But just that initial sort of setup means that now I've got, I've, I've got sort of

Sharon Louca: 00:27:41

things that I can work with to hopefully ensure that, that I can continue with a

Sharon Louca: 00:27:45

regular, a regular Series and episodes.

Sharon Louca: 00:27:48

Yeah.

Sharon Louca: 00:27:48

Brilliant.

Rachael Botfield: 00:27:49

Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: 00:27:49

And Thank you for your kind words.

Rachael Botfield: 00:27:51

I really appreciate it, Sharon.

Rachael Botfield: 00:27:53

And if anybody wants to connect with Sharon or go and find her podcast, I will

Rachael Botfield: 00:27:58

put all of her links into the show notes.

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:01

Where do you hang out the most?

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:03

Is it normally on LinkedIn?

Sharon Louca: 00:28:05

Yes, if you connect with me on LinkedIn, we've got profiles

Sharon Louca: 00:28:08

across Facebook, Instagram, we've got a LinkedIn page as well as my

Sharon Louca: 00:28:13

own profile, but probably the easiest is to connect, connect with me.

Sharon Louca: 00:28:15

Just find Sharon Louca on on LinkedIn and yeah, it'd be great to connect.

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:19

And have a listen to the Connect, Unite, Empower podcast.

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:23

I will, as I said, yeah, I will leave links for that.

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:27

time of recording this episode.

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:31

This episode five's coming out, isn't it?

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:33

And then there's episode six coming out of season one of many.

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:37

I hope From Sharon, so so much for coming on Sharon and sharing

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:43

your experience with us today and I know you very well Thanks a lot.

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:51

Thanks for listening to the show.

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:52

If you'd like to connect with me or get in touch, then head on over to my website.

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:56

If you liked the episode, then I'd love it.

Rachael Botfield: 00:28:58

If you could leave me a review in your chosen podcast app, your

Rachael Botfield: 00:29:01

feedback is much appreciated.

Rachael Botfield: 00:29:03

See you next time.