How to Start a Business: Listen To Our Top 10 Podcast Episodes
How can a beginner start a business? These podcast episodes will help you get started.
If you’re new to entrepreneurship or you’re considering starting a business, learning from the pros is a key part of the process. We’ve all been there, wondering how to start a business — consuming content from our role models, binge-reading finance books, learning new productivity hacks, and brainstorming the best possible ways to create a solid business structure.
Whether you are still deciding on your business name or you are ready to launch your business, podcasts are a great way to learn the lessons of other business owners who’ve mastered delivering their products or services every step of the way. At Being Boss, we love sharing expert conversations that apply to creative business owners of all types to help you become the best boss you can be.
Here are some of our favorite podcast episodes every baby boss needs to listen to when first starting a new business.
Our Top 10 Podcast Episodes For Starting A Business
1. How to Start a Business Without Much Money
Can you build a business with no money? You definitely don’t need to go into debt when you launch your business. Investing in a startup is necessary, but you can build a successful business with little money. In this episode, Emily Thompson of Being Boss and Kathleen Shannon of Braid Creative discuss their experiences and practical resources for avoiding debt in the initial stages of entrepreneurship.
You’ll learn why to avoid taking a business loan and:
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Various mindsets about money and debt
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What to invest in first (especially if you’re not a developer or designer)
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How to start your own business with no money and allow yourself to wing it
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What to consider before investing in something
If you want to launch a debt-free company that lasts, don’t miss this excellent discussion on all things money and investment priorities in Launching and Running a Debt-Free Business.
2. How To Choose A Business Model When Starting A Business
You know what you want. You know what your business is going to offer. Now you need a business model that will help you build a legacy business. This episode is all about how to come up with a business model from scratch, featuring Emily Thompson and Tara McMullin. Tara is the CEO and founder of What Works, a top-ranked podcast. The two discuss how a small business owner can scale up, develop successful processes, and solve problems.
Find out how to define the type of business model and:
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The difference between wanting to make more money and making “enough”
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Ways you can plan to reach the goals you’ve set for success
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The power in applying what you learn and just doing it
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How to let go of the obligation to do all of the things yourself
This is a motivational episode for any boss in need of a new or updated business model. Be sure to take notes when you listen to Creating A Business Model for Success.
3. Open A Business Before You’re Ready
Sometimes, waiting for the perfect timing means you’ll be waiting forever. There is no perfect time to launch, so you might need a push to start before you’re ready! In this episode, leaders at Being Boss talk with Merideth VanSant, a yoga studio founder and creative business entrepreneur. Both of them share their journeys of overcoming fear, valuing clients, and the process of getting out of corporate jobs.
Learn how to start a business in a saturated market and:
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How client-listening can be one of the most helpful tools in business
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Steps to overcome fears of failure and inadequacy
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Using your business to step up and give back
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Doing the work to promote your business and get recognition for yourself
Here’s the podcast you need if you’re struggling with perfectionism, Launch Before You’re Ready with Merideth VanSant. It’s time to embrace the unknown and finally go for it with your business idea.
4. Goal Setting For When You Are Starting A Business
When starting a business, you need a step-by-step guide on how to make more money, invite in more customers, and track your business goals. You need to learn The Chalkboard Method. Getting visual and laying your business plan out helps add some inspiration to your vision and lets you see the trackable goals you need to achieve.
Discover new ideas on how to start a business and:
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How to deal with fears around goal-setting
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The importance of revising and reframing an existing plan
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How tracking can help you attract what you and your business need to level up
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How to map out a chalkboard with a Being Boss example
For anyone who wants to get better at applying the big picture to the smaller, tactical steps listen to Goal Setting: The Chalkboard Method.
5. Don’t Start A Business Without Writing A Business Plan
Many new business owners fail because they don’t know how to plan properly. Thankfully, with the right tools, anyone can break down their dreams into an actual business plan. In this episode, Emily shares her tips for doing so. You can make it extremely easy to write a business plan with the help of a highly effective business plan template.
Download our free business plan template from Freshbooks.
Listen and learn how to write a business plan and:
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How to benefit from an actual business plan
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The detailed breakdown of every section you’ll need when writing a business plan, including your executive summary, target customers, type of business, legal structure and more.
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What your skills, products or services, competition, and marketing all have to be centered around for ultimate success
Don’t miss this episode if you’re struggling to move forward in your new business, Tips For Creating A Business Plan.
6. Choose a Business Structure That Will Scale When You Start A Business
Wether you have a sole proprietorship or a limited liability company, chances are your small business will start to experience growth. That’s great! Keeping growth in mind when you are first starting a business means having efficient operations in place to handle your growing business. Here, Emily chats with Alicia Butler Pierre, founder of Equilibria and Business Infrastructure, Inc., about all things growth.
You’ll learn the difference between business operations and infrastructure and:
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How setting up business infrastructure and operations will help you scale your small business
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Mindsets and habits to experience profitable growth
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Small business tips for scaling and leveling up
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Organization and task management
If you’re ready to grow more than ever before, take the time to learn from this priceless conversation between two strong businesswomen who made success happen in, Building Your Business to Scale with Alicia Butler Pierre.
7. Understand The Financial Plan for Your Business
Poor financial projections can cause many a new business to fail. And people run out of money when they’re not managing it properly. To learn all about pricing, money management, and finances when starting a business, listen to this episode where Being Boss co-founders help reframe common money mindsets.
Find out how to track profit in your business and:
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Pricing your product or service
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Options for credit cards and paying off debt or a business loan
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Planning for retirement
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Tips for strategizing launches for profit
Learn how to get your financial plan in shape so you can be the creative entrepreneur you can be in Pricing And Money Management.
8. Having Confidence To Invest When You Start Your Business
If you’re an entrepreneur who’s serious about having a successful business, there will likely come a time when investing in your business is what will take it to the next level. Emily of Being Boss and Talia Chai, beauty/wellness coach and founder of Primer Wellness, discuss investing in business throughout this episode.
You’ll learn how to invest in your business idea and:
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How having a day job/side hustle can give you energy and can present you with new opportunities to help you grow your expertise
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What to expect when making big investments in your business
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How to plan an investment project
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Advice on sleep, health, and fitness for busy, creative entrepreneurs
If you’re considering some type of investment to level up, this might be the episode you needed to hear — Finding The Confidence To Invest In Your Business.
9. How To Create A Competitive Advantage With A Signature Program
Thinking about creating a signature program or course in your business? There’s a process to developing it before the official launch. In this episode, Emily interviews Maya Gaddie, a professional business coach who helps female entrepreneurs become established leaders. They discuss what it takes to offer a thriving signature offer online.
Discover how to create a signature program in your business and:
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What elements you’ll need to create signature program your customer base will love
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Launching, marketing, and delivering your signature offers
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Types of failures you can expect to address with new programs
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How to implement other products or services into courses you provide
If you’re a teacher or coach, this episode will help you start planning for your next program and get you set up to effectively help future customers. Listen to Developing Your Signature Program In Your Business.
10. How To Protect Your Business With Better Contracts
When starting a business, many new business owners avoid making contracts because they seem grueling or unnecessary. But the truth is, contracts can make or break your customer relationships and your bank account! In this podcast episode, Emily talks with Christina Scalera, business lawyer and creator of The Contract Shop, about how to improve your small business contracts.
Learn why contracts are important when you start a business:
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Setting up Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions on your website
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What you should include in your business contracts
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Different types of contracts you might need based on your type of business
Get on the right track and avoid potential legal pitfalls by optimizing your contracts, thanks to the advice in Why You Need Better Business Contracts with Christina Scalera.
So there you have it: some of the best podcast episodes to help you learn how to start a business.
Those beginning stages of building your small business can feel like a rollercoaster ride with lots of ups, downs, and uncertainty. And although each boss’ journey is unique, many of the issues and challenges we face are similar. That is why having the support of a community of like-minded bosses allows entrepreneurs like you to brainstorm, workshop, and troubleshoot the challenges you may be facing with your business.
Bosses are all uniquely different but united by our consistent dedication to creating a business that serves the life we want to live. Inside the Being Boss Community, you will find the space to share your wins, brainstorm your challenges, and support each other, so that you can be fulfilled, productive, and totally boss.
When you join the Community you’ll get access to:
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the community platform, to meet bosses, share updates, and ask questions
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Monday Meet-Ups (weekly virtual check-ins with fellow bosses)
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Book Club prompts
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the Classifieds section
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additional resources like podcast playlists and our worksheet library
But the biggest reason you’ll love it is because inside the Community you can:
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find out how other bosses run their business
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prioritize their tasks
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skip the overwhelm
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and go straight to the part where they feel fully in control of their life and their work
And the best part is that membership to the community is free!
If you’re still looking for more episodes, articles and worksheets to help you start a business of your dreams, check out our Starting A Business Resource Guide.
