Making a Podcast

Emily Thompson 0:00
The beanbags book is officially available for preorder, and you can buy it wherever books are sold. Let us know that you bought it and we'll send you some goodies. Just go to being boss club slash book for more details.

Kathleen Shannon 0:16
Hello, and welcome to being boss,

Emily Thompson 0:19
a podcast for creative entrepreneurs. I'm Emily Thompson.

Kathleen Shannon 0:23
And I'm Kathleen Shannon.

Emily Thompson 0:29
In today's episode, we're talking about podcasting. Both how much we love the platform and why as well as our new spin off podcast making a business which follows my journey of starting my new business endeavor, Almanac supply company. As always, you can find all the tools, books and links we referenced on the show notes at WWW dot being boss club.

Kathleen Shannon 0:52
Hey, bosses, I want to talk for a second about client estimates. Estimating out a project for a client can go a long way in communicating project scope, like what's included and not included, the cost of the project and the timeline. So you're able to manage expectations and talk about money before you ever get started on that next project. Fresh books cloud accounting estimates is just one of their features that helps you get paid more and faster. You can see the status of your estimate and whether or not your client has seen it. You can get it approved with an easy Accept button. And you can easily turn your estimate into an invoice. Try this feature and more at fresh books cloud accounting, try it for free by going to freshbooks comm slash being boss and enter being boss in the How did you hear about us section?

Emily Thompson 1:44
Alright, Kathleen, I feel like we have some big news.

Kathleen Shannon 1:47
Yeah, we do

Emily Thompson 1:48
more big news as if we need more. But we're not

Kathleen Shannon 1:51
always news,

Emily Thompson 1:52
right. So if you don't already know we have a spin off podcast.

Kathleen Shannon 1:58
Yay. It's called Making a business. And it is following Emily's journey in opening Almanac supply company. And so some of the feedback that we've gotten on being bosses that is geared a lot towards service based businesses. So we're talking designers, developers, coaches. And that's true, because that's where we come from. But Emily has a history and brick and mortar and product. And she's bringing it back. So if you are a maker boss, or you're a retail boss, definitely check out making a business because we are using all the tools and tactics I say we I'm in this with you, Emily as your business bestie. But we're using all the tools and tactics and really the pillars that we use in being boss. So mindset habits and routines. But very say boundaries in tapping your tribe, your support system, and really balancing work and life. So really talking to you about how you're using all of the systems and tools and experience that we've developed through our own businesses and through being boss to make a business.

Emily Thompson 3:05
Right. So and even if you aren't a retailer or maker, I also think it's super relevant just for the purpose of seeing what it's like to start a business to really go through the entire process of getting started. Because one of the things that I uncovered and one of the reasons why I wanted to make a spin off podcast about starting Almanac was because I found myself going through all those nasty little things that all the baby bosses do around mindset and Friday feelings and you know, figuring out my first process is all of those things. So it was it's really the like, beginning story of most people who are trying to start a business from scratch doing something new.

Kathleen Shannon 3:49
Yeah, you're in it right now. And we don't have the gift of hindsight, you know, or like, Oh, I'm super successful. And here's how I did it. It's kind of like, I don't know, if I don't think you would ever say that. Because you do have like a pretty solid mindset. And you're giving it all that. And I don't know if it's gonna work or you know, there's some things out of your control, right. And so we're really digging into that. And we're going to be sharing a sneak peek of episode one at the end of this show. This podcast is a little bit shorter than what being boss typically is. But I want to spend the rest of this podcast episode really talking about podcasting and talking about why we decided to spin off and how we're approaching it a little bit different. So this episode is good for any of you who are interested in starting a podcast or, you know, really thinking about your content of your podcast and how to really structure it to make money and the kind of content that you're sharing. So let's go ahead and dig in.

Emily Thompson 4:54
Yes. So to begin, let's talk about why we first chose to do podcasting and then why it is the were deciding to continue doing podcasting and not just direct current podcasts, but through a different podcast. Because we started this business. Well, we started this podcast as a passion project. But whenever it came to turning it into a business, our goal was multi media conglomerate, we wanted to be able to create content, basically, and to share content in different ways. So we found really great success with the being boss podcast. We also now have a book, The being boss book, it will be out soon, if not already out, by the time you listen to this. But we wanted to stretch our little fingers out into the Podcast Network a little further.

Kathleen Shannon 5:42
Yeah, and that's something that I've always daydreamed about. So like two things is one, I always love the idea of having a podcast network where we could host other bosses under the network of being bossed have their own shows. And this really gets into like an advertising model. And how are we you know, putting our systems and processes in place to make sure that their show is edited up and getting them sponsors, is still kind of like a huge ball of wax that I'm not sure I'm willing to like dig into. Because we got a lot on our hands. But it is like one of those big vision dreams where I'm kind of like, I don't know how this could happen. But I'm gonna kind of let it plant that seed and let it simmer. Those are two different things. But whatever.

Emily Thompson 6:25
You're gonna play the season, let it simmer. I love that.

Kathleen Shannon 6:29
plant that seed and let it simmer on the back burner. Yeah, yeah. But then the other thing that I've always had a big dream about is creating a TV show of some sort. Again, I don't know how this is going to happen, or where it's going to happen. But I've planted the seed. So I thought that here's the deal with being boss, you Emily approached me and said, hey, let's start a podcast. Like we're both blogging, we're both creating content, this could be a new way to create content. And I feel like it could be really big, your hunch was correct. It's become really big. It's become one of my favorite ways of expressing who we are and what we do. I love it. So then you also came to me with this spin off podcast, and you said, Hey, I'm going to create a podcast for my new business Almanac supply company. This could be a being boss podcast, or I could do it on my own. But you know, you're welcome to come along for the ride. However, we want to do it right. So you open up the conversation. And I said, why not, we already have all the systems and processes in place, we just had to figure out a way to not only tie it in as a marketing kind of channel for Almanac, and as a way to show our being boss practices in action, but to think about how we could use it to sell being boss as well. So just to like, we're gonna really get into the behind the scenes of why we made some decisions that we made and how we're making it work for us. Because you guys, we don't just do this for fun, like as fun as it is it means to have some sort of payoff. So my question was, how do we really tie it into being boss? How can we do that?

Emily Thompson 8:04
Right, so I did, I wanted to make a spin off podcast, I thought it would work really great for being boss, and for a couple of reasons. But one of those is being boss taking over the world, let's put more podcasts into the iTunes feed and see how we can shake shit up a bit, for sure. But also being able to have another place to share a different kind of content. And the way we really wanted to tie it into being boss was how could we use it to support the book. In the being boss book, we outline what the pillars are foundations, which are two totally different things I know but bear with me, of being boss are these are the things we've talked about in every episode where whether you guys realize it or not. We lay them out in the being boss book in a very clear and concise way. And we thought the way we could best support being boss being the book at this point with the making a business podcast, was to go through the creation of Almanac using the pillars of being boss. So using mindset habits, and routines, boundaries, all of those things that we know make someone really boss or gives them the tools and tactics for you know, building a life in business that they love, you know, working and living. We wanted to go through the creation of Almanac through that lens. So that really supported the content that we've put together and being boss and really showed it in the context of a completely different business.

Kathleen Shannon 9:32
And so one of the first hard decisions that we had to make was do we go ahead and put this spin off in our existing feed? So there's more content in our existing feed. It's already being pushed to the followers that we already have, or do we create our own show? And so like or a separate show, rather. And so, I mean, I say it was a hard decision. I think that you were pretty clear on it from the beginning, Emily that you wanted it to be a separate show, but I I thought, you know, at one point like, I don't know, maybe we put it into the being boss feeds was already going to those people, it could help our rankings. Who knows? And then even just the other day, I think we were talking about it in slack. And David wrote in, they're like, Wait a second, why are we putting this into the being boss feed. So it really is like a natural question and something that kept coming up. So let's talk about why we decided to create a spin off in its own feed, because there are also fees associated with that, like we're getting a whole new buzzsprout account. And we're having it edited up like in in the same systems, but kind of separating it out. So let's talk about that a little bit.

Emily Thompson 10:36
Yeah, for sure. So a couple of things went into my strategy for creating a whole other podcast. And even though it did stretch our systems a little bit, I think it has more pros than it has cons and some of the biggest pros being putting the putting being boss back in the iTunes feed in a different way we've been playing for a long time as to how it is that those iTunes algorithms work. And we cannot for the life of us to figure it out. Even all these years later, they're still a complete mystery to us. And I've been afraid for a while that our podcast is simply too old, and probably has too much content, for it to be able to be boosted back up into the top of the charts. So one of my main decision makers, was the fact that if we start a new podcast, and push lots of people to it to being boss brand Can we put back in the top of the iTunes charts.

Kathleen Shannon 11:30
It also made me wonder if we might attract new followers. So let's say we get a new and noteworthy and people who are unfamiliar with being boss might find us through making a business. And then again, like I think it's really important to think about not over saturating our existing feed. So the other day, someone very kindly shared a screenshot of being boss that they were listening to it on their Instagram stories. And just one big shout out to any of you who are sharing being boss, with your friends, it really does make a big difference. We see. Thank you. We see it, and we thank you for it. But one thing I noticed in this screenshot is that she had something like 28 episodes of being boss that had not been listened to. It's like the little red circle with 28 in it, or I can't remember how I figured it out. But she had a bunch of and listened to episodes. And I thought, Oh my gosh, we are putting out so much content. And I know that even you know my own husband used to listen to every single episode and then kind of stopped. My sister stopped listening to episodes A long time ago. And I don't expect you know, the people closest to me to necessarily listen to every episode. But if even those people aren't listening every episode, like how can I expect all of you I mean, we're putting out a lot a lot of content. And I think it's quality. And I love it that you can pick and choose which ones resonate with you the most. But I did want to create something really intentional, something that was had a focus amount of time around it and wasn't going to clutter up your feed. Absolutely. And I also see this, you know, content wise being a completely separate podcast, we recorded it differently. It is edited differently. It is completely separate and different from being boss in many, many ways. It's obviously being boss, it's still us. But it is a different podcast.

Emily Thompson 13:16
It's a different kind of production. And so for that reason, too, it just made, it just made more sense for it to be its own podcast altogether. Okay,

Kathleen Shannon 13:26
so I actually want to talk about that a little bit because I get so excited about content and content structure. And so once we realized that we could actually structure this podcast and this is another reason why it's fun to do it together. Right? Like, you could have done it by yourself.

Emily Thompson 13:42
But why not? I didn't want to do it by myself. You had said no, I would have slogged through it. But it was definitely my goal to have you in it too.

Kathleen Shannon 13:49
I mean, we've learned that we love podcasting together. We love writing books together. And we've even joked before that even if we were writing our own books, we would hire each other to like, kind of help us

Emily Thompson 14:01
to be our book birthing.

Kathleen Shannon 14:04
Yeah. Or doula or book. Right? Yes. And so I have loved doing that with you. And so I thought, even whenever I thought, okay, maybe this is just an almanac podcast, and it has nothing to do with being boss, you know, I would still totally help you do it as your business bestie. And we do have this system down and this flow down. But more than anything, I love structuring content with you and figuring out what that's going to look like. So I was really excited about taking this opportunity to think about, okay, if we had to start over again, what would we do differently, and I love the structure of being boss. I love the amount of time that it runs. I love that we have our weekly episodes and we don't have seasons. We've been running every week for a few years. But I wanted to see how we could push it with making a business and now that our editor has more skills behind him and we are listening to more podcasts and seeing what's out there. I wanted to take some of that and think about how that could work. So one of our first decisions was to make it a quite a bit shorter and a little bit more produced.

Emily Thompson 15:06
Yeah, for sure we wanted to well, and part of that decision came from even you know, I'll go back and listen to some of our episodes. And there are always things I wish I had said, like things that were super relevant some of those Mic drop moments that really would he know, hit a point home or whatever it may be. I wanted to be able to go at this podcast, very conversationally, like we're known for doing and is very naturally and fun to be able to, but be able to punctuate it with some really good produce sections where I can like sit down, because we both know we're much more concise when we're writing with some like well structured pieces that really allowed us to say everything we wanted to say, but still give us the feeling and freedom of having some candid conversations.

Kathleen Shannon 15:52
We also decided to run this one in season. So this one is just six episodes. And how are we releasing those three and three, we're not releasing all six at the same

Emily Thompson 16:01
we're not we're going to release three tomorrow after the launch day of this episode. So on the first day, we'll release three and then we'll drip the next three episodes over the next three weeks.

Kathleen Shannon 16:15
And that was purely assistance thing because we are doing a lot, we're still editing up all of our regular being boss episodes. And so I really wanted to experiment with releasing all six at the same time. But you guys like deadlines are deadlines, and we just didn't have enough time. So we're releasing three first and then dripping the other three. Another thing, what else did we think about? Like we? Oh, well, we've tried different things. So one of the things that we tried first was just writing out our different parts. So almost like the way that we wrote the book where I was asking a question, and you were answering it. And that's another thing that we talked about is like kind of the split between us. And this is definitely an Emily centric podcast. We're following your journey. I mean, really, truly. And so I wanted to not be in there as much I almost even could imagine having asked you questions and completely editing those out like really just being a person there for you so that it doesn't feel too terribly scripted. But we actually did try scripting out from start to finish. And then it did we raced it and they were like no your race the whole thing. And we had recorded a couple of episodes. Yeah.

Emily Thompson 17:23
Well, we had recorded the first one. And again with that idea of like how, like, Let's sit down and say everything it is that we want to say because starting a business is legit, guys. I have a lot of things I wanted to make sure I said. But we did the first one it felt super unnatural and weird. And we probably remember leaving that call be like yeah, that was good. Yeah, that was good. And I though I left and I was like that wasn't good. Um, so we went back and I just I like scrubbed all the questions. And then we just went out like a regular conversation. But then going at it with some more narrated parts that really are allow us to plug in the things that we really, really want to say. Or we want you to know from those conversations, because in the event that someone happens upon making a business, having not ever listened to one of our being boss episodes, they're not gonna know who we are, or what we're referencing and all of those things. So really giving it the the conversational quality that Kathleen and I adore and that I feel like we're really great at, but also giving it plenty of background and structure and context so that anyone who's just sort of stumbling upon it can you know get all the relevant pieces of information that they need.

Kathleen Shannon 18:33
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Emily Thompson 19:43
Yeah, so even though we have sponsors, obviously, for this podcast, and you know, even for our events and those sorts of things, one of the first questions that we posed to each other as we were figuring out what this new spin off podcast would be was Are we going to take sponsors and our immediate were response was like, unless it just falls into our lap like fresh books initially dead, then no, we're not going to take sponsors. If a natural fit comes along, and I say like fall into our lap, fresh books, we love you, you can fall into my lap any day, all of those things

Kathleen Shannon 20:16
well, and fresh books even offered to sponsor up a few episodes of this, like they have been the best partners, but we wanted to make sure it was a really good fit. And that is a guiding tenant whenever it comes to who we bring on. So you all whenever we are bringing on sponsors to our shows, we are making sure that they are good fits for you, it really means a lot to us that we're not you know, selling you out, and that we're also giving our sponsors their money's worth. So it really is important to us, we're really intentional about it. And with making a business, if we are attracting a lot of makers and retailers freshbooks isn't a good fit necessarily for that. freshbooks is a wonderful fit for anyone who is offering services and needs to keep track of their income and expenses and clients in that way. Amazing fit. And that's one of the things I love the most about them not turning into a freshbooks. But I love that they're willing to say, Hey, we're not for everybody. I think that that is really solid branding. And it's a business that has a lot of integrity.

Emily Thompson 21:15
Yeah, for sure. So all that to say all that to say, We're not going into this podcast, wanting it to, you know, make a sponsorship money. But like this podcast, we went into it with the same thing with like, Oh, well, let's do this thing for fine. If it ends up happening, and there's a really good fit, we're totally open to it, obviously, because we think that, that connecting you guys with brands that will bring value into your life in businesses is definitely one of the reasons why we're here. But to begin, it was not we didn't think of it as part of a revenue generating part of our business model. Instead, we look at it as another sharing platform, and honestly, also a way for us to promote the book. So maybe not completely, like direct revenue generation, but around about guide perhaps

Kathleen Shannon 22:02
well, and it's also marketing for Almanac supply company. So hopefully it helps bring attention to your business itself in sharing the journey and that people are going to go shop at Almanac that's incredibly important to you. And that's actually how we started being boss was thinking about it as a really top of the funnel thing that we could do to share our gifts of knowledge to connect with our tribe, to really establish our own personal brands, so that people would hire us in our individual businesses. So this journey is really focused around Almanac supply company, and one of the, you know, hard conversations that we had. And it's not even really that hard, because I almost think of us whenever it comes to our business partnership almost as siblings, like it's all going to even out in the end. And if we're bringing more attention to Almanac, that doesn't mean that it's taking away from braid creative or whatever that means. But we are thinking about like, Okay, how do we even things out a little bit. So we definitely have like Almanac in here. And we've got the book in here and maybe a little bit of cod care. But we're thinking about like, how does this? How does this create like a content, you know, lead generation brand, that helps just people become aware of who we are and what we do. And so I remember at one point, I was like, okay, but can we do like a very braid centric episode on being boss, like kind of to even out a little bit, and we have my sister on from time to time. But these are the kinds of things that you can think about. And these are ways that you can monetize, or even I talk a lot about being a farmer, not a hunter. And I think that podcasting is really great for, quote, unquote, farming, it's a really great way to share your expertise and talk about what you do, and you might not get a client tomorrow out of it. But you better believe that it's going to it's going to happen, at some point, the energy that you put put into it, you are going to harvest down the road.

Emily Thompson 23:53
Yeah, for sure. So I think it's important to go at these creative projects. You know, obviously, as a business owner, revenue is important. But whenever it comes to creative projects, especially sharing content, I think, I think content is one of the hardest things to monetize. But I think a lot of people go into blogging, thinking monetization, or podcasting, the monetization. But you should be creating content for something else, until you've gotten to a place where people want to help you monetize your content. It's not something that you should lead with for sure. And that's, that's one of the tactics that we've taken with creating this spin off podcast.

Kathleen Shannon 24:32
But definitely think about how you're going to be compensated. And this is something I asked all creatives because a lot of us can't charge fully what we're worth from the get go so think about how you are being compensated. Is it with creative control and expression? Is it with investing in your own brand and that's kind of what this is. And oh, I want to talk about branding a little bit because that was a fun design challenge whenever it comes to this podcast. So I did not do the branding for almanacs supply company because As you're bootstrapping this on a budget,

Emily Thompson 25:02
yeah, and you were also moving like I couldn't even I was about it. The whole other thing that we talked about in the podcast in the in the spin off podcast, but yes, Kathleen didn't do it because she was unavailable.

Kathleen Shannon 25:15
But Emily did a great job with the branding. But where I did come in with design is really thinking about how to tie the beam boss brand in with the almanac brand. And this is something I love even doing with my clients over at braid. I love looking at all the different aspects of what they have going on. Because oftentimes, they are multi passionate entrepreneurs who really need a way to weave their story together not only in their messaging, but in the look and feel. And so being able to do that with being Boston Almanac was a lot of fun. So I was thinking about, okay, how do we bring like our Lisa Frank rainbow vibe that we've created with being boss into Almanac which is a lot darker. So in Almanac in that brand, you're using a lot more black and white, you're also using a lot of nature elements in there, and crystals and, and plants. And so really looking at what you've created, I literally pulled up your Instagram. And then I looked at I know that being boss brand in and out and really thought okay, how do I blend these two? In a way that really makes sense? And so it was really interesting thinking about even like, what will our avatar look like? What will our Instagram Stories look like, but also taking some of the systems and processes that we've created for being boss whenever it comes to marketing that show? And making sure because you guys, those Instagram graphics and stories, they're not designing themselves, like we are doing that in batches. And so how do we do that with this podcast in a way that feels like almanaque, but also feels like being boss. And these were decisions that touched every single thing that we did from picking out the music, which was freaking hard, the hardest part of the process? For sure. To even thinking about, you know, whenever you talked about dominating the iTunes feed, and like bringing something else in there. How do we bring in that brand recognition from being boss, which has done really well in iTunes, with a whole new show that has zero metrics and social proof behind it other than the reputation of our umbrella brand being boss?

Emily Thompson 27:21
Yeah, I mean, it's, as I expected it to be. And as it's definitely proven to be, it's been a fun challenge, like all the way around whether it was like adjusting our systems or creating new branding for it or figuring out the content. But I also think like it's an expression of what it is that we've wanted to create with this brand where we didn't want like once we realize that being boss is going to be more than just a podcast, once it was going to be more than just a passion project podcast, we had bigger goals for what we wanted to grow. And we've done a lot of things over the past, you know, three, three and a half years almost now. But this will be I guess, the first thing that we've created in AI, it's not the first thing we've created, because we definitely have, it feels different. It feels different to create this thing under the brand. It's it's expanding in a different way, even though it's expanding it in the same way. And a lot of ways. It was a fun challenge to pull everything together that we currently no and tweak it all just enough to create an expanded portion of what it is that we're doing.

Kathleen Shannon 28:25
You know, one of the things that we talk about whenever it comes to hard conversations and partnering up is looking at money and how we're dividing that and operating agreements. And so even the conversation of is this podcast, its whole new business, does it need a whole new LLC? And maybe one day it will? Who knows, because I never imagined that being boss would but through the initial conversation, it's like, okay, everything's going through being boss. And the good thing about that is that we can really pull on our resources there. And in some ways is because we have such systems set up there. It's a lot cheaper, as far as time and energy than if we had to do a whole separate podcast.

Emily Thompson 29:03
Yeah, yeah. And for me to another reason why I wanted to create this. And again, this goes you know, for anyone's business who's wanting to do something new in the realm that you're already doing it is that we wanted to create a we've always talked about having a podcast network of like having and producing other shows. And this was a way for us to take what we've already built and stretch it just a little bit to see if it would work.

Kathleen Shannon 29:28
And yeah, this is like ultimate dipping your toes into something and taking the next smallest steps and what better way to do it than to do it ourselves so that we're not like stringing another boss through the processes that certainly has hiccups. Yeah,

Emily Thompson 29:41
yeah. And I definitely believe that we are going to be watching the results of this so carefully to see if it is something that we can replicate for another boss or for a different subject or any of those things because Kathleen and I will always have plenty of things up our sleeves, but this is his dad. Definitely is just typing or dipping. I can't speak anymore guys, this is dipping our toes in to see what comes of trying something new.

Kathleen Shannon 30:09
I want to touch on that point of replication because I think that that is a huge sign of being boss, whenever you can replicate your process, you are an expert. And I certainly feel like we can claim that spot of being experts at podcasting. So replicating this in a lot of ways, just like you replicating a lot of your processes in Almanac and taking a lot of what you've learned into this new business to do it. Without less. I don't know, heart ache, or all the things that go into starting a new business and not just heartache. But like even just trying to figure it out, right, you're able to replicate what you've already done, bring your experience to new business, so it can run a lot faster and a lot smoother. And the same with a spin off podcast, we are replicating what we have done with our podcast as far as our systems and routines, and all of that behind the scenes and even our experience and chemistry with each other. In hosting a show together, it is so easy for us. I think at this point, we practically can read each other's minds. And our cues have become so subtle and nuanced, we can pick up where the other person is left off. bringing that to this podcast, I can see you know what you're saying here where it feels a little bit different. But it's also a lot easier than if we were starting over from scratch. So for our bosses listening, I want you to think about replicating as well and what that looks like for you and really taking if you do want to try something new, taking the experience that you've cultivated and leveraging that into the new platform. So even with our experience in blogging, we really thought about that whenever it comes to building structure in our podcast, and then taking our structure and our podcast and taking that to structuring out and writing a book. And really all of this stuff can build upon each other so that you can do more with less time and time again.

Emily Thompson 31:59
Absolutely, absolutely. And so that's been that's been one of the driving forces around us creating this and launching it and having an available for you now. It's our our effort of taking what we've created, creating something new targeting a new and different audience, but also the same audience and sharing content and a new way to stretch our own muscles and to just use the tools that we've already collected in our tool belt to add more to it.

Kathleen Shannon 32:27
Okay, before we share a sneak peek of the episode, I just want to talk a little bit about podcasting itself. What do you think about podcasting in general, as a medium? I mean, a lot has evolved and changed over three years for us what, what are some big things that you've learned? And what kind of tips would you give to someone who's wanting to start a podcast?

Emily Thompson 32:47
I love podcasting. I don't love when I'm sick. And it makes my voice sound weird. But I do love podcasting. I love podcasting for a couple of reasons. And the biggest one, and the one that I did not anticipate was the connection that it actually initiated between us and a listener, I'm always blown away by how much more a listener fills from listening to a podcast than they do from reading a blog post or, you know, looking at my social media or whatever it is it hits home, what it is that we're saying hits home, so much harder, because they are hearing us say it with our voices, and with with our volume, and with our intonation and all of those things. It all goes into, I think a more accurate sharing of the content that we're here to share. And for that reason, I don't think that podcasting is going anywhere anytime soon. I definitely think that you and I were super lucky and that we we were able to jump into it at a very early phase, which is awesome. But I don't think it's too late. I think I think podcasting is a platform that is that is getting going I don't think it's just getting going. I think it's probably just getting going maybe like a year or two ago. But I do think that that there's still plenty of room. There are lots of people listening to them. And it's such an effective way of sharing content. I think if anyone's interested, you still have plenty of time to do it.

Kathleen Shannon 34:15
Yeah, my biggest advice for anyone wanting to start a pet podcast is first do it, I think that you should do it. And you can do it for not a whole lot of money. Like you can start pretty cheaply, especially if you're resourceful. And we actually have podcasts like a boss. So we actually created a course with Paul Jarvis and Jason Zook in creating podcasts. So feel free to check that out. And it's a really great resource if you're wanting to start a podcast, but whenever it comes to podcasting, the thing that I think about most and I think that any new podcaster should think about most is the content. So think about sharing what you know, the more you can blend your experience and your expertise. Or even if you feel like you can't claim an expertise, think about what it is that you want to be known for and your passion. Cash should help you explore and dive deeper into that content. I know, being boss certainly has for us like it has helped us become much better at marketing, and speaking and even writing our book like that experience of podcasting has opened so many doors for us and has allowed us to develop so many skills. So one thing that you might literally do is to just start writing down a list of topics of all the things that you would want to talk about, and really reflect on those and say, Is this what I want to be known for? What do I know about this subject? Where have I experienced this? Who could I bring in to talk about this? And then this is even beyond thinking about all the structure stuff, which will help you set up a podcast, but really just thinking about that and what you can actually accomplish. But then, like you said, Emily, I think that community aspect is going into it knowing that you are going to be in it with your listeners. And that is certainly my very favorite part is that we've been able to take this podcast, and I think we see it most on our New Orleans vacations. Whenever we see people show up there. And we're like, oh, yeah, people are listening. And they've become our friends through the process. It doesn't feel one sided is what I'm trying to say.

Emily Thompson 36:12
No, definitely not. The connection definitely happens both ways. For sure. Yeah, I love podcasting. I love this platform, I'm so glad that we're going to stretch into it a little bit further. And I hope very much so that it proves that being boss has the capacity to perhaps stretch into it even more.

Kathleen Shannon 36:34
And I love that even with making a business or spin off podcast that we're kind of niching in a little bit. And I think that if there is a trend that I'm really seeing in podcasting that I would recommend to someone is to really think about what your niche could be like how you could really focus your content and, and, and really have something to say there,

Emily Thompson 36:54
right and it but I also want to say for anyone who is confused as to what that could be for yourself to start podcasting, if anything has gotten Kathleen and I super clear on what our message is, and what it is that we're here to share and who it's for. It's because we've spent three years talking about it. Because we started talking, and that we were able to find that clarity, it didn't necessarily happen the other way.

Kathleen Shannon 37:20
Okay, and now it's time to share making a business. Here's a sneak peek after you listen to it, you know, tomorrow, be sure to go and subscribe to the rest of the episodes.

Emily Thompson 37:31
Enjoy.

Kathleen Shannon 37:45
What's up, Emily?

Emily Thompson 37:46
I've been busy.

Kathleen Shannon 37:48
Yeah. So what have you been doing? And what are we doing here?

Emily Thompson 37:52
Well, I started new business, as you know, but maybe not everyone else knows.

Kathleen Shannon 37:59
I've just I kind of can't believe it. I can't believe you have another business.

Emily Thompson 38:03
Well, girls got to do what a girl's got to do. So I have I'm sorry, new business. It's called Almanac supply company. And we're going to be chatting about it extensively over the next couple of hours.

Kathleen Shannon 38:19
So let's do it.

Emily Thompson 38:25
All right, dear listener. There you have it, this entrepreneur is taking another leap. In case you're not already familiar. I'm Emily, co host of the being boss podcast, a podcast for creative entrepreneurs, where I've been gabbing about doing business as a creative with my friend and co host Kathleen Shannon, for over three years and at the point of recording this over 300 episodes in minisodes with almost 5 million downloads. I've been my own boss for over a decade with my entrepreneurial journey starting when I was just 18 when I was the owner operator of a tanning salon, I dabbled in a few other businesses along the way, all of which ultimately led to the creation of my web design and strategy studio, Andy shop biography where I've spent almost a decade not only designing and developing websites for other creatives like myself, but also helping them start and grow their businesses both online and in their local community. This work has afforded me so many opportunities both in life and work from it being able to work when and how I want to being able to choose where I live. That insight into what it's like to live and work as a creative entrepreneur has lended itself to the being boss podcast, and has even given Kathleen and I the authority to write a book on the subject of living and working as creative entrepreneurs. It's called being boss. Take control of your work and live life on your own. pounds, which is sold everywhere you buy books, I've led a pretty boss journey. But to tell you the truth, I've felt for a long time that something is missing. I've been getting more and more clear as to what could fill that hole for a little while now. And to practice what I preach, I recognize that it's time for me to take control. And so I created Almanac supply company.

Kathleen Shannon 40:27
When Emily, let me know that she was starting a new business, I was excited about it. But I have to admit, I was also a little scared for her. Emily has been talking about starting a maker and retail business for years. And I knew that this endeavor would be amazing, because we're not the same bosses we were when she started talking about it five years ago. But we're also already very busy business women. I also know that we've certainly come a long way since we were baby bosses ourselves. And I knew she would embark on this journey using our own tools and tactics that we've honed at being boss to make it happen. From cultivating courage and overcoming frati feelings to finding the time and making sure she maintains a mindful balance between life and work. Alright, so I'm really excited about capturing the journey of Almanac with you and really getting to ask you some questions because honestly, I feel like this is so different from anything I've ever done. And I know that we have a lot of bosses listening to the being boss podcast, who are maker bosses who want to hear more about that. And that's kind of what you're doing, right. It's a maker and retail business. And I know that you've dabbled in that. But tell me more about venturing back into what that is. And more about, like us capturing the journey as we go. Yeah.

Emily Thompson 41:51
So the whole thing is, is I want to get back into product business. I've I started in product, I guess my first like business experience, like even as a worker was in product. And then with my first business, it was service and product. With my first like maker business was products. Like I feel like we're known for talking service businesses. But what most people probably don't know is I probably have as much experience in product as I do service. So all max supply company is me diving back into product and it's sort of maker meets meets retail business online. But I also want to do a whole lot offline. So I feel like we're going to be touching on a whole lot of things that we don't talk about a whole lot in the being boss podcast. So giving it some space to really explore it and capture the journey as we go. Okay, so

Kathleen Shannon 42:47
you know, there's this thing that happens whenever you're a creative entrepreneur, and you're telling your friends and family like I'm gonna do this thing. And then your friends and family are like, I don't know, are you sure? I'm kind of having that, like, are you sure moments and, and I think it's a little bit twofold. Like one I'm a little scared for you. Because this is new territory. And being a maker boss is hard work, especially, I think, you know, whenever it comes to business model, but even mindset and the amount of time that you have and your boundaries. So that's the first thing, but then I'm also scared for you like almost on this. Okay, so I think that when we start our businesses, like we had enough freshness in the whole world as people like in our careers that we didn't know what we didn't know. And that naivete like kind of helped us launch without knowing what we were getting into. But you didn't know what you're getting into. And you're still diving in headfirst. And that makes me a little scared to have if I'm being totally honest, like, aren't we kind of too old for this?

Emily Thompson 43:56
You're never too old for it. But don't I know it like all the things were? Well, first of all, I do want to say that I did tell whenever I told my mom that I was doing something new. She was so excited. And so right. And I felt like because in that moment, I was like, Oh my god, I'm about to tell her I'm gonna start a new business. I can't like what is she going to say? And she bought into it immediately and loved it. And I was like, I feel like I've made it to a place in my life, where people no longer worry so much about whether or not I can do something which was a moment of sheer and utter pride that I will hold with me forever for sure. But all that to say, I've had plenty of other people in my life be like Emily, really? And yes, really. And we'll be talking about this a whole lot in a moment I'm sure about sort of the fear that went into diving into something and for me this time, it's not it's there's no naive at at all. Like I absolutely know everything that I'm getting myself into and I'm just still decide to do it, I know that the business model is going to be different, I know that the processes are going to be different. I know that the profit margins on what I sell is going to be massively different. But I still want to do it.

Kathleen Shannon 45:12
Well, I trust that if anyone can make it do it is you for sure. And I also trust that you are self reliant enough and resilient enough to handle any bumps and challenges that come up along the way. And as your business bestie. I will be here to celebrate victories and successes with you along the way as well. So I'm really excited to dive in. And, you know, as our bosses know, we're like in it with you all. And I'm excited to help share your journey with them as we go in real time.

Emily Thompson 45:48
All right, excuse me, while I pause this here and let you in on the exciting news. The being boss book is about to hit the shelves of a bookstore near you, Kathleen and I have taken years of conversations between ourselves and those we've had with experts and industry leaders here on the being boss podcast, and have distilled them down into what we've found, makes you boss into a book that you can read, hold in your hands and share with a friend.

Kathleen Shannon 46:14
And we'd be lying if we didn't admit that we have a big dream with this book. We wanted to be a best seller. We want every creative in the world to cultivate the confidence it takes to take control of the work and make money doing what they love so they can live life on their own terms. That's what our book is here to do. And we need your help to make it happen.

Emily Thompson 46:33
If you want to dive into the core of what it means to be boss and support us while you do it. It's time for you to preorder the book. And once you do that, let us know you bought it and we'll send you some goodies. Just go to Bing boss club slash book for links to purchase and for more information on how to claim your swag that's being boss clubs slash book. Now let's get back at it.

Kathleen Shannon 46:58
Hey bosses, I want to tell you about the CEO day kit. The CEO day kit is 12 months of focus planning for your business in just one day. So Emily and I have packaged up the exact tools that we've been consistently using for years that have helped us grow from baby bosses to the CEOs of our own businesses. gain clarity find focus, get momentum, prioritize your time, make better decisions and become more self reliant with the CEO day kit. Go to courses that being boss club to learn more and see if it's a fit for you and your business. We'd like to give a shout out to our partner fresh books cloud accounting you can try it for free for 30 days no credit card needed and cancel anytime. Just go to freshbooks comm slash being boss and enter being boss in the How did you hear about us section. Special thanks to our sponsor 2020 who is offering our being boss listeners of five photo free trial to start yours right now go to 20 twenty.com slash being boss. That's the word 20 then to zero.com slash being boss to get five free photos. Thank you for listening to being boss Find Articles show notes and downloads at WWW dot being boss club. Thank you so much to our team and sponsors who make being boss possible our sound engineer and web developer Corey winter. Our editorial director and content manager Caitlin brain our community manager and social media director Sharon lukey and are being countered David Austin, with support from braid creative and indicia biography,

Emily Thompson 48:34
do the work. Be boss and we'll see you next week.