Y’alllllllll!!! My podcast, Fearless Authenticity with Jeanne Sparrow is officially live and I am so elated! In every episode I get together with business leaders, entrepreneurs, colleagues, authors, friends, and celebrities for honest, revealing, and authentic conversations that explore what shaped their amazing journeys of success and standing out. We dig into how to make real connections in your professional and private life; how you express yourself fearlessly; and how you deal with the challenges and obstacles on the way to achieving your goals. We talk about passions and pitfalls (and everything in between) in my mission to make people’s work and lives better!
I know it’s pretty new…we launched TODAY, but I wanted to share, after months of planning, producing, and recording, that I have learned a ton about podcasting and what goes into it. Ultimately, I’ve discovered that I should’ve done this AGES ago! The medium of podcasting is a dream for me, my curiosity and my tendency to talk for hours on end with any and everybody. I wish I had done this sooner!
I’m having so much fun doing it that I thought I’d share what I’ve learned in the last few months of getting it started. Here goes…
It’s Fun and Fulfilling.
Talking to friends, celebrities, authors, and entrepreneurs about what makes them tick, is incredibly gratifying. We don’t often get the opportunity (or make the time) to talk about the “deep stuff” in our day- to-day lives, so having a podcast is a great way to carve out the time and get real with people.
Research is important.
It’s important to do your homework. Researching guests ahead of time, even if they are close friends of yours, will help you get clear on how you want the conversation to go, so you can guide it and also let it take you down different paths. You could know someone for 20 years and still learn something new about them… whether it’s something from their childhood they don’t often share or something that happened early in their career path that helps you understand them better and the journey that got them to where they are.
There are SO many platforms.
There are about 2M podcasts out there in the universe. Figuring out the best fit when it comes to recording and posting is important. Luckily, the wonderful folks from iHeart Podcast Network were the first to give me a podcast home and I am super grateful for that. (I guess it helps having a show on an iHeart station, too! LOL)
You will probably need help.
There’s booking, confirming, recording, uploading, and lots more to do when producing a podcast. If you’re able to do it all yourself, you’re a BEAST (and I want to know your secret)! But seriously, you’re going to need help. And that’s ok. I think it’s well worth the investment to find a team member or two who can make sure you stay on track and take care of all the admin stuff so that you can focus on the best part – the conversation and content.
Practice makes progress.
Nothing is ever perfect because you can always improve your craft. Rehearsing is the only way you’ll figure out what format flows for you naturally… and that’s critical in developing something that is the best reflection of you. Even if you’re just identifying hiccups in production, it’ll help things to go smoother when your guest is live. And be flexible! Success only happens when you actually start, so go with the best thing you’ve got now and be willing to change the things that aren’t working as you move forward. You will not know all the answers up front, but you will figure them out.
You can find a link to my first Fearless Authenticity with Jeanne Sparrow podcast here, with my very first guest, longtime friend, former colleague and comedy legend, George Wallace. Please subscribe, share, and rate if you get a chance… thank you!