I had absolutely no business recording this week’s podcast episode.

While in Boise for Craft + Commerce, I had every intention of availing myself of the state of the art Kit Studios*, which are what tipped the scales in favor of Kit when I was deciding which platform would deliver the newsletter you're now reading.

I’d booked “Champagne Problems,” one of their four beautifully appointed options for recording in Boise (like my youngest daughter, Kit Studios are evidently Swifties) and the plan was to tape an episode with one of the many content-creator powerhouses in attendance at C+C.

That plan did not come to fruition. I did not secure an interview, but there I was, about 15 minutes before my scheduled time, with no Plan B in hand. 🎶 it’s me ( and my time mgmt issues)/hi/I’m the problem, it’s me 🎶

I didn’t want to just ghost the lovely studio staff ready to tend to my every podcast-recording-session need (s/o Lexi and Drew at Kit; you’re tops!).

So I was faced with a choice:

I could head back to my hotel room and begin the Sisyphean task of chipping away at my frankly absurd unread inbox count.

Or...

I could shrug off my hesitations and feelings of unworthiness of such slick studios and do what I always tell my mic-shy clients to do: just go for it.

Reader, I did not want to go for it. At all.

I had no perfect topic perfectly planned in advance.

The Champagne Problems studio, with its tasteful, earth-toned sofa, minimalist coffee table, maximalist lighting, and aesthetically curated plants, clearly wasn’t intended for a solitary podcaster (to my eyes, at least).

Also: I had just eaten a salad and was reasonably concerned there was kale in my teeth. Not a thing anyone should have to see in screamingly vivid 4K video.

But then a voice emerged. It was my own voice echoing in my brain:

Stop centering yourself in this decision. Remember who this podcast is for.

When we make it all about ourselves, our excuses sound like...

“I need more time." (There's no such thing as "more time.)

“I don’t have the right microphone.” (Hit reply and I’ll share my Sounds Great Podcast Setup Recs–yw in advance.)

“I have to find the perfect topic/idea/title.” (Another thing that doesn't exist.)

…we make it so easy to stay stuck.

I’ve always said the best interviewers and podcasters are the ones who deftly bob and weave between penetrating wit and subtle invisibility (looking at you, Terry Gross).

And that’s because they’re not obsessing over how they will come across to their audience. Instead, they’re thinking about...

• What does the audience need from me?
• How can I be of service to that?

Your audience doesn’t need polish.

They need your presence, your curiosity, your POV.
​
If you find yourself in that spiraly spot of wanting to make a podcast but finding all the reasons not to, try on this mindset instead:

1. De-center yourself in your podcast story, and think about who you most want to reach.
2. DON'T start from scratch: it's ok to tiptoe into podcasting by drawing from your own, existing material (newsletters and LinkedIn posts are excellent first episode starting points).
3. DO start, period. Stop overthinking, grab your phone, pull up the voice memo app, and record one of the aforementioned.
4. Send it to me for my thoughts (really: courtney@soundsgreatstrategy.com).
5. For real. Do it.

As someone who's been doing this in various capacities for (ugh) more than two decades, believe me when I tell you: you will never have enough time, clarity, or confidence to do it perfectly.

Confidence isn't the cost of entry for podcasting, but a reimbursement for the sessions we logged when we had all the reasons in the world not to do it...but did it, anyway.

*Hot tip for NYC-area readers: Kit Studios New York will be opening later this month. Holler if you'd like to plan a field trip there...

Are you stuck at "who"?

1. Think about the people you’d most love to work with, collaborate with, or serve. What questions do they ask? What stories do they need? What perspective could only come from you?

2. Scour your archival work. What resonated most? Blog posts, newsletters, webinars, workshops, client conversations, voice notes to friends, that semi-viral Instagram post you didn’t see coming. There’s probably a podcast episode hiding in there.

3. Record something. Anything. It’s the only way to find out if that idea in your head (or on your screen) also sounds great when it is emanating from your vocal cords.

And yes, share it with me. You know where to find me (hint: I’m right here in your inbox).

WORKS IN PROGRESS

An earlier flight home from Boise so I can accompany my kiddo to her Musical Theatre Company year-end banquet before jetting off again (this time to San Antonio (let's go Knicks?) for the Hospitality Creator Summit). Making sense of my hasty, hazy, post-Craft + Commerce Notes app hieroglyphics about the many, many lovely new connections I made. ISO recommendations for waterproof mascara for my daughter’s middle-school graduation in a few days. Realizing it’s also Father’s Day next weekend, fahhhhhhh. Thinking about doing more than thinking about at-home resistance-band workouts. Laying the groundwork for my eventual building-in-public community for podcasters who don’t want to grow it alone…