Kristy: [00:00:00] Hello boss and welcome back to the Run Your Business Like a Boss podcast. Today we celebrate 100 episodes on the show. Oh my goodness me, I cannot quite believe that we are here because it doesn't feel like that long ago that I was to-ing and fro-ing of whether or not I should launch my podcast. I had deprioritised the goal of goal list for a good year before I actually took that brave first step to launch my show. Now, there was a couple of reasons for why I kept deprioritising launching a podcast. The first one was just that little bit of fear and uncertainty of putting myself out there in such a vulnerable way. And the second thing is I just didn't know how or what steps to take to launch my podcast. So in this conversation, I'm joined by a special host. That's right. I'm in the hot seat today. And Bec Buchanan is actually driving this [00:01:00] conversation, and Bec is perfectly qualified to be our host today because she herself has also grown a successful podcast in the 14 or so months. So in this conversation we're talking about what it takes to grow a podcast and how it impacts your business. And the reason for this is because I know that so many of you are thinking about starting your own podcast for your business. So if you are curious to see what it's taken to start and grow my podcast, then I know you're going to love this conversation. Are you ready? Let's go. [00:02:00] Hello Bec. Welcome back to the Run Your Business Like A Boss Podcast.

Bec: Thank you so much, Kristy. It is good to be back.

Kristy: I've never had a repeat guest on the show. So you are the very first guest on the podcast, and you're the first repeat guest, so this is kind of exciting.

Bec: It's an honour and yeah, it feels like home. I was so nervous the first time I came on your podcast, so I feel like a different woman today. so it's good to be back and with no notes, I can just ad lib now.

Kristy: This is what happens when you, you become a podcaster yourself, that you have so much more confidence in being in the space and just being present. So I love that. Yeah, definitely. A lot has changed since we first got together, and today's conversation is to celebrate 100 episodes of the Run Your Business Like A Boss [00:03:00] podcast, and I could think of no better person than to have you come on the show to sit in my chair and to facilitate this conversation. So I'm super excited to be trying something different.

Bec: Thank you so much. It's such an honour. So happy podcast birthday for a hundred episodes. Did you. You probably did. You're, you're so cool, calm and collected, but were you expecting to make it this far or was it, just, you know, do a couple of episodes and see how you feel and see how you go?

Kristy: Look, I honestly think that with anything that you start, you really don't know where it's going to take you. You don't know whether it's something that's going to have longevity or whether it's something that's going to crash and burn . Thankfully it wasn't the latter. If I'm honest, I think I imagined it to be still running a hundred episodes later. But at the same time, you never really know until you get in and do the thing.

Bec: Well, we're so lucky that you kept going. You have helped so many of us, as you will continue to do. It's an amazing podcast. Can you please tell us what [00:04:00] does it take to produce a weekly show like the Run Your Business Like A Boss podcast?

Kristy: Yeah, so I think in the beginning it took a lot more than what it takes now, and I think that you, I'd love to hear your perspective on this too Bec cuz you've got your own show. But in the beginning it is, you are going through that learning curve and you're having to put so much time on the ground in figuring out what the episodes look like and structuring each of the episodes. And now today, just over 18 months down the track, I don't actually prescript my episodes. I have a structure in terms of I know what I wanna cover. I have key points that I talk to, but I don't script it out like I did in the beginning. So it definitely takes a lot less time these days than what it did in the early days.

So when I first got started, I would say that I was maybe spending around 10 hours a week on the show just trying to get that content right, which is a lot, I'm not gonna lie. So I was trying to get the content right, doing all my research. Getting everything [00:05:00] pre-scripted and then recording. And then in the beginning I was re-recording myself and doing a little first cut of edits and all the things because I was trying to figure out my voice.

I was trying to figure it all out. Whereas now I'd say it's just a few hours a week of just pre-planning in terms of understanding what I'm going to do and then recording the episode. And now that we've moved to video, I know you have as well, Bec, there is an element of you have to show up looking like you're ready for camera as something that you're gonna put on on social. So there's that extra little piece that I do these days that I didn't do in the beginning.

Bec: Yeah, I've, you are my aspiration actually, because you've been telling me for a while that you don't script anymore and you can just free flow it. I'm not there yet, so you are always ahead of me. So I hope to be there one day too. You know, you say a few hours a week. That's still quite a commitment. I, if it was easy, everyone would do it, I think. And , um, for a lot of people a few hours a week, it is a commitment they're not ready to take. So go you, I think you downplay how amazing you are behind the scenes with committing to this and producing [00:06:00] amazing content. So, on that, were you ever fearful of creating high valuable content that you're giving away essentially for free via the podcast? Did you think it, Mike cannibalise your paid business or not? What's your take on that?

Kristy: I get this a lot actually. A lot of people wonder how much is enough and what to put out. I don't worry about it if I'm honest, because I know that there will be people who, well, all my clients are podcast listeners, so they are either existing clients and listen to the podcast and are compliments or work that we do or. A lot of my new clients are now coming through the podcast as well, so the way I see it is that I'm still able to impact and support people that may not be ready to work with me at that point in time. And in some ways, they're actually further along in their journey when they start working with me versus when they were...what they would've been if had they not have been listening to the, to the podcast. So there's a level of awareness that comes through consuming my [00:07:00] content, because that's a lot of what I do is building awareness, creating that understanding of what their pain points might be and then really those steps to take to be able to solve them.

But what happens when I work with my clients, and you might have a bit of a perspective on this, is that when you work with me, I hold space for you. So it's not just guiding you into where we go into that next step. But it's actually having that person that you can speak about your business, that you can unpack all of the things.

And I heard this described on someone else's podcast recently on Pat Flynn's podcast. He had a guest, the lady's name escaped me, but from Australian Birth Stories. And she said that, you know, having a coach is like having a business therapist. And so that's not something you'll ever get in a podcast, but what I can create is a resource to be able to help a wide number of people with challenges that are universal with ideas on where to start to resolve those challenges, but it's never going to fully impact on my business.[00:08:00]

Bec: I would agree with that. I also feel that creating the free content from a business owner's perspective, if I think of my shoes, it's quite cathartic in a way. I, I really enjoy to give free things away. I feel like that's, I don't know if honourable is the right word to do, but I feel like I'm serving a really generous way and it also keeps me on technical toes, I guess, to make sure I know my stuff enough to go out to the world. So, I think it's enjoyable in that regard and I too don't feel it hurts my business, but I guess initially it is a bit scary, giving things away for free. But I certainly think your podcast compliments the coaching you give me. It certainly does not replace any of it. And maybe we can delve into that a bit later.

Kristy: Yeah, and look, I think the thing is, is that, we're all here for impact. We're all here to help others. And so if you can provide detailed, or more in depth content to be able to genuinely support other people on their journey, then that's, [00:09:00] that's a good thing. To your point, Bec.

Bec: And I think if someone's looking for a coach, hearing your stories and your approach actually really helps to, for someone to hone in on whether you are the right coach for them. I know I've listened to podcasts and I love them, but sometimes the track that the podcaster has gone on makes me realize, oh no, you are not appropriate for my needs in, in how I need to be coached. So I think it could serve in that way for those people thinking about getting a coach. All right. So tell me how has the podcast specifically or positively impacted your business, your paid business?

Kristy: Yeah. Well, I think I sort of touched on it a little bit before in the sense that I think, people who come to work with me, they really know what they're looking to get outta their coaching experience, and they're really ready to get that detailed support to be able to take action. It's so hard doing business on your own. It really is like, it's so easy to get caught in your own head, and so I think that having the free [00:10:00] resource of being able to start to do the work is most definitely helpful. But then it also, as you say, helps people to know that I'm the right person to support them. And I think also it has really helped me from really allowing me to express my views in a way that only I can, and I have a very specific way of speaking, and I think that that has only enriched my own thought leadership and every week, I mean, you would know, even though I'm not scripting my content, I'm still having to think about what it is that I'm putting out there.

I'm still having to think about, well, what is my perspective on that? And am I prepared to put that out into the world and develop my skills in a training sense or in a content sense. So I think from that perspective, it's really helped my own personal brand to be able to stand out amongst the lots of other people that do what I do. And then that also has gone on to really [00:11:00] attract the right, not the right client, but the client that's gonna want what I have to offer, to your point, Bec. I work with a specific type of client. Obviously clients who are in the messy middle who are experiencing a certain part of their business. That's the type of people that come to work with me because they have been listening to the podcast for a while. They know that I can solve their problem and therefore they go on to inquire and I feel like in some ways it has created an opportunity for me to be able to curate the people that I work with as well.

Bec: I think I've never asked you this, but some business owners that I've heard on podcasts or through the airwaves that they change coaches every six months or twelve months to get the benefits of a new coach. You've been coaching me for or over a year. Well, I dunno exactly, but a long time. I cannot imagine, not to diss changing coaches, but I feel like our relationship is so deep now through having that consistency. I've cried to you many many times about my business and and beyond that I feel [00:12:00] there's, such a deep, incredible relationship that you have with a coach or a business therapist, as you say. So, and then I use the podcast as well. So you're really serving me in so many ways and, I digress probably, but I'm just so grateful , um, for you and all that you do through the podcast and through our conversations and coaching offline as well.

Kristy: It's interesting. I mean look, I think everybody gets different things outta coaching and you and I, whilst we've been working in intensively together, has it been, I think it's been two years intensively. It's been two years, and then we dipped in and out of working together before that as well. So, you know, we have had a long standing relationship and I love that about our relationship working together. And I love being able to support you on such a deep level. I think some people just feel like they need different things from different coaches and and so I think that it's not a one size fits all.

And that's the great thing about coaching is some people might prefer to be able to get that one thing from that particular coach and that other thing from that particular coach, because [00:13:00] I'm not gonna sit here and say, I do all the things for all the people because I just don't. But, I think there is a lot of value in having that long-standing relationship.

And I, like you, love our relationship. I love being able to support you and I understand your business deeply. Yeah, there's a level of trust that comes with working with a coach. It can be for some people, a very vulnerable space.

Bec: So I know the value of having a coach in my business. Can you define for someone thinking about if it's going to be useful for them or not, how hiring a coach prevents you from getting stuck and keeps you moving forward and on track in business?

Kristy: I think the thing is, is that, well, what I see a lot with my clients, because they are, in the messy middle stage of business, they've got their client work to do. They've got all the things that they're trying to navigate on the backend of their business. It's really easy to have all of the ideas, but not really know how to put them into place, when to roll things out, what is [00:14:00] the right thing to roll out? Am I rolling that thing out because I feel is expected of me? Because that's what others in my industry are doing. Or is it something that I genuinely wanna do? I wanna increase my prices, but I don't know how to do that. There's so much second guessing that happens when you are running your business.

And the value, in my opinion, certainly in the type of coaching that I do, is that we don't get stuck on ideas. We start to understand how does that idea fit into the vision of the business and also the vision of your life. And then how do you actually take action on that goal? What are the different steps that need to take? Whereas I think that you can get stuck in the ideas phase, and then you can get stuck in this self-doubt. And then how do you actually roll that out? So, There's so many different components, whereas having a coach just allows you to keep moving, whereas when you're on your own, it's really easy to quiet quit your goals. It's really easy to just not know what to do next and freeze.[00:15:00]

Bec: Yeah. And I think getting stuck in the busy work, whatever that is for you, is something that we can all do. Whereas with you, I meet with you fortnightly. Sometimes we have things to talk about. Other times I'm like, I don't know what we need to talk about. Let's just have a chat. And often those chats are the ones that are like, whoa, epiphany. This is groundbreaking just like last week. But literally starting my podcast, I owe it to you. Doing all my online courses, I owe them to you in terms of your encouragement, but also just cutting through the procrastination and the excuses. And you never tell me to do something. You're always just massaging ideas that I have and then giving me the confidence to keep going.

And when you're meeting with someone regularly, it's not, you're not an accountability coach in any way, but it's like I do yeah, I do think about what am I gonna tell Kristy next time I meet with her? I wanna keep moving this forward, so I'm gonna do it. Even though your role isn't accountability, I guess it's just the flow that happens from checking in with someone regularly. So,[00:16:00] I reckon you've tripled my business in terms of the ideas and the progression that you've kept inspiring me to keep going along the way. Socoaching for the win, I say.

Kristy: I think you're, it's such a good point though that you raise, is that my job is not to tell you what to do, but my job is to listen and I can hear the cues in you. I know where you're... You've got an idea and sometimes you don't... and this is human nature. We don't wanna own it because it can feel frightening or it can feel, it can feel like something that may just be like, who am I? I'm not saying about you specifically Bec, but who am I to do that thing? Or why do I think that I'm good enough to do that thing? Whereas when you've got someone who's really listening and paying attention to your body language and really deeply understanding your goals and your desires and the impact that you wanna create, then by, as you said, reflecting that back to you then gives you the confidence to go, actually this is something I can give a go. And it's also having, knowing that you've got that person to bounce ideas off as you're [00:17:00] taking action. Because that's the other thing, once you decide to do the thing, once you start taking action and it starts getting hard, that's when you start to second guess yourself.

You think, oh, I dunno, is anyone gonna buy this thing? Or is anyone gonna listen to that podcast? Or is anyone gonna do that thing that I think is a good idea and, and that's when you start to back out of the goal.

Bec: Amazing. So what's on the horizon for Kristy Robinson? Is there anything new happening in your business or anything that you are launching that you could drop for us today?

Kristy: Yes. So one of the things that I mentioned, I think it was at late last year, is that I'm looking to roll out a la carte training sessions. And the first one that I'm actually looking to roll out is starting a podcast more specifically for business owners who are in the messy middle, who've been thinking about starting a podcast for some time and don't know where to start because I, myself, found myself in that situation where I sat on the goal. I know my journey's different to yours, Bec, when it comes to starting the podcast, but I sat on my goal for one year [00:18:00] before I started to take action, and it was only once I engaged Bamby Media to do the thing that I started to take action. So what I wanted to do, or what I'm doing with this podcast course is to help you to understand the value that the podcast will create for you, teaching you how to create your episodes. So how do you structure your episodes and those first few steps to get started on launching your own podcast.

Bec: That sounds so exciting. I had no idea and as I said before, credit starting my podcast to you, even though back then you were quite vanilla or fresh yourself, but yeah, you absolutely gave me the tools I needed to get started, so this is very exciting.

Kristy: Yeah, I'm excited about that. I mean, look, at the end of the day, I just think there's so many people that don't know where to start. It feels so daunting because it's very, very different from LinkedIn. It's very, very different to Instagram and there's less content out there around how do you actually start a podcast,[00:19:00] Not everybody should start a podcast, but you know, there are a lot of business owners that have value to add on a deeper level that this is the right best next step for them. But cutting through that noise and figuring out how do you just get it going? And, you know, I know for you, Bec, you took this approach of I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna see how it goes, and what happens from there is, is what's going to happen. So, and it just ended up being such a successful show.

Bec: Well I think that's what shocks me at the moment is there seems to be a lot of podcasts, but ours keeps growing in terms of listens and it's definitely got plenty of momentum. So there's still a lot of people out there listening to podcasts. There's still niches that haven't been tapped into, and as you've always taught me, just because there's someone else perhaps in your industry or seemingly doing the same thing as you, doesn't mean that your voice isn't unique and valuable and exactly what someone out there needs to hear. So if you've got something to say, go and say it in a podcast.

Kristy: [00:20:00] Absolutely. And it's such a great way to add impact, right? Like it's, if you read an Instagram caption, the most you're gonna get is 1200 characters. So there's only so much that you convey. Whereas in a podcast, you can talk about stories and anecdotes and you can really let your ideal client know that you understand them and you can create fun content. You can mix it up, and it's such a great way to showcase your expertise and personality as well.

Bec: And repurpose it some, like just this week I said to my employee Jane, also my best friend Jane, if you're listening, she is like, oh, I, I need to do this piece of work on this, but I'm not sure. And I said, go and listen to my podcast, which she did. And she's like, oh, that was amazing, because she's not a regular listener, obviously, but it was just really nice to say, I've already said something about that for 25 minutes. Go and listen to it. I don't need to say it. So good to repurpose and for clients, if you're like, I've said something on this topic, here's the podcast. Go have a listen. I can't wait to see that in the universe, Kristy.

Kristy: It's so true. I think even with my [00:21:00] clients, and I know you listen to my podcast, I don't know whether it's every week, but it's so complimentary to the work that you do. So it is such a, it's an addition to the work you do. I think that's the thing that's so valuable is, and it's evergreen to your point, Bec, it's something that's gonna be out there in the world that you can point, you know, potential clients to, that you can point existing clients too. In your case, a team member too. There's, there's so many ways that you can use your podcast to support your existing clients, prospects, team, et cetera.

Bec: Well, I look forward to seeing that out there. Happy 100th episode. You're doing amazing. Thank you for all that you do and yeah, I can't wait to see what the next 100 episodes brings.

Kristy: Thank you Bec, and thank you so much for being our guest host today. I really appreciate you being here and just celebrating this with me. I feel like we've been on this journey together. You were there when I started my podcast. I was there when you started your podcast, so no better person to be here celebrating with me the [00:22:00] big 100.

And to you Boss, thank you so much for joining us for today's conversation. I hope it's given you a little bit of an idea about what it's taken for me to get to this point in my podcasting journey. And also if you are wanting to start your own podcast for your business this year, then I invite you to join us for the wait list for my upcoming new course, which is Launch the Podcast course.

This course is designed for business owners who are looking to start their own podcast. I'm taking away all the ambiguity of what it takes to actually start a podcast and do so in a way that really supports your brand. Having a podcast is such a great way to enhance your thought leadership, to grow your impact, to build a community, and of course to grow your business.

So if you are thinking about adding a podcast to your business, then go ahead and join [00:23:00] the wait list. The link is down in the show notes. By joining the wait list, you'll have first access to this course as well as a very special early bird price. I would love to be able to support you so that you no longer push this podcast off your goal list, and you start it without all of the stress and overwhelm that I experienced when I first launched my podcast.

So what are you waiting for? Head down. Join that wait list. I'd love to be able to support you. Boss, thank you so much again for joining us, not only for this episode, but for the 99 episodes before it. I love being here. I love supporting you, and I love being able to join you every single week on your business journey.

I appreciate you. Thank you for listening, and I look forward to chatting with you next week.

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