Women Thriving in Business

Season 4 Prelude: Lessons in Podcasting | Eleshia Harris

October 13, 2021 Nikki Rogers Season 4
Women Thriving in Business
Season 4 Prelude: Lessons in Podcasting | Eleshia Harris
Show Notes Transcript

A podcast gives you the freedom to voice out your expertise and experiences as well as to have open conversations with your guests and listeners in your own media platform. 

Podcasting involves more than just simply talking into a microphone and recording an episode. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, production, and marketing to reach your audience and to give them high quality and helpful information.

In this episode, I am joined by my fellow podcaster, accountability partner, and friend, Eleshia Harris. Eleshia is a holistic business growth strategist, wellness coach, founder of Eleshia Lifestyle, and host of The Eleshia Show. We talk about how we got into podcasting and the lessons learned that have led us to success. 

Listen on the go and be inspired by the different challenges and wins we have experienced in podcasting. We’ll also be sharing tips and advice about the first steps that you should take in starting your own podcast.

Thriving Points:

  • The best podcasts and the ones that I listened to are the ones that are very thoughtful. They're taking you on their journey and showing you the way.
  • It's very helpful to have someone push you along and get you out of your comfort zone, and say, “Why shouldn't you do it?”
  • You don't have to do everything yourself and once you get some great help and people who really want to see you win, then it makes it a lot easier. 
  • Systems and processes make it a lot easier and you just follow the process.
  • The win is that people are asking to be on the podcast. It's an acknowledgment to create some good in the world and people see the value in it. 

Get to Know the Guest:

Eleshia Harris is a Holistic Business Growth Strategist and Wellness Coach who helps Female Business Owners get clear on their goals and desires and implement them without overwhelm and procrastination. She is also the founder of Eleshia Lifestyle and the podcast The Eleshia Show.

Connect with Eleshia:

A Team Dklutr Production

Your business is an asset that can support a thriving life. I believe this, and I'm committed to making this a reality for every entrepreneur and business owner who listens to this podcast. The Women Thriving in Business Podcast was created with you in mind, whether you were thinking about entrepreneurship or you're a business veteran, this podcast has inspiration, information, and advice you can use to thrive in business.

Women Thriving in Business features candid, unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics who will contribute to your business success. I seek out and talk with business leaders who have built, grown, and thrive in business. My name is Nikki Rogers, transformation coach, author, and the host of the Women Thriving in Business Podcast. I work with women entrepreneurs to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Join me and your fellow Thrivers each week on this journey of discovery and success.

Nikki Rogers: Welcome Thrivers to this interlude episode of Women Thriving in Business Podcast. While we're getting ready for Season 4 and all the great guests that will be coming during the season, I wanted to share with you this conversation with my friend and fellow podcast host, Eleshia Harris, where we talked about our lessons learned from being podcasters. So podcasting is still a very young form of media. And there's still a lot of space and a lot of room for you to be able to create a podcast and actually stand out.

I was listening to a recent training around how to grow your audience. And the speaker shared some interesting statistics. He mentioned that there were about 2 million podcasts in existence right now. In comparison to the over 500 million active blogs and the 50 million YouTube channels. So as you can see, compared to blogs and YouTube, there is still a lot of room for growth in the area of podcasting. 

If you've ever been curious about what it takes to create and maintain a podcast, I invite you to listen in to this special episode where Eleshia and I talk about what it took to get started, what inspired us, as well as some of the people who have encouraged and supported us along the way. Enjoy this episode, and be on the lookout for Season 4 starting soon. Let's go. 

Hello, everyone. I'm so excited to be here with you all on International Podcast Day. And we are going to have a great conversation with my friend and fellow podcast host, Eleshia Harris. 

Eleshia Harris: Hello, Nikki. 

Nikki Rogers: Hello, hello. How are you? 

Eleshia Harris: Good. Thank you.

Nikki Rogers: I'm excited to be here with you on International Podcast Day, and just have a chat because we are here. 

Eleshia Harris: We are. 

Nikki Rogers: We are here. And I was thinking this morning about a year ago this time, yes, we did not have podcasts. So I was just reflecting that a year ago that this was notional and either of us had podcasts, and now both of us do. And so, it's been a year. 

Eleshia Harris: Look how quickly that year has gone and just how far we've come with our episodes and our reach, and just flourishing our friendship as well. All the good things. 

Nikki Rogers: So before we get into what could be a long chat between you and I, let's tell folks about our podcast. 

Eleshia Harris: So my name is Eleshia Harris, and my podcast name is The Eleshia Show. They've named after me. And it's all about empowering female business owners. Just to really take charge of their lifestyles first, so ensuring that they're well before they put their business first. My tagline is, "Invest in yourself, and you'll invest in your business." And I am here for all of the conversations. So all of the conversations that may be difficult, we've had lots of conversations just about wellbeing and how to look after yourself. But also about menopause, and about grieving and how to use your female cycle to really live inflow. We've talked about parenting, obviously. We've talked about how to build your business also and what systems and so forth to put in place. But it's just a place where I wanted to feel that I was able to have open conversations with the listeners and with my guests. Nikki's coming on very soon. So I'm just putting that out there for everybody to hear, so you can book yourself in. just to have really open conversations because sometimes it can be quite lonely building a business. And sometimes we forget how many things we're juggling. So it's nice to put things into perspective, and just know that you can simplify things as in when you need to. 

Nikki Rogers: And everyone, you should definitely listen to The Eleshia Show. All the things that she said, and you just get to listen to her wonderful voice. So you want to check that out. So my name is Nikki Rogers. I am the host of the Women Thriving in Business Podcast. And the podcast was created to highlight women entrepreneurs' stories, challenges, and accomplishments. Just really to show the real world of what goes on behind the scenes in business. So I've had a lot of great guests from folks who are just starting out in their entrepreneurial journey to folks who've been in this for quite a while. I've had a couple of men on the show. So even though it's women thriving in business, I do have a variety of guests that, again, either is women themselves or support women in business. And so, I endeavor just to bring people who I think are interesting, who I want to talk to. So I like to share those conversations with my listeners so that they get the benefit of it too. So yes, it's been great. It's been great. 

So what do you want to talk about Eleshia? What do we want to talk about, the good things, the challenging things? What do you want us to talk about?

Eleshia Harris: We're going to talk about all of those things, all of those things. Let's start with the fact that we were both in a similar situation when we were like, we're going to start a podcast. And then we were like, okay. So we now have to start the podcast and know the whole scope, and know exactly what we're going to talk about and how we're going to get it produced, and all of those things. But we did it, Nikki. We did it. 

Nikki Rogers: I would say that anyone who's thinking about a podcast, I think the thing that both me and Eleshia did was think about what we wanted to say, what the impact that we wanted to have on audiences. So it's not as easy as just getting on here and talk. I think the best podcasts, and the ones that I listened to and I do listen to a lot, are the ones that are very thoughtful. And they're either showing you the way, they're taking you on their journey. They have something of substance to say that you're going to get some value out of it. So, I think that would be my advice. Is to think about what you want to say, what you want to talk about, and how that can be figured out. And Eleshia and I can talk to you about how we figured out the how. But what are your thoughts around the first steps that people should take in building their podcast? 

Eleshia Harris: Yes, I totally agree with you. It's definitely easier to know what your theme is going to be. As opposed to just waking up every week and doing things on the fly. It does take a little bit more time than anticipated. So as Nikki said, just to be really transparent, sometimes we have this all singing and dancing 15-minute show. But it's taken hours to complete. So for me, when people say, oh, your podcast is amazing. I want to do one. I'm always like, yes, definitely do one. But actually recognize how much time and effort is done behind the scenes. So take that into consideration definitely. But it's fun. And it's been nice to have all of the reach. It's nice to be able to have conversations like this. It's nice that we both decided to do our podcasts around about the same time. You definitely were before me, and it was nice that I was on that journey with you. So I got an insider look as to what to expect.

Nikki Rogers: And you're still like, I wanted to do this. And I think it's important to have someone encouraging you. So I definitely will say you definitely encouraged me. I had taken a podcasting class, and it was funny, maybe funny, not funny, but it was in August of last year. So the incentive was if you launched by September, they would announce it and publicize your podcast.

September came, and I did not launch. I got cold feet, and I was like, I don't know what I'm doing and why I'm doing this. And having conversations with you, and we were in an accountability group together, and you basically were like, why not? Why aren't you doing this? And so, I think it's very helpful to have someone push you along and get you out of your comfort zone, and say, why shouldn't you do it? So I think that was very helpful. And I think the same thing happened when you were like, well, I want to do this podcast. And then I was like, well, why not? 

Eleshia Harris: Exactly. You were like, why not? And I just want you to just reflect on the fact that you've had three seasons now, Nikki. That's huge. You're doing all of the things, and you were still launching, publishing frequent podcasts. And you're not just doing it on the fly. 

Nikki Rogers: Yes, it is not on the fly at all. It is a whole production. And I will say, Eleshia and I share a podcast editor who has really, and shout out to Anne Garcia and her team. They are excellent in getting you organized and getting you, like I said, she's more than just an editor. She's a coordinator. She's somewhat of a producer and just really, I think a partner in developing the podcast. So, I say that to say that you don't have to do everything yourself. Once you get some great help and people who really want to see you win, then it makes it a lot easier.  

Eleshia Harris: I totally agree. And so glad you said that, because I think people underestimate the time and effort, and the team, they're experts. They really are. So I'm so grateful. I know you are too. 

Nikki Rogers: I am. And I think I'm going to do a post about this later today, but how I got here is I started listening to a podcast. That was the Package Your Genius Podcast. That was one of the first podcasts I started listening to. And I got connected to the host there, and I was just really fascinated by what she was doing. And one, this was, I think, 2019 in June of that year. She did a podcast a day for the whole month of June. That was her challenge to herself. And when she did that, that just inspired me, and I started writing a newsletter. So that October, I started writing a newsletter. And in the newsletter, I kept mentioning Amanda Miller Littlejohn is the host, and I kept mentioning her in my newsletter. And finally, she reached out to me because people were finding her. And she was like, I see you. I love the work that you're doing. And it was like, oh, she saw me. And she focuses on getting visibility for high-achieving entrepreneurs. People see what I'm writing. And she was just so generous with her thoughts. And then she had Patrice Washington, who is the host of the Redefining Wealth Podcast.

And so I started listening to Patrice's podcast and listened to it probably for a whole year. I ended up doing some coaching with her. And in doing that coaching, I was like, oh, a podcast. That could be a thing, and so it sparked an interest. But again, I got to August of 2020 and I was like, this is scary. I don't want to do this. And then I went to a conference, and one of the women there, her name is Altabis Peltzer, and she had a podcast. And she was asking for guests at that time. And I was like, wait a minute. I'm in a group with a lot of women entrepreneurs, I should say, I'm going to create a podcast. And when I said that, I got so great of a response. It was a little scary.

And I was like, oh, I actually have to create this podcast because people want to be on the podcast so I have to create it now. That's how we ended up here. It was taking that leap before I was actually ready for it. But once I put it out there and people started responding, I was like, oh, this is a thing.

Eleshia Harris: Yes. Nikki, I did the opposite. I told a few people and I was like, okay. I know that I need that external accountability. I told a few people, you being one of them. And then I was like, okay, at least if I don't do this, I have not told the whole world. But then when I told the whole world, that's when people are like, oh my gosh. This is amazing. I was like, okay, maybe I should have told you a bit earlier. So I love the fact that we have different kinds of stories of how we got here. But we're here nevertheless. And just really sharing our experiences and building community, all of our guests, and I'll be connected to all of these other people.

And that's what I love. I always call you a connector because you're very good at doing that. You always know somebody who can do this or that you want to connect somebody with. So this is a great way of you doing that as well. So, thank you. Thank you for connecting Anne and I. But also, I'm thankful for our connection as well.

Nikki Rogers: Yes, definitely. I'm thankful to you for pushing me along. And Eleshia was one of my guests for season three. So if you haven't checked out that episode, definitely check out that episode. When I think back to starting the podcast and launching, and just some of the things that I've learned over the last nine months or so, for me, it's about seeing something from beginning to end. So creating something, came to fruition. I literally felt like I had given birth the day it was published. It's there. So can you talk a bit about maybe some of your lessons learned during this time? 

Eleshia Harris: I decided to launch the podcast on my dad's birthday. So two days after my birthday. And I put myself under immense pressure, Nikki, because I knew if I didn't, I wouldn't have done it. So I think I made the decision to launch in February. Made the decision to launch in February and I was like, I'm going to do a podcast. And then Nikki was like, yes, you're going to do a podcast. And then I decided to batch some episodes just because I only work part-time. I've got a very energetic 2-yr old that was at home full-time at that time. And so I was just doing what I could do around her and, obviously, the family and still continuing to run my business. 

So when I look back, my thought process was I was going to do all of myself. When I started, I was like, I'm going to do all of this myself. I can't afford to employ anybody to help me. And then I got into the crux of it. I think it took me three hours just to do edit notes on one episode. Because when you first start out and you hear yourself, and you're saying orderly “you know’s” and “ahh’s” and the “ooh’s” and all of that, you're very critical. It took me three hours, and I just sat at home. And I said to my husband, I don't know if I can do this. It's going to take me three hours just to do edit notes, and then I have to go and edit. And then have to do all of the special effects and the show notes and the promo graphics, I'm going to go mad. That's when I was like, you know what? I cannot afford not to find somebody to help me. 

So I learned that very quickly. And now, although it still takes a good chunk of my time, it feels more like an oiled car now. With five pumps in, we've gotten into a flow with things. And now, I feel like I'm in a much better place. But those first edit notes scared me. I was just like, I don't know how everybody does it from start to finish. So when you said that your lady did one a day for the whole month, I can just imagine how much time and effort that took. That's not for me. 

Nikki Rogers: You never know. That could be a challenge for you. You never know. 

Eleshia Harris: Maybe in 10 days, but not that, I don't know about that. 

Nikki Rogers: When I think about whatever I learned, I think part of this is the consistency. You have to show up, you have to hit that publish button. And so some days it is down to the last wire, but there's this commitment that the show goes live on Wednesday regardless. It doesn't matter if I don't feel like it. If it took forever to get the interview. I've had to re-record a couple of interviews because I want it to be a good experience for my guests. So if I feel like, we went through this interview but is actually not a good reflection, because I know people. 

Eleshia Harris: But you listened as well. 

Nikki Rogers: Yes. 

Eleshia Harris: He said, you do your research. You listen to a lot of podcasts so you know what you want. 

Nikki Rogers: Yes. I know what I want, and I want the person to come across well especially because I vet my guests beforehand, so I have a pre-conversation. I do some research on them. And I want all that greatness to come out in the episode. So if we do a recording and I'm like, that actually is not the best. I will say like, hey, do you mind if we re-record this so that it works out well for both of us? So I think it's the consistency. It's the dedication to the quality.  It's doing it because I promised to do it. It's an amendment, and you want to show up for your listeners. I think that has been some key lessons for me. And then I just learned a lot from my guests. I just had guests who have such expertise. And sometimes, I never even thought about it, or they're just doing something that's so amazing that I just learned so much from the guest. So when you think about how you pick your guests, what are some of your lessons learned from that? 

Eleshia Harris: All of my guests so far. So I'm 25 episodes in, and all of my guests so far have been really intentional. I already had a connection with them in some way. So I may have worked with them or know them or they've been friends, or I know their expertise because I followed them. So I know all of my guests. And that's been really intentional for me, because of the fact that I'm living some of the things that we talked about. So before, I had a lovely woman I could email on about dealing with grief. And when my mom passed away, I held onto that grief a lot, and it nearly destroyed me. 

With the year that the last 18 months that we've all had, we're grieving something. There will be a loss of life or other things. We've all felt some form of grief. So it was really important for me to help my listeners from that perspective, just have a different perspective in the ways that you can deal with things. So for this part, this season of my podcast, it's just been about the things that I want to learn deeper. So it's a bit selfish because it's The Eleshia Show. It's a little bit indulgent, but it's also the kind of conversation that I know we're not having. So I wanted to put myself out there to let other people know that. No, it's all right. It's all right to talk about these subjects and still build your business, and still look after yourself, and still win and thrive without having to feel like you have to hide part of yourself. I always say you've come into this business because you want to work for yourself. You want to be successful for yourself. So let's look after yourself so that you can then create all of those dreams and those desires. Have you had any challenges? 

Nikki Rogers: In the podcast? I think it's meeting a deadline. It's self-imposed but I feel like, oh, this is what it's like to be on deadline in a newsroom, or when you're creating a weekly TV show or something like that. It's a much smaller scale, but it's the same thing. It's all the components, coming up with the idea for the show, doing the recording, doing the intros, the outros, just all those things in the midst of the rest of everything else you have to get done. And so I think my challenge is always going to be managing the time, managing the deadlines, and getting much better at edit not being a last-minute thing.

And by that, there’s always some component that has to be added in. Now, one of the things I've done is I created a flow chart, and Anne and the team, we have a process. And over the season, so I'm going into season four, over the seasons, it's just getting a lot better. But still, there's always one last thing. So I would say, that's my challenge. What about you? 

Eleshia Harris: I think we probably share the same challenge in that. It's always timing. So I am getting a lot better. And because I started this way and now I'm like, I need to continue how I mean to go on. So I'd get in a lot better at trying to batch, really batch my recordings. Because I also find that at certain times of the month, I don't want to show up. I don't want to record. I just don't want to do it. So one tip for anybody who's thinking about doing this is to try and batch as much as you can. Try to batch as much as you can. I'll say it again because I know it helps. So I have, at the moment, I think we're four episodes ahead. But I still have to do some solos. And I have now decided on the process and the flow like yourself. So we've got a nice process going. But also, I think I know what's going to be published by the end of the year. But it's just at a high level. It's just high level, Nikki, so that we know. But I think that's where I'm at. Because again, the juggle can be hard sometimes. 

Nikki Rogers: And I think for me, I have my schedule. And I am batching, I'm doing recordings now for season four. The interviews are the easiest part. It's doing the intro, reviewing the show notes, reviewing the captions for social, the things that are individual for each episode... 

Eleshia Harris: And remembering to post on socials. 

Nikki Rogers: Right. And so those are the things like, this is a job. I think systems and processes make it a lot easier, and you just follow the process. It's getting better and I hope season four will feel like, okay, I'll feel like a senior. So I'm starting off as a freshman, and now I'm a senior, and just to be like, okay, I know this. I got this. I think the next thing for me is going to a conference or attending a virtual conference because I think there are still a lot of things that I want to do with the podcast. So there's a lot of room for growth. 

Eleshia Harris: I love that, but I also loved the fact that even though we're saying it's really hard work, I know for one that I'm really enjoying it. It's like, okay, I feel accomplished. 

Nikki Rogers: Exactly. And then we have evidence.

Eleshia Harris: And when people say to me, oh, how's Elessandra? Or happy anniversary, and I'm like, how did you know? You mentioned it in your podcast, or I'm implementing your systems and your procedures that you said to do, or I'm trying food batching. Do you know what I mean? It's exciting to be able to be serving people in a way that, again, yes, it's hard work. But at the same time when it's there, it's there. It's there for the world to listen to it as they want. So I'm really grateful. 

Nikki Rogers: And I think people don't always comment or provide feedback, but occasionally you'll get a comment that says, like you said, I'm implementing something you did. I got a comment when they just said, oh, I always pass your podcasts along to other people. And I was like, oh, thank you. I appreciate not only you’re listening, but you think enough of this that you're going to pass it on. Those things make a difference. Like somebody is out there listening. 

Eleshia Harris: And there are people out there listening. Sometimes, as you said, they won't tell you. They won't tell you, but they're listening. 

Nikki Rogers: That is greatness. Well, Eleshia, I think that is our time. It's gone by quickly. 

Eleshia Harris: It always, always does when you and I talk. So before we do go, I just wanted to know what's been one of your wins from the podcast? Even if it's a small thing. 

Nikki Rogers: Honestly, it's the fact that it's done. That it exists, that it is out in the world. And then I think the win is that people are asking to be on the podcast, so I think that's, again, it's just an acknowledgment that this is creating some good in the world and people see the value in it. And so if nothing else, I feel like that's the win. I think it's just given me more confidence to talk. I'm an introvert, a deep, deep, deep introvert. But this allows me to talk to people in a way that I like, and it's a deep conversation. I love having one-on-one conversations with people. So this is living out my fantasy of being able to, it's like having the permission to ask all the questions I want.

Eleshia Harris: Yes, I totally agree. I love the guest episodes. I do love the solos as well, but sometimes it's like, who am I talking to? And then I remember all of the people that have downloaded, I'm like, yes, these are my virtual community friends that I'm talking to even if I don't know who's listening. 

Nikki Rogers: Exactly. What would you say? What has been your win? 

Eleshia Harris: So I think for me, it's putting it out there as well. Most, definitely 100%, because I've sat on this idea for over two years. And I was just scared to be, and listen, even me just saying that made me feel really emotional. I was scared to put my voice out there. I was scared to be judged, and do I know enough? All of the questions. All of the inner critic questions that you sometimes have. And so the fact that I did it, is huge for me. 

Nikki Rogers: Love it. And this is International Podcast Day. If you don't know, I'm sitting in the US, right outside of DC, and Eleshia is... 

Eleshia Harris: I'm in the UK, in London. 

Nikki Rogers: So we have a true intercontinental...

 Eleshia Harris: Yes.

Nikki Rogers: And then our podcast editors are in the Philippines. So we really are touching all parts of the world. 

Eleshia Harris: And so are our episodes.

Nikki Rogers: Exactly. So our episodes around the world are international in scope. Before we wrap up, Eleshia, you want to tell folks where they can reach you and what do you do when you're not podcasting?

Eleshia Harris: So when I'm not podcasting, I am a holistic business growth strategist and wellness coach. So everyone usually asks me, what do you mean by holistic business strategist? And I always say, I look at everything. So when you work with me, we don't just look at it from a business perspective, we look at it from a lifestyle perspective. So that's what I do. And as I said, I'm here in the UK, but I work with people internationally. And you can find me at eleshialifestyle.com. My handle @eleshia_lifestyle here on Instagram. 

Nikki Rogers: Great. When I'm not podcasting, I've met a management consultant and small business coach, and specifically focusing on helping women entrepreneurs create businesses that support a thriving life. And you can do that. You can create a business that supports the life that you want to have. You can find me here on IG. You can find me on womenthrivinginbusiness.com, is my coaching business website. I love to hear from you all. I love to know what you think about getting into podcasting, or any other things that you want to share or talk about that Eleshia and I have touched on today.

Eleshia Harris: And also, just the last thing. If there are any questions that come up, feel free to DM us, we'll answer them. 

Nikki Rogers: Yes. If you want to talk about podcasting, business, thriving in life, leveraging your feminine energy to create the life you want, we can talk about all those things. But Eleshia, it's been great talking to you as always. We could spend hours here, but we both have businesses to run.

Eleshia Harris: Thank you everyone for listening. 

Nikki Rogers: Thank you, all. 

Eleshia Harris: Alright. Take care, Nikki.

Nikki Rogers: Take care. Bye.

Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Women Thriving in Business Podcasts. If you like this episode, share it with a friend. You can also join us on social media to share your feedback and comments. We'd love to hear from you. Be sure to like, review and subscribe on iTunes so you never miss an episode. Until next week, keep thriving.