► Tell us about you and your podcast
I'm (Erin) a former corporate CEO who, at the age of 42, somehow slid into the role of CEO of a 9-figure company. Although I really had no clue how to be a big-girl CEO, in just three years I led a massive financial and cultural turnaround.
But all along, I was waiting to be found out. And no, not imposter syndrome. I got the memo on that. It was more that I knew I wasn't sacrificing as much as my peers - not on a plane every week, moving my family around, working endless weekends. I was waiting to either be "found out" or for my luck to run out.
And then when I decided to retire to do scratch a new itch, I got piles of emails and feedback that all said the same thing: "We'll miss your authentic leadership." That's when it hit me. I wasn't going to be found out. I was playing a totally different game. A game that had me using authenticity as my secret weapon to success.
And then there's Nicole. Nicole has been a good friend of mine for over 20 years...arguably my most unorthodox friend. She is MENSA -level intelligent - Yale and Johns Hopkins grad - and has worked all over the world, doing everything from humanitarian aid and operations to working for the regional utilities company. More importantly, she is one of the wittiest, sharpest, most dynamic people on the face of this earth. Her storytelling has captivated many, and quite frankly, is why we have some true "superfans" of our podcast show.
The “b Cause Work Doesn’t Have to Suck” podcast is focused on helping GenX women who are bought-in to Corporate but burnt-out from the BS. It's part career advice, part comedy, full-on authenticity, where Nicole and I (and our authentic guests) inspire people to take a more modern, authentic approach to battle the BS of Corporate America and have the big career they deserve, without compromising everything else in their life.
But all along, I was waiting to be found out. And no, not imposter syndrome. I got the memo on that. It was more that I knew I wasn't sacrificing as much as my peers - not on a plane every week, moving my family around, working endless weekends. I was waiting to either be "found out" or for my luck to run out.
And then when I decided to retire to do scratch a new itch, I got piles of emails and feedback that all said the same thing: "We'll miss your authentic leadership." That's when it hit me. I wasn't going to be found out. I was playing a totally different game. A game that had me using authenticity as my secret weapon to success.
And then there's Nicole. Nicole has been a good friend of mine for over 20 years...arguably my most unorthodox friend. She is MENSA -level intelligent - Yale and Johns Hopkins grad - and has worked all over the world, doing everything from humanitarian aid and operations to working for the regional utilities company. More importantly, she is one of the wittiest, sharpest, most dynamic people on the face of this earth. Her storytelling has captivated many, and quite frankly, is why we have some true "superfans" of our podcast show.
The “b Cause Work Doesn’t Have to Suck” podcast is focused on helping GenX women who are bought-in to Corporate but burnt-out from the BS. It's part career advice, part comedy, full-on authenticity, where Nicole and I (and our authentic guests) inspire people to take a more modern, authentic approach to battle the BS of Corporate America and have the big career they deserve, without compromising everything else in their life.
► Why & how did you start this podcast?
I didn't know what a podcast was until Nicole shoved Serial at me for maybe the 5th time back in 2018. Once I listened to that, I was hooked.
We actually created b Cause, inspired by a few things.
1) The women at My Favorite Murderer showed us that people wanted to listen to a couple of funny and smart chicks talking things out.
2) The dynamic duo from #imomsohard showed us that people loved laughing at motherhood. And so we thought, there is just as much "material" (if not more) in the workplace. People just aren't quite as embolden to air their dirty work laundry. But we are.
With that said, our podcast wasn't born out of some, big strategic meeting. Instead, one day as I was talking to Nicole, when I metaphorically hovered above us and our deep but hilarious conversation and thought, “maybe this should be a podcast.”
After a long-arse email proposing the idea to her, and me whipping out my iPhone unannounced one “planning session” to record episode #1, it became a podcast. This was in October of 2018.
We then went on to record seven more episodes, while also creating a trailer and name (the name has since morphed - it used to just be "b Cause" since we had no clue what we were doing!). We launched our first episode to the world in April of 2019!
Our long-term goal isn't actually to just podcast, it's to lead live events (think #imomsohard meets Brene Brown.) We did a pilot event in NYC just before Covid, and hope to rev those back up in the coming years. It was like no other women's event you've ever seen or been to!
We actually created b Cause, inspired by a few things.
1) The women at My Favorite Murderer showed us that people wanted to listen to a couple of funny and smart chicks talking things out.
2) The dynamic duo from #imomsohard showed us that people loved laughing at motherhood. And so we thought, there is just as much "material" (if not more) in the workplace. People just aren't quite as embolden to air their dirty work laundry. But we are.
With that said, our podcast wasn't born out of some, big strategic meeting. Instead, one day as I was talking to Nicole, when I metaphorically hovered above us and our deep but hilarious conversation and thought, “maybe this should be a podcast.”
After a long-arse email proposing the idea to her, and me whipping out my iPhone unannounced one “planning session” to record episode #1, it became a podcast. This was in October of 2018.
We then went on to record seven more episodes, while also creating a trailer and name (the name has since morphed - it used to just be "b Cause" since we had no clue what we were doing!). We launched our first episode to the world in April of 2019!
Our long-term goal isn't actually to just podcast, it's to lead live events (think #imomsohard meets Brene Brown.) We did a pilot event in NYC just before Covid, and hope to rev those back up in the coming years. It was like no other women's event you've ever seen or been to!
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► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?
For me, the podcast is part of my full-time business. Since having that authenticity epiphany, and listening to loads of podcasts that taught me about the Personal Branding space, I have been running b Authentic Inc, including the podcast, keynote speaking, writing books, coaching, etc.
Nicole is still full-time in a more traditional job (honestly, always a petri dish for material!) and we record every few weeks. Our podcast format is a combination of episodes with just she and I along with guest interviews (I do most of the interviews since she's grinding out a "9-5". We usually record in the evenings. Over a glass of wine. Or two. Or three.
We have always had a freelance podcast editor (first one for a few years and now a new one who's more entrenched in b Authentic Inc overall.) and I fund the costs as part of my business.
Nicole is still full-time in a more traditional job (honestly, always a petri dish for material!) and we record every few weeks. Our podcast format is a combination of episodes with just she and I along with guest interviews (I do most of the interviews since she's grinding out a "9-5". We usually record in the evenings. Over a glass of wine. Or two. Or three.
We have always had a freelance podcast editor (first one for a few years and now a new one who's more entrenched in b Authentic Inc overall.) and I fund the costs as part of my business.
► What do you gain from podcasting?
We don't currently have a sponsor. To be honest, until recently we haven't been the most strategic podcasters. We love our superfans and keep going, propelled by their feedback. We're investing time and money now though to supercharge our podcast - the content and its visibility.
We do point listeners to some free products from b Authentic Inc. We also have hilarious work SWAG, but again, we're really bad at promoting it. That will change.
The benefits definitely extend beyond the money. After four years of doing this together, Nicole and I SHOULD want to kill each other, but we don't. We get so much energy and residual benefit from it. She gets my real-time coaching, and I get her perspective and hilarious stories. If we weren't doing this co-host style, I'm not sure the podcast would still be going. We've released over 200 episodes now!
We do point listeners to some free products from b Authentic Inc. We also have hilarious work SWAG, but again, we're really bad at promoting it. That will change.
The benefits definitely extend beyond the money. After four years of doing this together, Nicole and I SHOULD want to kill each other, but we don't. We get so much energy and residual benefit from it. She gets my real-time coaching, and I get her perspective and hilarious stories. If we weren't doing this co-host style, I'm not sure the podcast would still be going. We've released over 200 episodes now!
► How does your podcasting process look like?
Honestly, I'm not sure what our editor uses but we do use the Libsyn platform and have had a good experience there. We do our interviews on Zoom, including most episodes that Nicole and I do together (we live about 50 miles apart.)
To prepare, it depends on if it's an interview or an episode with Nicole and I.
For interviews, first of all, we ensure our guests are very much aligned with our target audience and mission. They must be authentic and largely we focus on people in the corporate world (vs. entrepreneurial). We want storytellers, movers and shakers, people who are willing to share the stories of where they bucked the norm and did things their own way. We have an intake form and I do most of my prep by listening to previous interviews they've done and then crafting questions that are sure to pull out the things our listeners most want and need to hear.
For the episodes with Nicole and I, that is an ongoing experiment. Our genius is improv, but our best episodes center around a key question or issue our listeners have. So our prep is purposefully not all that structured. We tried that and sounded boring AF.
To prepare, it depends on if it's an interview or an episode with Nicole and I.
For interviews, first of all, we ensure our guests are very much aligned with our target audience and mission. They must be authentic and largely we focus on people in the corporate world (vs. entrepreneurial). We want storytellers, movers and shakers, people who are willing to share the stories of where they bucked the norm and did things their own way. We have an intake form and I do most of my prep by listening to previous interviews they've done and then crafting questions that are sure to pull out the things our listeners most want and need to hear.
For the episodes with Nicole and I, that is an ongoing experiment. Our genius is improv, but our best episodes center around a key question or issue our listeners have. So our prep is purposefully not all that structured. We tried that and sounded boring AF.
► How do you market your show?
We primarily share our episodes on LinkedIn and Instagram. I'm also a keynote speaker and we always have bumps in listeners after I've spoken to a group.
► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?
I would give a few pieces of advice:
1. Create a show that you'll be excited to do, even after the initial "honeymoon" is over
2. Take a course and/or listen to podcasts about being a successful podcaster. Then implement about 50% and do the other 50% your own way. (by the way, I'm a big fan of Kevin Chemidlin - in his program now.
3. Have an endgame in mind. It's not cheap and doing a podcast just cause it sounds cool will eat away at your pockets, and eventually your sanity.
1. Create a show that you'll be excited to do, even after the initial "honeymoon" is over
2. Take a course and/or listen to podcasts about being a successful podcaster. Then implement about 50% and do the other 50% your own way. (by the way, I'm a big fan of Kevin Chemidlin - in his program now.
3. Have an endgame in mind. It's not cheap and doing a podcast just cause it sounds cool will eat away at your pockets, and eventually your sanity.
► Where can we learn more about you & your podcasts?
Thanks for asking!
Our podcast page: https://www.bauthenticinc.com/podcast
Erin's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-hatzikostas/
Nicole's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolelicatagrant/
PayPal donate page: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=JUE7GRYQ7ZZL4
Our podcast page: https://www.bauthenticinc.com/podcast
Erin's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-hatzikostas/
Nicole's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolelicatagrant/
PayPal donate page: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=JUE7GRYQ7ZZL4