Entrepreneurial Parents Talk About Business & Family Life Here

My name is Shana J Ray and I am a wife and mother to two little girls. I am the Solo host of my podcast Raising Bosses. In my podcast, I interview Entrepreneurial parents and pick their brains on business and family life. I know both can be difficult separately, so I was intrigued to know how most parents do altogether.  

I know many people like to use the excuse that they can not because they have a family they can not pursue other passions and dreams. While I know none of it is truly easy, I hope to inspire many of those people to know they can. Hopefully, some of these tips and tricks can help them succeed. 

In my interview episodes, we have been known to go over many other topics as well, such as health, wellness, mental health, and various hardships. Really showing the real and uncut side to entrepreneurship. I also have an episode where I go over my experiences and learning curves that have helped me in this journey with social media growth, self-development, and child-rearing.

I will be starting a Young entrepreneurs series this season so that I am able . to talk to the child on the other end of things as well as the young adults that have pulled themselves up by their own boots straps. I want my girls to be well rounded in their exposure to the entrepreneurial world.

Years before the "Podcast age" when I was a child I always thought it would be cool to have my own radio station. Not sure why though, lol. Now. for the last few years, I have been growing on different platforms in various other forms of media. Instagram (@ShanaJRay), Video with YouTube (Shana J Ray), Blog at Raisingbosses.com, the podcast is an extension to the blog.

About a year ago was interviewed (end of 2018) on another podcast about growing and inspiring entrepreneurs. I expressed that it had been a dream of mine but I choose not to look into it because I thought I would not have the time to add to my full plate.  Shortly, after the interview, I felt a spark to slowly start things up and finally look up what I needed. Slowly is rarely the real case for me. I immediately saw how easy it would be for me to get set up, so I went for it.

I am blessed to have my husband back me in these things. I am the type to start with what I have for the most part. I already had my computer and editing software so I was confident to start with my iPhone wired earphones for my first few episodes. However, as a little Christmas surprise, my husband beat me to the punch and grabbed me an amazing Blue Yeti mic. I was surprised it was better than the one I wanted. Though, I had not told him what I was planning on getting. I don't even remember talking about getting one. He knows I mean business and he put his faith in me. It was a great feeling to have I "official" setup to start for once.

Even though I wanted a talk show of my own for so long I honestly wasn't sure what I wanted to talk about. I just knew I wanted it to be about something powerful and inspiring. I have read so many self-development books and watched so many How-To ( insert self-help, business, ect... ) videos that I loved and learned a lot from. However, they were usually from seemingly well put together young women and "perfect" moms. I felt like I could never have it that put together.

I wondered if they had similar struggles like my friends and I. So many questions were brewing in my head that I wished that I could have asked them. Not to mention the other background questions no one likes to talk about. There was my answer, so I started really narrowing it all down of what I wanted to capture in my Podcast. So in January of 2019, I put things into action. 

I recorded an intro episode and a few others posted those and started reaching out for guests. I started blasting it on my Blog's Instagram of the same name and things took off from there.

Because I am the type to start with near to nothing, I didn't purchase anything at first. I didn't want to waste money if I didn't stick with it. Even though this is rare for me I didn't want to take any chances. I was pretty confident I could get things off the ground before spending big money. I was right too. I binge-watched dozens of episodes on youtube for me to understand things before I dove in. 

I am beyond thankful that my husband started me off right with his gift. That was over $100 dollars and has an amazing sound quality that I would have invested. I use Garage Band on my Macbook which is a free audio editing software and I haven't had the need to upgrade. Next, I started with a hosting site that has 4 free initial hours then an inexpensive unlimited monthly plan for $14 thereafter, with podbean.com/shanajray. 

Since I do remote interviews I paid for a recording app on my computer which was about a $10 one time fee. There is the free option of Zoom video call app on its own. However, the audio coming out is on one track, so I am not able to edit things out separately. Though, Zoom is my backup.

I told myself  I wasn't going to push this too hard on myself so that I would still be able to manage other things I have going on. I work full time, homeschool my girls, and I am a content creator and social media influencer. I felt it would be very easy that way. But I found myself a bit more relaxed with it than I would like. So my progress was stunted a bit. However, progress is still progress and I'm keeping up with it. 

I am finally ramping back up and pushing my self to post an episode weekly. I try to record an episode or 2 weekly and I reach out for interviews about once a month. Each episode takes about an hour to an hour and a half to record. It takes about double the time to edit and make sure there are no weird pauses and noises that can be taken out. Not to mention adding the intro and outro. 

The last bit of work is posting to social media. I don't auto-share because I like things to have a nice look to them. I make thumbnails on Canva for the audiogram and the full episode to be posted to youtube. Then, I use Headliner to put them together. Lastly, I post to Instagram and Facebook and share to relevant groups that would enjoy the episode.

I am growing and looking into many ways to get sponsorships. I have recently been invited to and sponsorship platform called Podcorn a few days ago. I made a few proposals and I am currently waiting. I have under 1000 downloads at the time of writing this. Next, I will be reaching out to potential sponsors the same way I started on Instagram. I even thinking about making posts about accepting sponsors on my social media. It would be great to have some support with growing this platform. I also have a Patreon, patreon.com/shanajray.

I Love podcasting just like I thought I would. Just like the many other things that I do, It is starting to open doors for me. Of course, I love the fact that I am the one that gets to asks the questions so my learning is quite tailored. But I know it is helping others at the same time.

I do have an amazon influencer store with a creator list with everything I use.

MY Favorite things: amazon.com/shop/influencer-f072448a

Blue yeti nano: amzn.to/395o50g

my Macbook: amzn.to/2UpC5Od

4 Terabyte Hardrive: amzn.to/2SibBeZ

I find guests in a few ways. Some are friends and family that I've never gone in-depth with before. I have met some at networking events. Some I follow or have worked with on social media before. I also use hashtags on Instagram to find people to reach out to them too. Recently I have come across directories for linking podcasters and potentials guests.

To prepare myself I simply write a dozen or so questions tailored for each guest since I interview such a wide variety of entrepreneurs. I send a confirmation email days before the meeting time. and one after with the links as well as after to thank them. Also, to make it easier for both parties I do remote chats though Facebook messenger, Skype, and zoom.

I am syndicated across most major streaming sites as well as a good number of smaller ones. Probably close to 20 in all. It is fairly easy to do by taking the RSS feed from my host site and entering it into their link portal. Right now, I only post to Instagram and Facebook making sure to use hashtags and share with as many relevant groups as I can. That has helped me grow my Facebook pages and my youtube channel. I also gently nudge the guest to share across their platforms as well.

I tell everyone with anything you want to do Just start. We think we are trying to be perfect but it is just procrastination and excuses because we may be scared. Start with what you have. Many of these endeavors can be started and managed on your smartphone. I started all but my blog and podcast that way. I've been to many events where the same was said. I have even personally heard it from Gary Vee. You will grow and invest in better things but don't let that stop you from starting. 

If you want something bad enough you need to look into things. Google can be your best friend. Youtube is my favorite to start just search what you want to to learn and watch. Next would be reading about it and audiobooks.

You can find me at Instagram.com/ShanaJRay or Facebook.com/SJRay09 to keep up with me and my family. 

My podcast and Blog social media can be found at Instagram.com/RaisingBosses

Support: Patreon.com/shanajray

My Podcast links in the link below: box5916.temp.domains/~raisipm7/podcast