Providing Business Owners With Sustainable Business Practices, Mindset Tips & Engaging Interviews

Jen McFarland, host and creator of the Women Conquer Business Podcast. I love the power of projects, intentionality, and aligned action. My husband and I served together in the Peace Corps. It was during the two years living and working as a teacher in Kazakhstan that I realized how much I love projects. I became attuned to the fact that projects drive everything we do. It’s about listening and learning and creating solutions to the problems nagging us day after day. When I returned home, I got a master's degree in leadership and management. I spent the next 10 years leading large-scale technology projects in the public sector. I realized I wanted to go back to direct service. I became passionate about helping businesses get the best tech, project management, and consulting services as the big boys. That's what the Women Conquer Business podcast is all about. Providing smart, serious (and oftentimes bootstrapping) business owners with sustainable business practices, mindset tips, and engaging interviews. My listeners are savvy business owners who aren't looking to follow the latest trends or influencers; rather, they want to build a business that will support them for the long haul.

I started the podcast in 2017 to improve my public speaking skills and it seemed like a fun, creative outlet amidst all of the super stressful parts of running a business. I basically bought the equipment and started recording. I started just ahead of the current 'podcast for your business' trend. Podcasting is a lot of work, and it's a long game. There are definitely easier channels if podcasting is solely for marketing, you definitely need some passion for the work to keep it going. Over time, it's become the place where I go to test out my ideas and meet interesting people. I don't listen to a ton of podcasts, mostly because I can't listen to talking while I work, and I'm not in the car very often.

I release shows every week. I've missed a couple of weeks here and there, but it's extremely rare. From start to finish, it's about 3-4 hours to produe an episode. I have a hectic schedule so sometimes I'm recording late at night or squeezing it in between meetings. I'm an independent, self-funded show. I've had an editor, and I've edited the show myself. Currently, I'm using Descript and GarageBand to edit my show. On average, the podcast costs about $3,000 per year, not including my time.

I don't have any sponsors. I have made about $1000 in royalties from a company that uses pieces of my content for its subscribers. People are hungry to learn about the 'soft skills' that enable a business to grow. Podcasting benefits me because I've gotten to meet people I otherwise wouldn't have met (e.g., a former Miss Singapore), and provides a platform for me to speak with business owners. I've gotten a few clients from it, but for me it's about creating camaraderie with other women business owners.

I use an AT2020USBi mic (amzn.to/2v7YqWk) for solo shows and remote interviews (recorded via Zoom). In-person interviews are recorded on a Zoom H6 (amzn.to/3c6RzgP) with Shure SM58S mics (amzn.to/37UbqfH). Software: Audio Hijack, Loopback, Descript, GarageBand, and Auphonic. When I meet someone I usually know whether they'd be a good fit for the show, and I ask them to be on. I've also gotten some excellent referrals from former guests. My prep depends on the show. For solo shows, I'll do a lot of brainstorming and researching to put my thoughts together on a sheet of paper (it would look like scribbles with lines connecting ideas to someone else). I don't script it. For guests, I have a couple of standard questions, and then I like to see where the conversation goes based on their expertise and background.

I market my show through social media and email marketing. Historically, my show did really well on Podcoin (before the service discontinued). Now, about 70% of my listeners are from Apple Podcasts, with Sticher, PodcastAddict, Overcast, and Spotify rounding out most of the other 30%. Social media has been really great for me. I get a bump from my email marketing but I suspect most of my subscribers come from social media.

If I had it to do over again, I would've been a guest on podcasts before I got started with my own show. I also would've talked to more podcasters ahead of time. Books can only tell you so much. I've gotten a lot of help and support form the She Podcasts Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/shepodcasts/). Big Podcast (amzn.to/2Vrew8z) is an excellent, honest book about podcasting. Look for local Meetup groups to gather with other podcasters. I also think that doing a great deal of planning ahead of time can really help you out. So many blogs and videos focus on equipment but there's more to it than that. I've created a free resource to help podcasters with all the things I wished I known ahead of time (jenmcfarland.com/podcast-planning-ebook). You can learn more about my podcast by listening on your favorite podcasting platform (plnk.to/womenconquerbusiness). You can learn more about me on my website, LinkedIn Facebook, or Pinterest.

Business website: jenmcfarland.com
Podcast: jenmcfarland.com/podcast
Facebook: facebook.com/jensmcfarland
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jensmcfarland
Pinterest: pinterest.com/womenconquerbiz
Instagram: instagram.com/womenconquerbiz
Email: hello@jenmcfarland.com