My Journey To Being A Podcast Host Week 8
So it’s week 8 already in my journey towards launching my own podcast and being a podcast host! A week where my client projects took precedence in my diary, but I still made some small steps towards this goal of launching my podcast.
And that is the thing about working towards any project or goal, keep making those small steps and be very happy that you did something, even if it was 10 minutes. It all adds up and makes you feel positive about your project. A guaranteed way to fail at anything is to look at the huge project, not having a clue where to start and then beat yourself up about it when ‘nothing’ gets done.
My Small Step Towards Progress This Week
So my small action to celebrate was setting up the email address hello@stitcherystories.com which is printed on my business cards I wrote about last week. Quite a few technical problems along the way which was frustrating since I have done that task many times before, but patience is a virtue and all the problems were solved. I added it into my Outlook account, along with my other work emails.
Valuable Connections
So armed with my lovely new cards, and a working Stitchery Stories email address, I was ready to go to the Knitting & Stitching Show at Harrogate on Sunday 27th November. I went with a group of friends from my local Embroiderer’s Guild group and had a really lovely day. I bought a couple of items for my current project (very restrained – they wondered if I was feeling well!!!) but most of my time was spent talking. I talked so much I lost my voice on Sunday night!
I made connections. I chatted. I had fun. I had courage.
Courage? It was a major step for me to approach other textile artists who were exhibiting their work. I may appear confident and outgoing but I feel quite shy inside. Especially when networking ‘in real life’. So I was proud of myself for having the courage to go and talk about Stitchery Stories, and about the artists’ work, and to ask if they would like to be a guest on the show. My courage was repaid many times over and my confidence boosted when I received such a positive response. Everyone loved the idea.
Courage From My Guests Too
The majority of artists I spoke to were very enthusiastic about the project, even though I could see that it was going to be a major step forward for them too. They would also require courage to do something new and different and be outside their comfort zone by being a guest on a podcast. One lady had recently been interviewed on live video, and a couple of other ladies have ‘starred’ in some of their own embroidery videos, but the majority had not. So it was about helping them feel supported and confident enough to say ‘YES’ to me.
It was very helpful that I could show them a copy of the chatty and clear 4 page PDF I have created for my guests that guides them through everything they need to know and do. They could see that everything had been thought about and that helped them deal with ‘the unknown’. I highly recommend you create such a document too.
I learnt a lot from Sunday. And I got some fabulous artists lined up to be on the show, eager to share their Stitchery Stories with a wider audience.
Result!
Susan Weeks with ‘Revealing Vistas’ at Harrogate K&S 2016
Oh and I have to share this… I also had a piece of work included in the national exhibition selected by the Embroiderer’s Guild as part of the 2016 ‘Capability Brown’ Festival. It was to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Capability Brown who was a renowned landscape designer in 18th Century England. I was very excited about being included and here is a selfie of me with my work (it’s the piece at the top). I don’t just talk about textile art with others – I love making it myself.
Do you want to feel more confident about how your podcast is moving along?
Or just want to bounce some ideas around to see if podcasting would be a good strategy to add into your business? Please just give me a shout, and let’s organise a no-strings discovery session. It’s good to talk!
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