From Santa Rosa, CA, this is 19 Stories, I’m Cheryl Holling
For those of you who may be joining me for the first time, 19Stories is about women and men from all walks of life doing the extraordinary in their everyday. Their will to live, press-on & press-through their personal fears and move into a future filled with hope.
So Hello and welcome to a brief recap of the She Podcasts Live! Conference that I attended last week in Scottsdale AZ
For those of you who do not podcast you may be wondering why I would do a recap on an industry event that may not apply to your lives or business. Well for one, it was the first time in almost two years that I had engaged with really anyone outside of a very small circle and certainly on the scale that I did last week.
Given the pandemic you may have been living a similar existence and with more people getting vaxed and life beginning to open up once again, god-willing for real this time, you may be looking to enlarge your circle and engage with more people as well.
I have to say that getting on a plane, being in closed quarters and that close to a couple of hundred people just to get to my destination, raised some fear and anxiety for me and I actually had a bit of a panic attack. So much so that when my cousin picked me up at the airport in Phoenix, I all but walked right past him directly into his car without barely saying hello...thankfully he understood and saw that I was operating out of my normal comfort zone than what I’ve been used to for the past 20 months and graciously forgave me for what otherwise could be construed as a bit rude.
I got to the conference a couple of days early as I had the pleasure of working with She Podcasts for the better part of the past 5 months in putting together their SWAG bags for the event and I was to be working with a team of people, some known and others that became new friends, to coordinate the bags, check-in and registration materials and get settled before the conference began.
I had never been to Scottsdale and to say that the desert during the Fall is magical is an understatement! To add to the majesty, the property where the conference was held was absolutely gorgeous with pools, walking trails, close to Camelback Mountain and my favorite coffee shop that no longer exists in Sonoma County within an almost 2 mile walking distance allowing me to get out and walk my almost 4 miles each morning and take in the beauty of the desert at sunrise. Just Spectacular!
Another apprehension about gathering with so many others after only getting to know a fraction of the 400+ women via Zoom, is that it is always different meeting people in person than getting to know them online. Also, and I’ll speak for myself, how do I behave after not really having live, in-person conversations for so long, will we be supportive of one-another, allow that not all of us will be comfortable being fully present right out of the gate?
Well, the organizers of She Podcasts LIVE! Handled that with great aplomb by not only having badges that designated if you were an extrovert, introvert, etc...but giving color-coded lanyards that also let others know if you were comfortable with close physical contact such as hugs or did you need your space or something in between. Systems that prior to the pandemic would seem silly but ones that made perfect sense as we came together after being apart for so long.
The beauty of the women I worked with on the event was that we were all sympatico in our personalities, humor, and our mutual desire to serve and to also get the most out of the time we were there.
Given I am still relatively new to podcasting, I went with an open heart and mind to learn all that I could in making my podcast better, how to expand my audience and learn what I could about monetizing it so that I can continue producing content on a weekly basis. Podcasting, although very rewarding can be really hard and I wanted to meet with like-minded women who’ve been doing it a lot longer than I have and have learned to be really successful and some very profitable form it.
Although I launched my podcast as a passion project, there are hard-costs associated with podcasts and rather than come out of pocket for those expenses I’d like to be able to cover them.
I share that with you so that if you do have an idea or dream of producing your own podcast that you’re aware of some of what’s involved with doing so.
Speaking of which, after almost 4 days of back to back panels, speakers and podcasts representing every genre, age and racial diversity, networking at the parties or a small while out on a walk or sitting by an intimate fire in the courtyard, my major takeaways is:
- Everyone has a unique voice and story that if you have the desire, drive and passion to tell it then podcasting is a perfect medium to do so.
- You need partnerships; other people, in this case women, to walk this journey with you, help you in your challenges, hold you accountable and to celebrate your victories.
- Your brand, if you will, is your own unique personality and voice and thus your podcast, business, fill in the blank is not going to be the same as someone else so for gosh sakes learn from others but stop comparing your progress or success to someone else
- Find what is and what is not working for you, change what you can and then change your mindset about what you can’t
- Just because you can do it all doesn’t mean you should! This is a big one for me as for now I am a one-person show when it comes to both producing my podcast and pursuing my voiceover work. Thus one of the reasons that I would like my podcast to be self-sustaining and make a bit of money so that I may actually begin farming out some of the work.
- And finally, with the following pearl of wisdom courtesy of the Satellite Sisters, “what women do, think and say should not be dismissed by the news of the day”? Meaning we are more than news bites and what is deemed important on the local news. OUR VOICE MATTERS
And I believe that by being willing to be vulnerable, share our stories, our fears, our bravery and tools to overcome those fears, can we live into the hope of a healthier future.
One of the mixed blessings of attending a conference in a beautifully relaxing and inspiring environment, with equally empowering and beautiful people, is coming down the other side of the “contact high” so to speak.
My heart and mind are full and grateful and yet sad to not be around the energy and acceptance found in a brief moment of time, camaraderie and connection.
It is my desire that by continuing to share people’s stories on 19 Stories: from Fear to Hope is that I’m able to present a common thread of hope that will help you for a moment of time as well.
I want to share that the very next day upon returning from my immersion into the world of podcasting, that I received notification that my little podcast that could was nominated for a SOVAS Award (aka The Society of Voice Arts and Sciences) for Best Podcast. To say that I’m honored would be an understatement and I’m so very grateful to all of my guests who have trusted me enough to share their stories. I look forward to being able to do so for as long as you, my listener, want to hear them.
Until the next episode, stay Healthy and Hopeful.
If you liked this, or any of the other episodes, make sure you like, review and share. You can also leave a recorded review via my website at: https://www.soundsatchelstudios.com/19stories-podcast
Thank you ; - )
