Being Heard

"When I first had the idea [to create a podcast], I saw it as an idea that I had that I would never, ever do. So the fact that I've done it, and am doing it, it's shown me that I can be scared and still do it anyway."

My guest this week is a woman who, like me, describes herself as "one of the quiet ones". She is a freelance writer, online business owner, creative business mentor and host of the Creatively Human podcast. Ruth Poundwhite started her business after leaving university but, as an introvert, she consciously avoided sharing anything of herself with that community.

Fast forward ten years and in 2018 she felt "an itch to do something more of myself, my face and my voice." And I for one, am so glad that she did. Listening to Ruth's podcast conversations with other creatives and the deeper side of business, along with her solo episodes, has opened my eyes to the reality that sharing more of ourselves doesn't make us weak. Just because it's scary doesn't mean we should hide away and be afraid for anyone to hear our real voice.

As Ruth said in a recent interview, "Showing up as we fundamentally are, and telling the truth of the experiences that we do choose to share, is what connects us as humans."

For links and resources, including Ruth's podcast recommendations, see the full show notes.

You can join myself and Ruth on Instagram @thehappysideof40 and @ruthpoundwhite.

"It's important for me to have more inclusion, more diversity [on my podcast] because my listeners - they are being influenced by the people that I interview and I don't want to reflect a world that doesn't include them."

My guest this week on Being Heard is a writer, blogger, podcaster and advocate for low impact lifestyle choices such as veganism and low waste. Lucy Lucraft is a woman unafraid to take on an activist role for what she believes in but does so in a judgement-free way, recognising that we are all doing "the best we can with what we have and what we know".

Lucy joined me for a chat about the magical feeling of earning her first byline, the challenges of a patriarchal work structure for working women and why it's important to question privilege, no matter how uncomfortable it may make us feel.

I really enjoyed our conversation and I hope you do too.

For links and resources, including Lucy's podcast recommendations, see the full show notes.

You can join myself and Lucy on Instagram @thehappysideof40 and @lucylucraft.

"When it comes to PR-ing ourselves [women] seem to lack confidence in talking about our businesses, talking about money and really giving ourselves the space to say 'yeah, we're really bloody good at what we do'".

On this week's episode I chat to Sam Burgess, the brains and owner behind Small & Mighty Co, previously known as Social Mouth. Sam is a marketing mentor and consultant working with small product-based businesses to give them the tools they need to succeed. She started her podcast, Small and Mighty Conversations, way back in 2017. Initially it began as a means of shining a light on other small businesses doing amazing things and whose journeys she felt should be heard by more people. We talked about how a childhood passion for radio was reignited as a result of life-changing events, the importance of women having the confidence to promote themselves, and above all the value of women being each other's PR spokesperson.

In this episode we talk about:

• Teaching rather than doing
• Needing to understand the 'why'
• Why she started her podcast in 2017
• Getting rid of imposter syndrome
• Taking a break between seasons
• Advertising on podcasts and deciding whether to have a sponsor
• Using a podcast to market your business and yourself
• Why she doesn't believe that podcasting is the right medium for everyone
• Why it's important for women to learn to PR ourselves
• Equally having friends who can be your PR spokesperson

Full show notes including all links and Sam's podcast recommendations can be found at www.thehappysideof40.com/podcast/sam-burgess/

Join us on Instagram at:

• Sam - @samburgessuk
• Karen - @thehappysideof40.com

"Something magical happens when we come together and talk about what is relevant to us."

This week I'm chatting to Anna Dunleavy, the host of the podcast Fearless Hustle Collective. Working as a wedding photographer in Nottingham in 2018, she found herself searching for support locally from other women working in the creative industry. When she couldn't find what she was looking for, she set up a group herself! From these early local meet-ups evolved an online membership group, a Facebook group and then a podcast, all aimed at providing a supportive community for creative female entrepreneurs.

• Feeling alone when running a business
• Looking for business besties
• Creating a community
• Multi-hyphen careers
• Fulfilling your career passions
• Importance of finding people to support you
• Stepping through self-doubt
• What 'hustle' means to her
• Overcoming nerves and doing it anyway
• Process she follows to record a podcast

• The Elephant and The Flea by Charles Handy
• Jenna Kutcher
• Soundcloud
• Libsyn

• The Little Chapters
• Friends with Business Benefits
• On The Make

Anna's podcast – Fearless Hustle Collective www.annadunleavy.com

For links and details on what we discuss in the show, see the full show notes.

For any questions or to chat about what we talk discuss on the show, find us on Instagram @anna_dunleavy and @thehappysideof40.

"Living that life that we're told to live is totally right for some people, maybe most people, but it's not right for everyone."

In this episode of Being Heard I chat to Fiona Barrows, the host of the There Are Other Ways podcast. Until recently Fiona has been a website copywriter and content creator for small businesses and is now undergoing a transition to offer creative business mentoring as well. Her podcast started from a desire for conversations with other like-minded souls who don't subscribe to the view that there is only one path in life. Through these conversations she wanted to not only reassure herself, but also others, that it's ok to want to do things a little differently.

In This Episode We Talk About:

• The mindset difference between freelancing and running a business
• Building a business that works with your mental health rather than against it
• The importance of taking action and trying other things to help understand what you actually want
• Changing attitudes towards university education and its' value
• Being multi-passionate
• How podcasting has given her the opportunity to talk to the people whose books she has read and blogs that she follows
• The value of hearing different experiences and perspectives in regard to mental health and how it increases the chances that people will find the voices they need to hear
• Automated advertising in podcasting and monetisation

Links Mentioned:

• Season 2 Episode 4 of There Are Other Ways with Vanessa Dennett
• The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
•  A Slow Adventure with Maddy Lawson
• Episode 26 of On The Make – Josephine Brooks' podcast
  • Listen to Episode 1 of Being Heard with Josephine Brooks
• Hashtag Authentic
• Letters from a Hopeful Creative
• Serial

Fiona's Favourite Podcasts:

• The High Low with Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes
• My Dad Wrote A Porno 
• Table Manners with Jessie Ware
• Love Stories with Dolly Alderton
• Strangers
• The Allusionist
• Sentimental Garbage
• You're Wrong About
• The Dropout
• Slow Burn
• The Rewatchables (the episodes hosted by women!)

There Are Other Ways podcast www.fionabarrows.com Letters & Notes – Fiona's newsletter

Find us on Instagram @fbarrows | @thehappysideof40

"We all struggle with the same stuff and if we can share those stories a bit more, we can make it easier for everyone."

In the first episode of this new Being Heard podcast, I chat to Josephine Brooks -- a planning and productivity mentor for side-hustlers. Josephine helps people who are creating a business on the side of other commitments to build the creative business they dream of. She also hosts On The Make, a podcast where she shares her planning and productivity knowledge alongside guests who share their own experience of growing a side-hustle.

In this episode we talk about:

• Being more efficient when you only have small windows of time in which to build your business
• Josephine's philosophy around doing less and focusing on the stuff that really matters
• Pivoting your business when you realise it's not what you truly love
• How we sometimes fail to recognise our own strengths because they come easily to us
• Why she adopts a practical, solutions-based approach to her podcast content
• Why she chose podcasting as a way to share content with her audience
• The role of On The Make as a marketing content stream for her business
• Creating a regular routine to produce a weekly show
• Working through the first awkward few episodes
• How she uses each episode to support side-hustlers with the challenges they face when trying to build a business and to help them feel less alone.

Links mentioned:

• Josephine's online course - Make a Plan, Make It Happen
• 1:1 Mentoring
• Time Is Precious, Do What You Love
• Letters From A Hopeful Creative 
• The Little Chapters
• Courage & Spice
• The Chimp Paradox
• You're a Badass at Making Money
• The Emma Guns Show - Jen Sincero episode
• Overcast app - iOS only I'm afraid
• The Best Podcasts for Side-Hustlers

Josephine's Favourite Podcasts

• The Power Hour with Adrienne Herbert
• There Are Other Ways with Fiona Barrows
• In Good Company with Otegha Uwagba

On The Make podcast www.josephinebrooks.co.uk

Find us on Instagram @josephinepbrooks | @thehappysideof40