The Kate Toon Podcast

I was in the car listening to podcasts. (It’s what I like to do.) And on my favourite show Reply All, P.J. and Alex were talking about COVID-19 (episode 159) and interviewing people from around the world.

And it struck me. Why don’t I do a show like that?

I launched the first season of The Kate Toon Podcast when I was publishing my first business book, Confessions of a Misfit Entrepreneur: How to Succeed in Business Despite Yourself.

I’d been planning a second series for my new book. But life got in the way, and it never happened.

So that day in the car I decided to go for it – a daily podcast where I’d talk to friends and business owners about how they were handling COVID-19 and how it was affecting their businesses.

Easy right?
Well, no. It was a totally dumb idea.
(And also a totally brilliant one.)

In this podcast, I’m going to explain how I did it, the challenges I faced, and how it rocked me to my core and ultimately led me to make some seriously tough business decisions.

Let’s get started.

So for my final proper episode of the podcast, I wanted to choose a really special guest.
Someone who I look up to, admire, someone who has guided me through this strange world.
My confidant and best friend.
MY MUM!

My Dad was on the first series of the Kate Toon podcast, and it's one of the most popular episodes so now we’ll talk to my mum.

I’m nervous, I’m sure she’ll say something that will embarrass me but hey, who cares.
We’ll be chatting about motherhood, parental guilt, family ties and also if she ever wishes I had a real job!
This is a super personal episode that I'm a tad nervous to share, but here goes nothing!

Today’s episode of TOON IN DAILY is now live!

TID29: Why we can’t all be entrepreneurs  (Guest Sharon Chisholm)

I see it every day online. 

The entrepreneur dream being packaged, preened and pedalled for the paltry price of a $27 bundle.
You too can be a 7 figure business owner.

You too can work from home in your pants.
You too can have the course, the book, the podcast, the membership.

It’s easy.
But it’s not. 

Not for most of us.
And if we don’t enjoy the struggle, if we don’t have the motivation and the mindset to see it through, trying to have an online business can be soul-destroying and exhausting.

Today I’m talking with Sharon Chisholm about her business journey and about how both of us are getting ever closer to understanding the true “why” behind our business goals.

Okay I’ll be honest.
Even though I’ve been doing this “running a business” thing for a while.
Even though I make a sufficiently impressive lump of cash.

Even though I’ve done all the things.
I still don’t feel like a real business human. I’m still playing.
Because I don’t have a giant team, an open-plan office, a ping pong table and a company culture document. All the things that make me feel like a real boss.
But I know someone who does. Marieke Van De Rakt is CEO of Yoast - the super famous WordPress SEO plugin. In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about what it’s like to be guiding a company through stormy times.
And if being a boss is really all it’s cracked up to be.

I’m so old I remember when email came into being.
At my first job we used to pass memos around in an envelope and sign our name on it when we’d read them.
Then came email - and one of the first ones I sent was to my boss, by accident, calling him a fat little shit. Fun times. But email was so new I was able to pretend it was an IT error and got away with it. Sorry Andrew.

Since then I’ve been an EDM Producer O2, worked on countless email campaigns for big brands and developed my own email list.
I’ve used a fair few platforms, set up automations, sales funnels, campaigns and killer conversion emails.
And today I’m going to share a few tips, along with my guest EDM specialist Jennifer Gale, and ecommerce store-owner Celeste Robertson.

TID26: Are Facebook Groups good for business? (Guest Kara Lambert)

I run four different public Facebook groups.
Two free.
Two as part of my paid membership.

And over the years I’ve learned a thing or two about making them work for me. But it hasn’t been easy. And pretty much every week I toy with trashing all my groups (especially the free ones) because they can be such a headache. But I don’t, cos they work!

Today I’m going to be giving my tips on how to run great Facebook groups: how to create them, get engagement and keep them enjoyable, profitable and manageable.
I’ll also be talking to my special Guest Kara Lambert, who’s an expert in the psychology behind using social media for engagement and biz success ( why it drives so many of us round the twist.)

In the last few days, I’ve been meandering around the web and I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of free content out there.
It’s enough to make you wonder why anyone pays for anything.
Free content in the form of podcasts, blogs and articles.
Free checklists, courses and ebooks.
And now during Corona - the big brands are giving away their big stuff for free, which makes it super hard for the littler business humans.
So what are the pros and the cons of free?
How can you make free work for your business?
I’ll be chatting all this and more on today's podcast with Louisa Dahl.

So this week I did an evening podcast, because my guest Steve was (and still is) in the UK.

We didn’t have a theme, no lofty business lesson, it’s really just a chat between two business buddies about how things are going during the crisis.
Steve is a freelancer with a small team - same as me.
He’s a parent - samesies.
He’s incredibly funny - blush, me too!
And just an interesting and cool dude.

So enjoy listening to us talking about banana bread, bird song and all things British.
(I even howl at one point.)

We're talking relationships on the podcast today. Bit of a change of tack, because frankly, I’m bored stupid of talking about businessy stuff.

Are you struggling to live harmoniously with your partner?

Are you separated from your partner due to Covid19?

Has your dating life gone on hold since the pandemic started?

And has the being together sparked some steamy loving or storming rows?

In this episode, we’ll be talking to relationship expert Isiah McKimmie about relationships, love and sex and how it’s all changed since the big C19 has arrived.

I’ve created a fair few communities in my time.
Starting way back in 2011 when I set up a small group on Google Plus for Copywriters. That grew into the Clever Copywriting community - a paid group
And my support group for the 10 Day SEO challenge, which is now a nearly 10k-strong free group.
I’ve learned a thing or two over the years about keeping online communities engaged and making them profitable.
But also the value of those communities when things get tough.

Today I’m going to share some of my tips on how to run a successful membership or community and I’ll be chatting with Tracy Harris from Mums with Hustle to nab her tips too.