Episode 100
Podcasting For Personal Growth with Chris Edwards
Chris Edwards is no stranger to the world of media. As the founder of the Honeycombers website which reaches over 2 million readers a month, she has learned the value of building connections and delivering quality content to those who visit the site.
It’s no surprise to me that when Chris decided to start a podcast, she would bring that same attention to detail and enthusiastic attitude to this different form of media.
As the host of the Good Business podcast and Founder of the Launchpad community, Chris's journey is packed with takeaways for anyone who wants to leverage podcasting to make more meaningful connections.
Chris's journey demonstrates the multifaceted benefits of podcasting. From building confidence and fostering connections to expanding your knowledge base, podcasting offers a unique platform for personal and professional growth. So, if you're looking to connect with like-minded individuals and embark on a journey of self-discovery, consider picking up a microphone and starting your own podcasting adventure!
CHRIS EDWARDS LINKS:
Podcast: Good Business
Community: Launchpad
BAMBY MEDIA LINKS:
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Transcript
Okay, Chris, welcome to
Speaker:Pump Up Your Pod today.
Speaker:She has a podcast called Good
Speaker:Business and is also running a
Speaker:incredible community called Launchpad.
Speaker:Chris, you started your
Speaker:podcast in January, 2023.
Speaker:So your podcast started with a episode.
Speaker:From Andrew Dixon on building a
Speaker:sustainable business, I want you
Speaker:to take me back to that very first
Speaker:episode, why you decided to run
Speaker:with Andrew Dixon as your first
Speaker:guest, and why you started it then.
Speaker:First of all, thank you for having me.
Speaker:I Love podcasting.
Speaker:I love talking about podcasts.
Speaker:I love my podcast.
Speaker:So I'm like, I'm literally
Speaker:pumped to be on your pod.
Speaker:I wanted to create a podcast that would
Speaker:inspire entrepreneurs to think about How
Speaker:they can have a great business, but also
Speaker:be thinking about the planet and people.
Speaker:So it's not just about profit.
Speaker:So that's what good business means to me.
Speaker:And Andrew Dixon is actually someone
Speaker:I've known for a very long time.
Speaker:That's probably why I had him on the pod.
Speaker:He runs a private Island resort, off
Speaker:the coast of Malaysia, Indonesia.
Speaker:I'm going to get this wrong.
Speaker:I've been there many times.
Speaker:It's divine.
Speaker:so it's called Nikoi and
Speaker:it's a remarkable business
Speaker:because he's running this.
Speaker:It's kind of like a six star
Speaker:eco resort, but it's all with
Speaker:these sustainable principles.
Speaker:And he was really early, so he's been
Speaker:doing this for 10 years and he's really
Speaker:early in the world of sustainability
Speaker:and he's quite a champion in it.
Speaker:And so, yeah, that's why I chose
Speaker:Andrew Dixon, but I have to say my
Speaker:first few episodes, I reached out to.
Speaker:People that I've never met and I
Speaker:got them on the pod and I deeply
Speaker:admire the work they're doing.
Speaker:And so I was just a
Speaker:massive, nervous Nellie.
Speaker:And I was just like a school girl
Speaker:going, Oh my God, I can't believe
Speaker:I've got an hour of your time.
Speaker:And I've got to ask all the questions
Speaker:and I can't really stumble or,
Speaker:you know, I've got to have a more
Speaker:intelligent question to come next.
Speaker:And I just remember just.
Speaker:Oh, I just felt like a really young
Speaker:child with a new, with a new toy,
Speaker:but very inexperienced and very.
Speaker:Yeah, I feel like it's amazing the
Speaker:growth you get personal development from
Speaker:having a podcast because now I've just,
Speaker:I suppose I'm just a lot more relaxed
Speaker:and I just look forward to my interviews
Speaker:with people and I don't have this nervous
Speaker:school girl kind of, Oh, I'm going to do
Speaker:the wrong thing kind of energy going on.
Speaker:I'm looking at your show here, and
Speaker:from what I can see, you didn't do
Speaker:a solo episode until episode 28.
Speaker:So, they were all guest
Speaker:episodes prior to that?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Was that a conscious decision?
Speaker:Uh,
Speaker:no.
Speaker:God, no.
Speaker:I don't know why I decided to do
Speaker:a solo episode, but I gave it a
Speaker:crack, and my audience loved it.
Speaker:And so then I was doing an interview
Speaker:and a solo and alternating because
Speaker:I really love solo episodes, but I
Speaker:think I just needed to build up my, I
Speaker:suppose my thought bubbles around what
Speaker:I would talk about for 20 minutes.
Speaker:and also the planning.
Speaker:There's a lot more planning that
Speaker:goes into a solo episode than an
Speaker:interview episode is it's kind of
Speaker:easy to come up with good questions,
Speaker:but to actually write content
Speaker:that you think's really highly
Speaker:valuable, that people are going to.
Speaker:Share or walk away with something to
Speaker:help them build a better business.
Speaker:That takes a lot more, I suppose,
Speaker:thought and time and energy.
Speaker:But yeah, I've, I really enjoy
Speaker:the solo episodes now too.
Speaker:I mean, I just love podcasting.
Speaker:The key thing that you've said
Speaker:there is putting time and effort in.
Speaker:And so for you, for your podcast,
Speaker:for your audience, it's not
Speaker:like you can just talk about
Speaker:whatever's coming into your head.
Speaker:Like you're trying to help
Speaker:people build better businesses.
Speaker:And so for you to deliver solo
Speaker:content, it's like a keynote for
Speaker:that person on the other end.
Speaker:So it really feels like there's a lot
Speaker:of It's not pressure, but it's like
Speaker:you have a reputation that you want
Speaker:to deliver on for your solo content.
Speaker:And the fact that you do
Speaker:that, that is something that
Speaker:people would normally pay for.
Speaker:This is one of the things about
Speaker:podcasting is that they just
Speaker:don't realize how much good
Speaker:info they're getting for free,
Speaker:how valuable the information is
Speaker:that they're getting for free.
Speaker:So I applaud you for putting that
Speaker:extra time into the actual solo
Speaker:episodes, because it's going to.
Speaker:for you and also for the
Speaker:people listening to it as well.
Speaker:How did you approach these people
Speaker:that you were having on your show
Speaker:to, like, how did you pitch them?
Speaker:How did you get them to say yes?
Speaker:Potentially a little bit easier for me
Speaker:because most of these businesses are
Speaker:based in Asia and I actually have quite
Speaker:a well established business in Asia.
Speaker:Launchpad and Good Business is not
Speaker:my first rodeo and business and I
Speaker:have a media platform that I suppose
Speaker:it's been around for 15 years and
Speaker:we have 2 million readers a month.
Speaker:So it People know honeycombers in Asia.
Speaker:It's, it's really interesting
Speaker:actually, because people
Speaker:don't know it in Australia.
Speaker:And, you know, I have to spend a lot
Speaker:of time explaining my background here,
Speaker:but that has helped open lots of doors.
Speaker:And most of the people that come
Speaker:on my pod would love an article on
Speaker:honeycombers because of the readerships.
Speaker:So we would definitely say, we'd love
Speaker:to interview on the pod and that would
Speaker:also be profiled on Honeycombers.
Speaker:And so we've actually not
Speaker:had many people say no.
Speaker:It's more the challenge of finding people
Speaker:that I think have a really great story
Speaker:that I think people are going to want
Speaker:to hear from that are good speakers.
Speaker:You know, I think it's more finding the
Speaker:talent than getting people to say yes.
Speaker:That's more of the challenge.
Speaker:So many interviews fall flat
Speaker:because you have, I mean, we see it.
Speaker:Obviously, we've got a lot
Speaker:of people on our roster who
Speaker:interview a lot of people as well.
Speaker:And not all of them can be winning.
Speaker:Interviews it does make it really hard
Speaker:sometimes as well You can do an interview
Speaker:and then you're like wow that that was
Speaker:actually terrible but then you feel bad
Speaker:for like if you don't release it as well
Speaker:because you've had them on and You feel
Speaker:like well i've committed to this thing
Speaker:and then maybe I should like I need
Speaker:to still release it That's challenging
Speaker:as well to to have the wherewithal, I
Speaker:suppose, to go, you know what, maybe I
Speaker:shouldn't release this because they don't
Speaker:align with my values or, uh, you know,
Speaker:this took a turn that I wasn't expecting,
Speaker:or they spoke about something that feels
Speaker:really wrong to me, or they were just
Speaker:bad at speaking, or the internet was bad.
Speaker:That can be tricky.
Speaker:You haven't had those
Speaker:kinds of experiences?
Speaker:If you mostly had good ones?
Speaker:I have had those kinds of experiences.
Speaker:I've only had one where We didn't do
Speaker:enough research before we approached
Speaker:this person and they weren't
Speaker:values aligned and I didn't want
Speaker:to really lend my platform to them,
Speaker:which is what you're doing, right?
Speaker:So I just said to them, sorry,
Speaker:we're not going to run it.
Speaker:And look, I, Have a media business.
Speaker:So I know that there is no obligation and
Speaker:it is a delicate conversation, but you're
Speaker:the owner of your pod and your media.
Speaker:And you do need to protect that because
Speaker:you will lose people, particularly if
Speaker:you've got someone who doesn't have the
Speaker:right values on your show or doesn't
Speaker:align with what you're trying to.
Speaker:You know, share or, I suppose
Speaker:your purpose or your why it would
Speaker:make people listen to that episode
Speaker:and go, this is not for me.
Speaker:So yeah, I've definitely had that.
Speaker:I've also had really embarrassing.
Speaker:I shouldn't share this, but I will.
Speaker:I've had someone approach me
Speaker:this week that said, Hey Chris,
Speaker:Whatever happened to my episode
Speaker:and I was like, Oh, I'm so sorry.
Speaker:It was like a year ago and I was like,
Speaker:quick, let's look at the transcript.
Speaker:Was there something in there that we
Speaker:didn't love let's re listen to it.
Speaker:Was it not good enough?
Speaker:And it was perfectly fine.
Speaker:And I'm like, I'm really sorry.
Speaker:We're just going to rerecord
Speaker:because it was a year ago
Speaker:so you just got lost in the shuffle of
Speaker:like editing or whatever and you just
Speaker:completely, oh man, that's terrible.
Speaker:But I'm glad they reached out to me.
Speaker:They were absolutely an aligned business.
Speaker:And what I'm going to do is actually,
Speaker:which is actually my, um, production
Speaker:assistance idea was to, um, release
Speaker:most of it and then we're going
Speaker:to add, so that was a year ago.
Speaker:So now here's what's happened
Speaker:since then, you know,
Speaker:fully strategic.
Speaker:So we recorded a whole episode
Speaker:and, uh, yeah, here's a, here's
Speaker:where that person's up to now.
Speaker:This was totally on purpose.
Speaker:Oh my God.
Speaker:Except anyone that listens to our
Speaker:show will know that, you know,
Speaker:it's, you're a big fraud basically.
Speaker:That's what you're saying.
Speaker:Um,
Speaker:put on my word if you are
Speaker:values aligned to my mission.
Speaker:But, uh, yeah, you know, mistakes happen.
Speaker:They do.
Speaker:That's exactly right.
Speaker:What do you think you enjoy
Speaker:the most about podcasting?
Speaker:I'm not sure I want to give
Speaker:this one out, but I will.
Speaker:I think it's incredible that you can
Speaker:get almost anyone in the world to come
Speaker:and spend an hour with you, and you
Speaker:can ask them any question you like.
Speaker:And most of the time, they're
Speaker:going to give you a very, Truthful,
Speaker:authentic, real answer, because
Speaker:that's what you're signing up to.
Speaker:When you come on someone's pod,
Speaker:it's like you're, you're saying, you
Speaker:know, ask me pretty much everything,
Speaker:anything, and I will share, but the
Speaker:knowledge and personal growth you get.
Speaker:From having your own
Speaker:pod is just hands down.
Speaker:You can't put a figure on it.
Speaker:I think it's been the number
Speaker:one most significant thing I've
Speaker:done in the last 18 months.
Speaker:Uh, and I've done lots of things,
Speaker:but in terms of my personal growth,
Speaker:yeah, it's, it's hard to grow as an
Speaker:adult and learn, and you can listen
Speaker:to pods, but if you're in the hot
Speaker:seat, actually interviewing people,
Speaker:you are so engaged in that chat and
Speaker:you're, you're always trying to think.
Speaker:You know, three steps ahead,
Speaker:but also even your conversation
Speaker:skills, you know, your ability to
Speaker:really listen, it's just improved.
Speaker:hands down, very, very
Speaker:fulfilling, rewarding exercise.
Speaker:That feels like one of the
Speaker:biggest ROIs you can get.
Speaker:You know when we talk about oh my
Speaker:show isn't growing or I'm not getting
Speaker:the download numbers or whatever else
Speaker:What you've just explained there is
Speaker:something that I say to people all
Speaker:the time Especially if you have a
Speaker:show where you're interviewing people.
Speaker:The connections are insane like
Speaker:Insane it's like networking But you're
Speaker:networking one on one It's like going
Speaker:to a dinner party and no one else is
Speaker:there and then you get an hour with them
Speaker:And you're also networking
Speaker:with people that you aspire
Speaker:to have conversation with.
Speaker:So it is door opening as
Speaker:well as deeply connecting.
Speaker:What about, what do you really
Speaker:struggle with as a podcaster?
Speaker:Getting the right people to
Speaker:support you is challenging.
Speaker:getting everyone aligned to
Speaker:what makes a great episode.
Speaker:You know, recently we released an
Speaker:episode and I don't listen back to my
Speaker:own episodes, but I have my team do it.
Speaker:And they released this episode and I
Speaker:played it and it was just embarrassing
Speaker:on so many levels and I was just
Speaker:like, quick, get it down, get it down.
Speaker:But, you know, like, so there is
Speaker:real risk that if you don't have
Speaker:the right team supporting you, or if
Speaker:they don't have fully understand what
Speaker:success looks like and have that great
Speaker:alignment, then it can go really wrong.
Speaker:and throw you a little bit surrounding
Speaker:yourself with the right people that
Speaker:understand the vision and can be
Speaker:objective But, it's your voice and
Speaker:it's your person, it's your brand.
Speaker:So it's, it's pretty
Speaker:important to get it right.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Cause it's not like you're going to sit
Speaker:there and do everything yourself either.
Speaker:So it's important to, and you're not
Speaker:a micromanaging type person, you know,
Speaker:established that you just want to trust
Speaker:who it is that you've got doing that
Speaker:thing, that task, having that role to be.
Speaker:And so, yeah, it can be a real
Speaker:struggle, especially if it's your
Speaker:voice, then that's your personal
Speaker:brand, that's your thought leadership,
Speaker:and it needs to be connected.
Speaker:Really well.
Speaker:So I can see why that would be
Speaker:a struggle and it can be hard
Speaker:to build a team in that way.
Speaker:So, yeah, I get it.
Speaker:From where you started to where
Speaker:you are now, do you think that
Speaker:anything has significantly changed?
Speaker:Is there anything that you felt
Speaker:like you've really learned that has
Speaker:brought your show to another level?
Speaker:Not really.
Speaker:I mean, I suppose doing the solo episodes
Speaker:has been a big change, but the thing
Speaker:that has changed for me is I've been
Speaker:meeting people who listened to my pod
Speaker:and I don't, you don't know who's,
Speaker:who's listened to your pod and you
Speaker:meet people and they're like, Oh yeah.
Speaker:I just have to tell you, I listened
Speaker:to your podcast, so I totally get
Speaker:what you're all about and who you
Speaker:are and and I love what you're doing.
Speaker:And they've really invested into you and.
Speaker:You know, the community that I have
Speaker:of entrepreneurs, it's like you look
Speaker:at this big room of people, but you
Speaker:don't know how many are really deeply
Speaker:connected with what you're all about
Speaker:and your true self and your values.
Speaker:But yeah, I feel like
Speaker:that's one thing that.
Speaker:Over the course of the year, I've learned
Speaker:more as I've gone to even events in
Speaker:Australia where people are like, I just
Speaker:want to tell you, I really love your pod.
Speaker:Like, it's like, Oh my God, you listen.
Speaker:that's one thing I really love.
Speaker:I think because you're in their ears, and
Speaker:the connection that you're able to make
Speaker:with them, you don't realise that you're
Speaker:making such a big impact on a person.
Speaker:Because you're just talking to nothing.
Speaker:You're talking to nobody.
Speaker:but the person on the other end is
Speaker:getting really true value out of it.
Speaker:So for people that are listening to
Speaker:this show right now, the listeners,
Speaker:think about that for yourself as
Speaker:a podcaster, try and bring part
Speaker:of yourself into what you deliver.
Speaker:To help that person on the other end
Speaker:that's listening feel more connected
Speaker:to you as a person, especially if
Speaker:you're trying to build a personal
Speaker:brand or your thought leadership or
Speaker:get on stages or sell your courses or
Speaker:whatever it is, your memberships, the
Speaker:more that they feel like they know
Speaker:you, the more they will be ready.
Speaker:To dive into whatever you have to offer.
Speaker:And Chris, you may have had
Speaker:that experience, uh, yourself.
Speaker:Do you mention on your show when you
Speaker:have things that you're offering, that
Speaker:you're selling, how do you feel about
Speaker:selling on your podcast, your own things?
Speaker:Yeah, that's a good question.
Speaker:So I mentioned, about my community
Speaker:launchpad on the podcast.
Speaker:And I think it's called
Speaker:a launchpad podcast.
Speaker:And when you find the podcast,
Speaker:it's on the launchpad website.
Speaker:And really I see it as we get quite a
Speaker:lot of people coming to the launchpad
Speaker:website because it's got very good
Speaker:SEO, but for people to kind of,
Speaker:you know, I suppose, get to know
Speaker:me before they join the community.
Speaker:The podcast is the perfect way for
Speaker:people to kind of get to know me.
Speaker:And then actually even for people that
Speaker:are in the community, for them to just
Speaker:get value from the community and for
Speaker:them to level up their business, which
Speaker:is what the community is all about.
Speaker:The podcast serves, um,
Speaker:so it serves not just.
Speaker:I suppose as a branding marketing tool,
Speaker:but it actually serves as serving my
Speaker:mission with launchpad, which is to
Speaker:help people have better businesses
Speaker:that are considering the planet and
Speaker:people along with profitability,
Speaker:which I don't think people do enough.
Speaker:I think people do.
Speaker:entrepreneurs think about profit, but
Speaker:I think to be a really good entrepreneur
Speaker:in today's age, you need to be thinking
Speaker:more holistically about your business.
Speaker:That's my mission.
Speaker:And I don't mind if people listen
Speaker:to it when they're members or
Speaker:non members, but it helps serve
Speaker:that purpose, really to inspire.
Speaker:And educate and connect.
Speaker:I really personally love
Speaker:connecting with people.
Speaker:So it does amplify my ability to connect.
Speaker:Speaking of connection, then you sound
Speaker:like you're an avid podcast listener.
Speaker:Could you give me one or two of
Speaker:your favorite podcasts and why
Speaker:you think they're your favorite?
Speaker:Diary of a CEO is one.
Speaker:I don't love every episode,
Speaker:but I pick and choose.
Speaker:But I think he does a really
Speaker:good job, of really, I suppose,
Speaker:Getting really deep with incredible
Speaker:thought leaders around the world.
Speaker:Whenever I follow someone.
Speaker:So for example, I'm a big Tim Duggan
Speaker:fan, who's just released a new book.
Speaker:So I will listen to whatever podcast he's
Speaker:interviewed on because I love his story
Speaker:and he ran a digital media business.
Speaker:So there's lots of parallels.
Speaker:But, so I just listened to,
Speaker:listened to his interview on,
Speaker:um, Mark Boris, the mentor.
Speaker:so that's another pod I quite like.
Speaker:There's one that I've really gotten
Speaker:into recently, which is done by the
Speaker:Atlantic, which is how to keep time.
Speaker:And that's a really interesting
Speaker:podcast, just about life
Speaker:in general, modern wisdom.
Speaker:I could go on and on and on.
Speaker:And, you know, one thing I find
Speaker:really interesting is how personal
Speaker:podcasts are to the point that my
Speaker:husband and I will be in the car.
Speaker:We've done some long car trips recently,
Speaker:and I've been trying to find podcasts
Speaker:that he and I would both enjoy.
Speaker:we've been married for 21 years, right?
Speaker:So we're pretty like tight.
Speaker:But we can't find anything we
Speaker:both like, like, he wants to
Speaker:listen to science and history.
Speaker:And I'm like, all about, you know, I
Speaker:suppose the brain and people and business
Speaker:and you know, like, it's so funny how
Speaker:you can go really niche in the podcasting
Speaker:space and find new genre and be like.
Speaker:He's like, why don't you want to
Speaker:listen to this history podcast?
Speaker:I'm like, I'd prefer to shoot myself.
Speaker:You know?
Speaker:You're like, uh, that is a snooze
Speaker:fest and I am not interested
Speaker:in falling asleep right now.
Speaker:That's so funny.
Speaker:I, that's actually one of the
Speaker:coolest things about podcasting.
Speaker:And when it first appeared
Speaker:on the scene was that people
Speaker:started to realize, unlike radio,
Speaker:where you have five options.
Speaker:Of what you can listen to.
Speaker:You can listen to literally
Speaker:anything that you want.
Speaker:That's the other reason why download
Speaker:numbers aren't as important,
Speaker:because if you have a niche, you
Speaker:can have a super engaged niche on
Speaker:a just really detailed topic, which
Speaker:means your numbers will never be
Speaker:big, but they will be raving fans.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:As well.
Speaker:So, niching something really
Speaker:to just remember that it's okay
Speaker:to go really specific because
Speaker:you will find your people.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:There's a podcast that is specifically
Speaker:about, I mean there's heaps of them,
Speaker:but there's a show called Avatar,
Speaker:The Last Airbender, which is a
Speaker:show that is a Nickelodeon show.
Speaker:It's actually one of my favorite shows.
Speaker:I was, uh, judging the show.
Speaker:One of the podcasting awards recently,
Speaker:and I came across one of the things I
Speaker:had to judge was this podcast, which
Speaker:was all about just avatar and how it
Speaker:was created and pretty damn niche,
Speaker:but had a very targeted audience.
Speaker:So I think that that's
Speaker:really actually very cool.
Speaker:Um,
Speaker:yeah, it's a pretty unique
Speaker:medium like that, actually.
Speaker:And I think that's why it's totally blown
Speaker:up, particularly in Australia, right?
Speaker:People love finding their
Speaker:thing and going deep.
Speaker:Going down a rabbit hole, yes, well.
Speaker:I just have really enjoyed this
Speaker:conversation chatting to you all about
Speaker:just podcasting more specifically and
Speaker:why you started yours, who it's for.
Speaker:I want everyone to go and engage.
Speaker:If you've really enjoyed the way Chris
Speaker:talks, then you're going to like the
Speaker:style that she delivers on her podcast.
Speaker:Chris, I just like to say
Speaker:thanks so much for coming on.
Speaker:You are a.
Speaker:Just beautiful bubbly light of a person.
Speaker:I feel like we have similar energies and
Speaker:it's, we have similar values as well.
Speaker:And it's just really nice to connect
Speaker:with people that you feel like,
Speaker:uh, just on the same wavelength.
Speaker:Yeah, totally Brianna.
Speaker:Thank you for having me.
Speaker:Yeah, no, we definitely have a lot
Speaker:in common and you know, it's lucky we
Speaker:did this podcast now because two years
Speaker:ago I had bangs just like your bangs.
Speaker:So it would have been a
Speaker:little bit like, um, you know,
Speaker:that stalky kind of sisters.
Speaker:Oh my God.
Speaker:Totally.
Speaker:Thanks Brianna.
Speaker:Bye.
