It’s been one year since The Artisan CEO Podcast launched, and given that the majority of shows out there have fewer than 10 episodes? That’s a cause for celebration!

Last August, we launched the podcast with a handful of episodes and plan for the first season… and a giant question mark for anything after that. I had no idea if this thing was going to land or not, but I had a good feeling about it. So we spent the summer prepping, writing, and recording, and then sent this thing out into the world with high hopes. And what a JOY it’s been!

We’re into our fourth season now, and I’ve learned so much- about the world of podcasting, about myself, and about you, my listeners. It’s an incredible privilege when someone chooses to spend 20+ minutes listening to my thoughts, and as much as I was committed to our “no fluff” policy before, podcasting has only served to reinforce that pledge.

We’re only three seasons, and I still feel like a bit of a “baby” podcaster (especially compared to some of my favorite shows, with 200+ episodes!), but I’m so glad we took the leap and started.

The Artisan CEO has given me a place to store all my thoughts on best practices, growth tactics, shifting away from destructive mindsets, and more. And I love that this labor is a slow burn. A podcast continues to grow over time, and as we add to the catalog of episodes and topics, the show as a whole will only ever become BETTER.

It’s not like Instagram, where if your Top 9 isn’t eye-catching and clickable, you’re DOA. The podcast allows for valuable episodes to continue to shine, years down the road- we’re building something with longevity here. And the more I lean into the concept of slow productivity, the less I stress about needing to stay up-to-the-minute on every new feature rolled out on social media.

Podcasting has given me permission to slow down, to recommit to being intentional about every marketing avenue we pursue, instead of simply trying to keep up with the masses.

I’ve learned a lot over the last year, but my three biggest takeaways are:

1. Begin with the end in mind- before you start, know where you’re trying to go. That was something we took a lot of time to consider- what was the POINT of the podcast, other than it simply being fun? I knew that having a solid answer to that question was going to be key to the longevity of the show.
2. If you’re going to do it, do it well- if I was going to put my name on a show, I wanted it to be GOOD. This meant hiring an agency to help us get it off the ground, and later hiring a designer to help me give the show it’s own sub-brand under the AGP umbrella. But along the lines of do it well, I had to learn to embrace that done is better than perfect. I could have easily delayed starting by another 6-12 months out of a desire to make it perfect, when in reality, getting the show out into the world was more important that a flawless product.
3. If you’re going to add a new stream of marketing, make sure you account for the maintenance aspect- it took a lot of effort to get the show going, and once the train was moving, it still requires a significant amount of effort to maintain speed. It definitely wasn’t a “set it and forget it” kind of thing, so as we planned for new marketing efforts for the year, I needed to learn to account for the additional time that’s needed for episode prep + recording each week.

A few fun facts from the first three seasons!

Your Top 3 favorite episodes (most downloads):

• Charge Like a CEO
• Why I Left The Wedding Industry
• Why Not Both?

My personal favorites:

• Go Home, Imposter Syndrome- You’re Drunk
• CEOs Don’t Do Coffee Runs- Knowing When To Outsource
• Stop Working During Vacation- Here’s How

Number of episodes: 41

Total listening hours: 17h 17m 42s

Average episode length: 24m 25s

Total page count of podcast scripts: 247

We’ll see you inside Season 4- we’re only just getting started!

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