262: Unleash Your Podcasting Potential: Tips for Mom Founders to Overcome Fear and Find Their Voice Online

In the world of podcasting, a lot of newbie hosts get nervous about their voices and the stories they want to share. In this special holiday episode, Melissa teams up with the amazing Anika Jackson to chat about juggling motherhood, entrepreneurship, and podcasting. Anika shares how she helps podcasters find their true voice, streamline their workflow, and grow their influence—all while cracking us up with some hilarious stories (yes, there’s even a squirrel costume involved!). Scroll down for image 🔥   If you’re a mom dreaming of starting a podcast or just need some inspo on how to juggle creativity and family life, this episode is full of practical tips, laughs, and moments you’ll totally relate to! In this episode, you will hear:   Overcoming the fear of hearing yourself on recordings. Tips for creating a quiet recording space (even with little ones around). Why quirky and personal stories (like Anika’s Playgirl experience!) can captivate audiences. How to align your unique story with your audience's needs. Leveraging podcasting communities for guidance and encouragement. Practical steps for getting started, staying consistent, and embracing imperfection. This episode is brought to you by:  My free anti-burnout 30-day resource for mompreneurs! Momentum usually comes at the cost of burn-out because what it truly takes to build something upfront is more energy and effort than a lot of us have to spare....which is why....I created this planner.   This mom-friendly planner links your vision to daily actions, helping you stay focused and energized as you build profitable relationships. Whether you want to find a new job, get new clients, or launch up your ultimate podcast while focusing on mission critical consistent action steps each day...starting with a 30-day timeframe...this action tracker and planner was made with YOU in mind. Set yourself up for a successful year and an even bigger one ahead! It also sees to it that you replenish your energy to prevent burnout. ($97 value, helps avoid a $2,400 trip to the ER from exhaustion).  https://bit.ly/imagineaplan Squirrel found in the wild.   __________________________________________________________________________________   About Anika Jackson Anika Jackson is passionate about creating ecosystems where technology, education, and philanthropy intersect to tackle global challenges. As Philanthropy Manager at the ICL Foundation, she drives community impact initiatives. Anika also teaches at USC's Annenberg School and co-hosts the Mediascape podcast. Her podcast, Your Brand Amplified®, launched in 2020, ranks in the top 1.5% globally on ListenNotes. Anika serves on the UC Santa Barbara Women in Leadership advisory board and Intuit’s Small Business Council, offering expertise to a variety of organizations. She’s pursuing an MBA at Villanova with a focus on AI/ML and Marketing and is training for Zen Activation certification. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, baking, traveling, and guiding her daughter through her driver’s permit and college tours.   Quotes, that can change your perspective:   "It's not about you. It's about the message and the connection you're making with the person you're speaking with and the magic that happens when you really connect with a guest or when you are a guest on somebody's podcast. It takes time, but you have to keep practicing. And the more you practice speaking, the more comfortable you get with it, the less you're gonna be concerned about the way you look or the sound of your voice.” - Anika Jackson   “Just practice, practice, practice. So even practice with friends, practice with smaller, newer podcasts before you get to ones like you and I have hundreds of episodes. So, and I find that for myself, I even change every hundred episodes or so. I tweak something, the way I ask questions, the way I introduce guests, what I put at the front of further intros. There's no one way to do it. You just have to get comfortable speaking and then you'll find your way and you'll tweak it as you go.” - Anika Jackson   “The biggest impediment is just this idea that I have something important to say. I think, it's really really like the worthiness of sharing a message and maybe in the past you weren't heard or you were ignored maybe as a little girl.” - Melissa Llarena   "Chances are that one time or that story that you're kind of embarrassed to tell but really shaped who you are is the one that you should lead with on your podcast." - Melissa Llarena   SHARE this episode with a friend or fellow mom entrepreneur who’s been thinking about starting a podcast or anyone who could use a little inspiration on balancing creativity with family life. Trust us, you don’t want to miss the laughs, tips, and stories (yes, squirrel costumes included)! Hit that share button and spread the joy! Supporting Resources: Website:  https://www.yourbrandamplified.com Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/amplifywithanika/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmplifywAnika Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amplifywithanika Subscribe and Review Have you subscribed to my podcast for new moms who are entrepreneurs, founders, and creators?  I’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet.   I’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast for writer moms.     TRANSCRIPT   00:00:00 A: A lot of times we don't like the sound of our voices or we don't like the way we appear on video. But you just get over it because it's not about you. It's about the message and the connection you're making with the person you're speaking with and the magic that happens when you really connect with a guest or when you are a guest on somebody's podcast.   00:00:00 Melissa: Welcome to the Mom Founder Imagination Hub, your weekly podcast to inspire you to dream bigger. Plan out how you're going to get to that next level in business, find the energy to keep going and make sure your creative juices are flowing, so that this way you get what you really want rather than having to settle. Get ready to discover how mom founders have re-imagined entrepreneurship and motherhood.    00:00:43 Melissa: Ever wonder how they do it? Tune in to find out and stretch yourself by also learning from diverse entrepreneurs who might not be moms, but who have lessons you can tailor about how you can disrupt industries and step way outside of your comfort zone. I believe every mom's superpower is her imagination. In this podcast, I'm gonna give you the mindset, methods and tools to unleash yours. Sounds good? Then keep listening.   00:01:13 Melissa: It is almost Christmas. First of all, I wanted to just wish you Merry, Merry Christmas if you celebrate. This is Melissa, your host. And today's episode is going to be perfect for you. If you've ever had the desire to start your own podcast. We're going to cover how to be a present mom and a professional podcaster. We are also going to cover some things like tech.   00:01:39 Melissa: A lot of new podcasters really worry about what sort of microphone to use, what sort of technology is the best. We're also going to go through this idea of maybe not liking the sounds of your voice. I think that stops some incredibly amazing human beings from pushing record. And I don't want it to stop you. And then of course, there's this one big idea that I've heard from so many mom founders in particular, which is what if my story is just not that interesting? And as you might figure, folks that are podcasting are sharing their personal life stories. So I wanted to just share one recent story of mine relative to the holiday season.   00:02:23 Melissa: This holiday season, my kids are doing a school play called Willy Wonka Kids, and I decided to volunteer. I volunteered to create from scratch squirrel costumes. I believe it was the second Johnny Depp version of Willy Wonka, where there was this major appearance of a bunch of squirrels, or a scurry of squirrels. And so, of course, I had to get my costume designer hat on, figure out what materials I needed, consult with AI so that I could articulate the actual materials that I was going to request at Joanne's Fabrics and all the like.   00:03:07 Melissa: Let's put it this way. I feel like I bit off a bit more than I could chew, but I got it done. I got it done and I will put a picture of said squirrel costumes in the show notes. So here's what I encourage you to do. On your device, wherever you're listening to this episode, you're going to see the opportunity to look at the description. In the description, you're gonna see a couple of things. First, you're gonna see that squirrel outfit, which it is worth the look, that is for sure.   00:03:36 Melissa: Second, I wanted to just say before launching into who today's guest is, that this episode is brought to you by something that I also made with my own two hands for you. Here we go. So this episode is brought to you by my free anti-burnout 30 day resource for mompreneurs. It is an action tracker and planner. And here's what makes it totally unlike anything you've ever seen in your life. First of all, it's totally free, so that is a little nuanced. But then second of all, what I know to be true, especially if you're an ambitious human being, is that you're expending more energy out than you are refilling your source of energy. And that is what leads to burnout, especially for moms.   00:04:29 Melissa: So back to the squirrel concept, I was very happy with creating two squirrel outfits, but then I realized I had to create 17 by hand. We're talking couture squirrel costumes. And in that moment, if I had to think about how can I adequately refill my cup, that means about 17 massages. I mean, that's how I calculated it, right? As a squirrel would.   00:05:01 Melissa: And so in this very amazing action planner and tracker, which you can just grab in the show notes. It's a bit.ly link, so it's bit.ly/imagineaplan. What I do is I give you an opportunity to focus on mission critical tasks over the course of 30 days. And here's what that means. So this can be used for launching a podcast. This can be for building any sort of profitable relationships, maybe it's even networking for a job. It can also be getting new clients if you already have your own business. What I also do is give you an opportunity every single day and I hold you accountable to refilling your cup in an imaginative way. These ideas come from my book, Fertile Imagination, which I wrote. I think it's been two years almost at this point, almost, right? So I want you to really take advantage of this. And here's what I know to be true.   00:06:05 Melissa: So this resource, action tracker and planner or the inverse really is something that I will absolutely mark at $97. And that is something that I'm going to wave for podcast listeners today. So you will have an opportunity to go to the show notes, grab it for free and plan out what you intend to do over the course of the next 30 days. This is perfect now as we are almost on the cusp of New Year's, almost 2025. Why not get ahead of the game, feel like you are totally ahead of the game, maybe for once as a mom and plan out your course of action.   00:06:46 Melissa: So grab your action planner and tracker today. It is an anti burnout resource for mompreneurs. It is something that you can fill it in using your desktop and absolutely apply to your one beautiful business career, professional life. Subtle hint, you can even use it to track your steps every single day, as in you heading out the door and executing on that one wonderful weight maintenance, weight loss idea.   00:07:22 Melissa: Back to today's conversation, we have Anika Jackson. Anika Jackson, she is actually working at the USC's Annenberg School. She shapes the next generation of communicators and utilizes her extensive background in public relations, digital media, and strategic communications as a part-time faculty member for the master's program in Digital Media Management. She's also the co-host for MediaSCape: Insights from Digital Changemakers Podcasts and her Your Brand Amplified Business Podcast, which she launched in 2020 and currently ranks in the top 1.5% globally on ListenNotes.   00:08:12 Melissa: You can read more about Anika again in the show notes, same exact place where you might see the YouTube description or you might see the show notes on iTunes or Spotify, wherever you're hearing this conversation. So something that I thought was just really fun about this conversation with Anika is the fact that she is such an interesting storyteller, which is why you saw that coming up clip about her Playgirl time experiences. And that really stood out for me and made me chuckle a lot and I hope it does the same for you so enjoy this conversation.   00:08:50 Melissa: If you're watching this on YouTube, please go ahead and subscribe, follow, hit whatever needs to happen digitally and we will absolutely stay connected and you will get instant access to episodes every single Tuesday. Thank you so much for your time and enjoy the conversation and don't forget to grab the action planner and tracker for free, for now, in the show notes before this conversation ends. Thank you so much and Merry Christmas if you celebrate. Happy Hanukkah if that is the season, the timeframe. Happy everything. Happy holidays. May you feel loved, may you feel hopeful and excited about what's next in life. Bye.   00:09:36 Melissa: Anika Jackson, I am so thrilled to have you on the Mom Founder Imagination Hub. How are you this day?   00:09:44 A: Melissa, I am fantastic and I'm so happy to be here. I love speaking to other mom founders.   00:09:52 Melissa: Yeah, this is gonna be really cool because, because this is like a meeting of the minds, right? We've been in podcasting for some time. I know my approach has been about, oh, getting the best guests and figuring out how to leverage those relationships. It's a lot of what I do with mom founders. But what is it that you do in terms of helping someone who's like, okay, I know that I have a message to communicate. I wanna launch a podcast. What's my first step? Like, how is it that you go about having that conversation with people?   00:10:24 A: I get asked that a lot. How to get started, what equipment do I need, and, or even how do I monetize even though I don't have a podcast yet? So I try to level set with people that it can be really easy to get started, but it's really important to be consistent. So I've built a structure around that based on the tens of thousands of dollars I spent when I thought it was just a hobby and a fun thing to do and then realized it was a business, right? And all of the hours and time and years that I've spent working on other podcasts and then my podcast.   00:10:58 A: So I'm like, I don't want other people to have to go through that same experience. So I want them to understand how to set up their brand, their business structure, all of the things that they need to think about. They need to get a trademark. What is their competitive set? What's their market differentiator? All the things that you would do in any business.   00:11:16 A: And then get into production so how to be a good guest. If you're going to have a guest podcast, you need to be a guest on other podcasts to understand what's missing, what's great about it, and what you can do to give back to your guests in the best way, right? Set up your SOPs and your policies and procedures and your systems so that from the time you book somebody, you have all the right information. It's a very clear roadmap. You do the interview, editing. And then what you provide your guest with, and then what you also utilize for your website for social media. So how you're using it to promote, right? Because it's no good if you just do an episode and you're not actually marketing it.   00:12:01 A: And then, honestly for me, this is such a great networking tool, like yourself. I meet the best people. I have met people I never would have thought I'd have the opportunity to meet. And so, and then a lot of them now we have check-in calls with each other, maybe once a month, once a quarter and we refer business to each other. So it's been an amazing experience.   00:12:24 A: And then we get to the organic growth using paid advertising, because I'm a believer in the whole integrated marketing strategy for any business, including the business of podcasting. And then monetization, so I'm on an ad network. I have advertising. I've had sponsors. I've gone to podcast conferences with companies as a brand ambassador to talk about the user experience of using their product for my podcast.   00:12:50 A: So I have this, and then my background is in PR marketing, brand strategy, and digital media. So I take all of that, put it together to create a platform where people can feel empowered and understand what it will take to gain success for their podcast, whatever that means to them.   00:13:08 Melissa: So here's something that I think is going to be so mom specific. So anyone that's listening, I suspect this is on your mind. So there's a couple of things. So one is having access to a quiet, like you could hear a pin drop full space in order to have an optimal podcast. As a parent, I have three little boys. I have identical twins who are 10 and I have a 13 year old. I am currently in their nicely carpeted bedroom, right? So of course we have the whole sound stuff. However, during the summer seasons or other moments, it's just really hard for me to find a space that's quiet, provided I don't wanna pay those thousands of dollars for that fancy studio that's outside. So let's just crack that nut. How do we solve for that? That's just practical.   00:14:11 A: The first thing you mentioned was having good sound, having good equipment. I don't have -- I haven't upgraded my equipment yet. You have fabulous. I have a Blue Yeti mic, which is under a hundred dollars. It's off to the side, but I have it set so that the sound is only coming from me. So my daughter is 16. She's at school. So I try to also bank episodes because I know when her winter breaks are going to be. I know during the summer I want to travel and not be tethered to my laptop and doing interviews and I want to make sure I'm giving her that time.   00:14:45 A: So if somebody is doing, for instance, a weekly podcast, do a few episodes in advance. I always recommend that before somebody launches their first episode that they have banked episodes. So for me, my only issue during the day when she's at school is my dogs and if they're barking, making noise. So I'm in my living room right now because it's gotten a little warm here in Southern California, warmer than usual. But normally I'd be in my office space in my garage, which is set up with sound barriers, carpet, all of the different things to help create a little bit better sound quality.   00:15:29 Melissa: Okay. So speaking of sound, it's so funny. I had a little ding in the background. So I had my LinkedIn open. Bad Melissa, bad Melissa, you crazy networker. Yeah. I am always networking, but okay. So now we have one way of thinking about podcasting, which is to batch episodes, which means that we have to have a clear idea of like the school calendar. We have to have a clear idea of anything else that might require our attention. And what I'm hearing here is by planning ahead and batching these episodes, we can then be more present moms and present podcasters, which I love.   00:16:13 Melissa: Okay, so now the other question that I know is a big one is some people don't like to hear the sound of their voice. Like this is a thing. And it's so funny because I come from that time of answering machines. And I remember hearing the sounds of my voice and it would just be like, not my thing. So I don't know. Like, how do you think about that? Has that ever even been a thought for you or new podcasters out there anyone listening definitely reach out to us if you have questions about your voice. But go ahead, Anika, do you have any thoughts on that?   00:16:53 A: I've been a lifelong performer. I did debate, did theater in high school and then a little bit in college. I've always loved public speaking, so I'm weird like that. So I've emceed a lot of things. This is a funny story, but the first one was when I was a club promoter in Chicago and it was Playgirl Magazine's 25th anniversary. And they were going around to cities doing a search for the man of the year, whatever. And they were coming to the club I was working in. And so, the powers that be decided I should be the emcee. So I had to just be able to talk on my feet because sometimes somebody wasn't ready to come out and have questions answered and just ask questions on stage.   00:17:44 A: It was definitely probably the most interesting experience I've had, but it was a good lesson on how to be present, how to take a pause when I needed to, to think about my next question, or if I was going to have them do one-armed push-ups or whatever from the stage. And I think that it's really important to realize that a lot of times we don't like the sound of our voices, or we don't like the way we appear on video.   00:18:09 A: But you just get over it because it's not about you. It's about the message and the connection you're making with the person you're speaking with and the magic that happens when you really connect with a guest or when you are a guest on somebody's podcast. It takes time, but you have to keep practicing. And the more you practice speaking, the more comfortable you get with it, the less you're gonna be concerned about the way you look or the sound of your voice because that's what I tell PR clients as well. It's not about you. Let's take the ego out of it. You have a message that is different than what somebody else will share, a different perspective. And that's the magic. That's the beauty.   00:18:48 A: People want to understand from your lived experience. They wanna hear the good, the bad, how you balance life. If you're a single mom, all the ups and downs that we have. And so if you think about that and think about what is something I can share, whether I believe that people are interested in or not. That's where you kind of forget about the voice, the way you look. Of course you want to look polished. You don't want to come with crazy hair if it's a video podcast, but I think those are the things. Just practice, practice, practice. So even practice with friends, practice with smaller, newer podcasts before you get to ones like you and I have hundreds of episodes.   00:19:36 A: And I find that for myself, I even change every hundred episodes or so. I tweak something, the way I ask questions, the way I introduce guests, what I put at the front of further intros. And so it's not, there's no one way to do it. You just have to get comfortable speaking and then you'll find your way and you'll tweak it as you go. And nobody cares if you tweak it.   00:20:00 Melissa: No one notices, just saying. This is so true. I think we have this false belief that other people are thinking about us and our nuances as much as we are. And ultimately, the answer is no. Honestly, and I think the next logical question that comes up for me, because you mentioned this idea of a message is the following.   00:20:31 Melissa: How is it that someone who's considering putting out a podcast, how can they land on the actual message that they want to share with the world? Because a lot of moms, we're going to have opinions about motherhood as an example. We might have opinions about anything, right? Our businesses, if we have businesses, our careers, et cetera. So we have opinions. Like how is it that we choose maybe the one focal area and do we have to, or can you be broad? What are your thoughts?   00:21:09 A: There are a lot of more niche down podcasts. Mine is not. I have two actually, I have one with University of Southern California, where I teach. And that podcast is Insights From Digital Changemakers, right? MediaSCape: Insights From Digital Changemakers. So we talk to people who are of the moment who've maybe had careers but are in the digital space and see what's on the horizon. So that might be a lot of AI people.   00:21:35 A: My podcast, I like to have real conversations. It's Your Brand Amplified. So that's my ethos for what I like to do. I like to help people really shine, figure out what their message is, whether they're an entrepreneur, a small business or an individual. And I wanna help propel their message forward. So the best conversations I have are a little bit all over the place. We'll talk about their business. We'll talk about their background, but then we may, if they're comfortable, weave in being a parent, real life stories, because the storytelling is what helps people get really engaged and see you as a person, not just person on a mic, right? And want to engage with you further, follow you on social, follow your podcast.   00:22:19 A: So my advice would be if you have a specific niche, skincare, beauty, you can weave that in with being a mom, right? But you can also interview people who are, you can do it a couple of different ways, moms in that industry, or you could say, hey, I wanna interview brands and I'm gonna keep the mom part out of it. I might mention it in my podcast, but I'm not going to hit people over the head with it.   00:22:47 A: And I appear on a variety of podcasts. So some are more about business and podcasting or AI or marketing or public relations. Some are about my nonprofit volunteerism and work. Some are about being a mompreneur, a mom founder. And what do we have to do that's a little different probably than other people? How do we balance like you talked about? How do we deal with figuring out where the money's coming from, whether it's from our podcast or other areas of our business and help each other grow and support each other on our journeys.   00:23:20 A: So I always take people through a brand visioning, brand blueprints. So what is your purpose? What do you feel like you're really here and called to do? And then you figure out your vision, your mission, your positioning, and that helps you really fine tune. Oh, this is not where I thought I was going, but this is really who I am and to stick true to who I am. This is the kind of content I wanna put out. And then that can help you shape and formulate. And then you do competitive analysis, see what other podcasts are in the space, see what they're doing really well, or what might be missing. And that's when you figure out your sweet spot.   00:23:58 Melissa: Yeah. And I think something else to kind of just consider, anyone that's listening, is that you can always change course.   00:24:06 A: 100%.   00:24:07 Melissa: I mean, I started my podcast, it was called an Interview with Melissa Lorena, and then I changed it to something else, and here we are, Mom Founder Imagination Hub. I think you evolve as a human being, and that's how you show up to the microphone as the most present moment you. So I think there's grace in that. It's not like, oh my goodness, I just picked a topic and that's it. I'm doing that for life. I'll be 70 or 80 still talking about having babies. No. You know what I mean? Although I probably could.   00:24:42 Melissa: But at this time, I think people have to just realize it's a podcast which is different than a book, might I add. When I wrote my book, Fertile Imagination, for me, I was so petrified. I was like, oh my goodness, here I am writing these sentences and they will be there forever. They'll live through perpetuity. But with a podcast, it's different. There's more flexibility there. And so my question now, and I got to stop saying my question, but for some reason, that's my thing today. Pardon listeners, if it's becoming over the top.   00:25:18 Melissa: But my inquiry, how about that, is the following. So okay, here we go. So here's this person, they're listening, they're driving, and they're saying to themselves, okay, yes, I want to launch a podcast. Now I know that I have to do this analysis and be thoughtful about it. And I know that if I do podcasts, I should thank them because I'm a mom and I don't have quiet space all the time. But I'm really, really just scared and it's beyond the I don't like the sound of my voice. I'm just scared. For no reason in particular. Let's just say that someone is just scared. Period. Any advice there?   00:26:01 A: Yeah. It's like any business. As you mentioned, you can pivot. Nobody cares. Many podcasters I know have had multiple podcasts. Mine started out as just interviewing publicists because I had a PR agency. And then I was like, this doesn't really feel exciting and good and I want to expand to actual businesses and brands and learn their best practices. So what I would say is approach it like that.   00:26:27 A: And also podcasters are probably the most friendly community I've ever come across. We want to help each other succeed. So it is really easy to find your people in this world and you can go to anybody. And there are a lot of resources online. Podcasters United is a great nonprofit that has a lot of information on how to get started or find a community. I mean, there's so many that I could mention.   00:26:51 A: I am starting a community with coaching because I want to help people set up for success and not be scared. I wanna give them, here's the approach that, I'm not gonna give you the exact approach I took because I did this for three years before realizing it was more than a hobby and really got deeper into it.   00:27:12 A: But with that, I'm helping give people a structure of here are tools that I use and let me help you walk through them so that you're not scared and feeling you have to go to five different websites or research different things in different ways. I'm gonna shortcut that for you and then build up a community. And I'm also going to help you with hosting, right? Because I have found a platform that will work with me to create a community where I can host everybody for free for the first year, if they go through my coaching system or I can also give them other options if they don't want to do that.   00:27:47 Melissa: Yeah, absolutely. And I think for me and what I've heard word on the street is what's scary beyond the, oh my goodness, what are people going to think of my message? Are they going to hate me, etcetera is also just this idea of like technology. And I wanted to just share a super quick story that tells you how ridiculous I was at first.   00:28:10 Melissa: When I interviewed James Altucher, I went to his house and I brought my tech stuff. And I also brought with me, by the way, a former podcast guest and a former client as well. So I had a production team because you're going to someone's house that you don't really know. Point of the matter, I basically had no idea where to plug in my thing that I don't even know what it is, but I use the Focusrite tool thingamajig. And so I MacGyvered something in the moment sitting on James Altucher's sofa so that I could get the audio and it worked. And fast forward to today, it was actually plugged into the wrong hole of my device, but it actually worked.   00:28:58 Melissa: So all that to say, where there's a will, there's a way and technology definitely is not end all be all. There's other options even like a clunky iPhone or whatever but I think the biggest impediment is just this idea that I have something important to say. I think it's really a worthiness of sharing a message and maybe in the past you weren't heard, you were ignored, maybe as a little girl. And I just want anyone that's listening to this conversation between me and Anika to just imagine to yourself what would be possible if that belief was just pulled out of your head and you really went for it.   00:29:50 A: Yeah. Stories are everything and it helps people really understand and realize that they can aspire to do what you do. Because you might, whatever your path was. I got divorced, single mom, spent all my money moving back to California because my family wanted to be there, be here. I had to go on food stamps until I found a new job. So we all have our ups and downs, but by sharing our stories, we help give hope to other people and inspiration. So whatever your story is, you have a message that other people need to hear.   00:30:25 Melissa: 100%. So on that wonderful note and I would say I resonate deeply with that idea as far as personally not having grown up with a lot of resources. What I will say to just add a little bit to that is that that tends to make you even more resourceful. Just saying, right? Like if you grew up if you're listening to this and you're like, yeah I was not surrounded by millionaires and billionaires.   00:30:54 Melissa: But I'm trying to do something big in my life right now as a mom, the leader of my family. That's like a gift that keeps on giving that I don't think is heard often enough. And it applies if you're trying to launch your own podcast. Like there's definitely inventive, imaginative ways to set yourself up and find that quiet cornering your house or find the guests that you want to bring on your podcast.   00: 31:26 Melissa: So, Anika, how can anyone who is hearing you, anyone who's at least intrigued by the Playgirl story, might I add, reach out to you? Because yeah, that was pretty cool.   00:31:40 A: Thank you. Honestly, and I hate I'm going to be that person that I'm like, here's this way to reach out to me and this way. My website, yourbrandamplified.com is the easiest way. I do have a link for coaching, but I need to add in the form for people being interested in the podcast program. So I'll make sure that that gets up before this is released. And my email is anika@yourbrand amplified.com. Super easy.   00:32:09 A: Always happy to speak to anybody to help you walk through whether it is being a mother, single mother, trying to find your next step, or you're launching a podcast or want to or PR, marketing, brand strategy, digital media, any of those areas, I'm always happy to just have a conversation because that's what, again, that's where we connect and this is what we need in the world. And so I really appreciate being on your platform today.   00:32:36 Melissa: Thank you so much. And if anyone is listening, just look at your device and look in the little show notes and you'll see all these links. It'll be so, so easy. But thank you so much for this conversation. And I would love the day when you have a 50-50 of podcast hosts, like 50% men, 50% women as an example, or anything in terms of what's out there. And I mean, I just think it takes bravery, but I think the right messages need that oomph. They need that lift. And so may they be amplified, right? Thank you, Anika.   00:33:13 A: Thank you.   00:33:14 Melissa: Okay, I'm so grateful for you sticking through and listening to the conversation with Anika and myself. And I hope that you were able to put into action some of her key ideas. What does that mean? So for example, this idea of having a lack of confidence around your voice, it really doesn't matter. We actually want to hear your unique story. It can help someone else.   00:33:35 Melissa: Second point, when it comes to technology, it is something that you can so Google and honestly, it's not make or break. It's something that at the beginning, you might want to just explore what works for you from a budget perspective, and then ultimately graduate to the more sophisticated tools and solutions. What I will do is put in the show notes a link to my recommendations in terms of my technology uses, okay? So go ahead to the show notes and you will see that for free.   00:34:01 Melissa: Then the third point that I want to just mention here is the following. Chances are that one time or that story that you're kind of embarrassed to tell, but really shaped who you are is the one that you should lead with on your podcast. For me, I mean, I spoke with Anika months now and honestly, that Playgirl moment is what stuck out in my head. She could have mentioned the most glorious experiences that she has had as a part-time faculty member at USC. But that's what stood out for me.   00:34:32 Melissa: And I promise you, chances are, if there's something quirky in your history or background, that might be something that you can feel encouraged about sharing. So here's what I would love, love, love to know. Please grab the action planner and tracker, first of all. Second of all, reach out to me. I am very accessible. If you got this in your email, definitely just hit reply. Let me know how they served you.   00:34:59 Melissa: Otherwise, share this with one mom. This makes for a perfect holiday present. She will get a chuckle out of it and a lot of value, especially if she is looking to launch her own podcast. Until next Tuesday. Happy, happy holidays.