As wonderful as it is to run a home business, it can also be isolating at times — socially, professionally, and educationally. Because you’re not required to be in an office alongside a team, you can go weeks without business contact if you’re able to get everything done over the internet and/or the phone.
Owing to this, it’s absolutely essential for a home business owner to put in the time and effort to keep up with developments in the business world, and perhaps the best method for achieving this is listening to informative podcasts. They’re freely available (for the most part), highly convenient, and numerous (there’s no shortage of them around).
With some great podcasts in your daily listening rotation, you’ll pick up new tips, feel more connected to your industry, and find fresh motivation to excel. But which podcasts should you try? Here are 7 excellent podcasts that any home business owner can benefit from following:
The Copywriter Club Podcast
As a home business owner, you likely don’t have the luxury of being able to pass all the copywriting tasks to a dedicated team — you might work with a freelancer, but it’s more likely that you’ll take charge of your content yourself (after all, it’s your brand, and no one knows it better than you). For that reason alone, it’s great to get creative tips.
This podcast brings on copywriters and creatives from throughout the marketing world, allowing you to soak up their knowledge and come away with actionable tips you can use to improve your promotional activities and enhance your professional communication (how to use principles of psychology, for instance, or create viral ads).
Online Marketing Made Easy
Today, just about every home business needs some kind of online marketing, even if its activity is exclusively local (in fact, especially if its business is local, because local SEO is hugely important). This podcast, hosted by marketing coach Amy Porterfield, offers interviews and action plans to help you succeed online.
With 239 episodes available as I write this, there’s a huge amount of value to be enjoyed, and each episode comes with notes, a list of links mentioned, and even a transcript. As you make your way through them all, you’ll hugely expand your awareness of best promotional practices.
Social Media Marketing Talk Show
The power of social media to make or break a small business is undeniable. Just as a negative review can totally sink you, a glowing recommendation from the right person at the right time can cause a life-changing uptick in brand recognition — and this show is all about making the most of your social media marketing.
Episodes are released weekly, and there’s a huge archive in place to browse at your leisure. Each instalment concentrates on two or three topics: one might look at social media platform demographics, while another might look at new social media PPC features. You might not be able to catch up at this point, but you can definitely pick out the most relevant episodes and start optimizing your social media activity.
How I Built This
There’s nothing quite like a success story to give you new motivation as a home business owner. It can remind you of what you hope to achieve, and how all of your dedication and sacrifice will be justified in the end. This podcast is dedicated to talking to those who have achieved their goals, running through the stories that led them to success.
One episode you might listen to the creator of a hit cosmetics brand, and the next you might hear from the co-founder of Lyft. Whatever the nature of your home business, you’re sure to find an episode featuring someone in your industry. If you need an extra shot of enthusiasm to push you on, this is the podcast for you.
Marketing Speak
Hosting this podcast on all things promotional is Stephan Spencer, an SEO expert and speaker who brings on a fellow expert from the industry each episode to discuss a relevant topic in the world of marketing. You can filter by topic, so whether you want to learn something about Twitter or get some tips for handling your brand reputation, you can quickly pick something out.
As with Online Marketing Made Easy, you’re not just limited to the audio file: you can also get a comprehensive list of shownotes, and often a checklist in the form of a PDF you can download and use to guide your business activities.
The Introvert Entrepreneur
The stereotype of a business owner is one of bullish confidence and a willingness to take charge of a room, but it’s often inaccurate. Entrepreneurs come in all varieties, and introverts are just as capable of succeeding on their own terms as anyone else — but that doesn’t mean it can’t be difficult at times when you don’t much enjoy networking.
This podcast is dedicated to those who want to pursue their professional goals without needing to feign extroversion. Each episode features an interview with a successful entrepreneur (often an introvert) who shares their tactics for overcoming doubt and achieving your goals.
So Money
Financial advisor Farnoosh Torabi hosts this podcast with the goal of helping people everywhere take charge of their finances and learn how to discuss and approach money matters. It’s a particularly rich resource for anyone passionate about the empowerment of women, because she touches upon the unique challenges that working women face.
Most episodes feature interviews with other successful entrepreneurs who explain the financial challenges they’ve faced and how they’ve overcome them, while others are more straightforward Q&A sessions featuring listener-submitted questions. With 814 episodes currently available, it might seem daunting, but you can filter by tags to find specific topics.
Running a home business can be personally and professionally challenging, so you should take advantage of all the resources you can. Check out these 7 podcasts to begin expanding your knowledge and bolstering your motivation. You won’t regret it.
