I Started a Podcast. Here’s What the First Episode Taught Me.
The trials and tribulations of a first-time podcaster.
In the current day and age, it is not uncommon for a 20-something to wonder what their purpose is. Surrounded daily by everyone elses’ highlight reels and high-achieving “grindset,” there is a pressure to perform at all times, across nearly all platforms.
Moreover, it is traditionally in your 20s that you try and “figure it out.” Whatever that means.
With all of these considerations in mind, not too uncommon is the so-called Quarter-Life Crisis. This comes on in different iterations for each person, but is often accompanied by a sense that you are running out of “first times”. This can be disconcerting and lead to panic. What am I doing with my life? Everyone else is settling down… is there something wrong with me?
For most, a quarter-life crisis usually involves taking inventory of what you’ve done and what you want to do. After a few decades, you realize you have, in fact, been around many blocks and that it may be time to settle into something tangible. Get a dog, have a 401K, healthcare, all that jazz. If you feel like you still have some wild oats to sow, you might go ahead and do that.
This ‘season’ may also lead you to grapple with what you are truly passionate about. It sets in that you should be living a life you are proud of, as you are a grown adult and that means you call the shots.
One byproduct of my personal Quarter-Life inductions thus far has been the urge to start a podcast.
[Audience groans]
I know, we as a society have evolved past the need for any more hot takes, but podcasting felt, for me, like an authentic medium to connect with the people I care about and broadcast those insights in a meaningful way.
After I got the idea, I sat on the idea for some time. As a multi-passionate person, I am used to getting ideas or starting a project then losing interest or hitting a barrier, leading to a dodgy history with follow-through.
What solidified my podcast’s maiden voyage was my outstanding partner, Aaron, who bought me a quality microphone for the holidays. At that point, my hands were tied. The rubber had to meet the road. Er, voice-to-mic or whatever.
I took steps in early January of 2022 to get it off the ground — creating an Instagram, messing around with Squarespace to have an eventual blog and landing page for it, and of course, recording an intro teaser for the show. I naively thought that I could do this in the dark for a few weeks (or months, even) and then call attention to it when I could relinquish it from my perfectionist grip, but then friends of mine found the Instagram page… Thanks, algorithm.
That was a lesson learned in putting myself out there. Though it was useful for the accountability and kick in the pants to keep it going, I nevertheless would have done it differently if given the opportunity. Fortunately, my friends were gracious and excited for me, so their positive feedback buoyed me through the feelings of insecurity.
There was also a learning curve with recording and mastering the audio. I interviewed my dad for the first several episodes, as the origin of the podcast is inspired by stories from his younger years. Our initial recording session resulted in less-than-satisfactory audio quality as it was blaring through my MacBook speakers. For future iterations, we recorded in Zoom and that made a substantial difference.
To that end, I’ve been using Anchor for clip cutting and publishing, since it’s very user-friendly and simple. There are some aspects of it I am not enamored with, but for a simplistic show like mine, it certainly does the job. What I like best is that you can rename clips and keep them in your library to be inserted wherever you’d like. When you have lots of clips, this and the “search” feature become very helpful!
As I’ve continued growing the show, I have been posting to Instagram and trying to interact more with listeners. Though I know it will be consistently putting episodes out that will be the best for growing and developing the show. Practice (and execution) make perfect!
All in all, I have learned a lot. I’m looking forward to improving over time and seeing how it grows with future episodes. I plan to bring on different guests once the origin story is told, and I feel that will be when the show really takes off.
Overall, this process taught me how rewarding it can be to tap into my intuition and creativity again. It has been wonderful using the show to deepen my relationships with those I care about and channel them in a way that may have use for other people. I plan to share more specifics on the show in future posts, so be sure to stay tuned to learn more about Heirlooms!
Do you enjoy listening to podcasts? Are you a podcaster? Feel free to drop any show recommendations below!
If you want to check out my podcast, it’s called “Heirlooms” and it’s available on Anchor, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
