Did you know that podcasts have been around since 2004? Back then, they were called audio blogs and weren’t all that popular. Fast forward to 2022, and podcasts have overtaken music as the audio of choice for many runners, walkers, procrastinators, and everyone in-between.
So what makes a good podcast? In this blog post, our marketing manager rounds up 3 of her favourite podcasts that offer thought-provoking business insight as well as tips for living a more productive and fulfilled life.
All-time favourite
Working Hard, Hardly Working: Grace Beverly
I’ve followed Grace Beverly since she first started vlogging from her university halls in 2016. Now, she owns 3 successful companies at just 25 years old. She founded the sustainable activewear brand TALA in 2019, designing and manufacturing activewear from sustainable materials at a competitive price to disrupt the market. This caused consumers to shift from the market leader to sustainable alternatives.
In her podcast series, Grace asks her guests about what happens behind the scenes of running a business and how this affects their personal life. My favourite episode is when Grace interviews personal trainer and fellow entrepreneur Courtney Black, who delves into the struggle she faced when trying to monetise her lockdown initiative of offering free live workouts on social media to a community of 15k live viewers. This episode got me thinking about the fine line between what we give away for free to add value to our products and services and where we draw the line and charge money. Often in service-based industries, we give away more for free because services are intangible, but when products are involved, it’s easier to see why we must monetise them.
We recommend this podcast to business owners inspired by significant success stories. Grace gives insight into her own personal success as well as the success of her guests. It’s a good listen for anyone who likes to absorb information and evaluate how they can use it to enhance their own success.
Listen to Working Hard, Hardly working on Spotify.
Great for mental wellbeing
On Purpose: Jay Shetty
I was first introduced to Jay Shetty’s On Purpose by a friend explaining how you can become fully present through the senses. By being aware of 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste, you can achieve a state of mindfulness that makes you present at any moment.
Mindfulness is important for us all at Co.Lab as a team of digital creatives who risk burnout and brain fog when we have many creative tasks but struggle to find the right mindset to achieve them.
We recommend this podcast for business owners who want to become more self-aware and learn tips they can carry through their day-to-day and working life.
Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on Spotify
Entertaining and thought-provoking all in one
Diary of a CEO: Steven Bartlett
This was my favourite podcast before I was introduced to the whole podcast world! It’s a great introductory podcast for anyone who wants to start listening because it provokes insight, escapism and entertainment. Steven will likely have interviewed at least one celeb you’re familiar with, so there’s something for everyone on this podcast.
There’s one particular episode that we’d recommend to everyone – E114: How To Fix Your Focus & Stop Procrastinating with Johann Hari. The episode delves into how we’re in an attention crisis caused by a rapid increase in the amount of information we absorb. The episode also looks at how this means we struggle to get into a ‘flow state’, where we can achieve high levels of productivity. Johann offers insight into what people can do to improve their focus and how we can all stop our attention from being robbed in a world of increasing distractions.
What Johann offers is not just practical advice for us all to take to improve our focus but also what we can all do to change how we interact with tech companies to ensure it never gets robbed again.
Listen to The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett on spotify
Do you listen to podcasts? We love how relatable podcasts can be to our own challenges. Often when you hear someone talking about struggles they’ve faced or successes they’ve had, you can relate it to your own life and learn from it.
