When helping new podcasters launch their podcast, they don’t necessarily have to continue working with me. I teach them the ins and outs of how to do it yourself and off they go. But one of the best things I love is being able to continue to work with them on their show with editing or management. This way I get to see their growth from the very beginning stages of an idea to the evolution over multiple episodes and sometimes even years into the making.

So for today’s episode, I am so happy to bring on a client of mine, Ame-Lia Tamburrini of Hum Consulting. You are going to get a real-life experience of what it’s like to launch a podcast as she shares her “why” of starting a podcast, and the creative approaches we took to revolutionize her show to its current state. 

We also break down:

  • Mindset blocks and challenges Ame-Lia faced at the very beginning of her podcasting journey
  • How to best serve your audience and the people you want to reach when starting your podcast
  • The change of seasons and how to implement creative inspiration from everyday life into the podcast

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Engage with Ame-Lia:

Connect with me!

Our Conversation:

Mary

When I help new podcasters launch their podcast, they don’t necessarily have to continue working with me. I could teach them the ins and outs on how to do it yourself. And off they go. But one of the best things I love is being able to continue to work with them on their show with editing or management. This way I get to see their growth from the very, very beginning stages of an idea to the evolution over multiple episodes and sometimes even years into the making.

You get to learn so many things along the way as well because each show is so different. There are so many pieces to creating a show that no two show is ever alike. And with all these things we get to learn when working with podcasters, you know, I talk about reviewing to see what’s working and not working and to really tweak things along the way because podcasting is a journey. I’m going to say it again. I say it all the time. Podcasting is a journey. 

So for today’s episode, I am so happy to bring on a client of mine. Ame-Lia Tamburrini of Hum Consulting. Her podcast is called the Circle of Change. Now, Ame-Lia and I, we know each other personally, like in person. We met at our local Victoria chapter of the eWomenNetwork that we are both a part of. We started our entrepreneurial journey of learning how to start and grow a business, and being part of the eWomenNetwork has really helped us with those aspects. And because we had known each other now for about a year, she came to me at the very, very end of 2020 wanting to start a podcast. And so we did that in 2021 with the birth of Circle of Change.  I loved seeing her journey from the inception through the evolution after a year and as of this recording, 25 episodes in. 

So in this episode, you are going to really get a real-life experience of what it’s like to launch a podcast. We talk about her mindset and challenges at the very beginning of her podcasting journey, her “why” of starting a podcast, something I talk a lot about that every podcaster should have, and the creative approaches we took to revolutionize her show in its current state. So get cosy and go on this journey with Ame-Lia Tamburrini on starting her podcast. 

Ame-Lia, it is such a pleasure to talk to you again and have you on my show this time. Welcome.

Ame-Lia

Thanks, Mary. This is such a treat for me.

Mary

As I said before, you know, we worked together to help launch your podcast but even before then, you had an inkling of wanting to start that podcast. So let’s start at the very, very beginning, even before we started working together. What drove you to want to start a podcast in the first place?

Ame-Lia

It was December 2020, and I was really struggling to understand what my next move was in my business. I knew I had this deep desire to serve in some way, and I couldn’t think of a thing. The next activity or project I wanted to take on. And I remember sitting in my living room. It was a dark night. I had this pull to just sit on my meditation pillow and ask the universe like, Okay, what is it? Like, what am I supposed to be doing in the world? How am I supposed to best serve those that I want to reach? Podcast came screaming out of the ether and I got this amazing vision. There’s so much light, and I was having these beautiful connecting conversations with all these amazing people, and I said, Okay, yes, let’s do that. I had no idea how to do, how to start all the things, but I just knew in my, in my gut that this was the next big adventure for me.

Mary

Yeah, it’s the, the unknown. I want to do it. But how? Oh, my gosh. And you know something that I always say to people whenever anyone wants to start a podcast, I always ask them about their “why”? Because that drives the entire concept and the vision for the podcast. And without this, a podcast kind of becomes this thing to do for fun versus utilising your voice as a means for success, whatever that success may mean to you, especially if it’s tied into your business or brand. So as you started figuring out what this podcast of yours is going to look like what was your “why” behind it?

Ame-Lia

I knew that I wanted to serve at a deeper level and really have meaningful conversations with people. I think beyond that, I wanted to show people how to have deeper, meaningful conversations, which I think are so required in today’s world to figure out the solutions that are really needed to heal the divides, which is really what my business is all about. And in my practice, I use circle dialogue, and we sit in a circle and have these beautiful, safe spaces that become brave spaces for deep dialogue. And I thought, Well, I can bring that out to more people if I bring that into the podcast platform. And so that that was really the vision. The “why” is, I think it’s multi-faceted, and maybe it’s becoming more and more clear to me as I go on. Originally, it was really because I wanted to serve at a deeper level and really get these messages out that I knew were in me and people needed to hear on a more personal level. It became about healing my journey with finding my voice, which, you know, has been a big part of my story. I don’t know if that was the grounding intention at the beginning, but it has certainly been that way as I go forward on this journey.

Mary

You had mentioned, you know, originally the need to get the message out and a personal thing as well. Finding your voice. How has that shifted? What has it become now as you think back on your “why”?

Ame-Lia

I don’t know if the “why” has shifted much. I do feel like I’m still grounded in that place of really wanting to serve people and inspiring them, also challenging them to be the change in the various ways that we bring that forward in the podcast. So I do a mix of solo episodes and I also have guests and we sit in circle and we have these juicy conversations and through that people are learning through listening to people’s stories, how they can show up differently in their life, in their work, in their community, in a way that creates more connection. So I think it’s still essentially rooted in being of service and on, like, a global impact scale.

Mary

Yeah, podcasting reaches the entire world, which is such a great thing. Let’s take a step back and go back to, okay, you meditated, you want to start a podcast. And a lot of podcasters have that sense of overwhelm when they want to start a podcast because they dive into Google, it’s a big rabbit hole, and there’s just so much information to go through. So what challenges did you expect from starting a podcast and then how, if any, did those fears or challenges come to fruition?

Ame-Lia

Certainly understanding all the bits and pieces of what goes into a podcast. I had zero idea. I was walking into this so naive.

Mary

What was that? What did you think?

Ame-Lia

I don’t know. Like, I don’t even know if I knew all the pieces. And to be honest, I didn’t spend too much time in that place, mainly because I already knew about you and your work. So for me, it was like, you’re going to do a podcast, and I emailed you right away to be like, How do we do this, and can we work together to co-create this? Co-creating was also really important to me that I didn’t want this to be a solo endeavour. And bringing you on, and then, later on I collaborated with a friend to do the music. Like that was really important to me, but I didn’t necessarily know that at the beginning either. But as we began our journey together, those pieces started to come together.

Mary

So then what challenges appeared to you as you started the journey?

Ame-Lia

Oh gosh. I think the first one that I can think of is just being okay with my voice and the messaging that I had. I think back to the very beginning in terms of how much effort it took me to record my intro and my outro and my trailer and those processes. That was so painful back then. And I recorded, I rerecorded, I recorded, I rerecorded. And I mean, you were amazing and gave me so much great feedback, really helped me ground into my “why” as I started to record.  But I think about that then and how I am now when I show up on my podcast and it’s light-years apart and I can’t wait to see where I’m going to be like a year from now in terms of that evolutionary process. So certainly that transition of really getting out of my ego, which is what it was in the beginning, like I was just so worried about what other people are going to think of me to coming back to why am I doing this and getting into that energy of being of service. And I find that has really helped me find my words easier.

Yes, that was definitely one of the challenges. Time was another one, and I honestly don’t think I thought about it when we first started how much effort this was going to take to produce a podcast. So at the beginning, I think we started out with once every other week, and then I had absorbed some messages around consistency and needing to go more regularly. And so I amped it up to once a week after that and it was a lot. It was a lot on me and my support team and so part of the journey has really been doing all these bits and pieces myself to transitioning that over, to having an assistant support me. And then we also changed the flow of the podcast and created seasons. And I’m happy to talk more about that journey as well. But definitely time and how this fit into all the other pieces going on in my business. That was, that was a struggle in the beginning.

Mary

Yeah. Let’s, we’ll reflect back on that piece about time and the seasons a little later on. But let’s continue on this beginning part of your journey. What then was easier than you thought before you started?

Ame-Lia

Finding guests. I don’t know if I’m, like, the only one that says that, but I find that I love the process of finding guests. And I find also that they come to me versus the other way around. It’s been a bit of a mutual flow, I would say, in that process, but I really worried about that. I had heard a lot about people struggling to find guests. And I know there’s all these sites up there where you can find guests and be a guest, and all of that. And for my journey I haven’t had to use any of those resources yet. I find that my ears are now perked to who would be an amazing asset on this, on this show. And so when I’m at networking events or at presentations or just out and about in the community meeting people, in the back of my head, I’m always like, Oh, I think this person would be amazing for my show. And then we just ask them and it, and it evolves from there.

Mary

It’s beautiful that you have that awareness now of the podcast kind of working its way in the background. And it reminds me a lot of back in radio school, we were always told if you wanted to be an announcer on the air, a lot of your life is now a part of the show. You know, any time you’re out doing something, you need to think about how can this be incorporated into the radio broadcast. And so I hear that now in your voice where you’re saying you meet someone at networking, you’re like, Oh, podcast. Ding! So it creates more of a freedom mindset for you versus, I need a guest, I need a guest, I need a guest. It’s a weekly show. But you open up and have that opportunity come to you instead.

Ame-Lia

Yeah, that’s beautifully put. And I will say the same thing about the topics of episodes. I find myself in conversation or in teaching events or, you know, listening to community conversation in some way. And I’m like, Oh, that’s going to be an amazing topic for the podcast and I’ll make sure I write it down because I do forget these things easily, but that’s also, it’s like my life is feeding the podcast and vice versa, I think.

Mary

Yeah, because it is tied into your business. And so anything you do for the business goes onto the podcast, anything you do on the podcast can then be moved towards on your business as well. So they’re, they’re intertwined.

Ame-Lia

Absolutely. What we’re speaking to now is for me, another transition that happened in this journey. I think at the beginning I was very focused on the, the perfect way to do the podcast and listening to a lot of external sources outside of me. Like, you should do one once a week, or this is how you should begin or end, or all the different components you should have. And when I stepped away from that and really just started listening to myself and what felt good for me, that made the whole process flow a lot easier. And it has really allowed the, the process to evolve. 

So, for example, my very second episode is on this question, who are you? At the time I was in this speaking and writing course and we were really playing around with this question, Who are you? And I thought, Oh, well, that would be a cool way to speak to my listener and have them get to know a little bit more about me. And then I liked the question so much that I was like, Oh, I think this will be the first question I ask all the guests that come on. And now that’s the way that is.

And then in the fourth or fifth episode, in my life, I was really being challenged with the language I was using and the meaning of words and not making assumptions about what they mean. My podcast is really about being the change. I thought, Well, I know what being the change means to me, but maybe this means different things to different people. And so that now is the closing question that I ask my guest. But the, like we are saying, like, life is feeding the content, it’s feeding the format, and someday I might no longer ask those questions, but I’m more and more excited about the evolution and just relaxing into what comes to me and using that as my creative inspiration.

Mary

Yeah, evolution is the perfect word. So I remember towards the end of 2021, this is where we’re talking about the changing seasons, right? It was getting into winter and just seasonally we all felt as the year always draws to a close, you know, we feel like we need a change. So you alluded to that about the changing seasons earlier. How did you incorporate that into your podcast thematically, though? Walk us through this idea and what you actually implemented.

Ame-Lia

Well, I think from a practical standpoint, it evolved out of being tired and overwhelmed. I remember I was coming into, I think the last month of the year and I looked at my calendar and I just thought, I don’t know how I’m going to actually record four podcast episodes and do all of these other things and take care of myself along the way. And so I just made the call to take a break. My assistant was tired. I was tired and so we just called it, which brought up a lot for me because there’s so much messaging around consistency. And to be successful, we have to be consistent so, like, putting on the brakes on the podcast for a month felt really risky in terms of its success, but we did it anyways.

And then as we were in this process of really taking a step back and giving ourselves time to reflect, I had done a seasonal eating programme at the time and we were in the middle of, like, fall or winter eating, and what is the most natural way to eat at that time? And I thought, Oh my gosh, like winter is really about relaxing and, and hibernating and reflecting and letting things, letting go of things. And wouldn’t that be a cool message to bring forward into the podcast? And so from a practical standpoint, how can I make this sustainable and feel good to me? And also helping people really settle into the energy of the season? And for me, that is part of being the change, like coming out of this colonial way of we must go go, go, go, go all the time to what are we, how are we really meant to be in this moment? What do we eat? How do we show up in our lives? And so now the podcast has seasons and we’re just coming out of finishing up our winter season. The themes of winter, again, like our hibernation and going inward and letting go and so I’ve trickled that into certainly my solo episodes along the way. And then we’re going to take a break again and re-energize for spring, which is all about planting seeds and thinking about what we want to bring out into the world have grow this year. And so that’ll be the theme that I trickle into the spring season and on and on and on. So, I just really love, again, this evolutionary natural progression of, of this podcast.

Mary

And I love how you use seasons very literally versus what a lot of podcasters might think of, Oh, we’re doing, you know, season one is one year or, like, a TV show when they have a new season out and then you’re like, Ooh, new episodes. But you’re like literally winter, spring, summer. And I love that because for my own podcast, I did that as well. I reflected, and I knew there’s no way that I am going to be able to produce episodes. Like, I do every other week. And so, you know, it was the whole, Oh, you should be continuing to do this. It’s all about consistency. 

However, I always tell my clients like you, you know, you need to take a break because if you don’t, how are you going to be able to serve your listeners without that break? And the consistency is that the listeners will know when you have a break and they will take that break alongside with you because they know you’re going to be serving them, they know you will be back, you’re not ghosting them. And it is now an expectation of, Okay, there’s a break, you’ve told me, I know. That is the consistency of knowing when you break so that you tell your listeners and they know it too. It’s beautiful that you have this seasonal break now and they know.

Ame-Lia

Thanks. Yeah, it feels good. And I appreciated your support at that time because I do remember reaching out and being like, Can I do this, Mary? Like, I don’t know.

Mary

Yeah I think that’s the thing. People are always wondering as a podcaster, is this right? I’m like, Well, as most answers I usually give, it depends. You know, how are you feeling? What are your listeners going to feel and how does that play into your podcasting journey, but also their listening journey as well alongside with you. So I’m really glad that you were able to feel it out and try this because, you know, as of this recording, what? We’re about 25 episodes published is what you have.

Ame-Lia

Yes.

Mary

What do you reflect on the most about your show now that you’re 25 episodes in?

Ame-Lia

What comes to me is how much I have gained and grown in this journey in just 25 episodes. It’s a lot on some scale and it’s also not a lot in, in another way. I really love the podcasts for challenging myself to be more and more bold as I go forward, like speaking from a deeper place that is more authentic. And I think as I evolve as a human, my podcast is also evolving in that way. I’m curious one day to go back and, like, listen to the beginning episodes, although I know people don’t always like that, but I think even listening to my trailer or listening to my intro now I can hear a different quality in my voice then versus now. And so that’s been really interesting. 

Also from a social perspective, I’ve met so many amazing people on this journey and really created deep connections through the conversations we’re able to have and that wasn’t something, although that was in the vision that I had that one night. I kind of forgot about it along the way and I was like, Oh, I really love that aspect of doing this work that I really do get to connect and have relationship. And I think going forward, it’s pushing myself to really think about who those people are and bringing people that have larger audiences on our show so that we can get the word out to even, even more audiences. But yeah, I’m, I don’t know where I’ll be in a year from now. I am certain about that, that I don’t know.

Mary

No one knows, right? Life is a journey.

Ame-Lia

Yeah. And I’m super excited.

Mary

But it sounds to me that you have had a lot of success in your podcast in terms of creating what you had in your vision and making that come to life. You know, like you were saying, meeting people, expanding your network, and having these great conversations and as I said at the beginning of the show, everybody defines success in their own way. 

A lot of new podcasters might think, Oh, success is download numbers. You know, I see that a lot in the podcasting space, but to me, it’s never about the numbers. It’s about other things of how your podcast can be utilised for you personally or your brand and your business. So define for me what success means to you.

Ame-Lia

When I have one person reach out to me after an episode and say, Wow, like you really made me think about my life, or Gosh, that episode really gave me freedom in this area. Or Man, I really enjoyed that episode, it was that spark of light that I really needed today. I get emotional thinking about it because to me that is the whole purpose of my show. It only takes that, that one person to reflect that back to me and remind me that I am making a difference by using my voice. And that’s all that I need. It’s not about, it’s not about the numbers for me, although that’s kind of cool too to see how that is increasing. My ego loves that. But it’s really about that one, that one person. And that’s and, and you say this all the time when we’re recording is like, speak to that one person who’s sitting right in front of you. And for me, that person is in circle with me. And then when somebody replies back, I’m like, Oh, somebody actually was sitting in circle with me. That’s so cool. Yeah, that’s the feel-good.

Mary

Yeah. It sometimes can feel like a one-sided conversation but then when you get that feedback you’re like, Oh, right, someone is listening. Yay!

Ame-Lia

So true, yeah.

Mary

Ame-Lia, it’s been so wonderful to reflect back on this evolution, this journey that you’ve gone through. So as we close off, what excites you the most about podcasting right now?

Ame-Lia

For me, it’s the global reach. I mean, I know that I have a deep desire in me to, to have an impact on a global scale and I’ve learnt through this journey that I can create community through this medium. When I first came up with this idea of having a circle in this, sort of, one-way platform, I feel like some people really question me and like, how can you actually create that? But it was the vision and I went forward with it and we have been able to create that intimacy. So for me, I’m really excited about the, kind of, the simplicity of podcasting. Like it’s literally just listening to people’s voice, to people’s story, but that, that is also so profound I don’t know if I’m keen for podcasting to evolve in any way. Like, I just really love the, I guess, my own vision for how much further I can reach through this medium and what we can create by using our voices.

Mary

Yeah, that’s what I love the most about podcasting is that real human connection, the emotional connection that we can make all through the power of our own voices. Yeah, that takes me back to my radio days too where it’s, it’s about inviting somebody into your home. And that home is your podcast in this circumstance. So, Ame-Lia, thank you so much again for your time, and best wishes to you on the next leg of your podcasting journey. Again, I know you are going to create a lot of abundance and success through it, as you already had so far.

Ame-Lia

Thank you so much, Mary. And I’m really looking forward to doing that with you by my side. I have to say, that’s definitely been a really amazing part of this journey, too, is getting to know you better. And I love your work, love your support. Yeah, I’m excited. Let’s do this.

Mary

Oh, I so loved going down memory lane with her and seeing and really hearing how the spark of an idea for starting a podcast has now come to fruition for Ame-Lia and the steps she took to review and tweak what she has been doing to show you what a real-life example of what I’ve been talking about in past episodes. And, you know, even though she said for herself to go and listen back to her past episodes, I would actually recommend you to do that as well. So again, Ame-Lia’s podcast is Circle of Change. 

So in my podcast, in this podcast you’re listening to, two episodes ago in episode 34, I talked about being a creator and not a critic. So when you are listening to her show, Circle of Change, hear how she has evolved in the past year, she was mentioning her voice, the questions that she asks her guests. And now the shift to physical seasons. So this is around episode 23, 24, 25 is when this shift happened. So again, we are listening to her show as a creator, not a critic. So we can learn, review, and tweak our own show. Listening to other podcasts, not from a listener point of view, but from a podcast creator point of view. What can you learn from listening to her show? 

I would love to know what you learned, what feelings came up for you as you listen to Ame-Lia’s story. Share with me your moments over email or you can leave a voice note on my website. I would love that. All of these links will be in the show notes. And if you need support for your own need to revolutionize your show, I would love to support that alongside you. How are you going to take the next step to grow your show or even start one in the first place? I’d love to chat with you.

Get a 30-minute complimentary strategy session with me. You can book a time here. And as you know, as most podcasts and on my podcast now, all the links will be in the show notes. You can click to them through your podcast listening app that you’re on right now. So enjoy her show, not just from a listener perspective, for her inspirational content but also as a podcast creator yourself. Enjoy and I’ll talk to you soon.