“Within 3 months, the idea I had been holding onto for over a year was a living, breathing, growing, an impactful podcast …” Wanting to celebrate women in technology.
This series is all about Libsyn podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!
Q & A with Nicole from Celebrate Brave
When did you think about starting a podcast?
November 2020 is when I first had the courage to begin seriously exploring my idea and desire to create a podcast.
I was cautious because creating a podcast is a long-term investment of time, energy, mindshare, and heart.
The worst experience as a podcast listener is discovering the perfect podcast and then realizing that the host quit without warning.
I don’t want to be the worst podcast host; I want to be the best.
Why did you start podcasting?
My entire career was spent in corporate tech, working with women and men all over the globe. I moved across industries, across company sizes (from start-up to over 200,000 employees), and across roles (from pre-sales to design to development to consulting/implementation to customer support and more).
The biggest lie about my experience being a woman in technology was that I was alone. That my story was rare, and that my experience was fully unique to me.
I struggled for years, totally unnecessarily. As I got more senior — and got coaching and therapy — and started sharing my own story with vulnerability and strength, other women began to share their stories with me, and I realized: I am not alone. My story is unique to me and it was NOT rare.
My struggles and joys were shared by hundreds of thousands of women in tech all over the world.
When I left my executive role in tech to found my own coaching practice, it was with the stated goal to celebrate women in technology. And help them thrive and enjoy being women in tech.
One of the most important aspects is helping my colleagues experience what I did. Letting them know they are not alone; they are not rare; their experiences are shared with so many women in tech, in every country, in every role, right now.
I also wanted them to experience and know what I learned — and what my clients learned — through the school of hard knocks, without them going through that crappy school.
Somehow I knew a podcast could be a powerful channel to accomplish these goals, but I didn’t know how to create a podcast and even the thought of figuring it out felt so awful and heavy and hard.
I tabled the idea but did not forget it.
Finally, in Q3 2020, I shared my podcast idea and concerns with a group of women entrepreneurs.
One of them suggested I work with a podcast editor to save time and effort.
I explored it, but still didn’t feel confident in creating a long-term podcast that really serves my fellow women in tech.
Yet, while I was researching podcast editors, I stumbled upon the role of “podcast manager.”
I was so flicking jazzed as I read what the role does, how it supports the podcast owner from creating a strategy and message. Helping to build a podcast brand that supports my goals and business branding, editing and publishing the content I deliver. Also establishing norms for the podcast creation and holding me to them. The BEST ONE was maturing the podcast content, brand, statistic, quality, and impact. BAM!
I was sold and was on the path to finding a podcast manager.
Because my audience is global, I wanted a woman who had global experience and professional experience within corporations who was now in podcasting.
Thankfully, The Podcast Journey with Laila Noort came to my awareness. We had a deep conversation and I signed up with her.
Within 3 months, the idea I had been holding onto for over a year, was a living, breathing, growing, impactful podcast.
Now I know that Celebrate Brave is truly serving women in tech to become more successful while I am also having fun, doing the effort, and super committed to the long-term joy of Celebrating Brave.
What’s the name of your show and what is it about?
Celebrate Brave.
The Celebrate Brave podcast is for women in tech all over the world to earn more money, create new opportunities, and thrive as a woman in tech.
In each episode, you’ll experience either a brave story from fellow tech women from all over the world, across all industries, working in the diverse roles of the tech industry, or learn a career skill that I (or a client) learned through the school of hard knocks.
Subscribe to Celebrate BRAVE for weekly inspiration.
Bring that inspiration into your career and your life to save time and effort, while growing as a woman in tech.
What’s your podcast set up?
Mic set-up: Audio-Technica ATR2100X-USB USB/XLR Microphone Bundle with Knox Gear Boom Arm, Shock Mount, and Pop Filter
Recording: Zencastr
Hardware: Thinkpad, Lenovo, T460, standard hardware and software
How have you promoted your podcast?
All over the place!
Every single time I speak to women in tech or fellow entrepreneurs, I share my podcast. I talk about why it matters, how it helps them, and my long-term commitment to celebrate women in technology.
Celebrate Brave is the heart of my weekly emails, which become my blogs, which become messages to serve my clients … and the same is true the other way.
What my clients need and struggle with gets turned into podcast content. For example, clients were struggling to understand how to get a promotion as a woman in tech. So Laila and I created the “How to Make Your Promotion Inevitable” episode.
Since it went live, four clients and a few readers have let us know that the content of the podcast was THE REASON they finally landed their next career step.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
If I could do it again, I would spend even more time understanding data, impact, promotion, and figuring out how to get listener feedback.
And then when we started getting feedback, how we could even better serve our audience with specific types of guests, sharing specific types of stories.
I am so grateful for stumbling upon he role of podcast manager early in my experience. Specifically Laila Noor.
Nicole knows that her vast experience as a woman in tech would surely serve other women. Through her own stories and those of the women she interviews, Nicole has done just that! In this engaging and highly informative podcast. Tune into Celebrate Brave on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Nicole wanted find a way to help other women in tech get ahead. She spent a long time carrying an idea for a podcast in her head. She figured out that the best way to celebrate women in technology was through podcasting. There was no stopping her! Do you have wisdom you’d like to share that would help others? Don’t know where to start?
We can help with our Start Your Podcast blog series. If you are ready, we have the best podcast hosting plans around!