Embracing Partnership in Podcasting: How to Find Podcast Launch Accountability

You are trying to figure out your launch date . You're trying to figure out is this topic a good idea ? Is this title the right title ? Does my podcast artwork look okay ? Is this the right order that I should release my episodes ?

There's just so many questions and I look back at when I launched my podcast and I remember thinking , man , I really wish I would have had someone that I could have said oh , do you think this is a good idea ? Or give me your insights . Even if they weren't someone that was in my direct , ideal listener community , it would have been so helpful .

So if that is what you are looking for , you're going to love today's episode , because I have two members of our community . They actually are in our Facebook group . This is how they met .

We're going to talk about the whole story , but they're both coaching clients and students of mine and I asked them to come on the podcast and share their journey of how they met , but also how they supported each other in their launch . Now I want to be really clear . They don't have the same topics . It's not like they both have two

business podcasts and they always talk about the same things and they're going to use their networks and do that . It's not that they were there to support each other and walk through this journey together , and I just cannot wait for you to hear their story .

So I want to do a quick introduction because you're really going to get to know them in the episode , but I want to introduce you to Melissa Kitchen and Carrie Saunders .

So Melissa actually had an experience after losing her parents at a young age where she wanted to have the opportunity to preserve her family history , and those ties to the past became even more important to her .

So she struggled to find many of the details of her past and she wanted stories that were told in her parents' words , and so what she does today on her show , the Preserve your Past podcast , is she helps people write down their family stories , whether it's through workshops or coaching or sharing templates . So that is Melissa's story .

Then we come over to Carrie , who , like I said , they are total apples and oranges .

They don't have the exact same business model or the audience that they're serving , because Carrie has a company called BCS Engineering , which she started with a nine month old in her arms and a vision to help other businesses succeed , and 20 years later , her business has helped over 16,000 companies having an online business .

So , whether it's a free module on our site , a paid module or custom e-commerce work , they've helped people succeed in creating their businesses and giving them the tech resources that they need . So , like I said , apples and oranges , right , but Carrie launched her podcast . E-commerce made easy .

Both of these women launched her podcast earlier this year , so , like we're hearing in real time how their stories are unfolding , I cannot wait to share this incredible interview with both women and let you hear all the tips that they have about how they got connected , what that relationship looked like , and it's just .

It's so much fun I can't wait you to hear . So enjoy , let's get right to it . Welcome to the profit podcast , where we teach you how to start , launch and market your content with confidence . I'm your host , crystal Prophet , and I'm so excited that you're here .

Thanks for hanging out with me today , because if you've been trying to figure out the world of content creation , this is the show that will help be your time saving shortcut . So let's get right to it . Shall we All right Profit podcast listeners . I have not one , but two special guests here with me today .

I have Carrie Saunders and Melissa Kitchen , and I cannot wait to share this incredible friendship and journey and all things podcasting . Welcome to the show , carrie and Melissa , and I know it gets a little awkward when you have three people on a call . So welcome to the show . Let's just say that , like let's welcome , welcome , so happy that you're here .

So , basically , I work with people with my experience of being a counselor , a coach , a teacher , and I help them to write strong stories that they can pass along to the next generation , and so that's where my podcast has focused and what brought me brought me back to Crystal . Yeah , and what's the name of your show ?

The name of the show is the Preserve your Past podcast .

I loved it , and so I have been doing e-commerce customization since 2002 with my main business , bcs Engineering , and we just love doing the hard stuff behind the scenes and I have since then , via Crystal's help and Melissa , have created the e-commerce made easy podcast , where I teach entrepreneurs and web admins how to be successful in the e-commerce business .

It's not like y'all have . Oh , we both have business marketing podcast and we just said , hey , let's be friends and let's hang out . Y'all have very different and very , I would say , super niche topics for what you talk about . So can you share a little bit about your journey , about where you met and what that kind of look like ?

I love her topics because it helps me with building my business and I do have experience in working in building previous e-commerce type businesses . But she's definitely has that different piece . But what I remember is I knew that this was . I was coming back to it with a very much time .

I was very strongly back into it with getting this done correctly this time and going back to your course and redoing it , but knowing that I wanted that accountability also again , and that was kind of actually a theme throughout my business was finding my business besties because I felt like I had been doing it as a hobby .

My real people in real life don't do we talk about that a lot , don't get the podcasting . I had been in several groups outside of the Facebook group for profit podcasting and developed a few persons along the way .

But I think what made it really cool was when I remember when Carrie declared her date and I was like that was my foggy date but yes , I'm in with you and that was like the opening to then realizing and I'll let her speak to it but I'm realizing we really clicked in so many different ways .

We clicked in our energy at the time and our detail orientedness , but also our flexibility and supporting each other , of like just having that person there when we were kind of going through it . But I'll let Carrie share what she remembers , because we did just start chatting in your gap .

So I was like , why not , let's have the anniversary of that being when I launched the podcast , why not ? And so when I said that that was going to be my date and Melissa's , like oh , I want to launch in May too .

You know , maybe we can help each other I was like , yes , I felt like that was just like a calling , that I was supposed to meet and be with Melissa and we were supposed to help each other out . And you know , like she said , we do have different like perspectives , but kind of similar to Melissa . I also don't have my mother or father anymore .

I was a bit older than she was when she lost hers and that's her story behind her podcast . But and we both have boy kids , boy children too . So we've kind of connected on several personal ways as well , as you know , just helping each other out , business wise .

But they were both into band and parades and jazz band , you know , shows all over and I was the mom that was , you know , and now watch Carrie's updates of like here we are doing this and here we are doing that , and so it really even seeing the boys sometimes is like , oh my gosh , it's so , so funny . Just some of those parallels .

We had no idea and really only came to play , to like enriching it , to feel more personal , and not just about the podcast pieces , right . So it's been kind of fun .

Okay , so I just want to set the scene because I've I have people that I have had very deep , meaningful and intentional online relationships with that I've either never met in person or I have only met them like one time and it was like brief , fleeting moments , and so for anybody that's listening that's like , oh well , I don't have someone that , like Carrie and

Melissa , weren't like , hey , let's go to a coffee shop and like , think this out . Like you had to be super intentional . And actually I want to go back to this because y'all were both saying , right before we started , recorded that y'all are in a season like y'all are really busy right now with your lives .

How were you able to set it calls up , cause we've all had this right . Well , we're like , oh , we should

, you know , hop on a zoom , chat and talk , but then it never pans out . Or you know you're doing Facebook messages back and forth and then you don't answer somebody for like a day and you're like , oh , I hope they don't take that personal , I just got super busy . So how did you navigate that ?

As you were trying to figure out your podcast or really just developing this for a new relationship that you had , we were just really lucky , right , Carrie ?

And that's really worked for us is , we'll hop in to zoom I mean not to zoom into the messenger type up or say what we need to say and then kind of leave it till the person can see it , and then sometimes we're like back and forth for a long time . But mostly it's just been through messenger , yeah .

Really , there was no , we didn't . We never did meet on zoom , and today's the first time we've heard each other's voices , except for on our podcast .

So , yeah , you feel like you do know the person . I think that actually helps .

So , thinking about like online relationships , this is nice because both of us , even though we have different topics , are very good at adding a bit of story , a bit of personal part to it , and so I can hear in her podcast her voice come through and then when I'm reading the messenger , it's like I can hear it in her voice .

I think that that's really why I wanted to have you all on the podcast to talk about this , because it's so important , because I know there's somebody listening right now that has been wanting to start a podcast and they're just like nobody gets it , like my spouse doesn't get it , my mom doesn't get it , my kids don't get it , and I really want to do this

thing , but it's hard or it's awkward , like I mean , do y'all have any specific examples where y'all had to be like , okay , we got this , like we're , like we had to be each other's cheerleader , like , was there any really difficult piece of the process that you can look back on now ?

I just felt like that piece of the understanding of the accountability was really helpful for me . That was a challenging part .

If I didn't have and there was even , like Carrie mentioned like we set our dates but then it would be like I can't , like this didn't get done today , but like we had the same thoughts of that's okay , keep it going , she would be , you know , her time would be .

I feel like we took turns of when we were in that season , but also things that we were really comfortable doing and other things that the other person was more comfortable doing With tools or things like that , that helps a lot . So I don't know if I kind of over went of the question , but yeah , for me that was an important piece of it .

It seems like a very obvious one . But having a person that can help me not feel the overwhelm whether it's from the accountability or from talking through

the process and the tools . That was helpful .

And so it was just great whenever I did get stuck and get too much in my head , the Melissa could pull me out of it and I felt like I did the same for her , because there was sometimes when I was on the jazz and she was like kind of falling behind , and other times I was falling behind and she was on the jazz and we would just pick each other up

and be like that's okay , let's just keep going , let's just keep walking down this road together , and we've got this right , and celebrating was so much fun because , even that happened a little different timing and different milestones but it felt like I felt like I was winning when she was winning , when we would do those little wins .

I'm so glad you talked about celebrating , because I think that this is something that people often overlook in the beginning of their journey , because we're so wrapped up and I just got a lunch , I just got to get this thing out there and as soon as I do , it's like my job is done and we all know that it's just the beginning .

It feels like this big ramp up to get it out into the world , and then you're like , okay , I can breathe next year whenever I've got this thing , got my processes . But since you both recently launched and you have both seen some really cool milestones , is there anything that you all want to celebrate and share ? Because I've seen these in our Facebook group .

I love that y'all are sharers and you like say , oh , this happened , this happened . But is there anything specifically that you just want to own right now and say , yeah , I did this really incredible thing . I put my message out into the world and now what happened after that ?

I know I was so excited . Everybody around me has hundreds of episodes and the number one person is thousands of episodes and someone been around for over 10 years and I'm like I don't know how I did it .

No , but you are super clear in your messaging , you're super clear on your episodes , and I think that your experience with SEO comes out in everything you create , without you even realizing it , so it turned into you being the perfect example of your own teaching too .

But one of my big wins aside from reaching that first like 100 downloads or whatever that I was making sure I was counting , I was making sure people were seeing it Like Kari , I had a really hard time sharing .

I was even doing it and really owning it with the people I knew and this time around that really helped me that I was going to be more brave about sharing and I was going to take this more seriously as business and as a professional venture .

So Little Milestones was when my sister-in-law said oh my gosh , I listened to your podcast and I loved it so much and I love how you introduced these stories in . And then she said , ann , you even teased the story and I can't wait for that episode .

So for me it's like you know , I want to see the world out there listening , but my family I had been like not even owning it with , so for them to then for me to get brave to say this is what I'm doing , doing a podcast , which they all know I like to talk , so it wasn't surprising in that case .

But then to hear feedback from family as they trickle in and start listening was really big . The other piece that I first thought of was going out and sharing it . At the first conference I did and you and I , crystal , had talked about that was super powerful .

I brought the QR code for downloading , for sharing it from the website , and got a ton more listeners just from sharing it as people were walking by to be able to look at it . So that was another one that felt like I was stepping out of , kind of doing it from a room in the back of my house .

So you know we kind of talked about you know you've taken you know the course like profit podcasting , but we also did some one-on-one coaching with both of you individually and I am thinking back to you know those very first times that I saw your faces individually popping up on the Zoom screen and how far you've come and it hasn't been that long Like this is

what I think is incredible and I think it really comes back to you know we've talked about you all . Both have super niche topics , but I also think that it's important to mention that you are very clear on what you are doing and I think that this is often lost on people because we can all niche down to something that's very obscure and you know a little .

You know like , okay , no one else is doing this one thing , so I'm going to do it .

But you both have , like , found this super niche market where you know you can serve people and you can serve people really well , and I just want to take this opportunity to say I'm so proud of both of you , like you are freaking , crushing it and I think it's so cool , like I love being the cheerleader on the sidelines .

It's like let's go care , let's go , melissa , like you all are doing such an incredible job . So I just I wanted to say that I had to get that out there . But the other thing that I wanted to talk about okay , so if somebody's listening right now and they're nervous to reach out , so let's say they're not in a group which you know .

If you're not in our Facebook group , you all absolutely need to come join . Carrie , melissa are in there hanging out .

Like you know , we can all chat and talk to each other , but let's say somebody listening doesn't have , doesn't really have access to a community , but they've seen someone that they follow online or , you know , maybe they have seen someone in the Facebook group chatting , but they've been the wallflower .

That's like I don't I don't think I'm going to say anything Like I'm nervous . Do you have any tips for someone that's right on the edge of reaching out to someone that they think would be a great person to help them , guide them through this journey ? I mean , do you have any tips for them ?

So there's been several people in different groups on different topics that , as I was getting more focused on what I was doing , I've reached out to even possible podcast guests , because their topics were what I thought would work through , were not necessarily people that had the time or were in the right space to do it .

So knowing that you can ask it might not come to anything , but that doesn't mean that it's there's not the person for you that might be the person , but , carrie , I'll let you kind of piggyback on that if you have a thought too .

It is not necessarily a good match , so , and I think honestly I'm an introverted extrovert , so like I can go sit in the corner all by myself for hours and be perfectly , perfectly happy , but at the same time I know I need to like put myself out there and be with other people and I enjoy it , especially when I get to know somebody .

So and I can talk at your office as soon as I know you . But really just being brave and just going with your gut , because that's kind of like what I did with Melissa . She commented and she's like , hey , maybe we should like help each other out , and my gut said , yes , let's do this , you know . And so really go with your gut .

There was something in the language that Carrie was using , there was something in the timing that I could see that she was in and her energy that was similar to mine , and so it was about taking a risk and not minding like , hey , it's kind of like the lunch table . Can I sit here ? Yes , Will you be my friend . But it wasn't even that formal yet .

It was kind of like hey , I thought maybe even like , let's just name the date right now . And then we both did kind of again , like took that risk of like taking it a little bit further , of like let's do it together .

And there are people that want to do that , and there's good people in your group that are trying , that are at different steps of the way , that would love to do that . So I'm certain that there's other people that are going to be looking for their people .

And maybe it does come down to like hey , this is my timeline , anyone else want to share that with me ? And I know that's a challenge in itself . When someone names a date and you're like I've been putting this off too long , I've had my gray areas , like just name it , let's do it .

me .

I'm like I need to set up like a facilitate , an accountability like thread or something in the group where people can , like Melissa and Carrie , be like , hey , you know , like I need help and I think that it goes above and beyond just launching and that's actually like the next thing that I was going to ask is okay , you've both launched your podcast , like you

did this huge , like you overcome this big obstacle , you've hit this big milestone and as you both look forward like no pressure , like I'm sure y'all don't have a strategic roadmap of what you're going to do for your podcast , but are you looking at like different ways that you can support each other ?

Because I know I could think of two women that I've had that have been so intentional in my life in sharing their ups , their downs , their wins , their losses , like terrible mistakes , the lessons learned , and it's formed this beautiful relationship because it's real . It is based in this realness of being a business owner and just sharing with someone who gets it .

I think that that's what makes these types of relationships so special . So is there anything that you're both looking forward to in your podcast journey that you're like . I'll probably reach out to her for that , or maybe we'll brainstorm on that in the future .

But just to , we've used Carrie and I have used this word like giving ourselves grace when it doesn't look like what you want , but still moving forward right , like still getting something done , still putting something up .

So for me , part of what I know I will utilize this for is for that part of continued momentum and I think we still are able to get in that chat for wherever we are at . So I think that will still continue to open up as we move forward , just the same way as her .

To be able to come on yesterday into our chat and be like , oh my gosh , I just did this , you know , claimed my podcast , and so then I was like I didn't even think about that . Where is this thing ? Yes , because there's only so much you can like figure out . But yeah , I don't .

Strategically , I want to grow , I want to reach more people , I want to speak more and so having this relationship for whatever pops up , to talk things through and to not give up on it when you get overwhelmed .

I hadn't had my podcast recorded yet and they launch on Tuesday and they need them done so that one of my helpers can help me polish it and finish it as far as like putting up the words and the descriptions and all those things . And I just reached out to her and I was like I am just so exhausted I said I'm going to do this recording anyway .

I don't have the energy for it . But I did it and she was kind of in a similar place . So I just , I just love that we can just be like , oh my gosh , here's where I am . I am just I'm either on it or like I'm not , and I just , you know , it's just great to share so that we can help us with that momentum .

Like Melissa said is it's just , and I even realized like there was one week I was like , oh , I haven't checked in with Melissa for like I don't know , it was like 10 days

. I was like , oh my gosh , I got to check in with her . So , you know , I checked in with her and she was super busy too , but then we really reconnected again to see where each other was and helped us keep moving forward .

Oh , I got a scheduled , reoccurring zoom meeting and I have to show up and I got to be on time and I have to have a smile on my face and like have it all together and be prepared and have my last thing . Like it doesn't have to be that way .

And that's really why I wanted you to come on and share your honest journey , because so many people can learn from that . And if somebody's listening and they're like they've had this vision .

Because I remember when I was first starting as an online entrepreneur , I would hear about masterminds and peer groups and all these things and I was like I don't have $50,000 to throw down for a mastermind Are you kidding me ?

And so I remember thinking like I'm going to have to just do this on my own and talk to my husband about it , or my mom , who has no idea what I'm . They're like I don't . I don't even know what that means . Who is Amy Porterfield ? And I'm like hang on , excuse me , like she's a celebrity . What are you talking about .

So it's so nice that you have this open and honest relationship where you don't have to quote , have it all together and have everything be polished and perfect . You can share the messiness of the journey , because I think that that's where you're really going to learn from each other .

And , like you said earlier , you know , melissa , you're like I didn't even know the good , the good pods charts , like where is that ? Like ?

So I hope that this encourages you and anybody that's out there , like just let it be easy and like evolve into whatever it's going to be , and I just I'm so grateful that you two found each other and that you just it makes me so happy , like I mean , I get , I feel like I'm a proud , proud mom .

I'm like I got my kids together on this play date and now they're friends and they're going to , you know , right off into the sunset and have an amazing podcast journey .

I think , yeah , and that's one thing I wanted to say , like , thinking of it as you were talking , we have a shared language , we have a shared structure , and so what I see for the future , too , is to like , dig back into your new training and your new classes to see , like , what did I miss , what could we share for next step pieces , because I think , as

things kind of come around , we'll both be tweaking or we'll both be getting to that point where we're , like you know , thinking of other ways to grow or share , and there's so much still that I would like to get back to and think about as far as strategy , and I can see us doing that together and it feeling better than trying to do it all in your head .

I really love the fact that we just have such different perspectives , because I can help Melissa with any technical stuff she might get stuck with even though she's a pretty good technical person to begin with and she can help me with like the stories and just the wording and things like that , and we really just kind of compliment each other and have some

commonalities , like we've talked about tonight . And , yeah , I agree that I really want to go back through your course , but I got to get my course slung and then learn more about some of the new things that you've got in there and we , I'm sure , will keep each other accountable on those things .

But if somebody's listening , you don't have to have someone that's going to be your ideal listener or someone in your target audience . You could just have someone that's going to give you an honest opinion and say , hey , this was confusing in this episode . Can you explain that ? And then ask the question do you need to explain that to your audience ?

Like , I don't know , I'm not your ideal listener , like I have to tell people this all the time , and so I think that it's lovely that you have just this I mean , we've said it so many times this complimentary effect between your two personalities and what you're doing .

But it doesn't have to be the exact same thing , and so I guess I have a random question . I mean , it's probably going to catch you both off guard and go wait what we all have each other on each other's podcast , or have you all already ?

Crystal is me creating what I think is my process for doing that . But no , especially with Carrie's experiences , I think it would be really cool to put to talk about on the podcast and for so many different pieces of the story part , whether it be , as the you know , for her parents , but also the boys .

Like I feel like from the beginning , when you were talking Carrie about like I mean Crystal , about us sending things back and forth and we had mentioned we had been doing that , I knew , I think in the beginning you get inklings of whether you're going to be , you know , are you getting the feedback that feels comfortable to you and what you're looking for ?

Because sometimes you have people that you develop relationships for and they give you feedback and you're like , hey , no , that's not really helpful information . And now I feel worse or like sometimes it's just not a fit that way .

But we , from the beginning , were sending each other our descriptions because that's a very big part of the very , you know , getting ready . Getting everything up was just getting those bios and things . We were even doing it the other day , getting ready to send you our info . Was , you know , reading through things again ? Does it sound like what ?

I mean it to sound like ? Am I using the right pronouns ? Like we had , carrie and I had talked about the I and the you and the we , and should it be me or like so , but trusting the person , you grow that in the beginning and then , by the time you're willing to kind of trust in that , it makes a huge difference .

I was like I don't want to just ask this total stranger to be on my podcast . So what did I do ? If you go back to episode one , which always tell people to do that and it makes me cringe so bad , I really don't want you to go listen to . Like don't come tell me about it . If you let go listen to it , but don't tell me about it .

But that was one of my oldest friends . Like I have known this person since I was 16 . And so when I reached out to her to do this interview and she was like oh , of course , yes , that sounds incredible . That was an ego boost . I was like okay , like it's . Like my confidence was like slowly rising .

I still didn't know what I was doing , but I was like , okay , like it .

But it makes me feel comfortable that I'm doing it with someone to your point , melissa , that I can trust , that I know she's not going to be like , oh well , crystal has no idea what she's doing , so I'm just going to drop off this call , and I think that that could be a built in like benefit of having an accountability partner where you can say , hey ,

we're doing the same together . And do you want to be on my podcast ? Do you want to be my first interview , or do you just want to practice ? It doesn't have to be something that you both publish , like you could spend a little bit of time practicing together , and I think that that is incredible too .

No I think the other piece of that when you were talking about it also is I know from listening to Carrie that she knows how to Beacons podcast and I know you've talked about that being thoughtful when people are like , hey , I want to be on your podcast and I'm gonna promote this or that and they get on and they're like mm-hmm , yep , nope , um , or they

just freak out altogether . So like that's very thoughtful to to know that I know her style . It would be really comfortable . We do need to play in this carry , we're gonna . We have steps homework .

I think that that is also playing into the dynamic of your relationship and it just feels like it's this organic thing , and I just really want to encourage anybody that's Listening that it can happen , like you can find your people and I think it's just a matter of well here's .

Here's a great question I want to throw out to both of you , because I know you've both been in online spaces and online groups for a while . Like , have you kind of had this feeling like in your gut , in your intuition , where you're like I really want to find somebody ?

Or did you just really like happen upon each other and you're like , oh cool , this relationship will work ? Or did you , like either one of you have this ? Like I really wish I had that friends like cuz I know I did . I would see if people have these Relationships . I'm like I don't want that . Like , did either one of you have that I ?

Sometimes the groups I was in were really quick and fast-moving groups and people are in for more quick in and outs and Really I don't know , it didn't quite feel like an authentic , authentic Space or an authentic relationship when you're chatting with people right , and some people are just on and then they're never back Talking to you again , like you can be in

one group and then when that launch or what that out is over , it's like everyone kind of dissipates and disappears . But I knew I need I knew that's what I was looking for was someone . I had no idea when Carrie and I like picked that date , that that would be what this turned into .

I just figured we were gonna help each other do our May 2nd date and she , she and I would like

Be in your Facebook group . Sometimes we'd see each other and whatnot . But now I can't picture like moving forward Without us , like going through each step of the way and it has turned into broader than just even the podcast , but now like thinking Vision-wise , bigger but , how about you Carrie of you Um for me .

Um yeah , no , I didn't really plan for it , but I do know that that really helps you really just get things forward If you have somebody there to support you and be there every step of the way through the good and the bad parts of it .

I I really hope that your story of your relationship and Holding each other accountable , sharing each other on , sharing the messiness all of it really encourages people listening today , because I just know I Hear this all the time , so I know that it's a struggle that people have and I just want to give you encouragement that you can find someone and just keep

looking and , okay , like y'all are holding me . So my assignment for this , for this episode , is I think that we should have like a monthly post in the group where it's like our Accountability thread like you're looking for your buddies , like this is it like let's ping in there and , you know , get some of these , you know Different accountability pods going .

That way we can get more messages out there and just give people more confidence , because at the end of the day , it sounds like that's one thing that you both really achieved with this relationship Is the confidence to just do it and put it out there and get it going . So again , I just appreciate you both so much .

But we're gonna transition into some rapid-fire questions . I know you all listen to the show , so here we are . So the way that we're gonna do this is I'm gonna ask all the question , and then Melissa , I'm gonna have you go first , and then Carrie , I'm gonna have you go second . Okay , mm-hmm .

So the first one is what piece of advice would you give to a brand new podcaster ? I ?

You know you can think about your long game later , but in the beginning you really just need to be thinking about what's next . What do I need to do next ?

Mike Rose story one . Oh yeah , the there's not the . This is how I heard it . Um , but that's not really a guessing one . But , yeah , I love , I love his podcasts , but I don't listen to a lot of story type podcast , so I was like , oh gosh , what would I want to be on that ?

I would be like you know a good fit for Um , but I would say like he's one of I really love that short-term story you don't know what it's about , kind of my grow podcast . Um , those were fun . So that's one that I would love to , yeah , somehow be involved with . Maybe one of my stories . Right could be the story .

I had two people , so one of them that I know is Talks a lot about my gosh , it was like historical fiction . Well , one person that I think is really cool that I would love to talk to that goes along with storytelling and history , is he was the author .

Now I got a Google name he was the author of the Mayflower and he is based out of Nantucket and so part of what I do is Now I'm gonna look at it is stories that have to do with like history and family . But yeah , I'll look up who the author was of that . But yeah , he would be really interesting to talk to .

Honestly , I it's very hard for me because a lot of my podcast like I would love Maya Angelou right to be on my podcast she has deceased . I'd love to . Probably one of them my dream guests would probably be having my brother and sister on .

That's eventually having that on because one of the unique things I'd like to like explore in the podcast is how we have different Memories of the same story . So I'll go with that and that will simplify it and you can edit out all of my no , it's great , it's great .

So I think I mean even even a simple , not really simple , but even even as yeah , I don't know a Cop out is to saying you , chris , that would be cool .

Just because I felt like one of the reasons I did the podcast is I felt like other businesses could benefit from doing their own podcast too , and so you know , even something like you or Amy Porterfield to really help them See a different perspective on marketing and how they can do things like that .

I think they might be really cool because I think it would really help my audiences , because I feel like a lot of them don't know . They know how to market in a small way , they don't know how to market in like a big way , in a big impact way .

Like you know , melissa , to your point I it doesn't have to be someone that's living or deceased , I just think that it's it's fun to dream about , like who you could talk to , and I think that's what's so beautiful about Podcasting is it gives you this opportunity to speak to some people that you may have not had access to . But it like podcasting .

I mean , y'all know I'm gonna cheer lady podcast . Well , I'm just gonna digress there because we have one last question and I'm gonna come to you first . Carrie , do you consider yourself a perfectionist ?

I do get stopped by perfectionism , and I am recovered because I actually taught a class on forget perfect , because it it , it's something that you know , you , I was being stopped by , but no , I definitely have part of me . That's like okay , this is what it needs to be . I'm getting better at , though .

This is good enough and and Representing myself well at the same time , because I think that's the hard part now , when you're like people are watching , I want to represent myself for who I am and and the truth , but I also just want to get this up and out .

So and y'all know this already , because I I don't even know where I fall anymore , but I feel like it's somewhere along the spectrum and everybody is welcome because , at the end of the day , we're all just trying to share our message and I think that y'all are doing a fantastic job .

Can y'all tell everybody where they can find you and learn more about your podcasts ?

And there are free tools on the website also for strategies and some mind maps and things to work through . Getting started with the stories Awesome .

Like I have to be really honest , it wasn't always like that and I I feel like this it's finally what I wanted it to be as far as community and people not being promotional and spammy and turning into all those Facebook groups we all hate and we're like how am I getting notification for this ?

I just want to , I want to leave this group and so , again , I'm so grateful that it was the thing that facilitated this relationship , because I'm so stinking proud of y'all for launching your podcast , getting it out into the world and holding each other accountable and cheering each other along the way , so , so incredible .

Thank you for sharing your story and being on the podcast today .

second that . I just feel like you've been just such a great cheerleader , crystal , and then Melissa too . It's just been , it's wonderful . I don't think I could have done it at least definitely not on the timeline I set without the group and without Crystal's help and Melissa's help .

I want to just give a shout out real fast to Melissa and Carrie again , because I'm so grateful that you shared your relationship with us in this public forum and you were so honest about it , and I think that that honesty just really helps other people not feel alone in this journey , because I know that there's someone listening right now that thinks gosh , I

want to find my Melissa , I want to find my Carrie , like I want somebody that I can bounce ideas off of and they can help support me and I can support them and it's a just mutual relationship of respect and support .

And if that's , you then reach out to someone in our group , like reach out in the Facebook group and ask I specifically need help with X , and maybe you say this is when I'm launching or I'm looking for feedback or whatever it is .

But I encourage you to take that first step , because I think that it was very coincidental that they happen to be launching around the same time . They saw the opportunity to connect and they made it happen . But it took initiative , it took taking that first step and I know it is awkward .

I actually I've talked several times about my two really close friends , Melanie and Heather , and if it wasn't for Melanie saying in 2020 , I still remember this day like it was yesterday , and we talked about this recently how Melanie had said I think the three of us should be friends .

And I remember thinking , like okay , that's like such a weird thing to say , Like what are you talking about ? Because Melanie and I were friends and her and Heather were friends , but we all needed to be in this like cohort together . And I remember thinking , well , you know , is this what adult relationships are today ? Or is this what business is today ?

Like this is how we make friends . It doesn't matter . Like don't try to put a label on it , Just if it feels right , like if it's the personalities match , if you have things in common with , you know whoever it is that you're looking to be an accountability buddy with . Then see what happens . Some of them work and some of them don't .

I've been part of several accountability groups that have met once and never met again because it was just not the right fit . But you have to give it a chance . So this is your challenge , this is my challenge to you Take the initiative . If you're feeling like I need some support , take the initiative to make it happen .

And the second thing is don't give up after that . First try , Because I know somebody else is listening and they're like Crystal , I've tried , I've tried these like little pods that we get into and trying to support each other and it fizzles out Like someone you know doesn't take the lead and step up .

Well , maybe that's your sign that you need to step up and say hey guys , I'm leading a Zoom room . You know it's at this time if you can make it great and you have to kind of accept that maybe no one does show up that very first time , but maybe they do the next time and then the next time after that .

So , again , going back to taking the initiation , like do it , make it happen and don't give up , because there are incredible relationships out there , Like I think about Heather and Mel today , of like where would I be if I didn't have them to get me through some tough times in my business ?

And we talk about personal stuff and we talk about , you know , both being or all of us being moms and just the struggles of life , and they get it because they're in this with me and it's one of those things that I have found it , Melissa and Kerry have found it and I want you to find it as well . So go back and re-listen to this episode .

If you need to till , go back and listen to some of their tips and the different things that they tried , but absolutely go and find the people that can support you on your journey . But that's all I have for you today .

So , if this is your first time tuning in , make sure that you are following , subscribe to this podcast , and I would love it if you would take a screenshot and tag me on Instagram and let me know what your number one takeaway was from today's episode . But , as always , remember , keep it up . We all have to start somewhere .