Oct 4, 2022
In this week’s episode, you are about to go behind the scenes of my podcast relaunch journey. I want to reveal my personal reasons for pivoting from entrepreneurship to wellness. Today, I will invite you to be part of my creative process. I'll ask you to send me your thoughts on 3 important questions. My aim is to ensure the next iteration of this podcast will be valuable and part of your weekly routine going forward. Oh, and stay tuned until the end, because I will be doing something special for those moms who do answer those 3 questions before the end of October 14th.
But first, in 2017, I launched An Interview with Melissa Llarena out of a dare. One night I was cooking rice and beans, as many other Latina moms would do, when suddenly and excitingly my husband had an idea. He dared me to invite GaryVee and James Altucher to my podcast but first to launch a podcast. I'm grateful. I achieved that dare.
Other things also came from my 140+ podcast episodes, I:
overcame familiar mom feelings of imposter syndrome
figured out that I can bring my own value to conversations even
with goddess-like Suzy Batiz the inventor of Poo~Pourri
mastered the art of organizing my recordings in between childcare
snafus
the whole journey has taught me a lot about how big I was or wasn’t
playing
it also felt good, really good to always have a fun, and daring
conversation up my sleeves amongst my mom friends or friends in
conventional careers
frankly, doing this podcast, got me out of my mom brain and that
felt good
Then after 140 episodes or so I started to see how far a podcast that began as a dare could get. Thus far, fueled by a dare, I've been able to garner about 15K downloads. This may sound wonderful. However, through the years I'd hear of some getting 10K downloads in their first few months.
So at this point, I decided to look at the numbers more seriously, and here is what I uncovered:
people were listening but I started to feel like it was a
one-way conversation (which I take total ownership as my episodes
started to get long)
guests were coming but their followers were not sticking around
after one episode (I’ll admit it may have been because my guest
list start feeling unpredictable)
meanwhile, marketing was happening but I was exhausted and my
recent relocation from Australia back to the USA was a moment where
I felt like I bit off more than I could chew
Now, I have my MBA. I saw the stats but my ego just kept me going. I wasn’t asking my listeners for feedback. I was just producing content and not really knowing WHY the numbers were not going up.
Then one of my sons asked me a question
Noah asked me: mommy, why are you doing a podcast if you are not getting paid for it?
All the data in the world could have told me to stop podcasting or pour more resources into marketing it or evolving the theme to something more niche.
But it was Noah my 8-year-old who led me here to pivot my podcast significantly.
Noah got me to be DONE with listening to my ego.
I contemplate for enough time. I was falling into a trap. I was going after fancy schmancy people because I’m scared that I won’t be fancy schmancy like them if we aren’t in the same orbits. Who would I be without them? Am I enough without their company? Noah got me to think about this thought very deeply.
This is why I’ve set out to do something very different. Very aligned. And very raw. And this is where you come in so please let me what you think. I’ll share how in a moment.
I want to reshape this podcast to address one very urgent question as there is an influx of moms pursuing self-employment right now.
Key Question: What ancient or modern wellness practices can entrepreneurial moms use to achieve the kind of unimaginable wellness that can truly unlock their greatest creative potential?
This question has nothing to do with a dare. I’ll tell you where this question comes from:
I was raised by a single mom with Manic Depression. I have only
known my mom with her illness since 1979. Back then, mental
health was a family secret. Yet, seeing her unable to accomplish
her grandiose ambitions fueled me to pursue (and achieve some of my
own). You can say building my own business and being a mom these
last 11 years is evidence that there could be a silver lining when
moms think extraordinary thoughts and have solid wellness practices
to bubblewrap their sanity. All of this to say: I stand for
resilience and creativity and I'd love to share my wisdom along
with the wisdom of experts with my fellow moms who have big dreams
yet might be neglecting their needs. I can attest to it that
building a business as well as a family is innately a contact
sport. Wellness is what can help entrepreneurs get back up. For
moms, we must get back up. Personally, my mom never quite got
there.
*****SHORT SURVEY FOR PODCAST PIVOT*****
So this is where you come into this relaunch process. Are you ready? Scooch up in your seat. Grab a notepad. This is your chance to help a mom on a mission. Send answers to melissa [@} melissallarena.com or via Instagram @melissallarena I want to know 3 things.
Who is an expert that you trust for your wellness insights?
Anywhere in the world. The person you follow. You may have read
their book or watched them on TV. Who do you consult for your
wellness practices or guidance? Write it down. Whoever comes to
mind it could be your tia Josefita or Jack Kornfield.
What would wellness feel like for you personally? What word or
words come to mind? If you are a visual person, what images pop up.
If you are a kinesthetic person, what movements feel like your
deepest expression of wellness? If you are more auditory what
would wellness sound like?
What questions do you have about wellness? Wellness is very
broad to me: Physical, mental health, emotional, spiritual, social,
intellectual, creative wellness….my quest is to make sure we are
thinking more deeply, proactively, and in a way that we can hold
ourselves accountable…so the solutions/ideas I’m seeking from
future guests need to be practical and within reach
So I’ve asked you these three questions. So where do you send your thoughts? You can email me your questions to Melissa @ melissallarena.com OR you can catch me on Instagram @melissallarena and send me an audio message there or message with ideas. Two ways for you.
*****REWARD FOR SURVEY RESPONSES*****
Oh and I would love to reward you for your participation in this mini-survey. In exchange for your answers, I will be scheduling a free meditation session over Zoom for moms who are new to self-employment.
We will be covering two meditations one called:
how to find calm even in the midst of a shitstorm (15-minutes)
how to release guilt even if your kid tends to be the last one
picked up from most places (15-minutes)
Both topics after my own 11-year entrepreneurial adventures + motherhood journey are near and dear to my life and that’s why I want to walk you through my process. These meditations have helped ME and I firmly believe that us moms breathing together can be one of the most beautiful contributions we can make to our families and business.
The exact Zoom date will be set for the week of October 17th.
Based on who sends in her answers, we will iron out the exact date/time. Send me your answers via email or Instagram. You’ll see this in your show notes too.
In the meantime, beyond sending me your answers. As it relates to this specific podcast episode.
On another note....
I need your help. Moms know 100s of other moms. I know billion-dollar companies out there who use our word of mouth to sell us things we need and don’t need. The time is now to help me by using your megaphone. I would like to ask that you SHARE or FORWARD this episode on your social media. I would be extra honored if you sent this to your whatsapp group mom communities. If you are a fellow podcaster it would be an honor to be a guest on your show so that I can get this message out too. The incredible thing I’ve noticed as a coach who has helped moms build their self-confidence is that billion-dollar businesses know how powerful we are. Yet, it’s us who sometimes forget.
Has that ever happened to you? You see a survey out there and you think to yourself: aw they don’t need my opinion. Or, I’m just going to say something they must already know. Alternatively, you might think I don’t have time to add another thing to my plate. I’m a MOM! Here’s my answer to all of those thoughts: What is on your mind is important. Your ideas. Your perspective. They are important. You are important. Your hopes. Your dreams. Your concerns. Your shares. Your forwards. All matter. I want to be certain that this next edition of my podcast Unimaginable Wellness gives you the tools, insights, and hope you need to make your dreams possible. You only get one you and this is about ensuring you’ve got a well from which to give to the world. So what do you say? Are you emailing me or DM-ing me your answers? I’d be honored to read them and lead you in my guided meditations specifically made for moms who are new to the world of self-employment.
Thank you and stay tuned until next Tuesday. I’ll be releasing an interview I did with Fran Hauser Named one of the "6 Most Powerful Women in NYC's Tech Scene" by Refinery29. If you are a mom who is building a tech business then tune in because Fran loves investing in women-owned businesses that bring us together.