[00:00:00] When I started thinking about a podcast, I was already stretched to my limit. But here's what I learned in 20 episodes. You don't have to be ready. You don't have to have it all figured out. You just have to find the pace you can actually sustain and protect it.

Hey, friend. Welcome back to In The EllaMents. I'm Alishia Egenhoff, digital ad strategist, mentor, and the heart behind Social EllaMents Marketing. Around here, we talk about marketing, motherhood, and what it really looks like to build a business while also being a human with limited time, energy, and capacity.

We have hit episode 20, guys, and honestly, I'm still kind of shocked that we're here. When I first thought about starting a podcast, I wasn't even sure it was actually going to happen. Like, I had the idea, I was [00:01:00] excited about it, but I also knew, like, deep down that I was already stretched thin. I was already, and still am, doing client work, running my own business, managing my household, mothering two kids, and here I was thinking about adding one more thing to my plate.

I actually remember talking to my husband about it. I told him, "I was thinking about starting a podcast." And you know what his first response was? It wasn't, "That's a bad idea," or, "You can't do that," but, "Do you have the time for that?" And so sweet of him, but honestly, he was not wrong. Like, I appreciate that he didn't say no.

He said it realistically. He was saying what I already knew deep down myself, that I'm already [00:02:00] full. "Are you sure about this?" But I really wanted to try.

Around that same time, I had a meeting for coffee with my good friend Alysha Sanford of the Messy Mompreneur podcast, and we, you know, try to get together every so often and just talk about business, and life, and being a mom.

And we're sitting in this adorable local coffee shop in this adorable little hometown in Oregon, and at some point in the conversation, I brought up the idea that I was thinking about starting a podcast. I told her I'd been thinking about it, and I told her the concept, and her response immediately was, "Do it."

And then she got just so excited, like genuinely excited for me. She asked me questions. She was super [00:03:00] supportive. And sitting there in that coffee shop, I realized something: that I, for, just for myself, needed to at least try this, even though I had zero clue on how to start a podcast, like no idea. Even though I didn't know if I could sustain it, and even though I was already overwhelmed, I needed to give this a shot for me.

So I did, and here we are. But episode one, guys, like the doubt that happened. Recording that first episode was terrifying. I was so nervous. I didn't know what the heck I was doing. I was second-guessing everything because that's what I do. I'm an over thinker. I'm like, "Who am I to be talking about any of this? Who am I to be an expert on marketing, on motherhood, on, on any of these [00:04:00] things?" And that imposter syndrome was absolutely real. It still shows up for me sometimes, if I'm being completely honest with you. But I recorded it anyway, and then I recorded a few more, and I started getting a little bit more comfortable with talking to you guys.

And I started to find my rhythm with the recording process, and the more I did it, the easier it has gotten for me. Though I will say, I still cannot do video. Like, something about being on camera just makes me freeze up, and video is a whole different beast. But audio, audio I can still do.

Now, if you listen to episode 19, the last episode, you know how I was feeling at the end of summer. That as we got into summer, things, like, got hard, like really hard. I was already doing what I talk about in episode 19, stretched thin, kids home all the [00:05:00] time, trying to keep everything, like, running while I'm also trying to be present for my family. And on top of all of that, I still had to record some episodes for this podcast.

I had tried to be very intentional and batch-recorded my first month of episodes, like month and a half, which was super smart on my part. But after that, the recording schedule became part of my to-do list in a way that felt very heavy. I felt like I had to force myself to sit down and record when I was already feeling behind on everything else in my life, like everything, client work, household stuff, like being a mom, my own energy.

And there were moments in the summer where I thought about just stopping. Like, maybe this isn't sustainable. Maybe I need to just, like, let this go or just, like, pause for a little bit. And honestly, I think if I had committed to weekly episodes, I would have quit by now.

I know that [00:06:00] about myself. I would have, like, burned out completely and walked away as just, like, too much. But I had chosen every other week from the start, and that decision, that realistic, honest decision about what I could actually sustain, that's what kept me going even in the hardest moments. Knowing that I only had to record every couple of weeks made it feel still possible, like barely at some points during the summer, but it was still possible, and it still happened.

But really what I wanna say is here's what I wasn't expecting when I started. I actually kind of love this, like genuinely love it. I wasn't sure about it. I was super nervous. I didn't know what the podcast would become. I think it's still evolving. But over these 20 episodes, I've realized that talking to you, that having conversations, sharing [00:07:00] this stuff, it's become one of my favorite ways to create content and share information.

And there's just something about audio that feels different than social media. When I post something on Instagram, it's like, it's quick, it's a moment, like five people see it. But when we're here together in this podcast, we're having real conversations, and there's just a lot of depth to it. There's nuance.

I get to actually explain things that I couldn't explain in a social media post, and I get to be a little bit more vulnerable with you. And you get to hear my voice, my actual voice saying these things, and that connection is different. It's deeper. And the reach has also surprised me, too.

There are people actually listening all over the world, people I would never have connected with through a social media post [00:08:00] or an email, just people who found In The EllaMents and decided, "Hey, I wanna give this a shot," and then have stuck around.

But one thing I realized is that I feel like I shine brightest when I'm supporting and encouraging others, and that's where I feel most like myself. And this podcast lets me do that in a way that feels natural and authentic to me. I am naturally introverted. It takes a lot of mental energy for me to interact with people, even though my husband says I'm the social one.

But I am-- like, we're both introverts. I just learned to show up socially over the years, like, forced, but it's not easy for me. The podcast, though, has given me this interesting, like, gift. It lets me connect with people on my own terms, where I can sit alone in my recording [00:09:00] space and talk directly to you. I don't have to navigate that real-time dynamics of a conversation. I don't have to read the room in real time. But I'm still connecting. I'm still showing up for you. I'm still being that person who supports and encourages you, and that confidence that I can do this, that I have something important to say, that people actually do want to hear it, that's changed something in me internally.

So what I'd tell you, if you're thinking about starting something and you are scared, or you're not sure you have the time, or you're not sure you have enough to say, like, I get it. Obviously, I've been there. I felt all of those same fears. But here's what I do know. If your heart isn't truly in it, then don't do it.

Don't add one more thing to your plate just because [00:10:00] you think you should. That's not worth it. You're going to resent it. It's just gonna become this annoying thing that you have to do. But if you genuinely feel like you have something important to share, if people in your life are telling you that you should do it, if there's a part of you that wants to just give it a try, then by all means, try.

Maybe you don't start with biweekly episodes. Maybe you commit to one episode a month. Maybe you do something completely different from what I'm doing. But don't let the fact that you're already stretched thin stop you from trying. Because what I have learned in 20 episodes is that the things that matter to us, the things that feel important, that light us up inside, those things are worth protecting, even when life is chaos, even when you're not sure how you're going to make it work.

You just, you figure it out. [00:11:00] You find the pace that's sustainable for you, you protect that, and you show up. And I know 20 episodes does not sound like a lot, but for someone who had zero idea this would even be a thing, who was already stretched to her limit, who still sometimes freezes when she thinks about being on camera, 20 episodes feels like something to celebrate to me.

It means I tried something I wasn't sure about. It means I pushed through the doubt. It means that I figured out how to make it work within my reality, not in spite of my reality. And it means there are 20 conversations that we've had together, 20 moments where I got to support you, encourage you, give you permission, or maybe just make you feel a little less alone in this crazy world.

And that matters to me so much. So thank you [00:12:00] for being here. Thank you for listening. Thank you for letting me do this thing that I love. I'm super excited to see what the next 20 episodes look like.

If you want to stay connected, I'd love to have you on my email list. I send two to four emails a month with honest thoughts on marketing, motherhood, and building a business that actually fits your real life. You can join through the link in the show notes. Thank you for spending time with me In the EllaMents.

Until next time, keep building with intention and give yourself grace as you grow.