Top Podcasts for Small Businesses
How you do you stay up to date? There used to be a time when professional development occurred primarily onsite in classrooms or at industry conferences (with all the late night drinks and shenanigans that came with being away from home for a few days).
These days you don’t have to go far to discover new trends in business or to learn from leaders in your field. A quick trip to the bookstore puts the latest business bestsellers at your fingertips (Bill Gates puts out his list of favourites each year). And if you don’t want to leave the house (or the office) a simple Google search will instantly get you the information you’re looking for in the form of news articles, industry websites and, of course, business blogs.
But for the growing number of people who don’t have time to even read, as well as for those younger people for whom books are going the way of the typewriter (and that’s an issue for another blog), podcasts are increasingly becoming a more convenient way to keep up with the industry and learn from other leaders.
According to 2018 statistics by Podcast Insights, there are more than 550,000 podcasts coming out of the U.S. Nearly 45 per cent of the U.S. population has listened to a podcast, with 49 per cent tuning into podcasts at home and 22 per cent who say they listen in their vehicle.
What are they listening to? While comedy is the most popular genre (for some reason, it seems U.S. citizens are in need of a good laugh these days) it doesn’t take much searching to find a plethora of business- and leadership – related podcasts. And, thanks to this blog, you don’t even have to do any searching to get started!
Here are some of the top podcasts you might want to give a listen to.
The Tim Ferriss Show: This one popped up on a lot of “best of” lists. Host Tim Ferriss has been listed as one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and one of Fortune’s “40 under 40”. Ferris interviews world-class performers across industries (investing, sports, business, art, etc.) who share their tactics and routines listeners can use in their daily lives.
Entrepreneurs on Fire: Considered a pioneer of the interview-style podcast, Entrepreneurs features host John Lee Dumas talking to success stories from business leaders and influencers like Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Gary Vee, Barbara Corcoran, Tim Ferriss, and others. Dumas interviews entrepreneurs every Monday and “drops value bombs” every Thursday. (You will have to tune in just to find out what that means!)
Small Business with Steve Strauss – Powered by SAP: Steve Strauss is America’s leading small business expert, author of The Small Business Bible, and a business columnist for USA TODAY. Strauss’s podcast features in-depth interviews with successful entrepreneurs and business authors.
Duct Tape Marketing: Host John Jantsch has been running this weekly podcast for more than a decade, interviewing experts, authors, and thought leaders. The podcast dives deep into more technical topics, like getting more results from Google Ads, as well as more abstract issues, like building a memorable brand and examining the role of authenticity in marketing.
The Goal Digger Podcast: This one is aimed at women entrepreneurs and has the feel of a live workshop. Host Jenna Kutcher gives out marketing advice in areas of expertise like SEO (search engine optimization) and Instagram marketing. She also explores subjects that are not typically discussed in other business podcasts, like attaining work/life balance as a CEO and a mom or finding ways to make your brand more inclusive.
Social Media Marketing Talk Show: Hosted by Eric Fisher, this podcast is aimed at small businesses doing their own social media marketing. Fisher discusses all the changes happening in social media on a weekly basis, helping businesses stay up to date and understand what all the changes mean to them.
This should get you started. Next time you find yourself with some downtime – preferably on a snowy afternoon, curl up on the couch, tune out the world and tune into a podcast.
Just kidding. You have no downtime! Pop in the earbuds and get yourself an earful of professional development as you make your way to the next meeting/site visit/catastrophe.
The good thing about podcasts is they’re portable!
https://www.shopify.ca/blog/business-podcasts
http://fortune.com/2018/09/11/best-business-podcasts/
https://www.lifehack.org/585452/30-best-business-podcasts