Oh my goodness, it is 20 22, I cannot believe it and I don't know about you, but january is a time for me when I'm feeling so invigorated for the year ahead. I'm full of energy, new goals, dreams, excitement. It's a time for me to learn new things and set my intentions for the rest of the year. And with that in mind, I love to dig into new podcasts like success story hosted by scott D Clary and brought to you by the hubspot podcast network. This is truly one of the most useful podcasts in the world featuring conversations about sales, marketing business and startups with super successful people in the industry. So if you're in the mood for some fresh energy, I would highly recommend starting with episode 189 called how to build an iconic brand with joe foster, the founder and Ceo of Reebok. It is a pretty wild ride. You can listen to success story wherever you get your podcasts. This is Victoria Divine for female startup club.

Okay, Hey everyone and welcome back to another episode of the female startup club podcast. I'm your host, Don Rasheen and joining me on the show, Today is Australia's number one money podcast host, Victoria Divine Victoria launched her money-related podcast. She's on the money in 2019 and since then it's grown like crazy into a household show for women who want to change their money habits and learn where they can best invest and grow their wealth. She's got around two million listeners from all around the world is the number one rated podcast for money in Australia and has changed the lives of thousands of women myself included, we're covering her story and everything you need to know to start your own podcast. So if you've been wondering whether you want to start your own wildly successful podcast, this is an episode for you. We're sharing all the things you ask yourself when you're just starting out. Like how do you monetize the podcast, what equipment do you need? How do you find sponsors and so much more? And if you're looking for more nifty tips and tricks, you can also tune into my instagram or Tiktok at Dune machine where I post daily quick tips, how to guides and other useful bits and bobs relating to all things business and e commerce.

And lastly, if you haven't done so already, please do subscribe, rate and review the female startup club podcast so you can get notified of our new episodes every week and help other ears find us. This is victoria for female startup club. Yes sir, it's safe to say that most of us have been doing more online shopping lately. Right, And if you're an e commerce brand, that means you might be seeing more first time customers, but once they've made that first purchase, how do you keep them coming back? How do you keep them connected to you and your brand. That's what Clay vo is for. Clay, Vo is the ultimate marketing platform for e commerce brands. Clavijo gives you the tools to build your contact list, send memorable emails, automate key messages and so much more. That's why it's trusted by more than 40,000 brands, including female founded businesses like Curl, mix, hint and Campari beauty. Get in on the action to delight customers, grow brand affinity and make some serious money.

Clay Vo customers made $10.2 billion dollars through the platform last year. So whether you're launching a new online business or taking your brand to the next level, clay Vo can help you get growing faster and I can confirm the platform is super easy to use and has all the hard stuff done for you like templates, automated sequences and general email related resources to learn how to win at email marketing. Plus it's free to get started just visit Clay vo dot com slash F. S. C. To create your free account today. That's K L A V I Y O dot com slash F. S. C. Do you own an online business? Have you been wanting to learn how to launch highly profitable facebook and instagram ads. The ads. NBA by female startup club is of course to master the technical skills needed to run profitable facebook and instagram ads. We teamed up with leading performance marketing agency amplifier to create the best tool on the Internet for female founders to learn the exact strategies they're using right now to scale their clients to seven figures and above in the last 15 years their team has spent more than $100 million on performance marketing and they know a serious thing or two about e commerce.

The course is designed to give you the tools needed to build a profitable and consistent revenue stream for your business, whether you're just starting out or wanting to scale to the next level, you'll learn everything from winning ad creatives to identifying your target KPI S, implementing retargeting funnels and deploying scaling strategies to increase your revenue to upwards of seven figures per year. We currently have an introductory offer on the website for $149.30 dollars from every sale is proudly donated to the Malala Fund, a charity that's working towards a world where every girl can learn and lead female startup club precincts. I am so so thrilled to have you joining me on the show today. Thanks for being here. Thank you for coming. I'm so excited to be here. I can't wait to pick your brain on all things. She's the money especially because you know, for selfish reasons, having my own podcast and all. Hey, yeah, I'm here for that. Let's go, Oh and before we get started, I actually want to give some context for everyone listening about how this episode came about.

I used to tag you in posts all the time on instagram sharing, like what episodes I was listening to of. She's on the money and I loved it and you loved it. And we basically developed a little online friendship in the old D. M. S. Exactly. I feel like I've done that with thoughts about listeners actually because like, people tag us in like every week when we drop in your episode, that tag what they're listening to. And I love it. I feel so grateful that people share what they're listening to, but then they want to share our content and you know, I always reply and I'm always talking to people in my DMS. I think people assume that, you know, we just won't reply. It's like, no. Like I want to be your friend. If you think that I'm cool. Like, I think you're cool. Let's go from there. And it brightens people's day when someone just chimes in and like slides into the DMS, you're like, yes, this is so nice. Thanks. Yeah. And if there's like a consistent name, like what you did, you would like to tag us every week when you listen to the pot and she does this every week, and then I looked at your profile and I'd be like, oh, I think I want to be friends.

But yeah, I love that. That's so funny. Okay. Anyway, context is done. Let's backtrack. I want to talk about how you got started, why you wanted to start a podcast in the first place and maybe some background info on you and and what you're up to. Yeah, I don't even know where to start. Um so obviously I have a podcast, I've got, she's on the money and she's on the money is Australia's number one finance podcast, which I never thought I'd be saying that is so cool. Honestly, it is so cool and I'm so so happy that we are there because I feel like every single day knowing that we are changing the money relationships people have with their money, like it's just so cool and for me, being a podcaster was never a goal, it was never something that I thought I would do, we are just over a year and a half years old or the podcast is, and we kind of just started because it was a way to get back to our community and I feel like that's the way that a lot of podcasters start and it's like what you do, you want to give back to your community, you want to share these stories, like I think that you know, if you're gonna start a podcast and you're going to do it, you have to be doing it for the right reasons and the right reasons, you know, building a community, sharing your story, you know, growing other people and giving back and for me that just kind of came second nature to what I was already doing and I loved putting the content together and I feel like that's what kind of made us successful.

It wasn't their finance podcast, they want clients, it was like the exact opposite. It was like we have these people in our community and I want to give them more value and then other people joined in. Yeah, I love that. And for everyone listening, who didn't know what you were doing with Zella, do you want to talk a little bit about the business and your community in general that you had before the podcast? Yes, So I am a financial advisor and I own a financial advice practice called Zella based in the Melbourne CBD here in Australia. And I was like, I was working towards, you know, getting more clients and building my Zella business and growing that. And one of the ways that I was growing my business was through workshops. And so I would go into law firms and big Corporates and run these workshops just on financial literacy, what people could do. And one of those workshops was called she's on the money and she's on the money was just for women because I always found that women, especially lawyers, because that was just what I was working with if in a room with their male peers, didn't really want to stick their hand up and say, look, I don't really understand what you mean when it comes to superannuation because they didn't want to look silly in front of their male peers, even though they didn't know the answer.

So I found that after the sessions they're the ones that would hang around and be like, oh hey, I didn't really understand this, can you explain it? Or they messaged me later, it was just like this is ridiculous. Like let's just deal with this as a whole. Like let's just have sessions with women. It wasn't because I was better at women. It wasn't because I wanted to, you know, build a female community. It was purely because I was like, you guys aren't asking the questions you need to ask and if you're thinking of everybody else in the room is thinking them. And just because someone is a male doesn't mean that they don't know either. So for me, it was more about creating a little community to have that chat. And it kind of grew from there. And after I realized that these workshops were being popular and people were liking them, I wanted to continue the openness and I wanted to continue the conversation around money and at the time the easiest and the most cost effective way facebook group was free. So I made this facebook group of people who had gone to my workshops to connect in and I added all my friends and I, you know, I think we all feel like I think people forget that we all start somewhere and I used to message my girlfriends and I think can you ask a question in my group because I wanted to look like people are asking questions and I would grow it that way and people who came to my workshop joined and then we'd have these money conversations and you know, I got a few of my friends to post and join and then from there, other people started joining that I didn't know and I remember being confused was that you didn't come to a workshop, I don't know, you're from Queensland, who are you?

And then people would start messaging and being like, oh, I hope you don't mind. I've added my sister and my sister in law, like, they'd really get a lot of value from this, it's like, oh yeah, more the merrier, like, totally welcome. And then we had 2000 inch members in the group and I was a bit shocked and wasn't sure what to do with 2000 people. So I asked them what they wanted and initially they said we'd love for you to have a Youtube, like start doing video content. And I was like, no, right, that's so overwhelming to go from being a financial advisor. It was a bit antsy doing, you know, these workshops to being on video. No, that wasn't gonna happen. And someone suggested a podcast and I was like, okay, well there's no video in that, so I'll give that a crack and I was very grateful at the time to have a couple of friends who had a podcast. So I asked them and we kind of went from there and started the shoes on the money podcast and I thought What a great way to start. We'll just do 12 episodes Will cover 12 topics that you know, the community are talking about at the moment and now it's a year and a half later and on through our third season and we have more than two million listeners, which is insane.

That is so insane. And also not even two million listeners, you have thousands of new friends and new relationships and you've impacted the lives of women all around the world most probably, I mean I'm listening in from London but you know, I'm sure people are listening in from everywhere. It's insane. And I just, I don't know how it happens. And I'm really, honestly, I'm still mind blown. I wake up with these beautiful messages from people from around the world just saying I've been listening to your podcast and I've changed just about my financial life or hey, like the ones that really hit me in the chest. Like I, I listened to one of your podcasts and I didn't realize I was in a financially abusive relationship. Um, and I'm now out of that like, whoa, what? Because of because of us and I'm just so grateful that we're having this impact. But yeah, it kind of just came from a place if you're wanting to share these conversations. Um, and I hope that we can continue to do that and we can grow but still maintain that level of friendship that the group seems to have because I think one of the most special things that actually is on the money is the vibe that we have and everyone's friends and if you come into our community you are so welcome here.

It doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter if you're male or female or non binary, like we don't actually care who you are as long as you're a kind person and you see that in our facebook group where we now have more than 90,000 members, we have 300,000 conversations each and every single month. You see it there and you see it in our instagram DMS and you see it with other people tagging each other and just it seems to be the right type of vibe and I hope that keeps spreading. Yeah, I really love the facebook group. I'm in there most days as well just putting My two cents in everywhere. Exactly, and I just feel like people are so grateful for other people's opinions. Like it's not because of financial advisory is there, it's just sharing opinions and sharing stories and what I really like the most about it is we are all, you know, we do have to moderate it, but sometimes we are all like we're all really aware of the fact that there are different stories in the community and you have a different view and someone else can chime in, you go around and I thought of that, that's really cool. Or you know, what's your biggest savings school at the moment or how are you saving for this?

And everyone does it differently? And I think just being able to read other people's stories and share their journeys and seeing where they're from and what happens with them, it's just so cool. It is really, really cool. Bit perfect too. And I'm totally here for that. I want to go back to those early days when you were talking about you approached some friends that you knew in the industry who had a podcast. Yeah, so for anyone listening, who is in that mindset of like, oh yeah, I might want to start a podcast. What advice did you receive from those people and what did they tell you to do that you can pass on to our lovely listeners. So when I approached them, I had already put together like what I kind of wanted to talk about on the podcast and I knew I wanted to call it. She's on the money, because I had already started it. But I think the first thing was just understanding your target demographic and I'm really grateful that I already had an understanding of that, but I remember that we had these really great conversations about, like for your audience, what your audience wants to hear from you Um, and one thing that humans crave is consistency. So if you're going to do a podcast and you need to commit to it and you don't just need to commit to it in terms of all right, Doing 12 episodes, you need to commit to it in terms of time frame and making that timeframe really reliable.

Like you want to be a reliable source of truth or, or information. And for us that meant picking a specific time during the week that we dropped our podcast and that was something that I hadn't thought of. So we were reliable and so we picked Wednesday mornings and so every single Wednesday morning, like will be in your ears and there'll be a new episode and you can reliably know that every Wednesday morning when you get up for your morning walk or you're driving to work or you're doing something, there will be any issues on the money episode ready and waiting for you. Um, and I felt like that made a lot of sense to me because prior to that, I was like, oh, we'll just do the episodes, like do we upload them all at once or do we just upload them when they're ready or like what do we do? And it was more about creating that community where they know and doing a little bit of research on who our competitors, what are other people doing in this space? When are they dropping their podcast? I didn't actually want to be in competition with other people? And I know the biggest money podcast in Australia at that time was by my friend Glenn James and he has a podcast called My Millennial Money, which is fantastic.

But at that point in time he was dropping episodes on Mondays and Thursdays and I knew I didn't want to be in conflict with that. I wanted to be able to capture that audience, not compete for that audiences attention. And so for me it made sense to me for Wednesday, like happy hump day kind of thing. So for me that was really great. Um and everything else I feel like I learned along the way and just, you know, kind of started from scratch and just said, all right, well how do I run a podcast? One of the best mites, what are the best programs, what software should I be using? What editing style should I do? Should I have a jingle at the start or not? Like some people do, Some people don't and it's more personal preference, but once you choose, you want to be consistent. So for me, consistency was the biggest message and just trying to make sure that we were consistent across all platforms with that. Yeah, amazing when you were just talking about the equipment side of things, one of the questions I had that came through on instagram when I posted about this recording yesterday was a few women were asking like, do you need fancy equipment to get started, Do you need to invest in top quality equipment?

And obviously I know what my answer is for this kind of thing, but I'm interested to know what my answer is. I use a $170 mike and that's my equipment. But like that's just it, right? Everybody is different and you can start a podcast with $170 Mike. It's about you and making you shine. It's got nothing to do with the equipment. The equipment. Yeah, it can be nice. They don't get me wrong. I was like, what's the cheapest microphone I can get in case this doesn't work out 100%. And like we all start somewhere and I think that that's the best thing. I was lucky in that I had a business and for me I knew that my podcast, I wanted to invest in it. So I did buy some really nice marks, but I wasn't willing to spend all that much. We spent a couple of $100 on marks and then I spent a fair bit. I probably spent $700 on a mixer, which is expensive for starting and I definitely don't recommend starting there because it's not within the budget of people starting a free podcast, like by 100 and $70 might get some free stuff like 100%.

But I think the thing for me that I was so shocked about was sound materials. So like soundproofing was so expensive and I genuinely was just like, I cannot justify spending thousands of dollars on padding to go into one of the rooms at work. We had a board room at the time that I was recording in, can't afford it, not doing it. Like I just couldn't justify, it was the text. I was like, look, it doesn't work out and sell it on country or like I'll be right. And for me, I ended up doing some googling and asking some friends who thankfully I had a friend who was a sound engineer at the time and he's like victoria go to the hardware store and buy a moving blanket and I was like, what's a moving blanket? And he was like, you know those moving blankets that people have in like moving trucks? The really thick gray ones. Yes. So we bought one of those $22 of earnings and we would put that on the table every time we recorded because it was so thick and so great at absorbing sound that everybody thought that we were recording from a studio when in actual fact we just like we had nice marks, but it absolutely isn't necessary.

Now I know the quality of cheaper mix. Like we're just recording in a room, you could have been in your bedroom, you could have been anywhere, but this moving blanket. Honestly, that's probably the biggest tip. Get yourself a moving blanket, You sound like you're in a studio, watch out guys, female startup club listeners, there is a blanket coming my way, 100%. And then whenever I was recording in places where it was a bit echoey, like the amount of times I've recorded under a blanket, like embarrassing to talk about it, but it's true, Oh my gosh, I've been there, I've been there, I've been under that blanket. Yeah, it's so funny because people do assume it's like really glamorous and that you have a studio and all this kind of thing and obviously people can't see us now, but like I'm sitting on my bed, you're sitting in your room, like it's all very, of course you do yours in person, whereas I'm doing my online, so there's a difference there, but 100% and you grow right, like we actually have a studio now, like in our office, we have a full studio, we've got proper pod minds, we've gotta soundproofed well, like everything is very professional now, but you know what, we don't, we don't need it.

Like at the end of the day, I love saying I've got a podcast studio, I absolutely adore being in my studio, I never realized how much I loved the podcasting space and growing this and like we've got every intention of like introducing in the next 12 months more podcasts to the shoes on the money community and just really tackling that. So for me it was an investment so that I can bring other co hosting and I can bring other people into my office and we have a dedicated space for creating that content. So that was the driver for the podcast studio. It wasn't because we needed it for the podcast we're creating when it was just she's on the money and it was my co host tonight. So for me, yes, we've got one. Do you need it to have a successful podcast? Absolutely not In Melbourne were now in stage four lockdown, which is really fun and I can't leave my house, which, you know, I'm really grateful to still have this community and still have my job and you know, being locked down is not an issue for me thankfully. But now that we are locked down, I can't recall my podcast in my studio, so we've just gone back to doing it the old school way of doing it at home, going back to that blanket exactly like my, my co host and I are recording remotely.

She's in her bedroom at home, I'm in my office at home and like it's fine. So I think, you know, you just make it work. Nothing has to be perfect. Like, it just has to get done. Yeah. And I think with that going in with that mentality of yeah, you don't need to like get overwhelmed with having to invest a lot of money to get started? It's just about getting started and figuring it out as you go and then, you know, investing in one small thing than upscaling to like a better product when you need to, 100% before I move on though. What's a mixer? Um So we've got this cold, I've got a H six mixer, I'm about to up, I've got a H six mixer at home um and I'm about to do it, but a podcast mixer is kind of the thing that brings together all the sound. So is my mix of my editor. Um No, it's what I put my SD card into to capture the sound and we can control the different volumes of the microphones on it and what comes in and what comes out. Yes, so that's my editor right there.

Yeah, well we've got an editor as well but it's more about like quality and control and making sure that we are capturing the best audio at the time of recording. Yeah, it's just about the capturing of it. Whereas right now we are uploading the content directly to like a server. Whereas I will have my like actual mixer there that captures the content that has just different dials and stuff on it to capture it differently and make sure that our voices match. Fab. Love that. It's fun. So next kind of topic that everyone obviously wants to know about when starting a podcast is at what point can you bring on sponsors? How do you bring on sponsors? How do you find the right partners? What the learnings are sort of around that topic? Yeah, and that's such a hard one. And do you know what, I don't think that there is a number, I don't think you have to have a certain number of listeners to bring on a sponsor if I'm honest, you have to create a product that people are engaged with and you know what, if you've got a podcast and you've got 500 listeners but those 500 people are your biggest fans and they are going to buy everything that you put in front of them that is far more valuable than a podcast with three million downloads and people kind of listen to it willy nilly and don't care for your opinion.

So for me, I think it's it's a really hard thing to put numbers on, but it's more about being commercial and what do you bring to the table? I don't think you can get a sponsorship is fantastic and for me, sponsorship has meant that we have been able to create, she's on the money into a sustainable business. Whereas before it was me spending money on something that I was just passionate about. So I was paying a editor to mix my episodes down and create them because I didn't have that skill nor at the time did I have the time to actually do that myself, I knew that was something I would have to invest in. I also pay my co hosts and always have paid my co hosts that wasn't a volunteer position. And for me I knew that that was an investment, but I really wanted to do it and I really wanted to bring someone on board who wasn't just a friend of mine, they were there to do their job. So for me that made sense. But I think if you're going to approach sponsors, like what do you bring to the table? Do you bring a really engaging podcast that people are really connected with? Do you bring a really great tone of voice?

Are you trusted? What does that actually mean for us? We've said no to far more and it is a very lucky position to be in, but we've said no to far more sponsors than we have said yes, and I think that's what makes our voice so powerful in this space because I don't want to align myself to companies that are just going to pay us for an episode to get their product in the ears of my listeners, like I trust my listeners and they trust me and for me podcasting is really intimate. Like I know that sounds really strange, but when you put your podcast or when you put your headphones in your ears, you are choosing to invite me into your space. I get to go on your walk with you, I get to hang out on your couch with you and for me it's a connection between you and I having this chat. It's not hey massive audience. It's like, hey, how are you, what are you doing today? Thank you so much. And I think that that vibe, I trust that I wouldn't want my listeners to feel like they're being accosted by some product while on their morning walk.

And so for me, it's more about like what actually fits and you know, what kind of companies could you go to? I actually have mentored a couple of people to start their own podcasts and one of them actually secured a sponsor before they even launched purely because they had put together a really great pitch and said, this is the podcast I'm going to create, this is you know, the talent and bringing to the table, these are the people I'm going to interview, this is you know what I'm trying to do, do you want to sponsor it? And the company was like, yeah, sure, like what does it cost? And they obviously negotiated that themselves. But yeah, she secured a podcast sponsor before she even put her first podcast out. So I think it's different for everybody. Yeah, I think it's also like putting the, like you said, like putting yourself out there, putting that energy out there because you know, for me you might have seen, I just also landed your first one, which is so exciting. Yes, it's so exciting and but I'm so surprised you weren't already sponsored. Like you have so much value to give if I was a sponsor, I'd be like, take my money, thank you so much.

Um you know, it's been such a nice thing because the company, it's called Clay Vo and they are an email marketing provider and so literally everyone who listens to the podcast and everyone in my community who has a brand should be using this product. It's absolutely amazing plugging them right now, shout out to those guys 100% like I'm fully for it. No, I'm fully obsessed. Like one of our sponsors or I call them show partners because I don't actually just want one person, like one sponsor to sponsor one episode, like a bank is a massive like, partner of ours, I'm so obsessed with them. They are so good. Like I love them. I recommend them to my actual clients in my Zella business. Like I jump up and down about them. They are good people doing good things and there are products that I think people should have and know about and I'm so grateful to have them on my team and vice versa and same with you and Clay vo, like you use it, you love it. Of course you're going to be their biggest fan. And also I found like, you know, for me, I actually just reached out to them on there, like contact form on their website, like didn't send a big pitch through.

None of that. It was a really simple, like, hey, this is what I'm doing, these are the kind of people I speak to, this is my audience. She got me back within like 10 minutes of 10 minutes, 10 hours and we just like, meshed in such a like authentic way and then build the partnership of that. It really wasn't this big ordeal. And I think that's where sometimes people can also get stuck and overwhelmed in, oh, a partnership means, you know, putting together this huge, like, presentation and da da da da da, but it's like, yeah, it's just a conversation. It's just like reaching out, seeing if there's interest there and then taking that conversation further. Exactly. Which is important, I think for people to know if they're wanting to start a podcast. Exactly. Because at the end of the table, at the end of the table, who am I? I think the end of the day, you're bringing a lot to the table. Like if you believe wildly in your podcast, you're actually helping that sponsor. It's not them just giving you money and you go and do your podcast, like you are either bringing them new clients or you're bringing them exposure or you are giving them something that they want and there's a lot of stats out there at the moment, that's a podcasting advertising is the best type of advertising, especially if its host red.

And it's, you know, from the host of the podcast because they're a trusted voice. It's very different to television marketing or radio marketing. You kind of lost over you weren't listening. Like I know the second to the ads come on when I'm watching tv I get up and go and get a cup of tea. Like I'm not interested in consuming that because it's not the voice of the people that I'm watching the television for. So I think that, you know, if you have a podcast, you've got to see the value and that actually I bring a lot to the table here and that's why they would want to sponsor you. That's why they would want you to engage with them and they're usually really grateful for it to be honest. Yeah, absolutely, for sure. I want to talk a little bit about marketing. I know you're obviously in a unique position where you had a bit of a community first and you've obviously had major word of mouth success in what you're doing. Yes. But I want to talk about marketing in general and how to market a podcast and what are the kinds of things people can do to market their podcast. So I have done a little research on this because yes, we're word of mouth, but obviously I want us to be, you know, a well known brand and we're working towards that actually in the near future, everybody will be listening to shoes on money, you know, a kid.

Um, but the best way to market a podcast because podcasting, I think I think it starts and I only know Australian stats, so I hope that's not too niche for you guys because I know your international, absolutely not. But in Australia, only 20% of the population listen to podcasts. So if you're putting out content and going Facebook marketing, Instagram marketing, which I believe in wildly as well, like you are marketing to 80% of the people that aren't actually absorbing your content or even on those platforms to begin with. So the best way to market a podcast is on other podcasts. So if you can get on other people's podcasts, hello, welcome. I'm on your podcast and tap into their audiences and talk to their audiences about the value that you bring and what you are you are doing and get a name for yourself in the podcasting community. That's an incredible way of doing it. And I know that there are so many podcasts that interview female business owners or other podcasters or you know, you want experts in the area to chime in on things.

And if you put your hand up and say, hey, I'd love to help if you need an expert on the person to talk to or if you're going to be putting marketing dollars behind something if I was going to start from scratch again. If I was paying for advertising, I'd be paying for it on other people's podcasts if that makes sense. It absolutely makes sense if you're paying for advertising on another person's podcast, is there a way to track the R. O. I. Of that or is it just if you just see your listeners go up and that's it. Um look, it's kind of hard and it's a little bit of a shade a shady area but it's like not a well known area. A bit of a gamble. Look, it's a gamble and it's not a gamble, a podcaster if they're accepting sponsorships and you're going to pay them will let you know the types of listeners they have, they should have demographic breakdowns because they are able to log into Apple and into Spotify, they'll also have their own podcasting platform that will collate all of that at the moment. My podcasting platform is megaphone and I use them because I've recently signed with the Australian radio network, which is really exciting.

Congratulations. Thank you. And so a R. N. That's where they put all of their podcasts. So for me to come on board, I had to be on that platform that prior to that I was on a podcasting platform called wash cut and I adored that the people that wish they were delightful and that was free and the amount of insights and data I could get from that, I could see how many people have downloaded my podcast, how long they were listening for, you know, and the types of demographics I was able to scrape from that. I was able to see what types of um devices they were listening on, where they were listening on web player or whether they were on apple or an android device and you know, really work out what types of listeners they are, those are the types of things. I would have a bit of a creep on them on instagram and see what their socials are like and see what types of community is around that if that podcast has a facebook group, they'll be able to give you even more in depth insights into the types of demographics and the engagement levels that they have on socials, which I think are really important and a good a good insight into the type of community that they have because if it's a podcast and they're just putting it out and they have some listeners but nobody engages with a post.

Maybe that's not the best place to advertise. But if they've got a wild community sitting behind that people who are sharing and caring then that's probably a better space for you to be in for me. I think it's just really important to be working out where your perfect listener is from as well. And that goes back to knowing your audience and having a target audience and something I've always had and back when I was starting Zella, I had my perfect client, like you know, work out who your perfect plan is, it's not a group of people, it's one person and then you always speak to that one person and so for me with Stella and with she's on the money I have in my mind who that one person eats and I'm always talking to them. I love that. That is so, so cool. What advice do you have for women who have a big idea and want to start their own thing? Go for it. Don't wait until you feel like you're ready. If you're putting something out that's perfect and polished and you're super proud of in 12 months, like you didn't start early enough to get it out there, my first generation, if she's on the money was tremendous, logo awful, the colors, what was I thinking?

Um so for me, I think it was, it's more about just be there, be there for your audience because they'll stick with you no matter what your logo is or whatever your color is or if you've got your tagline wrong, they don't care. They're just there for the journey and do you know what, as I've grown, I feel like I have two parts of my community, I have the wider community that thinks that she's on the money started with the podcast and that's how they engage with me, But then I also have this tiny group of women who I know their names. I've never met them. But I've seen them in my community for the last three years and they have supported me from the get go and they will send me messages and just say, oh, hey, like I said, he changed a lot of grow congrats on that because they know that that's probably reflective of the fact that I'm growing as a business. I'm just really grateful for them. So for me, those are the people that you talk to, like, don't forget those people that were there from the beginning and celebrate them because I see those people every single day in my facebook community still, like, there's 90,000 of us now and those voices are still there and they are still so treasured and they're my favorites.

And like I say, there's a girl called Laura in my community and she always pops up and she's always got something to say. And it's always really constructive or she, you know, cost an article in every couple of days. Yes, Laura, like, I love that she's like a person, do you know what I mean? Like, she's a person in our community that I see that contributes and I want her to feel valued. So I think for me it's knowing those people and you know, I write letters to my listeners and like sometimes message like, hey, what's your address or if I've got their email address, I'll just shoot them a quick email be like, hey, you signed up to our newsletter. I hope you don't mind that. I, you know, I'm shooting you an email, but I just wanted to let you know, go see your posts and I'm really grateful that you're a part of our community. And you know, I just wanted to point that out. So I think it's more about, not more about, but it's also about all those offline connections. It's not about starting and having a perfect product, start your products. You will find your people. I think it's Gary V that says if you're not embarrassed about your first version, like, yeah, you didn't start soon enough.

I don't watch any tv, but I feel like I should have that kind of mentality. Who's really, really good. Really good man after my own heart. Alrighty. We are up to the six quick questions. Are you ready to go? So here for this? So here For it. Question # one is what's your why? Why I want to change the way that people approach their financial lives? I want to change your relationship with money. My wife comes from knowing how hard it is to struggle financially. I've been in debt. I've been in personal debt. I have stressed about money my wives because no one should go through that. And I think that you know, that's where it's coming from and knowing that financial freedom is such a gift. But then also just financial literacy should be a given, that's my life. Like it's not a thing and it should be and I love that and I also think it's important to let people know that part of the story, kind of what we were talking about before we started recording. You know, people can just assume that everything happens and you've had it really like an easy journey and all this kind of thing.

But to know that you've actually been in a different place and you've come through it, it's it's really inspiring the way your finances, impact, your mental health, your physical health, your relationships, everything like everything comes back to money and if you get money right, like you will be independent, I don't care who you are, what you do, where you're from, if you have a good grasp of your income and what you are able to earn and what you are able to save and what you're able to spend. Like that is what financial freedom in the future will look like and it's something that if you can take away the stress around money and everything else falls into place. Question number two is what's been the number one marketing moment that's made your business pop in my business top. I don't know is that that I do you know what actually that's a lie. That is such a lie. I know exactly what it is at the start at the start of this year, I was lucky enough to be featured as one of sports girls be that girl campaign ambassadors and I, I don't know how I did it.

I don't know why they picked me still but we did a whole like marketing campaign and I went up to Sydney and I modeled their clothes and we did this epic campaign and I was in the front window at every single sports girl store around Australia and that was epic. And it really gave, she's on the money obviously a boost. But I feel like it gave us some more authority in the space, especially with sports girls audience, that's our audience And so to be recognized by one of their favorite brands as doing good things and you know, being good people. It was epic in just being able to say no, that was me or I remember the first time I haven't even seen the installation yet in any of the stores and a client is l a client of mine. Um certainly this text message early one morning, I was like, hey, oh my gosh, the sports girl model as I was walking past the story enrich and looked exactly like you but younger actually me with good hair and makeup.

Oh my God, I love that. Yeah, it was really nice to be recognized and then our entire, you know, she's on the money community on facebook, got around it as well and they were really proud and they kind of tagged us in heaps of posts on instagram about it and like whenever they saw it, they would, you know, share it on socials and it was just, it was a really cool marketing moment. That is awesome. That sounds so much fun as well. How nice. What a cool way to celebrate. Like, you know, homegrown talent love that. Honestly, I'm so grateful for that experience and I just feel like knowing that I also grew up with that brand, like, yeah, like I don't know, like I had a sports girl pencil case when I was 13 and I just thought that was the coolest thing in the entire world and I used to look up to sports girl and see their models and be like, wow, they're so beautiful to, you know, even on a more personal level then be put in a position where I was seen as that role model was a really big reality check for me that I'm doing the right thing and I'm in the right place and I'm on the right path.

So for me that was, that was awesome. But again, obviously the marketing exposure from that was amazing. Yes, for sure. Holy moly Question # three is where do you hang out to get smarter? Where do I hang out to get smarter? Oh, I hang out on apple podcasts. I listen to lots of podcasts. I also do lots of many online courses. So do you know coursera dot org? I love for Sarah. I feel like being able to say I did a mini course from Harvard's Harvard's Justice course recently. 100%. And I also spend a lot of time on YouTube. Like if I don't know something, I know I'll be able to learn it on YouTube. 100%. Yeah. Like it's incredible. I am building an online course at the moment and I was like, I don't know how to do this or what I'm doing dangerous stuff I've learned on Youtube. It's like just the best trying to figure out the website. No nightmare. Get on Youtube. Someone has done a tutorial for exactly what I'm trying to build and I feel like a coda, even though I'm not, I totally hear you.

I mean the school of Youtube is real. I'm on there all the time. I feel like I've learned so much like I do yoga on there. I've learned you know, different finance concepts that you know, maybe I didn't understand properly at the very beginning, especially when I was doing my first degree. I was like, I don't know what that is and I'd get on there and really contextualize it. I learned about other people's business. I connect with people that I think are really cool. Like you treat the spirits crashed and it's free winner. Maybe you need to start doing those videos that people have been requesting. You need to get on Youtube girl, I am on Youtube as of a month ago, I'm behind the game. Yes, We have stepped up. I need to watch your videos. I have a total of three videos on Youtube. I'm not very popular, but I am tenacious. So we've got to start somewhere. Everyone's gonna start. Question number four is how do you win the day? And that's around your am and PM rituals that keep you feeling happy, successful, motivated, productive.

Um, do you know what? Sometimes they don't win the day. Sometimes I have a terrible day and I think that that's worth pointing out because I think that often I'm put on a pedestal of being someone that does kill it and I know that sounds really lame, but you know, I do run businesses. That's what I do. But sometimes you just have a flat day. But most days that I'm killing it, I'm starting by walking with my partner. We get up every single morning, we go to our local cafe, we get a cup of coffee and we go on a walk and we talk about our days and what we're going to achieve and I often ask my partner and at the start, but it was really lame and now he loves it. Don't tell him to talk to you guys. It's on their public podcast. I, We talk about our intentions of the day and I feel like if we set out our intentions and the things that we really want to achieve or what I think I'll struggle with that day. It doesn't feel like such a struggle or it doesn't feel like I haven't planned for it. And so for me it's kind of like setting out a list of things and I know that as humans, I love psychology, I've got 2° in it.

So not really to it, humans like consistency and humans like what's comfortable and what's known and I feel like if you set your day up by saying I am going to do this when you do go to do it, it doesn't feel like a new idea doesn't feel like a new task. It doesn't feel like you haven't already started to tackle it because you started that in the morning. So for me Going on a walk with my partner, we do about five km every morning, we're out for about an hour, love that. But then also more recently I've been doing a lot of meditation in the evenings to turn off and I'm never good at sitting down and just doing my own meditation. That sucks. I have not got the time or energy or even mental capacity for that. Let's be honest guided meditations and guided meditation podcasts have been an absolute blessing. So we're going to turn off and then I really check in with my body and myself that is what I have been doing. Love that amazing question number five is if you only had $1000 left in your business bank account, where would you spend it?

Can I pay my stuff? You can have their stuff. I feel like my stuff first. They are the people that are the brains and the, you know the front behind the entire business. Like I wouldn't be where I am today without my team. So I would absolutely want to be paying my team. It wouldn't be about marketing, it wouldn't be about, you know, anything exciting, just be making sure that the people that put so much time and energy and effort into my business were rewarded in a way that they should be, oh so nice, make sure make sure you share that with them afterwards and let them know you don't listen making kind of loser. They're like, oh you're on a podcast, you know their real name. Oh my God jokes, Question number six, last question, How do you deal with failure with failure? I used to struggle with failure. I am a perfectionist, true and true and I used to be quite um quite good at, you know, limiting myself because I didn't want to fail and I was so worried about failing that I would be a little bit self destructive.

I could get to a point and be like, I'm gonna launch this and then I wouldn't do it because I was so scared and it not working for me. I think it's more of a mindset shift. So for me, failure is not failure. It just didn't work that way. How am I going to fix that? Why didn't it? It's never a failure. It's just a lesson. And I think that that mindset shift, like you don't actually fail anything, you only ever fail if you give up has really helped me go, you know what? We'll just put it out and see what happens if it doesn't work, we'll just try again or we won't try again because it wasn't the right strategy and now we've learned that wasn't the right strategy. So for me it was a very big mindset thing. Just going to know that there's no such thing as failure. A failure is just giving up. So for me that amazing, I had something pop into my head that I forgot to ask before, but I want to ask it. Gotta go go here for it. How do you, if you've had any, how do you deal with people who are the haters? The naysayers? I I actually deal with this a lot.

It's not easy. I think that I should have expected to not be the most loved person in the world, given I talk about money, like money, sex politics, like you're bound to get hate and I'm thinking on the biggest one that impacts sex and politics like oh good, great victoria, you genius. So for me, I think it's just more about understanding that everybody else is entitled to their opinion, but it's more about really focusing on my tribe in my community and if someone is a hater or if someone is someone who's not saying something very nice, like they're not the people that I'm engaging with. And I think something that I often say to myself, I've never said it to somebody else, but often say to myself when I see a message like that, but you are not my target audience. Like you are not the person I'm speaking to. Like if someone says, oh, this is the worst episode I've heard in my life, like you don't know what you're talking about. It's like, okay, but you're not my target audience, that's fine. So for me, I think it's, I don't know if it's a mantra, but I always hear that in my head when I see it and you're never going to be able to be everything to everybody and the second that you realize that you're going to feel a lot more free if you try to be a people pleaser you dilute your value.

So for me, it's just sticking to what I know, sticking to what I know I'm good at. I know that I'm bringing value to people because I'm consistently told that, but it is so easy to see those negative comments or negative reviews, all those messages that I get that, tell me I should quit what I'm doing and just pack up shop and go and be a housewife, which I got last week. Oh God, that's just delightful. Really? I know you like that. I cannot say I'm trying to work here. So for me, I think it was, you know, just really understanding that they're not my target audience and if I change myself because of them, I'm diluting the value that I actually have. So yes, I'll look at it and go maybe if it's really consistent, I'll have to think about that feedback. But if someone's just being negative, I kind of end up feeling a little bit sorry for them as well because like who has that time to be so negative to somebody else online instead of lifting the love like you've got a choice, You can be nice or you can be nasty and if you choose to be nasty. I'm really sorry that that's your point of view.

For sure. Absolutely. Oh my gosh, I have absolutely loved talking to you, You are just such a star and obviously I'm such a big fan, such a cheerleader on the sidelines for everything that you're doing. Do you want to leave us with a top money tip that we should, we should finish with. I think for me it would be about understanding your budget and that's the most lame money to forever. But do you know how many people don't know about their budget if you can understand your budget and what is coming into your bank account each and every single month and what is going out that is your power. And for me, if you can really understand your budget, everything else will make sense to be able to work out what you can spend on what you can save on what you can invest. If you don't get that though. Like there's no point even starting to look at investing because you don't know what you're investing. So for me, get your budget in order and put your head out of the sand. It's not something that should be hard, but it can feel hard. So I think for me, you're going to do anything after this podcast, regardless of what it is. They start a podcast or do your budget. Fab.

Fab. Fab. Fab. Thank you so much for being on the show today. Thank you for having me and he's been an absolute delight talking to you and I'm really grateful that you wanted to share my story on your podcast, which I adore. No, thanks so much. Hey, it's just me here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the female startup club podcast. If you want to hear more, Head to my instagram at Dune rasheen to see my filmed interviews with incredible female founders like Erica from fluffy beauty Greta, from drop bottle and Sammy leo from breeze baum and if you like what we're doing here, visit our website and sign up to female startup club dot com to get all of the good stuff delivered straight to your inbox. And lastly, subscribe to the Female Startup Club podcast. Mm hmm, mm hmm.