The Question Every Podcaster Should Ask Before Hitting Record
It's not what every "start a podcast" blog says, I guarantee it
When I finally sat down to create this new version of my podcast, I kept circling around one big question—one I never asked the first time around, but probably should have:
What conversation am I actually here to lead?
Not:
What’s my niche?
Not:
What should I teach?
Not:
What’s going to grow the fastest?
But:
What’s the ongoing conversation that I care enough about to build a body of work around?
Because here’s the thing no one tells you when you start a podcast, a Substack, or even a social account:
Your content is your conversation.
People don’t follow you for your niche.
They follow you because they want to be part of the conversation you keep returning to, in your unique voice. And it really doesn’t matter if a million other people are talking about it (in fact, it’s good if they are!)
When I started my first podcast, I wasn’t thinking about niches or funnels or audience avatars. I was obsessed with showcasing musicians who had built their own projects. They were self-starters in an industry that was allergic to self-starters.
That was the conversation:
What happens when you stop waiting for permission and start creating your own opportunities?
And through curating that conversation — episode after episode — I became the very thing I was highlighting.
I became a self-starter too.
Not overnight. Not in some dramatic “I quit my job and reinvented everything in a single weekend” way. More like: one episode, one insight, one shift at a time.
The first thing I noticed?
I showed up differently at work.
I cared way less about workplace drama and little by little I gave zero f*cks about what everyone else thought.
Because suddenly, I had a thing that was mine.
I was the boss of something, even if it was small. And that tiny shift created a shocking amount of emotional freedom.
The more I built the podcast, the more I realized how much authority comes from simply leading a conversation consistently.
And let me say something directly, because this myth is out there:
You do NOT need a solo podcast to build authority (although I believe solo episodes really frame what you’re up to with your show at the starting line)
My first podcast was six straight years of interviews. And I built a massive amount of authority from hosting and shaping those conversations. I was invited into classrooms, asked to guest speak, consulted on projects — not because I was the expert on every topic, but because I had created a body of work around a very specific conversation.
My authority came from the curation, not the perfection.
It was more powerful than pretending to know everything myself.
I could point to 100 conversations with people doing real, tangible things — and that made my perspective worth listening to.
So when people online say, “A solo podcast is the only way to be seen as an authority,” I just shake my head.
Authority comes from leading, as well.
That’s why this question —“What conversation are you here to lead?”— matters so much.
Because whether you’re starting a podcast, starting a Substack, or starting over on the internet for the tenth time… that decision is the foundation.
You don’t have to feel ready, because you won’t.
You’ll feel like you’re making it up as you go — which you are, and that’s the point.
When I started my first show, I didn’t know my mission in advance. It revealed itself through the doing and realizing “Oh wow… this is what I really care about.”
That’s how it works.
So if you’re sitting on an idea — if you’ve been thinking, “Who am I to start this?” or “Is anyone going to listen?”— here’s your permission slip:
You’re allowed to grab the mic and get started without everything perfectly planned and perfect (although, with a system, you’ll find it’s much, much easier! 😉)
Check out my podcast episode on this topic! 👇
Episode 3 on Rebel Voice Radio:
How to Claim Authority Without Being an ‘Expert’: The Shortcut to Credibility Isn’t What You Think.
And p.s. if you’re thinking of starting a podcast, upgrade now to get my 3-Day Launch Your Podcast Challenge, where you’ll clarify your topic, name your show and define who it’s for and what it’s about.
