What We Learned From Starting A Business Podcast
We brought Profresh Podcast into the world in 2017. Profresh is a place where we talk openly about how millennials and Gen Z are changing office life and what it means to build a company culture that sticks. Profresh has been ambitious since day one, but would it be an HDco project without big goals?
Profresh Podcast has been going strong since that first season, and we don’t plan on cancelling it anytime soon. It’s given us a platform to talk about things that are important to us, and we’d be silly to give that up. But we’d also be lying if we said it’s been rainbows and butterflies since we first hit “record.” Here are a few things we learned from starting our own podcast.
Consistency is important.
Profresh used to have seasons. Breaking the year up into seasons allowed us to plan for the next group of episodes and gave our team a break from podcast production. But these well-intended seasonal breaks often turned into long hiatuses, which caused our listenership to plunge. It’s better to stick to a realistic, consistent schedule than to commit to posting every week for only a few months. When you keep your momentum going, you keep your listeners engaged.
Outsourcing makes all the difference.
The first two seasons of Profresh were total DIY jobs. We recorded each episode in our echoey office, using a microphone we bought on Amazon. Let’s just say, that approach did not put the “pro” in “profresh.”
When season three came around, we decided to take our podcast to the next level and invest in professional recordings. We started recording with KBIA studios at the University of Missouri, and it’s been an ideal partnership. Our sound quality is infinitely better, and it’s streamlined the process for producing each episode. Overall, outsourcing our recording has made us feel much more legit - and dare we say, a little badass?
For more of our thoughts on outsourcing, check out our Profresh episode on the topic.
Recruitment tools come in many forms.
When we started Profresh, we never thought that it would be one of our most valuable recruitment tools. But it turns out that broadcasting your company culture can attract people who fit in with your office. Who knew?
Three of our recent hires were drawn to HDco because of Profresh. They listened to us talk candidly about our office and thought, “I want to be a part of that.” Now, if you’ve listened to the podcast, or ever set foot in Hoot Design Co., for that matter, you know that we have a very specific culture. To find people who fit in seamlessly is no small feat, and everyone we hired through Profresh has been a perfect fit. Being vulnerable on the podcast allowed us to attract the right people.
Don’t underestimate having fun.
We’re lucky to work in an office, and an industry, that is genuinely fun. But at the end of the day, business is business, and things do get serious. That’s not a bad thing.
But you know what? Having fun isn’t bad either. Profresh is an ultra-creative outlet that allows the HDco team to let loose. With vulnerable topics, quirky Instagram captions, and hilarious episodes, our team members have infused Profresh with personality. Having a company-wide passion project has seriously benefited office morale.