Often the best stories are told by the people living them.
Every week approximately 1600 people listen to the Flying Solo podcast.
Each 30 minute episode is a talking profile, an intentionally short interview with a small business owner that shines a light on the path to a successful soloist life.
When Flying Solo founder Robert Gerrish kicked off the podcast 5 years ago “it felt a bit faddish.”
He told me: “Once we started listening to them though we quickly realised this was the perfect platform for people working from home and unlike radio broadcasts you could listen when you wanted to. We realized we could support our audience while they were doing other things. It also felt like the right medium to speak to people who were in employment and planning their escape to the soloist life.”
Fast forward five years and it turns out Robert and the original Flying Solo crew were right! According to Roy Morgan approximately 1 million Australians download a new podcast every month and are most likely to share new discoveries through word of mouth.
When I took on a full-time role as Flying Solo’s editor in April 2019 one of my first decisions was to double the podcast output to weekly episodes. I saw it as an invaluable opportunity to connect with my audience and the literal soundbites on the working lives of our community give real depth to our editorial offering. Podcasts play a vital role in the content marketing strategy for the Flying Solo brand.
Becoming a sole trader is a bit of a calling – nobody takes the same path and that’s what makes the stories we share so compelling.
Sue Parker’s treatise on when to take the leap to your own business, Anne McKeown’s story about starting a business with social media for free, Karen Hollenbach’s LinkedIn lessons for COVID and Edwina Roberston’s remarkable COVID-inspired business pivot are all powerful testimonies to the magic that comes from making a living from doing what you love.
At the time of writing we’ve clocked up 245 episodes and their evergreen nature means our listeners can (and do) return or arrive at any point along the path and still learn something new.
The bite-size pieces of small business advice make for terrific quotes uploaded to a CANVA template are popular social media shares among our community.
There’s also ample opportunity for brand promotion in the short intro and outro of each episode – the perfect platform to plug our Flying Solo Business Class Membership and events (when we can have them again!).
And because we’ve maintained a regular schedule over several years, the podcast itself has attracted a community of its own, with a loyal following on the Sound Cloud platform where each episode is hosted.
Truth be told the only real challenge of producing the Flying Solo Solo podcast has been choosing from the pool of talented and inspirational people in our community to interview!
But don’t take my word for it – have a listen for yourself.
