Just Start Now – Podcaster Interview with Vicky Shilling

Written by JJ Barnes

www.jjbarnes.co.uk

I interviewed podcaster and wellness business mentor Vicky Shilling about her career, what inspires her, and the work that goes into making her Just Start Now podcast.

Tell me a bit about who you are.

Hello! My name is Vicky Shilling and I am a Wellness Business Mentor, helping health practitioners turn their expertise into income. I share tips and straight-talking action steps through my top-ranking Just Start Now podcast, community and 1:1 mentoring.

How and why did you start podcasting?

I started podcasting as a way to share the advice and tips I was giving to my audience in a different format and reach new people. I loved listening to podcasts myself for business inspiration and guidance, so it seemed an obvious fit to create my own.

What is your current podcast called, and how did you come up with the name?

My podcast is called Just Start Now. It’s the same name as my online course and community and stemmed from my belief that taking action is what gets results, but that people often need help taking those first steps – or figuring out the blocks and stories that hold them back.

What platforms can we find Just Start Now on?

All the big ones! Apple, Spotify, Audible and Deezer.  

What is Just Start Now about?

Just Start Now is a podcast for health and wellness entrepreneurs who want to take action to build and grow their business. It provides practical tips and inspiring interviews with wellness professionals and business experts to fill you with confidence and turn your passion into an income.

Do you host Just Start Now alone, or have guest hosts/partners?

I host alone

Do you edit Just Start Now or have someone who does it for you?

I edited the first two seasons myself but outsourced from season 3 onwards, it saved a lot of time!

Do you script Just Start Now, or just chat as you go?

For solo episodes I give myself some bullet points so I have a clear structure and know what I want to cover and don’t miss anything vital. But I don’t fully script, it would feel too stiff and unnatural to me.

For interviews I have a set of questions I give guests that we work through, but definitely allow space for natural conversation and where the chat takes us.

How has Just Start Now changed or developed since you began?

It hasn’t changed hugely, I still stick to the alternating interview and solo episode formats every season and keep the length and type of content similar – covering mindset topics as well as practical ones.

I’m a big fan of consistency and building trust with audiences, so I wouldn’t want to mess or change with the content or format too much but I think naturally I’ve become more relaxed and easy at doing them now. At the start I definitely overanalyzed everything!

What are you biggest challenges with Just Start Now?

Keeping the length down when I’m interviewing brilliant people who I could talk to for hours! I also think writing comprehensive enough show-notes that are really useful is time intensive and something I haven’t mastered yet.

What are your favourite podcasts to listen to?

For business I love Joyful Marketing by Simone Seol, and The Money Makers with Ray Dodd.

For fun I enjoy Cautionary Tales by Tim Harford, The Happiness Lab with Laurie Santos and Radiolab.

For escapism I was fascinated by The Drop Out, The Lazarus Heist, The Irish Heiress and Crypto Queen.

How and where do you promote Just Start Now?

To my mailing list, on my website and through my social media channels – primarily I use Instagram but also share episodes on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I also create pins for Pinterest that link back to episodes too.

Do you earn money from podcasting, or is it a hobby?

I earn money from my business mentoring, the podcast itself I do for free. But I know and trust that people listening will become customers if they’re a good fit. It’s a marketing tool for me and my business.

What’s something you never expected about podcasting? What have you learned that surprised you?

That it would be so widely listened to and have such an impact, far more than anything else I’ve created. I know of two people who have said finding it moved them to tears with my words and approach which for a business podcast feels really significant.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that it would be so helpful as I love podcasts as a way to consume content, but somehow hearing that your own is having that impact still floors me.

What is the first piece of advice you would give to anyone inspired to start podcasting?

Focus on your ideal listener and what they want and need to hear. I know of far too many people that start podcasts just to have interesting conversations. That’s nice, but if you want to keep going with it and make it genuinely valuable to your audience, you need to have them in mind. Everything flows from there.

And, finally, are your proud of what you’re accomplishing with your podcast? Is it worth the effort?

Absolutely. The podcast was shortlisted for an International Women’s Podcast Award in 2021 and has now been downloaded over 20k times. It is totally worth the effort – it gets me into the ears of the people I love to help most and I get feedback that it makes people take action immediately. That’s exactly the outcome I wanted.

Pop all your work, website and social media links here so the readers can find you:

https://vickyshilling.com/

https://vickyshilling.com/juststartnow-podcast

https://instagram.com/vicky.shilling

https://facebook.com/vickyshillingcoaching

Tweets by vickyshilling

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickyshilling

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