It all started off as I missed interviewing for Dutchbuzz on Den Haag FM where I had run a “Passion and Purpose” program for a number of years.
I missed making new connections and helping worthy people share their worthy stories to the benefit of others, and gain visibility by doing so.
My first though was to start a Youtube channel but it seemed very technical, needing a studio and the Corona-19 pandemic was just kicking in. My partner was listening to podcasts, and I was immediately hooked. For someone who finds it very hard to fit my business into a niche, I immediately knew I wanted it to be about inspiration and motivation for over 50s and so Fabulous after 50! the podcast idea was born.
It is so true that when you are in a flow, everything just streams effortlessly. The goal (inspiration, motivation, tribe creation as we navigate the marvellous rollercoaster of life), the frequency (once a week), the duration (30 minutes max), the guests (women with expertise or an inspirational story to share) were immediately clear to me and I was getting really excited. It just felt so right, so me. My entourage was pushing me to associate some money earning to it, but I knew it would impede my creativity and complicate things and I wanted to enjoy with no expectations, nor for that matter regarding gaining a specific number of listeners. I wanted to connect and have fun, sharing these amazing women’s stories. I was very clear that though of course their companies would get visibility, the aim was not acquisition but to share, including three valuable tips that could be implemented immediately.
I knew I needed to move fast before I started torturing myself with all sorts of potential obstacles so I decided I needed to commit to my idea by getting it out there and posted my plan on FB asking if anyone knew of someone who could help me with the technical side of things. During my monthly Global Woman Amsterdam networking meeting I asked too, and a guest member, Anke Herrmann who ‘ just happened to be there that day” contacted me as this is exactly what she does. The rest is History.
We decided on a slow approach and over the next few months she set up all the technical parts on my website, registered me with iTunes, Spotify, blender. She set me up with blueberry (my host), Canva for the artwork and mailer lite.
Then, with infinite patience and a healthy dosage of humour she taught me how to edit the audio, create the artwork, upload to my site etc; fixing when I messed up, always there for my frantic SOSs and explaining in short, simple videos how to do it better.
The idea was that she would look for a virtual assistant to do all of that for me in the long run but insisted I should at least know how. And lo and behold I learnt and actually took a taste to it and now do everything myself, which I would never have believed possible!
So satisfying to move beyond your comfort zone and acquire new skills!
Thank you Anke, and thank you for still being there, so reassuring having a technical guardian angel!
So to any of you hesitating out there, go for it! Hosting my podcast gives me so much energy!
And should you need any technical support for your business or want to create a podcast Anke, author of the acclaimed book “Taming the tech monster” is the girl you need.
Good luck and enjoy!
Find out more about Anke at