Hungry2Live
Hungry2Live
Hungry2Live Episode #3 - From Fear of Public Speaking to Podcast Host and CEO - Lauren Popish podcaster, CEO of The Wave A for Women by Women Podcasting Network
On today’s show, Rachel speaks with Lauren Popish. Lauren, a once Corporate America career woman, realized her fear of public speaking got in the way of her position. This caused anxiety and Lauren decided to switch gears. After moving from New York to California, she was looking for something more fulfilling. She created a for women by women podcasting network. Her vision is to help women share their stories in a safe space. This endeavor has helped Lauren build confidence in her personal and professional life. Using the tools to overcome her fear of public speaking, Lauren has created a network of women globally for all things podcasting. She opened the first ever Woman owned and operated podcasting studio in Los Angeles during Covid-19.
Follow Lauren Popish:
TheWave: https://www.thewavepodcasting.com/
The Wave Instagram: @thewavepodcasting
The Wave Twitter: @WavePodcasting
The Wave Facebook: @thewavepodcasting
Personal Instagram: @laurenpopish
No, I don't care, but they say I came here to stay
Speaker 2:Through the days. The must wasn't easy again. He never gave up cuz I, God God had Through the darkness, through the tears during the lights off the fear, never give a OSA hell.
Speaker 3:Hi and welcome to another episode of hungry to live today. I'm gonna be talking with Lauren poppish. She is this woman who has come from this story of having a fear of public speaking. And now she runs her own podcasting network for women by women in Los Angeles. So Lauren let's first talk about this fear of yours, a fear of speaking, which now you do for a living
Speaker 4:That's right? Yes. It, it started the fear, I guess. Uh, you know, I, I grew up a very confident speaker, especially a public speaker. I was in theater and I just really enjoyed the limelight. I felt like speaking was one of my best skills and you know, as I got older, my speaking engagements became more high pressure. There was more at stake. I was doing it for work. I joined a sales team and I was touring around doing a lot of, uh, sales pitches and things like that. And you know, one day I was over, over traveled and underlay up and under hydrated. And I went into a very routine meeting. And in the middle of that conversation, I had kind of a, a physical response, a panic attack, but more than this physical symptoms, it was like this realization that speaking could be scary. It could be a vulnerable moment. It, uh, which is something I had never really experienced before. And it sent me into this spiral of a pretty crippling, um, a crippling phobia, if you will, for many years. Um, as I was trying to address this fear and, and build confidence again in the speak keen arena, because of course speaking is such an important part of building authority as women, you know, having your sta your seat at the table, putting your stake in the ground, sharing your unique ideas with the world. Like all of that stuff comes from the ability for us to be able to advocate for selves. And if you're afraid of speaking up, then it means then your ideas don't get put out in the world like other peoples do, uh, or someone else takes that spotlight and gets their idea out there. And so I really was realizing quickly that this wasn't just going to be something that I could ignore or, um, stepping back or not raising my hand for speaking opportunities. Wasn't going to be something that was going to have a zero, like a net impact on my life. It was actually hurting my ability to grow and develop and, um, you know, make my way in the world. And so I tried to, multiprong a multifaceted approach to dealing with this, but one of those things was starting a podcast so that I could, uh, build a little bit more confidence in my ability to speak, because it's kind of a controlled environment. You do get to pick your guests and you get to hypothetic, have an editor, refine your words and make you sound a little bit better. And that's really what I needed to feel more at home. I also, I will say did a lot of therapy. I joined Toastmaster. I joined some speaking organizations, so I won't pretend that podcasting was the cure, all the, for my speaking phobia, but it was a, a particular approach. And what I learned through that experience is that it was doing for me, what I had hoped. I was feeling more confident behind the mic as a facilitator that just naturally week over week, I gained that confidence. And I was also realizing, as my guests were sitting down, you know, friends, people, I really well, their level of intimidation to speak or have their words focused on. So intently was really surprising for me that this wasn't just me, who was feeling that anxiety. And so I figured if I was going through this and if my friends and and peers were going through a certain speaking anxiety, there's probably a lot of women out there who weren't speaking up the way they should because of a, of, you know, some fear on a range from a little uncomfortable to a full blown phobia. And I felt that podcasting could be a tool in that tool box of helping women build confidence so that they could get their businesses, built their ideas out there and gain more authority in the world. In general,
Speaker 3:I love this idea of you building the confidence, not only with yourself, but the community of women, not just who you work with, but your friends. And I also find it fascinating that this fear phobia of public speaking, that you are talking about, you kind of came into it in your early adult years, where as a teacher, I, I see this phobia and fear and young kids. And I think as a, a society, we really think that these kinds of fears are happening for the little ones and not necessarily thinking about people who are trying to move up the ladder in the world and in their careers and what that can look like. And I love that you use this word of tool or this idea of having a tool to overcome this fear, because I talk with my students and their families all the time about strategies to help support in the classroom and the world, the universe itself is a classroom. So to have these tools in your back pocket, Toastmaster, joining other speaking communities, meet up groups, um, creating a podcast just for you to practice speaking maybe with yourself and then bring other people in. It's so great to hear that you kind of created this therapeutic environment for yourself in order to figure out how to get yourself to another level and, and doing this while pivoting out of a career. So, right, this show hungry to live is about overcoming obstacles. So your obstacle is kind of finding your voice, which is also an obstacle that I've had to overcome. But I think it's really interesting that you've had to come while pivoting out of a comfort zone of something that you had been doing for multiple years, and then you kind of completely changed and just poured your whole self into it, even though it was uncomfortable for you and built this whole new path. So can you about building this path and also, can you provide the listener, your socials? So if they're interested in, interested in starting a podcast or sharing a story, maybe they can turn to you and your company.
Speaker 4:Of course, of course. Yeah. It's, it's kind of uncommon, I suppose, to kind of be on one path of life and have kind of the very pivotal and for me, very ground shaking experience and then kind of go, okay, now I'm gonna go all in on that. I can tell you that my expectation, Todd, and in fact, this, you know, I've been running this company full time now for about a year and a, if it's called the wave. And, uh, but this speaking incident that I mentioned happened, you know, over four years ago now. So, uh, it did take a while for me to realize that or put the pieces together, that the thing that I really wanna be spending my time with and spending my time on professionally was also though this thing that I was trying to work on in the background personally of my own life, I had been entrepreneurial and really wanted to, I think we all wanna find our little unique take on the world and, you know, make our mark. And so I had really been looking for that for a long time. I'd been trying to brand build, I'd been trying to, um, you know, have an Instagram presence or come up with a really nice business idea. And I have a graveyard of concepts that came long before I settled on podcasting. But the thing about that, I kind of quickly got to, as I was moving along in this podcasting journey, really enjoying it, seeing more and more people come through, having more people come into my space and having that's really how it started. People were saying, Hey, can I rent out your studio that you've built in your own home back in York when I was in New York? Can I, um, it's so well appointed, you know, it's, it's, it's feminine. Uh, I feel comfy here. Can I come record in your studio for me to realize that something really organic and, and fulfilling was happening there? It also, I had to realize I wanted to pursue something that would actually be fulfilling for me. So, uh, something that wasn't just an Instagram handle or an account of some kind, something that wasn't just a, a tech invention, you know, I, I worked in tech for a while and, um, it really had to be something that I felt was gonna put some good out in the world. And as I was, this idea started to come up, like, what if I could help people with their speaking by showcasing, by like using myself as a, a case study for how podcasting can can help. My initial response was like, no way, that's my private issue. You know, that's my everybody's like, oh, be vulnerable, bring these vulnerable things to the, the forefront. But I can tell you, like, in that moment, you're like, oh, that's way too. That's too real for me. That's, that's like my deepest little secret, you know, at that time I was, I was trying to hide the F that I had anxiety. Right. I wanted to appear as NA like nothing had ever happened to me. Like I was the same old confidence speaker that I always was. But the second I started to fight back that fear a little bit call, you know, and, and start rationalize and say, well, if you wanna do something worthwhile, that keeps to get an up day after day. Because at that point it was a side hustle. And you're doing this podcast in addition to being a teacher and doing your own work, you know, how hard it is to put time and energy into something when you've already put a full days of energy into something else that pays your pay your salary, right? So it's gotta be something so fulfilling, so enjoyable and frankly be so much bigger than just you, right. So much bigger than your desire to be an influencer. I'm saying your meaning generally, I'm really speaking about myself, right? I thought I wanted to kind of be a travel influencer at one point, man, it's to be bigger than just this like selfish desire, because there's gonna be days you're so dang sleepy or so tired, or you've got so much on your plate from work, that it just doesn't seem worth it. So only when I tapped into this like very vulnerable, fulfilling place, was I able to find something that felt worth it enough to go out and pursue it. And over time, that, that percentage of time that was like a hobby and then was kind of a side hustle make maybe I was making a little bit of money and then the pandemic happened. And I know a lot of people made big shifts during that, but I had this opportunity to take it from being, uh, you know, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50% pursuit to be a hundred percent pursuit. But I, I couldn't have told you at the time that that's really the direction it was gonna take. It's just, I CA I couldn't stay away. I couldn't stop myself from building it. And so what it is now is, uh, you know, a multi, we, we try to help women through this, the central mission of helping women find their boys and build confidence in speaking. And we do that by providing production services, around editing and writing and all those tedious things that make podcasting seem, maybe inaccesible for folks. We also provide studio space, which is the one that I'm recording in at this, at this moment in Los Angeles. And we offer or free resources and community as well, so that we can, you know, build something that has nothing to do. It helps you get over that imposter syndrome, part of podcasting, which you can't edit away, or S studio away, you know, you really need community to, to get through these things. So if, if this is speaking to anybody, who's listening, if you're just curious, you've thought about doing a podcast, or you're looking for resources to help build confidence. Maybe podcasting's one thing, but maybe Toastmaster is, is something else. I mean, you said it yourself, Rachel it's, it's one of many tools I'm always available to talk about confidence in, in sharing your voice. And, uh, the best place to reach me would be on Instagram at the wave podcasting or through our website, the wave podcasting.com.
Speaker 3:Thank you for sharing all of that information and getting the listener up to speed about how you overcame your fear of public speaking and phobia of speaking, while pivoting into your side hustle, which is now your full-time job. And you talk about this idea of space. And I love this word space because it's used a lot, but I feel like it's often used not in this context of allowing the interconnection and connection of people and humans. And that's exactly what this show is about. People sharing stories about stigmas and taboos and overcoming something to be successful. And you talk about having this space for women to share their stories and having them find their own confidence and being comfortable to tell their stories and build communities. And I think it's so wonderful that you have kind of fostered this like little baby thing and turned it in to this larger entity. And you just spoke very beautifully about that. It's, it's more than yourself. So your story is your story, and nobody can take it away from you. And what is great is that no one can take your story away from you, but so many people can add to it. And I want the listener. I want the listener to definitely take Lauren up on her offer. Before I started my podcast, I reached out to Lauren through a contact and amazing. So for those who have a story, they wanna share, join a community, please, please take Lauren up on her offer on her Instagram. While we're talking about Instagram, you can also find my instagram@hungarydotthenumbertwo.live, or you can find my website, Hungary, the number two live.com. So I know that we talked about the space you're providing your pivot from your full-time job that was paying the bills. What do you see now that the wave has kind of overtaken like a, a tidal wave? How do you see it expanding? And what does that look like for what you are building, not just for your business, but for yourself personally?
Speaker 4:Absolutely. So there's always, when, when the wave was a side hustle, all I got to do was dream my up fun ways to support women and those things didn't need to necessarily produce revenue. And that was a really fun phase of the business. But once I went 100% in on the wave, as my full-time gig, my priorities had to shift to what is going to pay the bills. And more than that, you know, you mentioned that we're a four women by women production service. That means that everyone we hire on our production team, the editors, the audio engineers, the writers, the marketers, digital marketing experts, they're all women. And, uh, because we believe that cost is a way that wanna make our services and podcasting more accessible by having a reduced cost. We work with women who wear globalization is, is embraced and who live in a place where a us dollar can take you a little bit further, including, uh, Latin America, Southeast Asia, South Africa, places like that. Uh, so not only are all of our team female, but many of them have families. Many of them are living in a developing country and wanting to, uh, you know, be the first in their families to do certain things or provide new opportunity for, for themselves and their friends and their families, which means that when you're the business owner behind that, your priorities, can't just be about creating interesting new things. Uh, that's fun and entertaining. It's not just about revenue for me. It's about being able to pay these people. Uh, these individuals who make the company happen, uh, and make it run and pay them what we call a thriving wage. It's, uh, you know, we do quite a bit of research into local economics so that we can know what is a amount of money that we can pay our editors. That is not just what they're worth, but helps, um, um, achieve all the financial goals that they have for their life, so that they can thrive. All that to say is it's a lot of pressure. It's a lot of responsibility as a business owner. And so it means that our focus has, has shifted to really building out the primary part of our revenue generating part of our business, which is our digital PR action services. But the future of the company, I really think, looks like getting back to what we were doing initially, which is really compelling education and content online. And the, that doesn't sound novel in terms of what it is. But I think that what I always found novel about what we were doing was the fact that when someone turns to the internet, when they wanna start a podcast, do they see themselves reflected in the educational re resources that they're finding online on YouTube, on Google, the blogs they're reading, do the, does the imagery that they're seeing in blog posts represent them? Meaning are there women, are, are there feminine element? I mean, I'm not saying it has to be millennial pink, it can, but does it not? Does it, you know, look inviting, comfortable, feminine, approachable. And I'll say when I went to go start a podcast, I couldn't find any educational resources that reflected that it all looked techy and difficult. It was all the resources were written, a male point of view. And in some ways made what I was feeling, which is a little bit of imposter syndrome, a little bit of fear of tech, the techy side of things. And, uh, the cost factor seemed irrelevant. And really those were the biggest barriers to my success. So we wanna continue to make a place on the internet for women. When they go to look to start a podcast that makes them feel like this is an achievable thing for them, that hump of, I wanna start a podcast to releasing your first episode. There's so much that happens in that little gap. And unfortunately, during that period, we lose a lot of women, the process because of the resources that they stumble upon online, that either make it seem too hard or too expensive. And so we want to continue to have a really strong presence. So the future of our company looks like doubling down on content and educational material that represents the readers and the individuals who are the diverse perspectives who are going out to see if they should start a podcast. The other thing is we would like to beef up our community element right now we exist on slack and that's where the a digital community is. But I believe that a community it's really the responsibility of the founding group in our case, the wave to facilitate community. You can't just leave people to be in community together. Uh, if it was that easy, you know, we would all be able to make adult friends and know, join our local gym and meet a ton of people, but that's not reality. You know, we do, it's hard to meet and build community. It's something that is intangible. You can't just make space for it. You have to facilitate it. And so we would like to take our community facilitation to a new level, which means getting on a more, um, unity based or a more intentional platform, something like a mighty networks or something like that, uh, that has more capabilities to be able to facilitate conversations, engagements, uh, you know, maybe something like a membership site where people who really want the value from the community, they feel like they can be there. But I obviously always thinking about cost and, uh, pricing as never wanting to stop people from getting there. So I think the future is less about, um, let's say building out the, the thing that makes this business able to run and really is more about just being the Haven that we always want it to be for. When women turn to the internet to start their first podcast, we wanna be there with open arms so that there's never women dropping off because they didn't feel like they found what they needed to get started.
Speaker 3:Thank you. As an educator, I understand the importance of representation in educational literature and, um, in sort of information that is coming to the student. And in this case, it's the listener, the podcaster themself. So I love this idea of creating educational resources to reach that person who feels like they're not being spoken to. And I know I can appreci something like that because I, myself as well, I'm not very techy. Um, but I also wanted to go back a little bit and I love this idea. Also, the women for women by women, not just locally and domestically, but globally. So it's not just your, your vision for, or women. Isn't just the women that we can see within our Sightline it's women around the world who are helping this entire idea and this entire movement, and you are creating, um, uh, a lifeline literally for these women who have families who have these vocations and you are helping support their families in other countries. And that's amazing. So as, as you know, this is, uh, hungry to live. So I wanted to ask you what keeps you hungry to live?
Speaker 4:I would say that the world is a better place with diverse voices and diverse perspectives in it. And we will reach such a better place when we can take advantage of all the goodness. There is to be enjoyed from many different kinds of individuals sharing their unique experiences. What makes me hungry in the morning to get up and live and work and do all of those things is the thought that we could just get a little bit closer to that fully diverse and representative, uh, communal voice, if you will, that we could and turn on the radio, turn on our podcasts, look at the top 100 most high performing or top charted podcasts out there and have it actually represent the same diversity as the individuals who are listening to it. That is, uh, a real thrill. I don't know if we'll ever get there, but it's a pursuit that, that, you know, I just can't stop chasing. So that would be, that would be it for me.
Speaker 3:It's, it's a wonderful pursuit to continue to chase. So thank you for sharing that with me and thank you again for being on my show, hungry to live can find, um, my social media, Hungary dot the number two.live on Instagram or Hungary, the number two live.com. And Lauren, can you please share with the listener again, your socials?
Speaker 4:Of course, we are on instagram@thewavepodcastingandourwebsiteisthewavepodcasting.com. If you wanna get in touch with me directly, my email is always always open it's lauren@thewavepodcasting.com. And if you're just curious, send a note, it's not a commitment to start a pod, but it's a, it's a commitment to start a conversation. So that's what we can do for you over on our end at the wave.
Speaker 3:And for you listening out there, Lauren, you can just hear the love and support she has for this community of podcasting and her wanting to share her story and your story with the world. So please do reach out to her. I wanted to end this episode with a poem. I always end every episode with a poem about my guest working for years in a comfortable career. All at once her life became unclear. Public speaking became the enemy most likely because she had a different destiny, scared of her voice. She made a choice, became a woman on a mission. Helping other women was her vision through podcasting. She overcame her fear. Warren poppish provides space and support to women far and near entrepreneur podcaster with a great spirit. Her life came together with a career pivot. Thank you for listening to hungry to live. This is Rachel
Speaker 5:In the right place, in the wrong way, down on my luck there, dog days had to switch it. Okay. So I gave up on the race, learned from a BA days. Still got town, never too late. No,
Speaker 1:I
Speaker 5:Don't care.
Speaker 1:But they say
Speaker 5:I came
Speaker 1:Here to stay
Speaker 2:Through the days. The most days. It wasn't easy. Again. He never gave up OSA Through the darkness, through the tears, turn the lights off face. My never gave up KAK.
