Douglas James Shares His Favorite Business & Self-Development Podcasts

A person posing for the camera

Description automatically generated

No matter what field or sector you work in, consistent growth and personal development is key to success. Bettering yourself as a person, and advancing in your craft, will help you be happier in your life, and more successful in your work for the long run. Especially in the world of business, staying motivated, inspired, and on top of new trends can mean the difference between success and failure. Podcasts are an excellent way to learn, grow, and find inspiration, especially on the go, for the busy entrepreneur. There’s no shortage of helpful podcasts out there, which you can use to your advantage. We spoke with Douglas James, a digital marketing expert with a background in entrepreneurship. He’s sharing some of his favorite business and self-development podcasts, to help get you started.

The Robin Sharma Mastery Sessions

Robin Sharma is best known for his bestseller The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, which details what he learned after leaving the field of litigation law at the age of 25. In this self-development podcast, Sharma analyzes the world’s top 5% of performers, and dives into what they do that makes them tick.

Kwik Brain Podcasts

The art of learning is a craft in itself. If you want to maximize your brain power, and tap into your true learning potential, Jim Kwik might be able to help. Kwik is an expert in teaching people how to learn, and he’s trained many CEOs and experts around the world in his techniques.

Smart Passive Income

This award-winning podcast is hosted by Pat Flynn, and gives insight on how to increase your profits in an online business. Flynn offers crucial tips for entrepreneurs, like scaling your online venture and increasing profits. This practical advice can be applied to your day-to-day work.

Masters of Scale

Podcast host Reid Hoffman knows a thing or two about founding a business: he co-founded LinkedIn, and he’s a partner at a venture capital firm. Hoffman takes his experience and talks to powerhouse executives at companies like Netflix and Facebook, to analyze how companies grow. You’ll hear the stories of many companies which found success as startups.

The Internet Business Mastery

Hosted by Jeremy Frandsen and Jason Van Orden, the Internet Business Mastery podcast helps people who want to leave their 9-5 routine, in pursuit of entrepreneurship. They help people create “automated online income streams,” by offering practical tips that listeners can utilize in their daily lives with ease.

About Douglas James

Douglas James is an expert in all things digital marketing and has years of experience as an entrepreneur. You can read more about how he’s dedicated to helping entrepreneurs boost their business, and how he’s helped more than 1,500 entrepreneurs find success.

Erkan Kemiksizgil Shares: 5 Best Business Podcasts You Should Listen To in 2019

Many people who work in the business industry can’t make it through a workday these days without listening to at least one podcast. Not only do people feel like they learn something from it, but it’s something to passively listen to as well.

When putting together the best business podcasts in 2019, it was worth going after someone who lives and breathes in this world every single day. Erkan Kemiksizgil is a digital marketer and entrepreneur who is always searching for new information. He gets a lot of inspiration from podcasts, so it was a pleasure to work with him to get a list of his top five right now. Here they are, in his own words.

Inside LaunchStreet

What I like about this podcast is that it puts a major focus on innovation. There are too many business owners right now who are just trying to copy off of other people who are having success. Innovation is always going to be a huge driving factor, and more people should try to untap their hidden potential.

Tony Robbins podcast

Just about everyone knows about Tony Robbins at this point, and it’s hard to avoid listening to what he has to say. He might not be for everyone, as he comes off a little too motivational at times, but he does provide enough quality information for me to keep coming back.

What I like most about him is that he provides information on stuff that simply put, just works. He tries to inspire others to put in the same type of work he does every single day to reach his goals.

Rise and Grind with Damon John

What really helped me back in my early days in business was not finding a way to increase productivity. I was not putting in the type of effort that is needed to have success. John understands that this is a problem many people face, and he talks a lot about better performance, improved productivity and setting realistic goals.

The marketing companion

Most of the podcasts I listen to that are related to business are very informative, but this is the one that borders on entertainment as well. They have a lot of celebrities come in and provide great information, with some comedy and humor along the way as well. It’s a light way to listen to something while working on projects, and occasionally there will be some great information as well.

The GaryVee audio experience

Like Tony Robbins, GaryVee might not be for everyone. However, I find him to be pretty informative in just about every single podcast he does. Say what you want about him, but he has been able to have extreme success in the industry.

The energy about him keeps things exciting. Some people have rather dull voices when it comes to podcasts, but he keeps it entertaining and makes me want to learn more from him just by the way he talks.

Why You Should Listen To Podcasts Instead of the Radio

Radio shows in the morning can be everything from entertaining to reasonably informative. Radio shows are much like podcasts with additional commercials and possible content that you might want to skip over. A downloaded podcast allows the listener to skip passed certain subjects that they might not have any interest in or that makes them uncomfortable. What many people have started to do is that of listening to industry podcasts on their way to work. This can allow a person to keep up to date with what is going on in the industry without having to read during their free time. A commute will allow you to learn instead of waste time listening to yet another prank call done by a generic radio shock jock.

Podcasts also can give you a deeper look into the news rather than a headline with very little content to help explain situations happening. This happens quite a bit on TV as mitigating reasons for unrest are rarely discussed as the news is on a timeline. Podcasts often times are calling out news and radio shows due to their lack of fact checking and obviously politically tilted coverage. The podcast can educate you during a workout or your commute without cutting into your valuable free time. Start checking out a few podcasts that interest you or relate to your job as it will help you grow as a person as well as a professional.

How You Can Improve Your Career Via Your Podcast

Podcasting with its growing popularity can be a great way to improve your career. A person that runs a company podcast can be seen as an integral part of the company to customers as well as podcast listeners. This offers a bit of job security which can be invaluable in companies that might have a higher employee turnover than usual. Your career can receive a big boost from being a part of a popular podcast. Obviously if you work in finance and have a humor based podcast this might not lend itself to getting new job offers. If you have a podcast that is related to your career’s industry then this can be a huge opportunity to showcase your knowledge on certain topics.

During your podcast you should share your social media channels as you need to make it as easy as possible for interested parties to find you. LinkedIn might be the easiest way to follow you but many people reach out via social media. You might be able to land your dream job by talking about your ideal job role or what you excel in. Hiring managers often times want to hire someone with a following in industries like marketing so hosting a podcast with thousands of listeners per week can make you the ideal candidate. Podcast because you enjoy it and reap the benefits when they are available!

What You Need To Have a Successful Sports Podcast

A majority of sports fans think that they could broadcast themselves talking about sports with friends and it could become successful. This is partially true but this is going to take hard work as well as constant consumption of sports related content. People might love listening to a podcast about football but a sports podcast has to include some other major sports. A fan could love your take on certain topics but simply not be interested in the main sport discussed. Do not alienate an entire demographic due to not liking a sport or refusing to watch it in order to give an educated opinion.

 

Covering hot topics in sports should be done as well but it is probably wise to avoid politics. This can lose a podcast listeners for life as many people feel very strongly about their political opposition. Gone are the days of people respecting that you have a different opinion so avoid this where possible. Sports has taken a much more political turn in certain leagues like the NFL with ratings going down due to people taking a stand on certain topics. Lastly you have to stick with your opinions on certain teams or subjects. People love to hate certain teams or support others so this can build a sense of personal rapport with listeners which is invaluable when growing a following.

How a Podcast Can Turn A Person/Brand Into A Thought Leader

Written content can allow a person to establish a name for themselves in a specific niche. This goes the same for certain video content but nothing compares to the podcast when trying to become a thought leader in an industry. Podcasting not only allows a person to express themselves by speaking but it also allows listeners to engage with the person hosting the podcast. Being able to answer questions from people in various parts of your industry showcases your knowledge. The only comparable way to get in front of this many relevant people is to present at an industry conference.

Those podcasts that garner enough of a following can become mainstays in the industry. People tuning in to hear your thoughts on the latest happenings can quickly turn into job offers or offers to help start a company with certain individuals. Your career trajectory can be shifted in a positive way as many companies love having a well-known name in the industry run a certain department or be selected to the executive board. Keep your podcast content relevant and make sure to engage with those in the industry to help make sure you are being heard in your niche with your opinions being valued by some as fact.

How You Should Prep For Your Next Personal Podcast

There are some people that have quite a lot to say and have a knack for speaking to a group of people. The podcast can be the perfect opportunity for someone with these verbal skills, they just have to pick a topic that people are willing to listen to weekly or monthly. Preparation and talking points should be planned before the podcast as it is easy to have a lull in a podcast making it seem like the podcasters are not ready for this specific podcast. Even with guests it is important to have particular talking points as it is easy to forget to ask a certain question if conversation is continually flowing.

Before starting to podcast it is important to find the appropriate equipment as feedback in a podcast to a listener makes the podcast seem extremely amateur. Setting up weekly guests can be tough for a new podcast so outreach is important. A guest does not have to be a fan as many guests participate in podcasts simply for the increased exposure. Being able to talk about ideas or views on a specific topic can be enough to entice certain people to come be a guest. With the right guest and line of questions you could have a viral podcast episode on your hands!

Why are podcasts still so popular?

I couldn’t possibly predict the popularity of podcasts even as early as last year. I’ve been online for longer than they’ve existed, and it still blows my mind that new shows are popping up every day, and people (even millennials) are still jumping on the bandwagon:

Just the mere fact that there is a podcast about Sleep Geeks makes me pretty optimistic that the future of the podcast industry is pretty robust at the moment 🙂