“Even on days when it is hard, I just get up and let myself know that I will come back to it tomorrow” – CAT CORCHARDO
#019 – In this episode, Cat and I discuss why Cat started her podcast and how she’s been able to post consistently for the past 8 months. We talk through her fears when she started, the systems she’s set up and the kind of support one needs when you are following your passion.
Enjoy the episode!
Have a question/comment or just want to chat? Email me at mahrukh@mahrukhimtiaz.com
Highlights from this episode:
[2:30] What made podcasting so much fun?
[7:07] What is the one you wish you had known before starting a podcast?
[10:31] Dangers of comparison
[12:00] Developing the right mindset to be patient with the process
[23:30] Everyone expresses creativity differently
[28:29] Resources that helped Cat with her podcast
Connect with Cat:
Instagram
LinkedIn
Facebook
Podcast
A little bit about Cat:
Cat is a National Consultant and Trainer with the Women Veterans Network (WoVeN). She is an advocate and champion for all women veterans and helps them to navigate the transition process from active duty to civilian. Prior to her position with WoVeN, Cat retired from the US Air Force . In addition, Cat has spent over 37 years in the fitness industry as a Personal Trainer and Pilates Instructor. In October 2020, Cat launched her podcast Sisters-in-Service – Conversations for and about female veterans. Going from being in the air force to personal training and now a podcaster- that sounds like quite a journey.
Resources mentioned:
Pat Flynn
Power up Podcasting course
Transcription:
Cat Corchardo
I’ve even heard people say, I want to start podcasts because it’s so easy, This easy process. It’s, you know, you have to want to do it and stay in it, you know, and there are going to be days and even now there are days where I’m like, I just don’t want to edit it. I do not want to edit today. It’s, it’s, it’s been a journey. It’s been great. You know,
Mahrukh Imtiaz
You are listening to Spicy Chai podcast. I’m your host, Mahrukh Imtiaz. And I’m on a journey to create inspiring, helpful and meaningful content. This podcast is not going to showcase high-profile individuals spouting colloid vise-like find your passion or hustle harder. Instead, my mission is to bring you the voices of people who are just a bit ahead of you. People you can relate to, and the people who will inspire you to put your own voice out there.
So grab your cup of Spicy Chai, and let’s get this show started.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Welcome to the spicy Chai podcast. Our guest today is an ex Air Force veteran. And something really cool about them is their dad is also an ex Air Force veteran. How cool is that? She’s also recently started a podcast Women In Service. She’s been a veteran in the Air Force. Badass, then she was a personal trainer, double badass. And now she started a podcast triple badass, what a journey. \
Welcome to the show Cat.
Cat Corchardo
Thank you so much. It’s a pleasure to be here.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Yeah, I’m really, really excited to have you. And what I usually start off with for all the listeners is what got you started on this journey to creating a podcast.
Cat Corchardo
It’s interesting, you said that I don’t know where podcast came from. Okay. My husband has been listening to podcasts for ever. Like before, they were cool. He was listening to podcasts. And I just remember, around 2018 2019 December, we were in Orlando. And I just really this word podcast just popped into my mind and had been in the back of my head for a while. And it wasn’t until COVID hit and I thought this might be a good time to do this podcast. And so that’s when I started learning more about podcasts and how to put them together and searching for a name. And when I look back on that part, it was really kind of fun, to be honest with you. Really fun. So I’m having a great time doing it.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
And what made it fun.
Cat Corchardo
Learning something new, you know, I’ve been in the fitness industry for Okay, 38 years this year. That’s amazing. That’s incredible. And doing, you know, personal training, I’ve only been applied instructor for I think this is my 12th year as a Pilates instructor. But this was so outside of my lane, you know, learning about this. And I thought, You know what, let me just do it the right way. Let me find out what I need to know and put it together. And that was what was fun is learning something new. Now, it wasn’t all peaches and cream. There were days when I’m like, Okay, I’m not doing this. Right, I’ve done is over. But it was great. It was great. Now that I look back, it was like I learned a lot. And I’m still having fun doing it. And I mean, all of it the editing. You know, my favorite part is this part is the interview part because I have I have fun doing that. But I like all parts of it. It’s really, I’m having a good time doing it. And that’s the most important piece, right? Like the fact that you’re having so much fun. I guess that also tells you a bit more about yourself as a person because you probably didn’t even know that you will have so much fun in the process. And then you kind of got into the world and you’re like, wow, I’m really digging this. So I love that piece. But my question is, there’s so many areas that you could have tapped into with your podcasts. You know, you’re an ex veteran, you’re a personal trainer, you know, you’ve gone through experiences probably no one has. So why do a podcast with like sisters and service veteran network versus going to fitness?
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Well, as I say, in the fitness industry, personal trainers are a dime a dozen.
Cat Corchardo
They’re everywhere and employs instructors too. And I could have but my heart and my soul was with women veterans. So when I started with the women veterans network in 2017, I started really digging into a lot of the statistics about women veterans, how they’re more apt to be homeless, how they’re having a much harder time with transition than than their male counterparts. And I thought why is this and the deeper I got into it, the more I thought, okay, my podcast has to be about women veterans. And so when I
Mahrukh Imtiaz
I was researching it, you know, because they say, Oh, look up other podcasts, you know, that are in the same area, there were like two or three. And so the norm was I said all if there aren’t very many of them don’t do it. And I was like, No, I need to do this. So the fact that I pummeled through it even more, you know, it was more of a of, you know, a challenge for me to say, Okay, let me do this. I’m doing this, you know, and it was more of just this gut instinct, this gut feel, you know, what I’m saying, you know, when you really wanted that knowledge out there wanted to help your people. Yes, absolutely. Oh, absolutely. And I think that’s where we really connect, because that’s exactly why part of the reason why I’m starting a podcast, it’s, you know, it’s just that feeling of you need to put your voice out there. Like it’s about time. You’ve been looking into this since 2018. Right. And it’s the same case, everything takes so much longer than we anticipate. And you mentioned one thing there that you learned a lot, you’ve learned been learning a lot in the process. And really the biggest reason you got to start it because it was pandemic and you had this extra time you were like, right, mind. Right? Yes, yeah, there was, um, I can’t remember where I heard it, I saw it or read it or something. And it said, at the end of the pandemic, now, this is way back when we thought it’s gonna be a few months. Okay, two or three months. So optimistic, right?
Mahrukh Imtiaz
And the question was, what can you say you have accomplished during COVID? And I thought, wow, okay. This is a challenge, you know, and I thought I can say that during COVID, I launched my podcast, and that’s pretty much what put me over, saying, you know, I’m gonna go ahead and do this was, you know, that question in particular, you know, because people are, you know, you’re inside and want to be able to say, you know, I learned something new, who doesn’t want to learn something new? And, you know, given that you aren’t learning so much, what is one thing that you wish you knew when you started and you’re around, like, 10 episodes? And now, right? Oh, yeah. Pretty much at the beginning of the journey. So yes. What is one thing you wish you had known earlier? If you were to start your podcast from zero today?
Cat Corchardo
Well, I kind of launched Yeah, I always do things backwards. So I remember when I was taking Pat’s course, and he was, you know, saying, Oh, do it, you know, make sure you have a launch date. Right, right. So I didn’t even get to the part of where you’re supposed to have three to five episodes already gone already up and loaded. Right. Right. And so I launched one episode. Later on, he says, Don’t do that.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
But to be very honest, many people do. They launched their podcast with one episode. And I’ll, I’ll take a pause here for the listeners, and just give them a bit more context. Pat, and I took the same power up podcasting course by Pat Flynn. And I don’t know about Pat, I don’t know what CAC sorry, so many like similar words, like hack, but I have loved the course. And I would say one of the biggest reason I was able to publish a podcast was because of that course by Pat Flynn. So a big shout out to that. And that’s what Kat is saying that in the course. He says, When you launch make sure you launch with three to five episodes. And he actually gives a really cool story around and he’s like, imagine a musician. He’s having a concert in three months. You’re so excited to buy the tickets. There’s a lot of hype, there’s event, I’m doing this event, there’s gonna be music, and then you go to the concert, and he sings for 15 minutes. Like, how would you? And he’s like, that’s how it feels when you launch a podcast with only one episode. People want to hear more when you launch. And so I really liked that. So I feel like that story helps me like understand that a bit more. And I wanted to make sure I give the listeners Oh, yeah.
Cat Corchardo
Well, I think as far as note what, I don’t think there’s any, I think taking a course made me feel very secure in knowing that I could launch. And, you know, like, some people just say, I’m just recording and I’m putting it out there without knowing that’s not me. I need to know as much as I need to know to make sure I feel good and saying, okay, yes, I can launch, but I was so hell bent on because I had one launch day and I and I didn’t make it and I said, dammit, this is my launch date. And I did it. You know, so? Yeah, you know, it’s okay. It’s good. And
Mahrukh Imtiaz
And that’s the thing. It’s, I really like that you bring that up because that’s the important piece. I mean, for listeners, Kat and I also meet on a weekly basis for this podcast as accountability group, so cat Gnosis as well. But even for me, my launch date has changed multiple times, right, but it’s that ability When you’re creating content when you know your why is that ability to be like, Alright, I know I wanted this to happen in November in month x, but it hasn’t happened yet. Totally. Okay, I’m still making progress. Progress is different for different people. I think that’s where people start quitting. Because they’re like, Oh, well, I haven’t done this. I promised myself this. I didn’t do it. So let me quit versus Okay, well, I didn’t do it, how can I improve now keep making progress, and keep getting better. And then the second piece is comparison, oh, this person has launched, that person has created so much content versus No, Your journey is your journey. Have
Cat Corchardo
I think you’re still gonna go through that a little bit? You know, because even now, I’ll see on Facebook, and someone said, I just launched Thursday, and I have 100 downloads and I’m like, wow. Okay, you know, and but, you know, I just remember that it’s over time, you know, if I, if listeners keep improving, you know, over time, and I don’t dip, you know, then I feel like I’m doing okay, I feel like, you know, as my progress, I’m okay with that. You know, and it’s not that big of a deal. And I know that you and I had talked a while ago about being the we were talking about the imposter syndrome. You remember that? Yes. And I don’t feel that anymore.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
No, that’s amazing.
Cat Corchardo
I know, I was like, I feel like the real deal. Not that I wasn’t before, but you know, you have you have to kick that impostor syndrome a little bit, you know, and now I feel like, okay, I got this. I know. And now it’s just getting better and learning more. And, you know, so I’m looking forward to that, too. I
Mahrukh Imtiaz
I love that. There’s, there’s one thing that I want to dig a bit further into, you said slow progress, right? You’re okay. As long as you’re progressing, whatever pace you’re going at, the comparison happens here and there. But you kind of remind yourself, how did you get to that mindset? Because that’s what many people struggle with. They’re constantly comparing themselves, they quit when they can’t make progress. How did Kat get to this mindset where she’s okay with her progress?
Cat Corchardo
I wasn’t in a hurry. You know what I mean? I mean, I think I would have made, it would have made me very nervous to launch and have 100 downloads in day one. Because now you have to go up from 100. You know what I’m saying? Like, Yeah, gotta call, you know, I’m okay with that steady climb up. And I had to get to that point, you know, I’m like, It’s okay. You know, in the course, Pat’s, like, you know, look, you’re either gonna level off or increase, you don’t want it to dip. So I’m making a steady climb, since I launched my podcast, so I’m okay with that. I feel good about that.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
And you can start off saying, I’m not in a hurry. What made you get to that stage where you’re like, I’m okay with not being in a hurry.
Cat Corchardo
Because I knew when before I actually launched my podcast that this, this wasn’t just something to do during the, you know, during COVID. And then we get to go out and then I, you know, I drop it. This is a long term. For me, this is something I want to keep moving forward, you know, I want to be able to, when we open up have speaking engagements, because of my podcast, stuff like that, you know, it’s just, this is this is long term for
Mahrukh Imtiaz
For me. Yes. And I think that’s what I really want to emphasize here is when people focus so much on the results, and they want the 100,000 downloads within two weeks, it is possible for some Yes.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
That’s kind of where the discouragement happens is so important to understand that this is a long term game, infinite game, you know, it’s you just keep going. And that’s kind of awesome. And you mentioned you we spoke a little bit about imposter syndrome. And that was one of your fears when you were starting off? And do you want to speak a little bit about that? And how, what’s your journey been not feeling that way anymore?
Cat Corchardo
Well, I remember feeling this, you know, anytime you attempt to do something different, okay, so I’ll go back to when I first became a Pilates instructor. I was an apprentice for a whole year, and I was sitting, I take my final test. And now all of a sudden, I’m a Pilates instructor. And you have your first client, and you’re like, oh, my gosh, am I doing the right thing? What am I doing? You know, you still go through that. And then it gets to a point where it starts to normalize. And I think that’s when the impostor syndrome starts to kind of fade is where you start to have this confidence in yourself that I am good at what I do, you know, so as a Pilates instructor, I was like, I’m good at this. Right? You know, and not, not in a very, you know, conceited way but knowing that you have the confidence to Get this client through a 50 minute session, help them hurting themselves. And they get up and they go, I feel so much better walking out than when I walked in. And then you go, oh, so after that starts to happen, you start to get this confidence about yourself that yeah, I am a Pilates instructor. So I think the same thing happened with, you know, podcasting, I got to a point where I didn’t have to look at the course every time I was trying to edit audio, I can’t tell you how many times I will go back and like, how did he say to do that again, I’m just like, click, click, click, I’m doing it. And I just realized it. The last episode that episode nine, and, you know, I finished it, and I had it uploaded and ready to go. And I thought I didn’t have to look at the video. So it’s just been recently that I have felt that way, you know, and I’m okay. Okay, I kind of like this. This is okay. I’m good.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
I agree. And it’s, it’s all about the fact because you’re constantly taking action, right? You had imposter syndrome. But I didn’t ever want to remember you saying, I’m not going to do this podcast. That was never Yeah. Yes, there’s this fear. But I will still record. Right. Yeah, absolutely. That I’m going to take action regardless. Because that attitude come from, like, I will have fears and I will take action regardless.
Cat Corchardo
Well, I think a lot of it comes from the military. And I was also single parent in the military. So you know, you’re either going to sink or swim as you’re
Mahrukh Imtiaz
You’re like a badass as.
Cat Corchardo
Yes, Cat CORCHADO the badass. That’s my next podcast. But it just gives you this don’t quit type of attitude. You know, now there are things that I’ve attempted and, and I’ve done and I kind of just went, Yeah, I don’t think this is for me. Like I went through the whole real estate, you know, I went through the all the classes, I got my license, and then I thought, This is not my jam. Right. And it wasn’t that I couldn’t do it. It just wasn’t in my heart. You know what I mean? Yes. And so getting, you know, the leadership skills that I learned in the military, the, the don’t quit comes from the fact that you can’t quit as a parent. You can’t just say, Honey, mommy’s taking a day off today. So you’re gonna get yourself, your own food and everything. And you know, whether you were sick, and tired or sick and tired, you had to keep going. And so I think that that’s where it comes from, there’s just that, and then I’m stubborn, you know, I refuse to say that something’s beat me, you know, I’m gonna give it my best shot. And if it still beats me, I’m like, Okay, I couldn’t do this, you know, but, you know, just keep state taking those steps forward, even if they’re baby steps, you know, they were even during this podcast. And during the process, there were days, I didn’t even want to touch it, you know, but I would do, I would take a baby step, you know, like, trying to find artwork for a certain client or a certain person that was on my podcast, you know, just kind of clicking through stuff. And something that didn’t require a whole lot of brain thought, you know, it’s more of an art. Or even just, you know, on days, that I couldn’t do that, I would look for a name, you know, like finding a name for your podcast is huge. Yes. And I knew what I was looking for. I knew that I didn’t want to rush it. And when I found it, I was like, that’s it. I knew instinctively that that’s it. That’s what I’m looking for right there. So, yeah, just just knowing you know, when you have that gut instinct, that gut feeling of, this is the right thing. And you feel it, you’re gonna be success, you know, you’re gonna just go with it.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
And what I really liked about what you just said is, there will still be times when you will hate it, like, even when you really love, love, love something, there will be times when you hate it. And that’s when you have to take a step back. And maybe I really like what you said, maybe do something that’s not as taxing in the same process. Like, for me, I do this a lot. I would out of nowhere start doing chores in the house, because I’m like, Oh, I can’t focus on this. But I still want to keep doing this. I’m going to get 30 minute break and do like, I know. And sometimes it can be project related as well. Like, let me complete my project, like sheet which is will require nothing like I have a Trello sheet like you know, the master sheet that we have for podcasts. So yes, so let’s fill that in with guests. potential guests names something more fun. So it’s so important to make this process fun for yourself when you’re not having fun because there will be days and there will be times when we’re not going to be having fun.
Cat Corchardo
Oh yeah, you know, and I’ve even heard people say I want to start a podcast because it’s so easy, This easy process. So it’s, you know, you have to want to do it, and stay in it, you know, and there are going to be days and even now there are days where I’m like, I just don’t want to edit it. I do not want to edit today, you know, but overall, it’s, it’s, it’s been a journey, it’s been great. You know, you have your bad days and your, your good days and you’re gonna make mistakes, okay, that’s the biggest thing. You are going to make mistakes. Actually, I’ll tell you this one, I had uploaded a podcast an episode, and it had the wrong person, the wrong audio. And I caught it. Because I was I said, Let me listen to it. And I was like, Holy crap. So you’re gonna make mistakes, but you know what, this part of the learning process, you know, now I know, you know, listen to it, and listen to it again, and make sure it’s the right wine, you know, so it’s all good. That’s another
Mahrukh Imtiaz
That’s another thing. It’s like, people think it’s gonna happen. Even when we start. It’s like, oh, this is gonna be flawless process. Nothing’s gonna happen. Nope. I mean, it hasn’t happened to me yet. But so many people told me how they forgot to hit the record button. Or, you know, check their mic if their mics on. And these are real problems. Imagine taking the guests time and not getting recorded, or
Cat Corchardo
that happened to me too. Yep, I had no. And I know, I, I hit the record button. There was no audio like, zero. But she was she was wonderful. She’s like, hey, I’ll do it again. For you know, that stuff. Yeah, it’s stuff like that. No, it’s a learning process. You know? Now I check it every time is that light on? Is it blinking?
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Constantly, like it’s recording. And I think that’s the important piece here is that sometimes it’s also okay, when you’re starting off a podcast, especially, to do it with people that you know, will be a bit more forgiving, you know, not starting with your like, craziest dream guests. Like, you know, it’s important to start with people who are gonna be forgiving people, you know, off somehow, or people will understand that you might make mistakes. And they’re willing to potentially record again, or even be okay with that not such great episode being published. Right. So I think, yeah, I think those are really, really helpful. And you mentioned a bit about being like in the airforce really helped you give the mentality of let’s not quit, let’s keep going. How else do you think being an Air Force veteran or just a veteran in general, positions you to be a content creator? Like how else do you think it helps you?
Cat Corchardo
I think the job that I had because I was in communication. So I was a project manager. So I had to really be more into I was more of an independent worker. Like there weren’t five or six of us all doing the same job. There was one job description, and I was in that job. So I was pretty much left to do my own content creation, I guess, you know. And I think that’s, that’s where I learned it, you know, and that saying that, and I think that I’m a creative person. Now, because, you know, my husband’s all about, you know, he can draw, and he’s, you know, he can look at artwork and go, Wow, look at the angles, and I’m like, What are you looking at? And so I don’t have that. And I said, you know, I’m not an artistic, artistic person. And he said, but yes, you are, but you just do it, you, you know, you express it differently, in Pilates in personal training in your podcasts. So when it was time to come up with some subjects to talk about, you know, I’m a veteran, so I know what female veterans are going through. So it was just a matter of kind of narrowing it down about what I wanted to speak about. So content creation has always been, I don’t say always been easy, but it hasn’t been hard for me. I’ll put it that way. It isn’t hasn’t been hard.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
And you mentioned that you didn’t think you were creative until someone pointed out that you are you’re just a different kind of creative. Right, exactly like that. That resonated so much because growing up I sucked at art, like, you know, I mean, if you
Cat Corchardo
If you told me never got past the stick people, you know, like, it’s, like, wages
Mahrukh Imtiaz
I would like fruits, and that coloring. I did that well, and I and I’m not creative. I was convinced I’m not artistic until I did start drawing again. But like those funny cartoons, and then I started creating content. And then I started podcasting. And I was like, the same, the same thing happened. It’s I am creative, just in a different way. But it’s so funny how we have rules around what creativity is, and how we bought into those rules. And yeah, I’ve I’ve heard people say that I’m not creative. And I found that really hard to believe because creativity is so general. Right? Right.
Cat Corchardo
It’s very general, you know, because I don’t sing because I was telling my husband if I could sing we’d be right Ah, you know, I don’t sing I don’t draw. I don’t play an instrument, you know, I. So you just think, okay, that’s, that’s not what I do. So, you know, being artistic is a much bigger circle than we think it is, you know what I mean? Yeah. And so, you know, we’re different bubbles of art, artwork and artistic. But it’s all under the same heading of artistic, you know, just still
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Still different. It is it is. And I want to take us back to the conversation around impostor syndrome, because I get it, it kind of talks about the fears you had. And I want to ask you, aside from that, what were some of the other fears that you had when you were starting? When you were about to launch your podcast?
Cat Corchardo
That I wouldn’t do that I would quit? Yeah, I’ve you know, there have been certain projects, I’ve started that I was, I will just stop in the middle of it. You know, I didn’t do that with this. The other was that my voice was going to suck when I hear heard it. Right. So I remember the first time I heard my voice, you know, not on a microphone like this. But you know, when you record your voice, and I was like, Whose voice is that? And they’re like, that’s yours? And I go, that’s not me. I don’t because you know, in your head, you said rightly, then you do to other people. And so I thought I would suck, you know that I would hear my voice, you know, go. It’s awful. But my husband, again, Mr. Artistic, had told me quite a few years ago, he said, you know, you have a voice for radio. And I was like, Can out he was you have a good voice, you know? So yeah, okay, whatever. And then I did my first I did a mock podcast with my husband, you know, I interviewed him. And I played it back and he goes, see, he goes, your voice? Sounds great, doesn’t it? And I was like, Okay, you’re right.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Super supportive. And that’s so nice to hear. Yeah, it’s so nice to hear. You know, and you mentioned that there were so many projects that you started, and then you quit. And that was one of your biggest fears that you didn’t want to quit this podcast. What do you think you had this time around that made you not quit? What do you think positioned you to be this way?
Cat Corchardo
Just the fact that a, this was something I wanted to do be this was in my gut and see it was in my heart. And so I couldn’t deny it. You know, I mean, yeah, I could deny it. And that’s what kept moving me forward. Even on days, when it was hard, you know, I would just get up and be like, okay, you know, come back to tomorrow, and I will come back to tomorrow and sit down in my chair and, and have a breakthrough and go yes. And then I would move on to the next thing, you know, and have a couple of days of, you know, really good work. And then I’d hit a block. And I’m like, Oh, let me get up. I’ll hit it tomorrow. So it’s yeah, it was, yeah, it was something I wanted to do. It was in my gut, and it was in my heart, so I couldn’t deny it.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
And I love that. And what would you say, I know, you mentioned the power of podcasting course by Pat Flynn. What would you say are some of the other resources that have really helped you along the way?
Cat Corchardo
I think one of them that Pat had talked about was, you know, you’re talking about content creation. And, you know, you can probably come up with maybe, let’s say, 10 subjects, but he was like, Okay, you got to come up with like, I think 20 or an almost like, Okay, I got 10 I don’t know if app 20. And my suggestion was to go to Amazon and look on the inside of, you know, put in what you’re looking for. So mine was women, veterans, and open the front cover and look at the subjects that are in the book, you know, the chapters, and I was like, Oh, my God, I came up with 25 doing that. I mean, that was genius. I was like, wow, that’s really cool. I would have never thought about that. That was a huge help. And then as you get better, you know, coming up with your own ideas, you know, for your podcast, then you don’t have to do that anymore. You it’s a lot of what I create for my podcast is is stuff that’s already out there right now, you know, for women veterans. So, you know, it’s just finding the people who can talk about it in such a way that, you know, they know more about it than I do. So I always, I always I always tell my, you know, everyone that on my podcast, I want to learn something from the people that are on my podcast.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Yes. Yeah, that’s like that’s, that’s what I gain. I hope to gain as well. It’s, what can I learn from them? And so that’s definitely those are very great resources. How about people who influenced you? Who would you say were three people who’ve influenced you the most in your journey? You When it comes to content creation,
Cat Corchardo
I don’t know, if I have three, I can say that the people who supported me the most, you know, my husband was one, you know, our podcast accountability group is to, you know, and and just just that I’m not quitting thing, you know, I just wanted to do this. So there weren’t anyone that really influenced me, it was hard for me to, you know, sometimes, you know, Pat Flynn would say, Oh, this is episode 240. And I was like, Oh, crap, and I didn’t even got an episode one I was. So but you know, I know I’ll get there because it’s it’s long term. So, yeah, just the people that helped support me, and including, you know, my mom and my my brothers. And, you know, they’ve all listened to the podcast. And we’re like, wow, this sounds really good. And I was like, Whoa, who are you? And what did you do with my brothers?
Mahrukh Imtiaz
It’s so important to have that support, it’s so important to have, because we all have our own fears that we’re dealing with, we need people to just say, the good things. I’m not saying the feedback isn’t welcomed. It’s just your cheerleaders around and just kind of letting you know that you can do this. And we Yeah. And on that are there. I know, you you said you’re kind of past the imposter syndrome. But would you say there are still fears that you have now or there’s new that have developed now that you’re 10 episodes in as you’re doing your podcast?
Cat Corchardo
Sure, you know, staying relevant is one. Number two is, you know, what’s my next step? Do I, you know, do I stay where I am, and just get used to being better at my podcast, you know, I’m trying to get to a point where, you know, what’s my next step? Am I do I take another course? Do I? You know, do I monetize? So I’m kind of, I’m kind of stuck there, I’m kind of just not forcing the issue. Again, I’m, I’m gonna go with the feeling of what I need to do. Right? As my next steps. So the imposter syndrome, I think is gone. It’s just, you know, how do I get better at what I’m doing? And, you know, just again, letting everyone know that I have a podcast, and getting them to listen to it.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
Yeah, I agree. I agree. That is a decision point that many people go through like, okay, so what are the next steps? So, what are you doing to help you solve that? Are you like, setting aside time? Are you looking at things? Like, for people listening to this? Let’s say they’re in that stage? What are what are some things that you were doing?
Cat Corchardo
Well, I’m still looking for, you know, guests. I’m always continuously looking for guests on my show, you know, and, and I always want to find people. And when I find them, you know, they might be on Facebook, they might be on TV, or that that hasn’t happened yet. But, you know, and there’s this feeling of Who are they? What’s their story? You know, so finding people on my show. And, you know, I think that, you know, I wanted to take a course, I want to do another course, it’s just deciding which one, you know, or there’s some podcast fest coming up, too. And I’m like, Should I do that? You know, so it’s just, you know, what I mean? There’s just so much stuff out there. Now, it’s, it’s hard to differentiate between what’s just really good and what’s just, you know, so that’s what, that’s what I’m stuck with right now. So I’m kind of just, I’m trying not to rush it. You know, just sit back because it’s going to come to me, you know, it will. And so I’m trying not to rush the process. I
Mahrukh Imtiaz
agree. And I think the whole theme really has been how you focus on the long term game. And that can totally been seen in the way you’re responding. Like, I’m not quitting. I’m doing this a long term. I’m not waiting to get the 100,000 followers in three days. I know it’s a steady climb. And I think I love that because that’s such an important mindset to have. It’s a great place for me to like, wrap up this conversation as well. So I’ll ask you, cat, where can our listeners connect with you online?
Cat Corchardo
But you can always email me, it’s sisters in service, and that’s svc@gmail.com I’m on FIS Facebook also sisters in service. And if you type in, you know, Twitter system service on Twitter, LinkedIn, you know, you’ll find me.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
That’s awesome. So for final question of the podcast, what does creating content mean for cat?
Cat Corchardo
I think creating content for me means that I have to be interested in it. I have to have Some sort of interest in the subject for me to research it and find more information about it, and then whomever my guest is on my show can expound on that, you know, and so I’ll ask appropriate questions, you know, not like, oh, you know, what’s this? You know, I look at, I’ll say, You know what I was reading about this, and I read this, can you explain a little bit more about it, you know, so not just having people on, just to have a gas, but to learn from the guest, for me to do my own homework about the guests and my own homework about the content, so that the person feels comfortable. And I feel comfortable. And it’s fun. You know, it’s a good time, you know, you just, you know, it’s not like the TV interview where you have to sit up straight and, you know, get get the angles, right?
Mahrukh Imtiaz
People put on your makeup. And if you say yes,
Cat Corchardo
I’m not here yet.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
I love that. And I think again, it emphasizes that your mindset has always been the long term game. It’s start off with things that are interesting to you don’t just go after what people are going after there should be interest and then realize this is going to be a lot of hard work. And it’s going to take a long, long time and just do it, just do it. I think that’s really the main thing I got out of this. And so I want to thank you today cat, thank you so much for coming on today.
Mahrukh Imtiaz
We learned a lot. And for everyone listening out there. If there’s anything Cat said that inspired you, please share this podcast with your friends and family. And if there is any feedback or comments, please leave a review. I read and listen to all of them. You can also reach me on Instagram. That’s all for today. And until next week, you got this beautiful!
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