Wendy McCallum (00:03.704)
Hello everyone, welcome back to The Coaching Edge. I'm your host, Wendy McCallum. I'm really excited to be here today with Anna Donahue. Hi Anna. So Anna is one of my continuing members in the BBB, which means she was there for the first year of the BBB program, which is sort of the base membership level and then has stayed on since then. And so has lots of familiarity with the BBB, which is the business building bootcamp that I run for coaches.
Hi Wendy.
Wendy McCallum (00:29.964)
And she's here today to share her extremely cool story of building her small business as a coach and in particular her experience with building what is now a very successful podcast called The Big Drink Rethink. So we're going to talk about that in a second. Before we get into that and before I introduce Anna a little more, I just wanted to remind everyone that there is an open house coming up in March for the BBB.
The information on that open house and to register for that open house will be in the show notes. You can just go and grab it from there. You can always go to wendymcallum.com forward slash BBB to join whatever the next open house is. The open house, Anna, you've been at the open houses before, Yeah. So it's just really an opportunity for new coaches who don't know very much about the BBB to come in, learn a little bit about the BBB, get to know me a little bit and then also meet.
I have yes.
Wendy McCallum (01:20.238)
many of the coaches who are currently in the BBB programming community and sort of watch an office hours, which is our regular weekly coaching sessions, watch one of those happen live and participate in that. So it's a combination of 30 minutes where it's just me and I'm answering questions and getting to know you and your business a little bit better. And then an hour of open office hours after that. So if you're interested in learning more about the BBB, you can go and register for that.
the upcoming open house through the link in the show notes, like I said, or at wendymcallum.com forward slash BBB. Okay, let's get started. All right. So Anna, I can't remember exactly when you joined the BBB, but you've been a member now for well over a year, I'd say a year and a year and a half.
Yeah, that's a one and half. And actually, attended an open house. Very impressive. So yeah, that was my routine. And as you say, I sort of joined for the first year and I'm rolling on.
There you go.
Wendy McCallum (02:25.484)
Yeah. And when you when you first started, do you remember what stage you were at with your business when you first joined? First of all, maybe tell people a little bit about the area that you coach in and what your focus is.
Yeah, so I'm an alcohol mindset coach having, you know, four or five years ago, five years ago, I think it is now, I gave up drinking alcohol after having had my own sort of struggles with alcohol. And then I certified as a coach to help other people. And that is, I suppose that's the crux of my business. I'm an alcohol mindset coach. So I help people sort of examine their relationship with alcohol and control it.
ultimately whatever that looks like for people. It's just me. I'm a one man band. I have various layers to my coaching. So I do one to one coaching. I do small group coaching. And I also have a sort of self guided program which people can use. And those, think at the time, I think, because this is casting my mind back, I think at the time when I joined BBB,
I was doing one to one coaching. And that was my sort of first, I've been coaching for a little while, but I had extended and expanded my offering out of that. Since then, I've added those extra bows to it, and also the podcast itself. So it's helped me expand what I do considerably.
Yeah, that's my recollection as well when you started that you were doing one on one coaching, which is where most coaches start and most coaches who join the BPP are in the process of building that one on one coaching practice and are looking to expand and scale and aren't really sure how to go about doing that. So and since then you have created at least go correct me if I'm wrong here, but there's an online program as well that goes with the group. Yes. Yeah.
Anna Donaghey (04:28.716)
Yeah, yeah. There's a self guided online program. And I've also sort of branched off into group coaching as well.
Yeah.
Wendy McCallum (04:38.862)
Mm-hmm, yeah, that's amazing. And you're based in where?
I am in the UK. And for those listeners who know the layout of the UK, I'm just north of Bristol, which is the southwest, about an hour and a half west of London.
Yeah. Okay. Cool. Yeah. That's another really cool thing about the BBB. I'm based in Canada. We have coaches all over North America. We have coaches in Europe. We've had coaches in Australia. So it's a really, really cool community because we've got really an international coaching crew in there. Okay. So we're here to really talk about the podcast because I thought it would be really interesting for newer coaches to hear from a still relatively new coach.
what it's like to start a podcast because this is one of the things that I talk about really early on in the BBB as it's not for everybody, but it is a very good way to build an audience, to build a following. And it is one of those assets that you actually own, which I think is every coach should have an asset they own in their, what do we call it? Like their folder of coaching assets.
We talk a lot about how on social media we don't own any of that. So we're building an audience and a following there. And it can feel like those people are our people and those followers belong to us. And somehow that that is an asset, but it's actually not. can be taken away at any time. We've had coaches in the BBB who've had their Instagram account shut down or their Facebook account shut down. We've had coaches who...
Wendy McCallum (06:13.496)
have started with like a tremendous amount of engagement with a large following and then had the algorithm shift and their engagement suddenly drops to almost nothing. So while it is an important piece of building a coaching business for most coaches, it is not something that we own. And so we're always looking for ways to build something that we have more control and power and management and ownership over. And a podcast along with a newsletter list, those are both really great examples of that. So would you remember what
caused you to think, maybe I'll start a podcast. Because I remember the first conversation with you about this and you were quite, I wouldn't say you were certain in the beginning, there was a lot of uncertainty around whether this was the right thing for you to do next and whether this was the right time for it.
Sure. Yeah. I suppose the honest answer to that was all the things that you've just said, actually, Wendy, about wanting something that was ownable. I desperately wanted that for the business. had spent probably, you know, like a lot of coaches, I'd spent the first six months trying to do social media advertising. And I was not particularly
over the moon with the results that I was getting from that. Now, obviously, people can be better at that than others, and you can have more success and you can execute correctly or whatever. It's one of those ways, finding your way. I just didn't feel like it was paying dividends. There's a of a return on investment, isn't it there? And every time you put something out into the ether, it's an advertising thing on Facebook or whatever it is, you sort of want some kind of return.
Yeah, I was getting relatively poor quality leads. I was turning up to a lot of booked discovery calls. But the people who have booked them haven't turned up. And, you know, I felt like I was spinning my wheels a little bit putting a lot of effort into throwing a message out there through those kind of channels. But I wasn't getting a lot of payback. And I didn't, to be honest, and this is just me, it's different, different people, different things. I didn't
Anna Donaghey (08:29.29)
enjoy it. I was beginning to think, I just don't want to do this. Now that doesn't mean coaching. I knew I wanted to do coaching. And I knew that I wanted my coaching to sort of reach as many people as possible, but I didn't want to do it that way. And I think that's a sort of that intuition of this isn't for me, this doesn't feel like me, you're like, the integrity and this is is there. So I thought I'm going to
pivot and I'm going to think about what I can do. Now, at the same time, I had done some coaching with another member of the BBB, a lady called Lorna, who had helped me think very clearly, really about the direction of travel for me as an individual, what I wanted to stand for and what I kind of wanted to bring to the world, which sounds very grandiose, but it's an exercise well worth.
doing. And I kind of knew in a way that my podcast was going to be born at some point. I knew that that was probably the stage or the platform that I was looking for. I like talking. It helps if you're going to do something like a podcast that you like talking, not necessarily the sound of my own voice, but I like talking to people. And
I like listening to podcasts. I'm a big fan of the genre. So yeah, I got to thinking that this could be my thing. I appeared on a few podcasts, so the People's Podcasts, and I got lots of good feedback that they were good episodes, that I was easy to listen to, that I maybe found a medium that really worked for me. And I took all of that on board and thought, podcasting, is.
And that's really what channeled me down through that. That was probably, I came into the BBB with that as an inkling, but it wasn't particularly well formed. But through working in the BBB and listening to other people's and listening to a of other podcasts as well, I started to sort of get a greater sense of courage to make that leap.
Anna Donaghey (10:55.358)
Mm It felt like a big leap. felt like one of the you know, you know, you can build it up and you can think this is an enormous departure. And really sort of hype it up as to being something very, big indeed. Whereas in fact, you know, given the sort of the experience that you have, and the sort of the encouragement that you always give, it's, it's, it's just to do it, you know, just art, you know, and that's, that's, that is, I guess, what I started doing about a year ago, with the podcast is a year old.
Yeah, that's amazing. Congratulations on that. remember talking to you. I actually remember where I was. I wasn't even coaching from my home. I was on vacation on the other side of the country, actually hosting office hours from an Airbnb. And I remember you talking about this idea for the podcast and us starting to talk about naming the podcast, which is a place where people get stuck. And there's so many pieces of the podcast.
building experience that can get you stuck and can cause you to delay the actual starting of the podcast. And the name is a big one. And we've had lots of conversations, the BBB with the various BBB, we have a number of BBB members with podcasts and the naming piece is always a brainstorming session and there's lots of conversation on it. So I do remember that. So the name of your podcast ended up being what?
The big drink rethink.
Which is brilliant. I think it's the best name. So tell me what some of the things were in the beginning that you felt stuck around and what helped you to just get going. Because it didn't take you very long after that conversation where we landed on the name for you to get the thing up and going.
Anna Donaghey (12:33.622)
Okay, well, there's a couple of things I'd throw in here. There's a few. There's one thing which I spent a lot of time on that I do think is worth spending a bit of time on. And then there things that I spent a lot of time on that in hindsight, I realized weren't necessary. The name came to me in the shower, not that everyone needs to have that as an image in their minds, but the name did come to me because I wanted the
podcast to feel bigger than it was on the day it launched. I wanted it to feel that there was a movement. I wanted it to feel like a lot of people are out there rethinking their drinking, which is true. Get on board everybody was the kind of the sense that I wanted to kind of convey. So the big drink rethink was quite, I mean, for me that was a no brainer when it came to me, I was like, that's it.
I spent a lot of time thinking about what the role of the podcast was going to be. And I do think it's worth spending some time thinking about that because I want to do a podcast. I'd love to do a podcast is a quite a common sort of thought, but it takes quite a lot of time. It takes quite a lot of energy. Um, can take quite a lot of money and it builds quite slowly.
So in a way, you've got to have a real clear sense of why you're doing this as we, you know, as we always talk about in coaching, you know, what, what's your why and what's your motivation when you feel a little bit stuck? Cause that's what's going to keep you applying yourself and feeling motivated by the whole thing. And, know, one of the, before I came to coaching, I worked in the advertising industry. worked in as a strategist actually. So I was
For 25 years, I spent my life helping other people build brands and think about what they wanted to communicate to the world. So I just had to of remind myself that that was my bread and butter and that I should think very hard about what the proposition for this podcast was. What was it going to say and do that other podcasts in this space weren't saying and doing? Why wasn't it going to be just what was going to make it different? What was going to make it stand out?
Anna Donaghey (14:54.222)
And what, you know, strategically, what did I want to achieve with it? How did I want it to support my business? And what was I going to have to do to support the podcast? If the podcast was supporting the business, how did that have to be fed? Because I'm all in on the podcast. I mean, since since launching it, it has done very well. But I don't do any advertising anymore, for example.
which is good, because I probably would be able to afford to but the, you know, I'm sort of all in on the podcast. So if it was going to be my main focus, how was it going to serve me because it has to, right? It has to at the end of the day. So I spent a lot of time working that out. And my answer to that my sort of, you know, the reason why I wanted to do a podcast was reach. It is pure and simple reach. If you remember, at the time I was doing a lot of one to one coaching,
There's so many people you can talk to in any given week. Even if you sort of scaled up to small group again, it's a finite number. But with the podcast, you're obviously then throwing your net very, very widely. And that is intentionally what I wanted to do. Because when I, you'll know this, but obviously when I coach, I'm invariably talking to people who've potentially already realized that they've got a problem with alcohol.
Right. address it. And I wanted to throw a net out there that was so wide that made people just open their eyes and consider for the very first time what their relationship with alcohol was. So it's almost like we talk about funnels, don't we? It was like the widest, broadest top of the funnel you could possibly have. Yeah. And with a sense that at some point, people might come in down the funnel and buy into my various programs. But in the meantime,
Let's just start thinking about this alcohol thing that we take for granted.
Wendy McCallum (16:56.95)
Yeah, I think it's so smart. And I do want to talk about the final aspect of it and the strategy behind it from a business perspective, because podcasts, you know, you're doing such a good job of highlighting how podcasts can serve these different purposes for us as business owners. And one piece of it for a lot of us who have podcasts, a piece of it is, is is the reach piece, it is the being able to help more people and which is very challenging to do as a as a solo printer coach in a one on one business.
But also strategically, a tremendous marketing tool. And if you do it right, can be just the perfect top of funnel. So we're talking about funnel for those who are listening. We're really just talking about this sort of simple idea of...
of building your audience. So, and the top of your funnel is the widest part. If you imagine an actual funnel, the top is the widest part. And that's really like Anna said, where you're casting the net and you're trying to pull as many people in as possible. One of the things we talk a lot about in the BBB, and Anna's probably sick of hearing me say this, is that we have to get our face, our voice, ourselves in front of people for a very long time before they are likely to have enough trust in us.
and to like us enough and to feel comfortable enough with us that they're actually going to make a purchase. They're actually going to commit to, in our case as coaches, what is very often incredibly personal, what feels like a very personal relationship to open up. And so a podcast provides us, if we can do it well, provides us with an opportunity to get in front of people week after week after week and really build that like no trust in a very organic and natural
and real way for people. So what I'd love to talk about next, Anna, is how you bring people down that funnel. So what does that funnel look like for you? Just a practical sort of example for coaches out there who are thinking, I'm not sure I have a funnel. First of all, you probably do. You probably do have some form of funnel and there probably is lots of room for improvement and building in that funnel. But Anna, when you started, the top of your funnel really was probably more the Instagram, Facebook sort of.
Wendy McCallum (19:06.028)
trying to reach people through boosted and posted ads, as you said, didn't work the way you wanted it to work for you. So the podcast has become the replacement for the top of funnel for you. then what is the next piece that is like as you come down the funnel, what does that look like in your business model?
Yeah, so as you said, and it is absolutely true, no like trust, so important, right? But with the podcast, of course, it's quite an intimate medium. So I am broadcasting, but people are listening to it one to one, invariably. And I'm on people's dog walks, or I'm in the car on their commute. So you can build that know part of it. People get to know you quite quickly.
once they've done that, they kind of think, okay, I like this woman, or I hear what she's saying, and it speaks to me. So there needs to be in my mind, there was how do people who want to sort of, I suppose, help themselves? Because this is the big drink rethink at the end of the day. And I'm it's lots of food for thought, it's perspective, it's nudges. So how do people who feel nudged?
help themselves. I've got sort of just below if you've got this in your mind, the vision of this funnel, just below the surface, I've got a low cost, low entry price experiment, 30 days, it's called the Big Drink Rethink experiment. Didn't have to think about that one for very long. And people can buy it for like 99 pounds or whatever it is, if they have a podcast discount code. So this is all we are. I people, so I'm able to see who's coming in.
via the podcast and they can they can buy into that. And I talk about it all the time on the podcast. That's what you're saying as well about it being a good shop front. I talk about it all the time and that's available for people to buy into. then periodically, probably you'd probably say to me to do this more often, but periodically on the on the podcast, I also talk about one to one coaching and the small group. However,
Anna Donaghey (21:15.84)
I very rarely have to talk about one-to-one coaching on the podcast. I now find that when people come to me for one-to-one coaching, they are, this is really interesting actually, they are podcast listeners. They've heard of me almost exclusively through the podcast and they listen to it religiously, which also really helps cement that no-like trust piece. You know, it's the people who have listened to all 55 episodes or something.
like, I just needed to reach out and see if you would spend some time with me and help me. And that really, I mean, that's lovely. I very, very rarely communicate and market one to one coaching. I think it's just the people who come to me for that now are the people who feel that I've spoken one to one with them already.
And you find that, sorry to interrupt, but do find that many of those people have also done the experiment?
well, that's a really good question. I'd have to look at my figures. Probably, I'll probably say about a third of them off the top of my head. I think sometimes because it's a very, very different dynamic. Some people just know they're not very good at the self-disciplined coming at it. And some of them, you know, very, very, you know, very, very busy sort of CEOs or whoever they might be. And they just, go straight past go and want to sort of.
go for the full-on experience, as it were, even though it might have taken them a long time to build that connection.
Wendy McCallum (22:52.322)
I think that that's really interesting, really interesting for you to know and for you to have experienced. I think it's very, very common. when I think back to, so people who are listening to this, the Coaching Edge podcast may or may not know that I had another podcast for four years called the Bite Size Balance podcast, which was very popular, did very well, and was really focused on the topics that I was coaching around and still continue to coach around a little bit in my personal coaching business.
things like burnout and midlife for women and alcohol and stress and and all of the things that happen in midlife for us and that I that podcast had exactly the same experience with where I was my it was the single biggest direct funnel and filler for my one-on-one practice and it still is which is really interesting because I haven't been doing it now or say it's been almost two years and I still get people in my one-on-one practice
applying for coaching with me who are coming to me via that podcast. So it is a very powerful tool that way. And I'm curious about this. you, have you found something that I found and I'm curious whether you have also experienced it as a coach is that it's also a, so not only does it build like no trust and they feel more comfortable with me, but what I find is when people come to me who have been very avid listeners of that podcast,
I also find the coaching to be a lot easier because they already have a very good understanding of my approach, my philosophy, my methodology. I might raise a tactic or a point or a new perspective for them and they'll say, yeah, I remember I've been thinking about that since I heard you talking about that on this episode. Do you find that as well?
Yeah, totally. it is it's, you know, the normal power lenses, you know, they feel like they know you already rises that the chemistry, the chemistry has been created, right? Your, your, approach is understood. They, they kind of feel that they know what they're getting. And if people have put podcasts down as the source of how they know about me, I find myself never having to sell.
Anna Donaghey (25:03.406)
that go out to please, please will you coach me rather than sell yourself to me? Why should I choose you type thing? Well, you've chosen, you've chosen me. You you've come to me based on what you've, what you've heard. So I think that's very useful. And the other thing, I know this is sort of slightly going off of a tangent, but the other thing which is enormously useful is that every single one of those episodes, which
you know, I've really thought about the content, I've thought about how it's going to help people, I've thought about the themes within the guest episodes. They're all there for purpose. So they're also my coaching material. You know, and the code when a client says that they have a particular problem, I will say, have you listened to 39, you know, episode 39, listen to it and listen to this bit. And here's a tool that will go alongside it. And they trust it. They remember that episode, I'll go back and listen to it.
So, you know, it's very, very helpful in that familiarity, breaking down any original or sort of initial boundaries. It really is.
Yeah, mean, example, this episode, as you're saying that I'm thinking to myself, I should pop this in the module in the BBB where we the podcast module, we talk about how to get on people's podcasts and how to start your own podcast, because
how helpful will it be for other people to hear your experience with this and some of the really what we're talking about the bigger picture reasons for starting a podcast and how it can be incredibly impactful when it comes to building a business as a solopreneur. So yeah, everything that Anna is talking about is exactly the same for me as the host of the Coaching Edge podcast in terms of the funnel and casting the wide net. I want to reach coaches who are at a point where
Wendy McCallum (26:46.616)
they're not ready maybe to invest in their businesses and they're not sure what kind of help they need yet, but they know that they don't have all the answers and that this is overwhelming and they're feeling really lonely in the business building process. And I want to be able to provide some free, helpful support and resources for them. But also I want to build like no trust. I want people to come into my own funnel.
where I also provide, I have lots of low ticket things and free things that I provide for people if they want to get to know me a little more, they want a little bit more support. And then eventually, obviously the option is there for them to join us in the BBB community. So I think any good, thoughtful podcast that is part of a business model is going to do exactly that. And I see the same thing happening. I see people coming now to the open houses and it is a slow build. All podcasts are slow builds.
Unless you're a celebrity, they take a while to build and you have to be committed to it. You know, I see people now coming into open houses direct from podcasts. And so one thing I just want to mention, because Anna's mentioned it, and I want to just highlight this for anyone listening, make sure that whatever it is that you use as a tool to screen and bring people into a discovery call or into whatever programs you have makes has a question that clearly asks them how they came to know about you and the coaching.
product, service, whatever program. Because if you don't have that, then you can't answer these questions and you'll never know that the thing that you're doing is actually a really impactful thing for your business. Anna's really clear on that. I'm really clear on that with this podcast as was I with my other podcast. things I wanna make sure we cover Anna. What are some of the things that you wish you hadn't, can you list like sort of as...
concisely and quickly as possible for everybody, guess, because I don't, I'm cognizant of the time and I don't want to take up too much of your time. But some of the things that didn't go the way you wanted them to go or things that you thought like, shouldn't have spent so much time on that.
Anna Donaghey (28:44.75)
Okay, so the name, as I said, I was really pleased with the amount of time I thought a lot about the strategy. I actually thought quite a lot about artwork, because that is quite important, actually, that stands out the branding stands out in sort of small spaces, like it will only ever be a small sort of thumbnail on Spotify and podcasts, so make it good. I really wish I hadn't spent as much time worrying about the technical side of things.
Because first of all, that can feel like a very overwhelming thing. I had no background in it. And if I thought I'd had to have had a background in it, I'd still be sat here today doing nothing, feeling intimidated by the whole thing. So the two reasons why you shouldn't worry about that, or three reasons, by the way, is the first one you will love, which is, you know, everything's a beta. And if the first few episodes aren't great,
It's not the end of the world. The second reason is that there are lots of people out there who can help you if you want help. And the third reason is a lot of the platforms are so intuitive these days that they are built for people who don't have a background in video editing or podcasting. that's sweating that side of things. I did for a while and then I realized I didn't have to. So that was kind of good.
What else do I wish I hadn't spent a lot of time? I wish I'd started earlier. I just wish I'd started earlier and not spent so much time thinking, who's going to listen to a podcast by me? Why would people listen to a podcast by me? And I think, you know, the obvious answer that I came to there is there isn't another me. And I talk the way I talk.
I'm going to plan my podcast series and episodes the way I plan them. I'm going to try and bring something different to the world. So if I've got those good intentions to be myself and to bring something different, then it's going to be good. Or at least it can't be bad. Some people will love it and some people won't. I'm going to care very little about the people who don't. I'm going to really focus on and support the people who do. And then I'm going to listen to them.
Anna Donaghey (31:10.766)
and find out what they're enjoying and liking and do more of it. worrying about the naysayers, worrying about the people that aren't gonna like it, worrying about what kind of reviews you're gonna get, all that sort of stuff. was like, ah-ah, don't do that. Don't do that.
Now, on that note, I know of at least two very unexpected.
amazing things that have happened as a result of this podcast for you other than the direct impact on your bottom line in your business and growing your audience. One, the media coverage. Two, the big thing. talk about the media coverage first. So there's been some incredible coverage. This podcast has had an even bigger reach as a result of some. unexpected is probably the wrong word because you worked at it. So can you explain how it all happened and
to you.
Wendy McCallum (32:06.668)
and the impact of it.
Yes, yes. So at the point when I launched the podcast, as you remember, I just said I was all in, I needed this to kind of fly, even though I knew it might be a sort of take it taken to flight quite slowly, I needed it to kind of go. So I sent off some press releases to just local radio stations.
and said to them, know, local lady launches, it was literally local lady launches podcast and wants to get the city drinking more mindfully. And I tagged it, you know, I sort of attached it to trends and things I knew the radio station would often talk about. And it got picked up by a local radio station part of the BBC network in the UK BBC radio Bristol, yeah, just the local arm of the BBC. But it went
up into the national sort of listings of interest of stories that had been put out across the BBC network that week. And it went quite big. think you know this, was sort of, at one point it was, I went onto the BBC Radio Bristol, I talked about my story and the podcast, and it got picked up and it was run on the BBC national website and was the third most read story.
on the website nationally that week, which was just phenomenal, know, up there alongside news of war in the Middle East and Spice Girls reunions and things like that. It was my podcast and my story.
Wendy McCallum (33:43.88)
and very recently got ranked as one of the top five podcasts in another article, which Anna will tell you about. And she was actually in the ranks with Oprah Winfrey in the top five podcasts from this particular journalist, which is very cool. It's just been really, really cool what's happened with this from the media perspective. And I know you work hard at it and I want to make sure people know that it's not the things we talk about in the BBB all the time. Again, it's a very it's a very inexpensive way.
to build your brand and to get exposure is to actually start reaching out and offering what you have in terms of story and information and something newsworthy and interesting to all the media.
I think it I think two things, it does help to be quite mission led. And I know that that can feel sound quite cheesy. But I am genuinely passionate about the fact that, you know, even, you know, if I if I could afford to run this podcast, and no coaching ever came if I would still want to do it, because I want people to question their relationship with alcohol. I want people to see before problems occur, what
could lie down the line. I genuinely just think the world would be a better place if we didn't sleepwalk into this thing and take it for granted as part of life. And I give away lots of free tools and tactics on the web, on the podcast so that it's limited by money. So I was able to go and say to these people, this is what I am doing. And this is my mission. And they love that. They do love that. So find those hooks and find those spins.
There does have to be an element of luck. I think you create your own luck. I've always believed that. I've, mean, I passionately believe that actually. So you've just mentioned the two things that stuck and did well. There's plenty of others that didn't stick and you just go, so the more I throw out there, the more the universe will throw back at me at some point. And that's that. I, that was a big thing for me because I think
Wendy McCallum (35:49.009)
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Anna Donaghey (35:55.726)
months or one month even into launching the podcast, my numbers were kind of dwindling in and I was quite excited to see that, you know, a couple of hundred people were listening to the podcast and then overnight once the BBC had sort of picked it up, it started to sort of really grow and you can, you know, that's very gratifying. You can actually see those numbers.
Yeah, it's really, really cool. And then what's the big thing that's happening now that's on your horizon that's come?
Yeah, so it's been picked up as a publishing prospect. I've got a book deal. I've actually got a two book deal. It's a deal for two books because the publishers kind of said, but you've already got 55 episodes. the book is not a translation directly of the podcast.
but it pulls on themes and the things that, you know, I talk about on the podcast. So they've sort of, they're in for two books and I'm halfway through writing the first one and it will be, you know, the book around the big drink rethink, but as I say, informed by, you know, by the host of, as opposed to not necessarily the name of the book, I think. But that was, that was lovely because, you know, they, came to me, which was
were listeners. And they came to me and said, this has got book written all over it. And you're mad if you don't see that. And I was like, well, I don't know. And they said, look, and talked me into it for about an hour or so. And I said, OK, let's do it. know, in for a pound. So that's, that's, yeah, that was a very unexpected but very good spin off. Yeah.
Wendy McCallum (37:45.6)
It's been a real adventure for you. And that's why I wanted to have you on here. It's such a great example of what can happen when you pick the platform, the focus that is the right fit for you, and you put the thought into it and the intention, and then the effort behind it, because you've really worked hard at this. And I'm really...
I'm just really proud of you. really, I'm not surprised. I knew this was going to be great for you. And it is the perfect blend, I think, for you of all of your previous experience and your experience now as a coach and also something that you're just incredibly passionate about, which is really the perfect recipe, I think, for successful podcast. So I really appreciate you coming on and sharing this with the...
Coaches who are probably out there thinking, I could never start a podcast, which by the way was Anna at one point and was me at one point and was every person who ever started a podcast. So I'm just here to say, why not? mean, Anna is one of many coaches in the BBB who have started podcasts while in the BBB. We have a number of them and she's also one of many coaches. This is like so cool to me.
who have publishing deals and who have, we've had several coaches who've already published and we have coaches working on books right now, which is really, really cool. Before we wrap up Anna, just maybe just for those listening who might be curious about the BBB, you might be thinking maybe I'm gonna come to the next open house, which again, you can join through the link in the show notes or by going to wendymcallum.com forward slash BBB. There is one upcoming. What would you say to people in terms of your experience in the BBB?
and what has been the most valuable to you as a business owner about being in the BBB? Because I think the answer to that is very different depending on the coach. So I'm just, genuinely curious.
Anna Donaghey (39:41.934)
Yeah, well, this for me, this is this is an easy one, actually, because I have been so grateful and so nourished by the sense of community. And for me, you know, sitting on my own, working here and on projects, which are largely sort of soulless projects, to have a sounding board. Good advice, always.
but a sounding board, so like a little focus group to throw your ideas out into. And for the advice, which breeds the courage, you know, the commitment and the courage to do stuff. For me, for me, that is invaluable. You know, we coaches often find ourselves in setups when it's just us working from home. But the network side of it is invaluable. Very, very much so.
But let's not forget, I've been in the BBB now for sort of 18 months or so. And when I first started, all sort of the technical know how, you know, the backlog of all the stuff that you've learned over many more years than I have, you know, how to set up those small groups when I branched out or how to set up a self guided program or, you know, how to do this, how to do that, how to, that was all there as well. So yeah, all of that, Wendy, to be honest.
Yeah, I love that. Thank you for sharing that. And it's just been such a pleasure to have you in the community. And I love to see the coaches doing these really unique things in their small businesses. And I would say same, like as the, I think as the founder and the head coach in the BBB, I get all of those things from the group as well. It's a selfish endeavor in many ways for me, not just as a business, piece of my business, but I absolutely love the community. I think it's so special and
I really do invite you if you're listening to this podcast and you're feeling alone as a soloprenuer, because it can feel so lonely and you're feeling overwhelmed and you're feeling like you have all these ideas, but you can't quite get things in place to get going with them to consider coming out to the open house. We'd love to meet you. is such a lovely, supportive, inclusive community of coaches. And we always have room for a few more. So again, info is in the, in the show notes to join us.
Wendy McCallum (42:04.598)
Anna, where can people listen to this brilliant podcast? How can they find it?
Everywhere. whatever your podcast platform of choice, you'll find the Big Drink Rethink. And then you only have to look in any of the show notes, any of the episode show notes to find all my other stuff, my Instagram and website and stuff like that. But the Big Drink Rethink is Spotify, Apple and pretty much everywhere else. So yes, please do go and go and check it out.
Yeah, fantastic. Thank you for coming on. And I know this will be inspirational, but there'll be at least one person listening to this who will say, I'm going to do it after they hear you. So I appreciate you. Thanks, Anna. Lovely chatting with
Likewise. Likewise. Thanks Wendy.
