Inspirational Podcasts for Small Business Owners
Podcasts enable the time poor independent business owner to multitask. To listen to inspirational stories and advice from small business experts whilst in the car driving to work, walking the dog or simply during a well-earned break.
Podcasts have been around for years with numerous series addressing small business matters, shining the light on the road to success, bringing advice, life lessons and stories of inspiration from influential businesspeople, but where do you start?
The secret is to choose podcasts that are innovative, passionate, relevant and above all interesting.
The trouble is, finding the time to plough through the myriad of business and self-help books is a luxury high street business owners are hard pushed to afford.
Never fear, Expression is here to help. We love to save independent business owners time and have done the research for you. Here is our selection (available across most podcast platforms) to inspire, advise and humour you into 2023, enjoy!
Beautiful Misfits with Mary Portas
Let’s kick things off with the ‘Queen of shops’ herself, Mary Portas, broadcaster, retail consultant and one of the UKs foremost authorities on brand and retail communication, who regularly travels the world advising on retail strategy.
Beautiful Misfits are people that believe the way we’re living today is broken but can be fixed. Never one to accept the status quo, Mary talks to authors, businesspeople and designers sharing their unique, insightful, and at times funny, thoughts on creating a better, more beautiful future.
A creative podcast with its roots successfully outside of the box, as we like to say, “being normal is boring”.
Conversations of Inspiration with Holly Tucker MBE
We all need a bit more colour in our life and this comes in the form of Holly Tucker MBE, who is dedicated to empowering small businesses and supporting the high street.
Holly launched Not On The High Street in 2006 followed by Holly & Co in 2017 and more recently Colour Friday, the retail revolution to Black Friday. She encourages shoppers to shop local, support UK Independents and buck the Black Friday phenomenon opting for a more colourful choice of indie support in the run up to Christmas.
With over 100 episodes recorded Conversations of Inspiration is full of honest, powerful discussions and life lessons from creative entrepreneurs doing what they love, whilst also discovering incredible stories behind the UK’s best loved brands — from Innocent and Boden, The Body Coach and The Mobo Awards.
P.S Holly does great blog posts too.
Independent Thinking – The podcast exploring a new era for the high street
A podcast exploring a new era for the high street, celebrating business and bricks and mortar retail across the UK.
Insight provided by creative and fearless small business owners who are shaking things up on their local high streets, and who believe in the potential of town and city centres and a high street of the future.
Join the host Alexandra and her guests, getting under the skin of how they started, how they continue to evolve and why they believe the future for the UK high streets can be bright.
Secret Sauce – The Restaurant Marketing Podcast
One of the most popular restaurant marketing podcasts in the world, listened to by thousands of chefs and restaurant owners, providing hints, tips and solutions to the big issues facing the hospitality industry right now. Topics ranging from,
· How to increase new customers and turn them into returning customers
· Hiring staff
· Improve your restaurants profitability
With recruitment the no1 problem faced by the hospitality industry around the world, Secret Sauce lifts the lid on the ways you can do more with less staff and do well with the staff you have. Definitely one to listen to.
The Café Hustle – The Hospitality Leadership Podcast
What is the secret to a successful restaurant or cafe? This is the question on the lips of every independent restaurant or cafe owner.
The Cafe Hustle offers coaching and mentoring advice from inspirational business owners, managers, chefs, suppliers and household names such as Andrea Harnett OBE and Raymond Blanc OBE.
Listen as they and others uncover the strategies and tips to success and why we need to get behind Hospitality Rising the BIGGEST advertising recruitment campaign that the UK has ever seen to change the perception of working in hospitality for the better.
Katie Pipers Extraordinary People
Wow what a podcast series. Katie Piper talks with extra-ordinary people who have or are overcoming unimaginable experiences. These stories will inspire, make you laugh, make you cry and make you pull on your positive pants , whilst shouting “I can do this”.
In Katie’s words “ Over the past decade I have been inspired by so many extraordinary people who have overcome unimaginable experiences with such strength. I want to share these inspiring stories with the public to show just how incredible and resilient we as humans can be” and boy she’s not wrong.
And finally, for those laugh out loud moments, one of our personal favourites…
The Wittering Whitehall’s
Netflix’s “Travels With My Father” introduced Michael and Hilary alongside their son, actor and comedian Jack Whitehall to the global audience.
Now enjoying a huge social media following, Michael’s trademark dry and grumpy personality coupled with Hilary’s patience and optimism makes for a podcast delivering hilarious and at times relatable anecdotes of their life experiences over the years.
If you enjoy a good old rant, the odd expletive, and the harsh reality of truth then this is one for you.
Sit back, pour yourself a tea, coffee or favourite tipple and take your virtual seat in the Whitehall’s home, they even welcome you joining in by enlisting their help with your dilemmas.
In summary
There is a never-ending supply of self-help, advice, and inspirational podcasts out there and these are just a very small easy-to-access selection of useful tips, current business trends, stories to inspire with a bit of humour thrown in.
Whether you are thinking of starting your own small business or are an established shop café or restaurant looking for top tips from business leaders, marketing experts or motivational speakers there is a podcast for all.