It's Honey & Hustle's birthday!

Hey honeys and hustlers,

College basketball is in top form, St. Patrick’s Day came and went, and most importantly – it’s Honey & Hustle's 4th anniversary! 🥳 Some really impactful moments have made this 4-year journey so special, and I’m looking forward to many more milestones! But first, here are 7 key moments that stuck out to me over these past 4 years. Stay until the end to find out how to get a free anniversary gift from us!

1. The moment I put the show on streaming platforms.

I always intended for Honey & Hustle to be a video podcast. I started by posting full video episodes on Facebook and YouTube. I realized that I was splitting my views and that Facebook didn’t give the analytics that YouTube did. I’m dating us all when I say that this was a time when if you shared a YouTube link on Facebook, you could watch the video without having to leave the platform (what a time to be alive). But as that ability faded away and I wanted to have more reach, I spoke to another podcaster about things I could do to reach more people. She suggested I should meet my audience where they were, and put the audio on streaming platforms (funny how the times have changed). In November 2020, after I completed the entire first season, I put the episodes up on streaming. Video views still far outpace our listens/downloads, but I’m happy I did it.

1. The moment I made my first hire.

I was able to hire an editing team for season 3. For the first two seasons, I was doing everything from pre-production to marketing. I’m not the world’s fastest video editor, nor do I particularly enjoy that part of the video-making process, so I decided to set a budget and outsource that service. The first team wasn’t a good fit, but the second team was able to truly free up my time which allowed me to think about how to package the video once it was done. Uploading also became more consistent, and that consistency played a part in helping to grow the show.

1. Having a place to film.

I enjoy working from home, so I’m not yet at a point where I want to invest in a separate studio space full-time. However, not having a space that I specifically lease or own full-time makes it difficult to host guests for in-person episodes. My happy medium? Co-working spaces. I invested in renting a conference room at Durham Bottling Co. for season 3 and an office suite at American Underground for season 4. Having a dedicated space with parking allowed me to give our guests a great experience and control the ambient sound to get better audio (sincere apologies to anyone who suffered through the audio of season 1).

1. Highlights episode for season 3.

Season 3 was the first time we were able to get away from making strictly interview-based episodes. With a capable editing team, we were able to create a highlights episode and a recap episode featuring footage from multiple interviews. This highlights episode turned out to be a great introductory episode for new listeners and viewers, and I couldn’t be happier with the quality. We’ll be bringing this format back in season 4 to include every guest from this season. We also have some other non-interview episodes up our sleeves!

5. Creating a trailer for the show

The infamous podcast trailer. For many, this is the first thing they release for a new show. I’m far from a traditional podcaster, so this was nowhere on my radar. Quite frankly, even if it was, I wouldn’t have known what to say. I created a podcast trailer after season 3 ended, and just in time for Spotify to add a feature where you can designate a show trailer that stays at the top of your podcast landing page. After 3 seasons, 100 episodes, and 12K+ followers across my social media platforms, I think I had a good idea of messaging that would be representative of the show and why I’m the person to host the show. If I had to do it all over again, I’d still be happy with waiting to make a great first impression with a trailer, than having a mediocre trailer that didn’t fully represent the show.

6. Securing our first long-term partner

NC IDEA partnered with us for the first 4 episodes of season 4, a curated series of episodes for Black History Month. I started looking for sponsors months in advance and got an opportunity to work with an organization that was on a mission to advance entrepreneurship in North Carolina. This is the first direct sponsor we’ve had on the show that’s supported more than one episode. One-time sponsors are great, but we’re looking for sponsors who are dedicated to our community, not just getting brand awareness for their organization.

7. Launching the PHR newsletter

Last, but certainly not least, how could I leave you guys out?! Some people will tell you to start an email newsletter from day one. I’m here to tell you that on day one of any venture, you likely have absolutely no idea what to say to people. It takes time to find your brand voice online. And most of that time, you’re listening rather than speaking (ideally). In all honestly, I’ve tried to do an email newsletter twice in the past. I could never stick with it for more than 3 or 4 issues. I had no idea what to write about, I had no system for marketing the newsletter, and I had no way to ensure that I could consistently provide something valuable that was worth people giving me their email address. A recipe for disaster. Ultimately, I realized that I wanted more than a space to sell things – I wanted a space for a community that didn’t depend on social media algorithms. And I didn’t want to be the only one talking. I love when I talk with you guys, but I want you to meet other people who are subscribed and part of this community. We get better together, and I’m committed to making that happen.

Flowers 💐

Not everything can be a life-changing moment, but it doesn’t have to be life-changing to be impactful. There were a few extra delights along this journey that meant a lot to me that didn’t make my lucky top 7.

• I attended 3 podcast conferences in 2023. I had serious FOMO from all the podcasters on Twitter posting about their experiences at podcast festivals, so I knew I wanted to be a part of something magical myself. I jumped in head first last year and went to 3 different conferences, and spoke at 2 of them! I was super nervous to speak and meet ‘more professional’ creators in the space, but they were so worth it. Online conversations just don’t compare to getting to meet people in person and learn directly from other podcast creators. Yes, these events cost money to attend, but if you’re on the fence, I can’t recommend them enough (but again, please don’t overspend to attend one of these events).

• We did a live podcast recording! Chisa Pennix-Brown, this week’s podcast guest, invited me to host a panel on fundraising at the Bull City Success Summit. We primarily talked about business loans for founders, and it was a great discussion. The audience participated and asked great questions, and I got to meet the mayor of Durham (I didn’t fangirl…okay maybe I did). I can’t wait for you to hear more about Chisa tomorrow, and for you to tune into that special episode! See, I make good on my promises. Season 4 is bringing the 🔥🔥🔥

• The community of podcasters, listeners, viewers, and supporters. I’ve received so many kind messages since starting this show it’s unreal. Your continued support through reviews on Apple, Spotify, and Goodpods does not go unnoticed. I’ve been fortunate to meet other podcast creators in person. Podcast Twitter *eventually* opened their arms to me and it’s been amazing ever since. Podcasting can be a true labor of love as it was years before I made any money from it. Long-form content is not easy and can get lonely when you’re doing most (or all) of the creative process yourself. Being in community with everyone reading this and everyone I’ve been fortunate to meet has made this journey even better.

Optimistically speaking, our best days are ahead! We’ve enjoyed making products for you - like the interview workbook, stickers, custom tickets, and digital wallpapers. Want to be the first to receive our next product, an en e-book + exclusive video on how to create your best work? Refer 3 friends to this newsletter and we’ll hook you up!

In Readworthy News

Lensrentals acquires BorrowLenses

I’m guilty of loving a good sale on gear and seeing this news perfectly explains why BorrowLenses is selling a lot of gear for incredible prices right now. It looks to be a move purely motivated by extending their market share of rentals and used gear. Luckily, we get to benefit from Borrow Lenses selling off any gear that didn’t get enveloped into the deal for the next few days. If you’re in the market for something, now is the time to check out BorrowLenses!

Netflix Hires a New Film Chief

Dan Lin, known for producing live-action and animated movies for Warner Bros, has been tapped by Netflix to head their film division. He worked on the live-action series for “Avatar: The Last Airbender” which is meeting mixed reviews on the streaming platform. Hopefully, this will mark a shift away from the “volume business” of TV and film, as expressed so effortlessly by Cord Jefferson. But, time will tell.

Nikon Acquires RED Digital Cinema

There are a lot of think pieces out already about this news, and I think it’s too early to speculate what this acquisition will look like. Aside from a generic press release from Nikon, we have no idea why this acquisition happened. Some speculate that RED’s CEO may have wanted access to capital for more R&D; last year R3D did about $100M in revenue, while Nikon closed $5B. If Nikon wanted to stop being the forgotten underdog in the film world, this is certainly one way to do it. RED has competed with the likes of Arri for years, and one of your favorite movies or TV shows was likely filmed on a RED. I’m curious to see what camera tech comes from this acquisition.

Please Hustle Responsibly,

🤙🏾✨

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