As new entrepreneurs find out all too soon, you need to check an incredible amount of boxes when you’re starting a small business.
Not only do you need to figure out how to form your business as a legal entity, you also need to determine how you’re going to market your products and services effectively, who you’re going to hire, and what your ideal customer looks like.
As your business starts to grow, more questions come up. When is the right time to expand headcount? When, if ever, is the right time to look for investors or other forms of small business financing, like lines of credit? When should you differentiate your product portfolio? When should you move into a new market? When should you rebrand?
The list goes on and on, and it never ends.
Luckily, you’re not the first person to start and grow a successful business.
Instead of trying to figure out everything on your own—and letting the discouragement that comes with things not working out perfectly derail your vision and momentum—why not learn from folks who’ve been in your exact position before?
If you’re looking to get some ideas about how to improve your small business, podcasts are the perfect place to find inspiration.
Here is our listing of some of the best small business podcasts today and why you might want to start thinking about launching your own podcast at some point in the future.
What podcasts do entrepreneurs listen to?
If you’re interested in checking out some of the best business podcasts, you’ve come to the right place. Without further ado, here are 10 of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
1. Learning with Leslie
Run a business that depends on digital? Subscribe to Learning with Leslie, which focuses on how to build resilient online businesses.
Leslie Samuel started his career as a high school science and math teacher. He always wanted to teach at the collegiate level, but he didn’t want to get a PhD. So, he created biology videos, posted them on YouTube, and built a devout following—which, ironically, ultimately landed him a professorship.
Fast-forward to today, and Leslie’s left the classroom, building an online business to spend more time with his family. Learning with Leslie, which has nearly 100 episodes, can teach you how to do the same. Recent episodes explore the topic of leaving your job and starting a business, and the future of AI and automation.
2. Online Marketing Made Easy
Amy Porterfield started out working a 9 to 5 just like most of us. Now, she’s the CEO of a multi-million business. Luckily for you, she shares all of her secrets on her podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy.
To date, Amy’s released over 700 episodes of the podcast, which gives listeners step-by-step processes they can follow to build incredible online businesses. Tune in to learn more about topics like finding the sweet spot between free and paid content, how to create a high converting sales page, how to re-engage your email list, and whether it makes sense to move to a four-day workweek.
3. My Wakeup Call
Dr. Mark Goulston is a psychiatrist, executive coach, and best-selling author. He’s also the host of the My Wakeup Call podcast.
Like the name suggests, Dr. Goulston’s podcast highlights instances where people woke up after an unpleasant experience and improved their lives because of it. To date, he’s released almost 600 episodes.
Past guests include Mike Garson, a Grammy-nominated composer who was David Bowie’s pianist; Lisa Tamati, an ultra-endurance athlete and author; and Tim Ringgold, a music therapist and host of the Reduce Your Stress podcast.
4. The Introvert Entrepreneur
Beth Buelow is a professional coach, facilitator, mediator, author, and speaker. She’s the host of The Introvert Entrepreneur podcast, which—you guessed it—caters to folks who aren’t particularly outgoing.
Spoiler alert: Just because you’re not an extrovert doesn’t mean you can’t crush it as an entrepreneur. Don’t believe it? Ask these famous introverts: Larry Page, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, and Mark Zuckerberg.
To date, Beth’s aired nearly 175 episodes of her podcast. Recent episodes touch upon how to fully embrace your introverted nature, how to reveal your hidden brilliance, and how to discover your customer’s secret language.
5. HBR IdeaCast
The HBR IdeaCast podcast needs no introduction. Each week, folks over at Harvard Business Review put out a new episode of the show, which features the best and brightest minds in the business world.
To date, almost 650 episodes have aired. Past shows focus on what people like David Bowie and Beyonce can teach us about innovation, why it’s time to connect with folks instead of simply networking, and how hybrid work is here to stay—and what that means for businesses like yours.
6. The GaryVee Audio Experience
Gary Vaynerchuk is a CEO, investor, speaker, and vlogger who’s the host of The GaryVee Audio Experience podcast, which has an impressive catalog of almost 2,000 episodes to date. (If you’ve never heard about Gary, take a few minutes to read about his ventures; it’s worth it!)
If you’re looking for an eclectic podcast hosted by someone who understands what it’s like to be you, this is a great place to start. Past episodes focus on why it’s not worth wasting time for a bigger paycheck, why you should never fake who you are, and achieving the perfect blend of patience and tenacity.
7. How I Built This
Hosted by Guy Raz, How I Built This is an engaging podcast that explores the stories behind some of today’s most successful businesses.
To date, Guy’s released more than 650 episodes. Tune in to learn the origin stories of companies like Mailchimp, KAYAK, Olipop, Casper, JetBlue, and Zillow.
Just make sure you have time to spare. This is a longer podcast, with episodes usually clocking in somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes.
8. Masters of Scale
Reid Hoffman might know a thing or two about how to operate effectively at scale. After all, he co-founded LinkedIn, and he’s currently a partner at Greylock.
Of course, he’s also the host of the Masters of Scale podcast, which explores how businesses scale over 500-plus episodes and counting. Since its launch, Reid’s talked to CEOs of companies like Nike, Netflix, Starbucks, Slack, and Spanx to learn more about what they’ve done to get to where they are today.
Check it out, and who knows? Maybe you’ll end up as a guest one day.
9. The Tim Ferriss Show
You might know him as the best-selling author of The 4-Hour Workweek, Tools of Titans, and Tribe of Mentors. Tim Ferriss is also the host of a podcast called The Tim Ferriss Show, which has a library expanding beyond 750 episodes.
If you’re looking for inspiration from some of the most interesting and successful professionals today—from fields ranging from sports to investing to chess—look no further. Recent guests include Chris Bosh on how to reinvent yourself, Suleika Jaouad on the invaluable nature of road trips, and Chip Wilson on building the Lululemon sportswear brand.
10. Impact Theory
Tom Bilyeu is the co-founder of Quest Nutrition and host of the Impact Theory podcast, a weekly show that reveals the most powerful secrets of some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world.
If you’re interested in learning about the tools and methodologies that lead to success, this podcast might be right up your alley.
At the time of writing, the show has more than 800 episodes. Past guests include actor Danny Trejo, musician Jewel, politician and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, and bitcoin bull Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy.
Should I start a business podcast?
To be fair, not every business needs a podcast. For example, if you own a local house painting business or a food truck operation, your time might be better spent focusing on sales and customer success.
At the same time, if you’re an expert at what you do and are interested in helping other people follow in your path, a podcast can be a great vehicle to make that happen.
To continue the above examples, why not launch a podcast teaching other people how to become expert house painters or food truck owners? You never know when such a podcast might take on a life of its own.
For many other kinds of businesses—including marketing agencies, software companies, and even local accounting firms—a podcast might even be a no-brainer. When you record content regularly, you end up with a library of podcasts that serves as great marketing content your audience can discover at any time.
How do I start a podcast for my business?
Despite what you might think, starting a podcast doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking. All you need is a name, a theme, a good microphone, and a good script to get started. You’ll also need to determine a show format (e.g., will you interview guests or just tell stories?).
If you’re up for the challenge, you should be able to produce your first episode on your own without too many headaches. A word to the wise: If you take this route, the quality might not be where you wished it were.
Once you’re really committed to podcasting for your business, you might be best off outsourcing production to a company that specializes in podcasts. Record a show, pass it off to the pros for polishing, and get back to do what you do best: serving your customers to the best of your abilities.
Whatever you decide, here’s to discovering podcasts that help you get to the next level in your entrepreneurial journey—and potentially launching your own show to inspire the next generation to do the same.
Disclaimer: Fundbox and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
