Episode 160: Starting a Podcast That Makes a Real Impact | Bethany Hawkins & Sharoline Galva | Chatting Over Chowder
Bethany Hawkins and Sharoline Galva have built more than a podcast. They’ve built a platform for joy, connection, and change. As the powerhouse duo behind Crackers & Soup and co-hosts of the award-winning Chatting Over Chowder podcast, they’ve found a way to create meaningful work that’s also a lot of fun. From launching a production company to curating a team that shares their values, Bethany and Sharoline talk about what it means to lead with purpose, choose projects that matter, and make space for grace while holding high standards. Along the way, we get real about entrepreneurship, creative freedom, and why “no” is never the end of the conversation.
“No is not an option. She will find a way around it!”
“I’m only working with people who align with my views and my values. If they don’t stand for what we stand for, we’re not working with them. ”
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Bethany Hawkins, CEO & Founder of Crackers & Soup, a podcast production company and host of the award winning Chatting Over Chowder podcast.
Sharoline Galva, Graphic Designer for Crackers & Soup & Co-host of Chatting Over Chowder podcast.
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Follow along using the Transcript
Chapters:
00:00 Building a podcast with purpose
01:10 Meet Bethany Hawkins and Sharoline Galva
03:00 The origin of Crackers & Soup
05:15 Launching Chatting Over Chowder
07:00 Why they hire for values first
09:20 Lessons from She Podcasts Live
11:00 How to grow a podcast production company
13:15 Choosing clients that align with your vision
15:00 Balancing fun with high standards
17:30 Creating impact through podcasting
19:45 Saying yes to opportunities that feel right
21:15 Overcoming challenges as female entrepreneurs
23:30 Making space for rest and creativity
25:00 Advice for aspiring podcasters
I do appreciate your assumption that I am a normal person because of last. I am not. I can't hide my fan girl if I tried when she walked, like the whole world stopped and the angels started singing and a light made her luminescent and I was like, she's gonna be my friend.
That's Bethany Hawkins and Sharoline Galva, and this is The Powerful Ladies podcast.
Hey guys, I'm Kara Duffy, a business coach and entrepreneur on a mission to help you live your most extraordinary life By showing you anything is possible. People who have mastered freedom, ease, and success, who are living their best and most ridiculous lives, and who are changing the world are often people you've never heard of until now.
What most of us are seeking in life, if we're truly honest with ourselves, is the trifecta of earning a living while having fun and making an impact. Today's guest, Bethany Hawkins and Sharoline Galva co-hosts of the Chatting Over Chowder podcast have stepped into that magic utopian world. How can we make the impact we know we can in the world?
How can we hire our favorite people to work on our team? How can we give ourselves grace while holding ourselves to high standards? We cover all of that with lots of laughing in between. If you enjoy this episode, please remember to leave us a rating and review wherever you're listening to this podcast.
Enjoy.
I am always excited when I get to share a podcast episode with fellow ladies who podcast it. It's like a whole different world of, not only was it so much easier to do the onboarding piece of a recording session but even, I wish everyone had heard, we had recorded you guys saying oh no, we'll record on our side.
We get it. So everyone who's listening, let's tell them what incredible women you are. Please say who you are, where you are, and what you're up to in the world.
So I am Bethany Hawkins. I am the CEO and founder of Crackers in Soup, which is a podcast production company. And I am also host of the award-winning, which is really hard to say all the time.
Chatting over chowder where I. And Sharoline, the next person's voice that you will hear. Talk to women in the podcasting industry about what podcasts they listen to while we literally eat chowder. And I am in very frigid Massachusetts because I like to torture myself with a cold. And now I'm going to pass it over to Sharoline.
Hi, I'm Sharoline Galva. I also am the graphic designer for crackers and soup and co-hosts of chatting over chowder. And I love all things digital marketing, making things visually appealing and chatting with incredible women about podcasting and just everything that they're up to. And I'm also in Rhode Island, also very frigid.
Maybe not as frigid as mass. It's still cold,
especially lately. You guys have been getting hit like over and over again.
Yeah. Two feet of snow recently. So that was fun.
Yeah. That's the part I don't miss about living in Massachusetts. There's lots of things I do miss about it. Shoveling and walking outside with the dog where I like feel my face is gonna fall off is not what I miss.
So I wanna know, first of all, who came up with the idea of doing a podcast while you're eating chowder and talking to people and where did that come from and why? And I want the origin story.
So it was my brainchild. And I reached out to Sharoline and I was like okay. So this is how all of the great concepts and ideas come to fruition in crackers and soup.
So I have an idea at two o'clock in the morning because I don't sleep, I have raging insomnia. And then I. I either text Sharoline at six o'clock in the morning. 'cause I'm like, you should be up by now. What are you doing? And I'm like, oh my God, I had this idea. And then she doesn't get back to me until seven 30 because that's when normal people arise from the dead of night.
And then she's yes, Bethany. 'cause she's always very pleasant when I want. It's always I know that it triggers her. Every time I'm be like, sure, why call me? I have an idea because it's gonna be something absurd. And she either co-signs on my Tom Foolery in Bali, who, or she's do should we really be doing this at this time?
And then I'm like, okay. So I called her up and I was like, we need to, we you like, you need to jump on Zoom, we need to have a meeting about this. And she was like, okay. And I was like, I, so people kept keep asking me if I'm going to be doing a podcast because. We have, I have a podcast management business.
And I'm like, Charlie, I don't wanna do a podcast. I work with podcasts all day. And I was like, but if I am going to do a podcast, it's not going to be talking about podcast management. Like I love editing, I love graphics, I love hosting stations. Podcasting host stations are great. However, comma, I don't wanna talk about that once a week on a recorded medium.
So I said, what if you will co-host with me and we talk to women? Because we wanna spotlight women in the podcasting industry. And I'm like, okay, Sharoline, stay with me. Stay with me. What if we send them soup and then Sharoline said dot.
Yeah, no it was a great idea. 'cause her idea was like, we could get someone to sponsor us and send us soup, because we're already called crackers and soups.
So she was like, and I was like, okay, so how are we gonna tie this in? And that's when she was like, I already thought of the most brilliant name.
Okay. So that you forgot A, so we, there were like a couple of steps in between this. So there was a time where I was like, okay, Cheryl, I'll make the soup.
Oh yeah. And we will designate like a made soup based upon the person and what kind of personality trait they have. So if they're like a spicy Latina, like they get spicy soup. Yeah. And if they're like like from Louisiana, they get gumbo. And then I, and then COVID happened and I was like I ain't cook it.
Can we swear? Yes. I was like, oh, alright. That is the question that I should have asked. I was like, I ain't cook a shit. I'm not trying to go to the post office. I'm not leaving my house.
No one's gonna take your soup 'cause it's gonna sketchy soup. No
one's gonna accept my random sketchy soup. Yeah.
So then I was like, oh, damn, what are we gonna do? Who's gonna provide the soup? So then I am a researcher at heart. I left research. It's my whole jam. So then we found these really, this really phenomenal company called Spoonful of Comfort, which has been our sponsor for like more than a year, way before we even dropped our first episode, before we even had our first guest booked.
They were our sponsor and they sent Sharoline and I soup in. We were so happy. 'cause like our little minority mouths were like, wow, this is really good. And it's seasoned perfectly. Because if you ha, if you know any minorities in your life, look, we don't play when it comes to food. You have to have a closet full of spices.
And if that is not reflected and the soup that we were going to be sending, we were just gonna be like, damn, we're sending everybody Campbells. But, oh, I, and I don't know if I should say we're sending everybody that other soup can, that shall not be named because they're not sponsoring this podcast
that may have a fan in Andy Warhol.
Yeah, that may, may, maybe Andy did some things with some pictures with some of those things. So yeah. So we found Spoonful of Comfort and they like literally checked off the box. They were bipoc supportive. It was created and founded by a woman. They make just phenomenally delicious, not only soups, but like cookies and breads.
Then like the next thing we did, we reached out to a whole bunch of people that we know and we were like, Hey, you wanna be on our podcast and talk shenanigans and be who? And everybody, I think everybody said yes except for won. And then it just, all of a sudden we won award and all. Then there you go.
That's how it happens.
I love that. And Bethany is very good with words and playing on words. And so therefore, chatting over Chowder was a name that was decided upon 'cause of her brilliant brain. And how did you guys meet? So that's really funny. I had joined a networking event called A Polka Dots.
Pulled it up. I'm already like, I already almost forgot the full name of the networking group that we were part of. So I had joined it I think a month before Bethany did. And I was literally the only minority. And it was nice just because it was all women. I had been going to BNI and different networking events and it was a very different atmosphere.
So I enjoyed this. And then about a month in Bethany showed up and we all say it's a minority thing. The minute you see someone else, it's looks like you, you just you lock eyes and then you're like, all right, you, we all give like the nod of approval and we know we're gonna end up talking by the end of the day.
And we just did. I Bethany's super infectious, if you haven't already noticed of her personality. We just got along super and we worked together in many different facets. I was with a different company at the time, and so she took one of the courses that we were doing, fell in love with her work ethic and just everything that she did.
And she was also we were both part of the leadership board of that networking group. So we started working together even more, more. And then I wanna say less than a year within us knowing each other, you were like, so Sharonline, I'm thinking of starting up this company. And she was like, I need to have you with me.
And so that's how everything started.
I know as an entrepreneur when you find people that you're like, Ooh, they gotta be in my team, you. Usually, for like weeks before you tell them. 'cause you're like, I, okay, I need to chill out my excitement level because if I fan girl on this person, I'm gonna scare them away and then they're not gonna come work for me and I know they should work for me.
So like Bethany, how quickly did you know Sharoline was your person and how long did you have to chill out before you could ask her to be on your team?
I do appreciate your assumption that I am a normal person because of last, I am not, I can't hide my fan girl if I tried, I was like humping her leg.
The first time I met her. I was like, I just need to hug you. And like when she walked, it was like, ha. The whole world stopped and the angel started singing and a light made her lucent and I was like, she's gonna be my friend. And that never stopped because I am just super awkward and super weird and I will love me.
Like I said, I do appreciate you thinking that I can calm my insanity a little bit because I can't. So it was truly like the first time I saw I loved just who she was and like the energy that exuded, she exuded and she play, she is my strength where I am weak. She is strong, likewise.
So she has this just luminescent vibe and she's also very calming. She is a dichotomy. Chevrolet is a dichotomy of a person. I just loved her as a person. And then I saw her, what she does, and I swear to God she was, she's touched by Jesus or Buddha or Oprah or Tom Cruise or whomever you believe in a higher being for her creativity.
Because I saw what she was creating and I was like, you mom, bitch. Sorry, not sorry. Getting a restraining order like you mine. And then I just sat and I told her, I was like, you're gonna come work for my company. I'm just gonna sit and wait until I'm gonna pounce on you. And that's exactly what I did.
She wasn't surprised. I was like, okay, bet this is happening. I. You are gonna be my first hire. Let's do this. And I was al already in my business when Sharoline had met. I had already created my business, but I hadn't fully transitioned into podcasting. I was doing like virtual assistant and podcasting and Sharoline was my missing piece.
In order to fully encompass the podcasting offerings that I wanted to do. And I know that I wouldn't have grown, I wouldn't have been as successful as this company has been. Like in 2021 alone, we grossed over a hundred thousand dollars and that wouldn't have been without. Sharoline starting in 2021 like she is my, I tell her, I'm like, that's my right hand person.
I'm like, look, if you mess with her, bet you gonna get jumped. We are gonna turn real hood. We're gonna put our hair in a pony. We're gonna put some Vaseline on her face. We are gonna get you when you walk into your car in the next way
possible.
No. In the most grimy damn, I don't know what happened kinda way, because she just makes me a better, not only business person, but she makes me a better person.
And you have to have people like that on your team. You have to, you can't just have Yes. Spend people because they're not gonna make you better.
So how did you start thinking like, yes, I wanna have a company in podcasting. That sounds like a smart, logical next step for me.
So I was actually in the corporate world for over 18 years, and then the last three of those years I was utterly miserable. And a friend had introduced me to podcasting. And that is actually what got me through the last three years. So I was incessantly listening to podcasts. I was doing like payroll and like a corporate gig.
People were, and I worked in the criminal justice system. So people thought that I was doing transcriptions. I was like, I'm listening to podcasts. Like I had everybody in that office gassed, gassed. And I knew that if I was going to leave my very structured corporate gig in which I knew that money was going to come to me every two weeks, and I never had to worry about paying my mortgage, that I was going to take a leap of faith within myself and potentially be homeless with my family and live under a bridge and create a company.
And I knew that all of my transferable skills. Would work in virtual assisting, but I wanted to do podcasting even though I had no idea what that looked like. I didn't know anybody in the podcasting industry. But I was like, I'm just going to submerge myself in learning how to do all of the podcasting things as well as the particular groups, and that's how I'm going to find my potential clients and continue to learn more.
And then I was like, Sharoline, do you wanna create this ridiculous empire with me? And she was like, okay.
And Bethany's being very modest because the amount of research, the amount of courses, hours that she put in, and connections that she made within the podcasting industry in order to, gain the knowledge that she needed to take on clients.
I like, I constantly am admirable of, because I literally, within the span of a year. Went from knowing stuff about podcasts to just becoming quite an expert in her field and to the point where I remember when we were going to she podcast live. The business has only really been a podcast management business for about a year.
And we were going through all these d like everybody's different speaking events and classes, which they were amazing, but it only solidified how much we already knew and how much we were doing for our clients. And I think we both left there feeling really just happy with ourselves and being like, wow, we definitely suffer from that imposter syndrome sometimes.
And to have left there and been like, you know what? We are really doing a good job. Look how much, look how far we have come, which is I constantly try to stop Bethany for a second and remind her when she's beating herself up that I'm like. Look at everything you have done in the span of just a year.
I'm like, this is incredible. But it's all, again, all those transferable skills that she has, her personality and her drive. Bethany is definitely the type of person where no is not an option. She will find a way around it, and that is constantly the thing that I admire most and I've learned so much on the business end from her as well as just, even setting boundaries within business and just making sure that you can stand up for yourself and what you believe in.
And the thing that I loved most about coming onto crackers and soup was that Bethany was like, I'm only working with people who align with my views, my values. Because if someone's not with what I'm with. That's it. It doesn't matter. She goes, I don't care how much money they can bring to the business if I don't like them.
And I don't stand, they don't stand for what we stand for. She's I'm not working with them. And that meant so much to me because coming from the corporate world, from any, that they're just like, money's money. You do whatever. You can deal with whatever you want with these people and compromise yourself for money.
And so I loved that was her vision. And for a lot of people, that's scary. 'cause a lot of people are like, oh, I'm cutting off, I'm cutting off money. I'm cutting off like my audience, my potential network. And it's no, you just start aligning and bringing the right people to your business.
And I felt like that's constantly what happened. And it's why we grew and it's because of you sticking to that and. And not being afraid to state it because whether it was people we were hiring or people we were working with, it was very blunt in the sense of Hey, if you don't stand for these things, don't even bother, getting on a discovery call with us.
What are those things that you guys stand for? I think
we very much champion women empowerment. We champion minority women empowerment. We want to concentrate on getting their voices heard because they're so underrepresented, not only just in the podcasting space, but all media and a whole. And when they are represented, it's always in a way in which there's like arguing and bickering or un undereducated, and that is not the case.
Just like every other race is monolithic. So aren't black women, so aren't Hispanic women, so aren't asian woman, like we are just who we are as people. We just have different melanin in our skin. Yeah. So for people to immediately look at somebody and believe that they have an understanding of who they are and what they're about, just by the visual aid of the nonsense that has been taught in their head unconsciously or consciously, I have no time for that.
And I also, I'll be damned if you're gonna talk down to me, I don't care who you are, who your status is, who you think you are. I don't care who your father is, you're not gonna talk down to me, you're not going to speak disrespectfully to my employees or my team, or that's just not what it's gonna be because we have a, and on the business side, I think that we have a very.
Underutilized, but always offered open door policy where if there is something, I am not infallible. If there is something that I said that was unintentionally offensive or in hurt somebody in some way or my delivery, because I can be cur, I could be pm sy, I can be tired and maybe my delivery wasn't as delicate as it could have been.
I always invite my team members to come please to let me know because I will immediately fall on my sword. And Cheryl, and I's favorite terminology is learning lesson. Like this is a learning lesson. This is just how we can be better and this is how I can be, because my business isn't just my business, it is an extension of myself and I always.
Want to be a better version overall. And you can't do that without learning and without accepting my many faults. This is a total like love session. I'm so glad we're filming. We're like recording this around Valentine's Day because there's so much love happening on this recording right now.
It's super gushy, but it's all love.
And I love that you both brought up a couple of things that I wish more entrepreneurs and female entrepreneurs would step into, which is aligning your business with you. Being bold in like it's my way or the highway in the most powerful way, not in a domineering way.
And to leave space for your to be who you are in the good ways and the bad ways. So many clients I work with, we discuss hiring and I keep hiring the wrong people. I'm like you can't hire anyone until you're honest about how you work. And so when I'm hiring people, I'm like, listen, I go a million miles a minute, but it doesn't stop.
Like it is a keep up game sometimes. And if you think I'm crazy 'cause of a request, a deadline, whatever, you're totally empowered to tell me I'm crazy because maybe I am like, or if you think it's a crazy idea, that means I didn't tell you something because it made sense to me. But it's, there's, I love that you're sticking to being committed to holding this space for what you know is possible so that you can invite your dream clients really in.
And, sharonline as you were talking about, like the fact that you've had the growth and the success you guys have already had, we don't need to be afraid that there's not enough out there for us or that we have to compromise. Obviously there's compromise in the growth space, but not compromising in the value space and.
I think there's so much conversation right now about what responsibility do podcasters have and podcasting networks have, and I think it's really interesting to see how do we reshape first amendment versus with great power comes great responsibility, right? This is like the back and forth all the time.
What pressure do you guys feel with your podcast to manage that responsibility?
I get, I wouldn't use the word pressure within the body of what Sharoline and I do. I think we are both, are authentically ourselves when we are corresponding with our guests and I think we give our guests the room to share their experiences and also.
We vet our guests very well. We know who our guests are. We don't have people who fill out a jot form, submit to be a guest, and then all of a sudden they're on our podcast. We go about seeking out the people who we want to not only learn from, but we want to share their story because we feel that other women who are listening to our podcast, who want to get into the podcasting community will be empowered by their story.
So we don't really have, I feel if we had a gossip podcast or a podcast that was built on sensationalism. Yeah, I'd be scared right now because in addition to, the Tom Fuckery that's happening with Spotify, I would also be concerned because Nicki Minaj just won a lawsuit on libel against an individual who was spouting lies.
And she confronted her numerous times for with a cease and desist, and the woman kept going. So she was like, okay, let's have a conversation about this in court. And she won. So there is so much I feel like if you are true to yourself and you're not blasting or speaking ill about other people that like I don't feel like that there's a necessity for that.
But if that's who you are and that's what you wanna do, you should probably be cognizant. Of the legal ramifications. And if it is a quote unquote freedom of speech issue, that's fine. You can have your speed, freedom of speech, but people can also take things away from you because that's their freedom of their contract.
So keep spouting all you wanna spout when all of a sudden you don't have any sponsorships anymore because people are unwilling to be associated with you. That's their right as well.
Yeah. What do you think, Caroline? No, so definitely I agree with Bethany and I think for us, I feel like we've always taken that responsibility from the beginning because Bethany was saying, we vet every guest that we bring on so that they match the values that we have.
So that we're also engaging our audience in every way with who we are. And we know that because we've been so authentic and honest with ourselves. We attract that audience as well. And so I feel like we've, because of that, we've just, we've been able to just be purposeful in everything that we do and every conversation that we have, and we're constantly championing these women that are on the podcast.
And it's, it brings, we all we hope to do constantly is just bring value to everybody. So I, I feel like we haven't had to worry so much about that because of the fact that it's been a part of our core value from the beginning. But I do agree that you definitely need to think of those things from the get go when you start your own podcast or as things start coming to light that make you realize that you need to pivot.
Because I think it's always being aware of. What you're doing and where you are in life and the circumstances that are going on in life in the world around us, in society, and how you can be a part of that
change. And I think podcasting, obviously, it has so many unique qualities to it, and it's been great that it is so accessible to so many people because it's one of the first equitable playing fields that we've had for community or for Yeah, community building and conversations and just having different voices as you guys know with what you're doing.
So it's really interesting to see a kind of go from a closeted, no one's listening to us conversation to suddenly oh shit, how many people are listening to us? Where do they come from? What, and it's we're, it's almost as if podcasting's going through its teenage years where suddenly we're like, oh, we can't, we have to wear pants.
Wait, what do you mean we have to wear pants? Who said why? Where did that come from? So we're having all these things where I really understand some of the whiplash that is happening in the podcasting space of people going from, no, this was just, this was a, what we thought was a private conversation and now it's not anymore.
And I don't think that everyone has realized the magnitude of who's listening and where people are listening. And it really is just that statement of with great power comes great responsibility. And it doesn't matter if you ask for that power. If you got it, what are you doing with it? Like sometimes, like I was joking on a recent episode that I get mad at myself for naming my business Powerful ladies.
'cause there are days I do not wanna be powerful. And I'm like, who the fuck agreed to this plan? I went out. I went out. And but I don't have that choice, right? I can't decide. I'm going to give up on powerful ladies because I'm having a bad day. And I think what I share that both of you share is thinking about who we're talking to right now the whole time.
Yes, it's the three of us live together right now, but I also know how many people are joining this conversation, listening right now. Hi everybody. Like you're part of this conversation even though like I know everyone listening in their car or on their walk is talking right back to us.
And we have to remember that there's this, there are other people in the room with us even if we can't see their faces.
I love that ideology when you're creating and when you're speaking in regards to a podcast, because I feel like that the connection is more intimate than just a television show or just a radio.
Because for a podcast, if you have regular subscribers and listeners, they have chosen to allow you into their life, into their ears, into their psyche. And I kid around a lot, but I wear that responsibility on my shoulders and it is. Like a friend speaking to you that is lifting up your day when you're having a hard day.
And I screenshot reviews and I send them to Sharoline because they literally choke me up every single time. 'cause they're like, Sharoline and Bethany are like talking to friends, or I had a horrible day and I listened to them in the car and I laughed so hard just because they were laughing. That, as you said, is powerful.
And if you are not choosing your words wisely or your impact wisely, that can have a very large ripple effect. And just being conscientious of that. Just as a being. Just as a being. Not like a black woman, not like a Hispanic woman, not like a white woman, but just. Being, having a soulful being experience is like to the betterment of your listeners.
Yeah. And we have to, leave room for people to be themselves and to be learning along the journey. I've had so many people, which breaks my heart, say no to be in this podcast. Go I'm not powerful yet. I'm like, when will you be when you're done? I don't wanna talk to you when you're done.
We can't have a conversation then you won't be here. And so we have to leave room for people to be going on their own human experience. But at the same time, and maybe it's because I'm the oldest of four, that from a very young age I was told they're watching you. They're listening to you like, sorry, you don't get to do whatever you want because someone's watching and listening all the time.
And how do we find that balance to have freedom and self-expression and just remember. People are listening for a reason. People are listening and there's an influence, right? Everyone has an influence every day, good or bad. Whether you hold the door for someone or you don't, and sometimes you don't.
'cause you didn't realize someone wasn't there. You weren't trying to be rude, right? So we have to have room for that grace. But also remember, we are influencing thousands of people every day, even those of us who do not have a podcast. So how can we just be more aware? Just be aware. That's my spiel.
We can but so let's come back to juicy, powerful ladies thing. So when you guys hear the words powerful, and ladies, do they mean something different to you when they're separate versus when they're put together?
I dunno that they mean something very different to me when they're when they're separated and when they're together. Because I've learned in the recent years that. Power being powerful as a woman? I feel like it's just ingrained in us. I feel like a lot of us are just born that way. And it's within everything that we do.
Everything just in society that's put on us the responsibilities that we have. And I feel like now what I deem as powerful is also being okay to have those days where I'm, I don't have to be, I'm woman hear me roar. You know what I mean? It's, 'cause I also feel like I grew up in the girl boss era where it was oh, you have to constantly work and you need to wanna be this like person, like the at a CEO at the top of a company and never depend on anybody else. And now I'm unlearning those things and being like, you know what? I, it's okay to exist. It's okay to have my moments. It's okay to not want to be the CEO of everything to just be happy and search for myself to be happy.
And then it's the same thing with choosing between motherhood and, a career. It's like we're able to do everything that we want and it's okay whether I cho choose motherhood or career or both, and I think being powerful is just being honest with yourself and being happy with yourself and searching for your actual happiness.
I love that you brought up unlearning some of the girl boss mentality. Because I I wanna be a CEO and I wanna work like two days a week, and then I wanna spend the rest of the time hanging out with cool people, recording a podcast, making shit happen, changing the world. And that's it. Just a few things.
And there's this great talker out there. I believe her name is Miss Jessica something. I'll put it in the show notes. Forgive me. But she ha does these videos. She's from the UK of like first day of adulting. And she's so wait, how many we work eight hours a week? Okay, I can handle that.
Oh a day. Oh, and sometimes it's 60 out. So why are we doing this? And I love that. Obviously being in a business coaching space and encouraging people to do their own path, I'm like, yeah, I want more people to realize, like this plan that we've all been chasing is. For the birds, like why are we choosing this plan?
That means that we don't get to have a life or have any fun or be creative or balance God for what's that word? So I love that you brought that up of like, how can I connect what I love with what brings me joy and make that become enough? Yeah. Bethany, what are your thoughts on the words powerful?
And ladies? I think
for me the definition changes because how I envisioned power when I was in my twenties is very different than how I define power at 43.
Not only at 43, but it can literally change day to day. Like I was powerful yesterday because I got all the stuff that I needed to get done for my clients. And I am powerful today because I am not doing all of the stuff that I did yesterday for my clients.
So I love what you and Cheryl both had to say in regards to looking at power. And learning things and how it's defined. And I love the term ladies, nothing makes me more irate than when grown women are using the terminology. Girls. I hate that it truly chaps my ass because. In other spaces, you never hear men refer to themselves as boys un.
Unless they're on like the basketball court and or they're like talking about their friend that they've known since like inception. That's the only way. But it's never like an empowering book where it's watch your face boy. That's never a thing.
And I think that because women have been taught to be smaller in all aspects of the word small it feels sometimes more comfortable for people to use that terminology.
Like the female is more diminutive instead of standing in the ladies, the women. The power. So I think just the words together, invokes strength
there. There's a small phenomenon of interview series that involve food. Hot ones is, one of the more popular ones on YouTube. And do you guys feel like you are disarming your guests and getting to ask juicier questions because they're distracted by the chowder?
You have? Mic dropped us. Charlotte and I both sat there with our mouths of gate. I don't think that's ever happened before.
Cheryl. I take that. That was really good. To be honest with you, technically when we came up with a concept, part of what we said is that. When the moments in your life that you have the most conversation and the most like down to earth conversations is when you're gathered around food. You know what I mean?
Whether it's with family, friends, so a, a part of our thought was that, what better way than to share food and let people feel more relaxed and chill and where it feels more casual. So technically I guess we have our goal was to disarm people so that they didn't feel so, tensed and oh, okay, these questions are coming with food.
I hadn't really genuinely thought about it that way, but yeah. Good. You didn't realize you good being
secretly manipulative, was you? Yes.
I didn't, and so Sharoline makes fun of me all the time because acts of service is my love language. So when we were trying to figure out how to honor our guests.
And, the whole concept of chatting over chowder, but ideally what it is it's honoring them for being on the podcast and given an, giving them an opportunity to just take time for themselves because they don't have to cook. Yeah. There's a, there's literally like a vat of chowder, so potentially they don't have to cook for two days
and it's like they take time for themselves. They're enjoying this, something that they didn't have to buy for themselves, something that was gifted to them. And when they open it up, it's the whole experience and then we're like talking and we're asking them how it is. So I, that, that's what, I never ever thought of it that way, but like Cheryl Caroline said, the best conversations that I have with my family, my girlfriends.
Is over sharing a meal and just key keying it up with the people that we're talk that we're eating with. God, I feel so guilty now. There's that Catholic guilt. Good job Ms. Duffy. Good job.
I just, I do think it's so interesting, like how different journalists engage with their guests, especially when they're really wanting to get build that relationship faster and get, just get to the good stuff.
'cause there's always, softball style questions that, that start in an interview and often they're edited out 'cause you're not hearing them in the final production of what or what you're hearing. But they're still there. We still have to build relationships and I do think that there's power in giving someone a distraction, right?
It could be crafting and talking to somebody. It could be eating and talking to somebody. But the second that you're moving and there's science to back up. How your brain shifts, like what's, the neurons are different when you're doing something and thinking and talking at the same time. And so I think it's really interesting, like how those different approaches can work.
'Cause you guys I'm sure have seen that sometimes you have a guest and it's no big deal, right? It's just like back forth. It's good volley, it's great. And other times you're like, come on, you can do it. And you're cheering them on to to be okay just talking. I, I don't think it's something that the three of us worry about in regards to oh shit, now we gotta talk.
I'd rather talk than have to write something at any opportunity. But it's interesting to see how different people have their different methods and techniques and even like smiling at people can be something enough. What surprised you guys about doing the podcast and working on it together?
Oh, so for me, what surprised me the most and I, we mentioned this in the podcast as well, but I feel like every time I have, we have a guest on something they're talking about relates so well to what's going on in my life at the moment. That it's like destiny just telling me like, this is exactly what you needed to hear.
So that honestly surprised me and just how amazed I was with these women and how inspiring they were. And it just, it made me, it reminded me each day, that I can make it through these hard days or hard moments and that there are so many brilliant women out there. That. We just don't know about yet.
You know what I mean? And so for me, once I started to see the reviews come in our audience, be inspired by some of these women, it made me feel so good. 'cause I'm like, I know how excited I was when I had that guest on and the conversations that we're having. And to see other people get excited and have that like potentially inspire them, that honestly surprised me.
'cause it's not how we really intended the podcast to be. But it definitely turned into that.
I so relate to that. And actually, I just changed the intro for this podcast to almost say exactly what you just said of these are the women that you haven't met yet. Until now you haven't met this person.
Because that's why I started this whole thing. I don't wanna hear about the Kardashians anymore. They're all powerful. They're doing their thing. Thank you. Keep going. Keep kicking ass, but. I wanna talk about the person who's over here, who's doing all that and has one, 1000000th of the money that you have and they're still kicking ass and saving the homeless.
Like, why aren't we talking about them? Bethany, what surprised you?
What surprised me is I think it made me a better podcast, production manager podcast because I had an understanding of the inner and outer workings of a podcast. And then we created a podcast and all that shit went out though, like out, she and I consistently joked that and somebody, one of our guests had said this, it was Wendy from Fruit Loops, serial Killers of Color, shameless Plug.
She's amazing. It, they're cohost Wendy. Ian Beth. But Wendy had said, 'cause I was like, oh my God. We're like, I'm always at the 11th hour editing our podcast and like trying to create some graphics and doing all of these things. Because I'm too busy worrying about our client stuff before ours.
And she's Bethany, the carpenter's house is always the house that's falling apart. So now I always say that because I'm like jumping through all of these hoops and it just makes me understand, the people don't understand that when you're doing a podcast, there can be a lot of mental trash and not only imposter syndrome, but what am I gonna come up with for topics Who's, why does anybody wanna hear what I have to say?
So going through this experience allows me to now be able to talk my clients through that and be like, oh, preach, I get you. I see you, I hear you. I've been done, been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. And it just I didn't anticipate that was going to have just a profound. Impact on me to be a better podcast producer and manager.
In addition to all the stuff that Shoreline said.
I, one of the things that I think is really interesting, and I've been consuming a lot of media lately that's coming back to people stepping into being the change and activism and taking steps, whether it's the environment they care about or domestic workers or fill in the blank.
And, when I think about, there's been so many journeys that powerful ladies has gone on as a company and as a podcast and I, it's so natural, right? To have things ebb and flow, and especially in my life, like how does it fit with the coaching and consulting business that we have and what's offered there?
Like how do they get to compliment and live together? And so I've been really curious with the guests who have been coming on, how are you focusing on building your business and. As we talked about a little bit earlier in this conversation, remembering to honor all the other things that you care about and the commitments that you have to different communities or the areas that you are like, that's not okay.
When I made it, like I had Devon Blow on recently and we were talking about, she's yes. She's yes, I'm a black woman artist, so I care about all those things. She's but I also care about homelessness and hunger, and my list, I get a little overwhelmed with like, all the stuff that we gotta change.
So how do we start changing it together? Coffee,
the answer is coffee
or caffeine.
No, I think it's focusing on first, what do you feel you need to work on for yourself to be a part of that change that you need to see in the world? And then start talking about those things because I feel like the things that we're working on ourselves. Or you'd be surprised at how many people are trying to do the same or hadn't realized that.
So I feel like when you start talking about those topics, it doesn't mean that you don't care about everything else that's going on in the world, but it's what you know right now in that moment is going to propel you forward. And then once you've gotten through that, which I mean we're forever working on ourselves, but once you feel like you've gotten to a good place with that, you start moving on to the next thing because there are other people who, those topics are gonna be theirs.
And also doing what you're currently doing, which is introducing people to all these other women who, that's their focus is those other topics that you're interested in. But right now isn't your main focus because when you start introducing people to those problems and those issues and the things that they're doing, it expands your world, expands your audience.
So you're you're doing both services at once. You're introducing people to. People who are experts in that topic as well as to the things that you're dealing with and working on.
And I think we need to give ourselves permission to not have to change everything or change nothing in the world.
Because I feel, especially as a black woman, I feel that there is an expectation for me to be, marching when there's protests and having these deep-rooted conversations when a George Floyd ask incident happens, and I feel like this, I'm aware that it's happening when it's not a George Floyd media sensation.
Yeah, I know what's happening. It happens in my family. Black family members have been pulled over by police for no damn reason. Look, I don't need to be marching and screaming from the hilltops or trying to teach and educate because I'm exhausted by damn self. So I only do what I can do. And if that means that all I can do is work at my school's, my daughter's school's, PTA, and do some sort of fundraising for that class, and that's how I can give back to the community at this juncture.
Because I have a podcast, because I have a business, because I have a family, because, towels have to be washed. Nobody's washing the towels in the house.
I can only do what? I can only do. And I think that, again, it needs to be reiterated. You have to give yourself permission to say, I can't be all things to everybody. And I just got to that place where I was like, look I know that it's happening. I see that it's happening. Trust, it's, I'm never gonna not see it because I am a black woman in these United States of America and I have black family members like, and I just don't have, quote unquote black friends.
Like I've been living the slide. So all of the injustices that are happening, even with the Asian community, I see the injustices that are happening with the Asian community. I stand with you. And also me being to a point where I'm exhausted to the point of being sick because I'm trying to be all things to all people is a benefit to literally nobody.
I know there's just, I, there are, there's so many things, right? So I, oh, I feel like it's, we're, we have this massive group project that none of us actually want to be a part of because we have to work with people who we don't wanna work with. And we're like I just wanna do the fun project that I, I volunteered for, and we're in this space.
We're like, we have to do it. We know we should. And we're still in this zone of okay, who's doing what? And everyone's I just wanna go home. And I'm like, I know, but we can't. I think it's gonna be really interesting how it keeps evolving and I'm excited to have some we started working yesterday on what our speaker series is gonna be for this year with our powerful conversations that we do at Powerful Ladies.
And I'm excited about that. And I'm just excited that there's other women like you guys who are having conversations on your podcast that are empowering and inspiring and. Just showing that it doesn't have to be the way that we see it is out there. Look at all these people kicking ass and having fun and doing their thing.
And we have so much more power to create the reality that we want. And I'm really glad that you guys are walking, talking, breathing examples of what that is. We ask everybody on the podcast where they put themselves in the powerful lady scale, zero being average everyday human, and 10 being the most powerful lady you can imagine.
Bethany, I'll start with you. Where would you put yourself in that scale on average, and where do you put yourself on it today?
God, I am so moody that on average, that's just a, ooh, that's a hard number. I'm a moody cat. I am a Gemini. So I would say on average I would feel that my power scale, la, I would say. The median score would be a 7.5. No, I'm gonna say perfect. So in the future I want 10. I want pure world domination.
I want 10 plus, 10 times 10 infinity. So yeah, world domination. That's my answer. Excellent.
I expect nothing less now.
For me, I'd say a three. And I don't see that as a negative thing. And the reason I say that is because in my life I've learned that whether it's a stranger that I meet while I'm sitting at a bus stop, that ends up having a conversation with me.
Sometimes those little moments have really changed the trajectory of my life. And they were just an average person and. I think the average person has a lot more power and than they can imagine. And so for me, I always wanna stay in that humble realm of I wanna inspire. It doesn't need to be in this grand scale, but just within my community and the people around me.
Just by having conversations, by making you feel like it's okay. You know what I mean? To be normal and to just be you. You don't have to be this world power of fame to be powerful. And so for me, I just think the average person can be just as powerful as, someone that has
higher rank.
Beautifully said. And I want everyone who is listening, not watching to know that Bethany. Made a face of horror when you said three, because she knows you are so much more powerful than a three. So couldn't let that slide by, which I really appreciate that. We got each other's backs. There's so much that you guys brought to today's conversation about what it means to start a podcast and how you can, start changing the world in your own step-by-step process, by having a podcast and what it means to work together as two powerful women.
For everyone listening who's inspired by what you guys are up to, what advice would you give them and what do you want them to know? Whether it's about being bold and asking someone that you have a, you're fanning out on to be on your team, or if they're like, maybe I should start a podcast what would you tell them?
I would tell them, find your community. Then keep niching down to finding your group and then keep niching down to finding your person because your person is going to hold you accountable and the good times, and they're going to talk you off the ledge on the bad times, and they're going to tell you the really real.
So literally write down what you want in your person, put it out into the universe, and then join groups where you think that you'll find that person. Because your person will change your life truly and utterly.
And that's also my exact formula when people are like, where do I find my dream customer?
That exact same plan. Wherever your dream people are. Same process, customers, teammates, friends. If you want your dream, people, Bethany just told you how.
On top of what Bethany said for me, it's also who you're surrounding yourself with. It. They don't need to be your audience, but just other women or beings that inspire you and are doing what you want to do. When you see them ask them questions, you'd be surprised whether they are somebody who's harder to reach or not.
Ask that. Or even if not better, if it's somebody who is higher up, what books are they reading? What things are they doing that you could learn from? And and go from there. Because I think networking and making those connections makes a big difference both in your podcast and who you're gonna want on your podcast as well as
what you'll learn.
And that reminds me that there's so many people who feel like they haven't, found their people. And I love that you just remind everybody that your people are out there. Like sometimes they're harder to find, and I think they're also harder to find, as you mentioned Bethany, when you haven't started nicheing down and doing that on your own, like kind of path of discovery.
But when you find your people, like the world shifts. And so I really want everyone to be proactive in taking that on for themselves because it really does change everything. So for everybody who is obsessed with you guys and wants to able to follow your podcast and what you're up to, where can they listen, follow, share, and interact with you?
They can totally stalk us by looking at the gorgeous tan lying website that was created by Sharoline Galva at www.crackersinsoup.com. And that'll be in the show notes because we're from New England. And again, it's crackers. Sometimes it comes out, it's crackers. No one knows what we're saying half the time.
And we can be found on Instagram at bee crackers in soup. We can be found on Twitter, LinkedIn, Sharoline. Where else are we? Facebook.
You're on mute. Facebook. Thank you. I forgot I was on mute. On Facebook as well. And basically as far as our podcast chatting over chowder, you can find us everywhere you listen to podcasts and that'll just be chatting over chowder.
I love it. The last thing I'm been asking everybody on the episodes, this is a powerful group with lots of powerful listeners and I'm really big in believing that what you need someone has. So what do you guys need and what can we ask the audience to manifest for you Guys,
you are killing me today. I'm usually so on my game. You have stumped. A stumped.
It just tells you I'm doing my job well. So thank you. You
do this so well. You're phenomenal. Oh my gosh, you're phenomenal. Host. I would say we need. More people to listen to c Chat and over chowder. I'd say review. Cool. Be thank you. Or if you are interested in creating a podcast we help with launches.
We also do post recording packages. If, you know you have a podcast and you need all the things done for you, so I guess that's, what we need, what we want, schedule the discovery call. We like people. Perfect.
Caroline, what do you need? What do you want? What do I need and what I want? That is hard.
Probably one of my weaknesses is asking for help or seeing what I need. I would say just helping us serve our community by, again, same thing Bethany said, just listening to, chatting over chowder and reviewing so that we're able to, get more ears onto the the amazing women that we have on the podcast.
And can I just say one more thing? Of course. I think the most beautiful thing that anybody has ever done is when you speak somebody else's name in a room where they are not in. So it's not something that I need, but it's something that I invite your listeners to do that if you are in a room where you know that you've connected with somebody somehow that could serve the person who's asking a particular question, champion that woman, drop their name, drop how they can contact that individual and just speak people's names that aren't in every room because people don't know the profound effect that can have on somebody else or where that can bring somebody else.
I've been speaking Caroline's name all the time. I know that she's, look, she's my employee, but I'm like. People are like, your graphics are so amazing. And I'm like, I know. Here, contact her. She does side hustle work. Put money in her pocket. Don't come through the company unless it's a podcast affiliated thing.
Like here's all of her information. He has her birthday, here's her DNA, here's her social security number. Call her and put money in her pocket. If I, if we all just do that once or twice a month for somebody else, the impact that it has, I don't think people understand talk drop names and rooms where people aren't in.
It's part of the powerful ladies pay it forward, right? It's a circle of empowerment and anyone can help somebody else and it's so getting a referral and a recommendation and connecting people is the easiest, most beautiful thing that we can do. So I'm so glad you brought that up. And, really being present to how.
Speaking someone's name creates a whole new possibility bubble for them. I love that you said it in that specific way 'cause it, it reminds you that you have this magic wand. So how are you gonna use your magic today? Hopefully you're gonna take Bethany's advice and go talk some people up who deserve and can create magic once you start doing that.
I am so happy that both of you were a yes to me and to the Powerful Ladies podcast and to everyone listening it has been such a pleasure to spend this morning with you guys and to get to share you and what you're up to with our audience. I cannot wait to collaborate with you guys and see how we can work together to make the world a better place and keep empowering women.
So thank you so much.
Thank you. You're a whole dream. Ah, I may have kind a little choked up during this. I'm not gonna last.
No, truly I'm grateful and also. I love your interviewing skills and your ability to also listen and respond from listening, so I genuinely appreciate that, Kara.
Thank you guys so much.
All the links to connect with Bethany and Sharoline and chatting over chowder are in our show notes@thepowerfulladies.com. Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening, and leave us a reading and review. They're critical for podcast visibility and for more listeners like you to find us, please come join us on Instagram at Powerful Ladies.
And if you're looking to connect directly with me, you can visit kara duffy.com or find me on Instagram at kara underscore duffy. I'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Until then, I hope you're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
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Twitter: crackers_in
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Website: crackersinsoup.com
LinkedIn: crackersinsoup
Email: bethany@crackersinsoup.com
Email: sharoline@crackersinsoup.com
Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
Audio Engineering & Editing by Jordan Duffy
Production by Amanda Kass
Graphic design by Anna Olinova
Music by Joakim Karud
