What My Pre-Podcaster Self (and Yours) Should Know

One of the questions that I ask most of my guests in Lucky to Be Here is: If you were to meet the version of you who started this journey, what would you like them to know? This time, the journey is podcasting, and I am asking this question to myself, on behalf of you and I. 

On October 1, 2025, I dropped the first full episode for Lucky to Be Here, a podcast that showcases the stories of those who took the leap to build lives and careers across countries. Less than a year in, we are about to wrap up Season 1, and I have learned a thing or two along the way.

If you are where I was a year ago, feeling the pull to start your podcast but unclear on what to do next, or overwhelmed by the idea, this post is for you.

Meet yourself where you are at

Creating your podcast is on your list. You have thought about it enough but you are still wondering what to do next. In that space of rumination, we often fall into the trap of thinking about the top of the mountain before we look at the ground underneath our feet. Here are a few concrete examples: 

• Looking for quotes for recording studios before deciding on your podcast format or equipment needs;
• Thinking about video production but running away from seeing yourself speaking on camera;
• Planning to produce, host, edit, release and market on four different platforms and a newsletter on a weekly basis as a team of one (yes, this is a personal call out to myself).

If you relate to any of these, chances are you are feeling stuck because it all feels daunting. It makes sense. Take a deep breath and read my next words: Meet yourself where you are at.

How? 

First, figure out what you currently have and can leverage to help you. For example, when I first started my business, I knew that I would need to be on social media more, and that I wanted to have a video podcast eventually. So I put myself through a challenge: for over a week, I recorded myself speaking to my phone while making my morning coffee. 

I did not post the videos or expected to do anything with them other than building the practice so I would feel more comfortable over time. After that, I started recording my newsletters as a way to expand accessibility for my audience and feel more comfortable recording myself reading scripts. The practice kept building capacity…and eventually I felt it was time for the next step.

Learning without doing is protective procrastination

I quit my job in late 2024 to build my own business, AGV Services LLC. At the time I was leaving, I had professional development funds left that I had yet to invest, so one of the last things I did was to use them to pay for three courses related to projects I was interested in pursuing as part of my business. One of them was a class on podcasting. 

I took that class during Winter 2025, and I learned about editing platforms, about scripting, and the key questions I needed to address as I set up the structure for the podcast. I even learned recommendations for equipment, and invested in it as a way of holding myself accountable and actually starting the project. 

Guess what? Even after all that…it still took me months to finally pull the plug. 

The next rabbit hole was on:

• How to host the podcast, 
• Where to release it,
• Whether and how to monetize it, 
• Who to invite and how to guide them through the process, 

…and the list goes on. In short, there are plenty of details you can get lost in figuring out, and quite frankly, the fact that there is so much information available out there is a blessing and a curse. 

If you are finding yourself in that space where you say to yourself “I need to learn a little bit more about X”, trust me. You do not. You are probably in the valley of protective procrastination that wants to shield you from the discomfort of getting started. 

That brings me to the last point…

There is no right or wrong way. It is all about finding your own

I also learned from them through their own approaches. Their pre-recording communication, and post-recording steps helped me learn more closely what I would want to build as my own systems and structures. 

Many of them, solopreneurs like myself, helped me contrast what in my mind felt overwhelming with what can be and give myself permission to adjust as needed. They also pointed me to other resources and spaces that proved invaluable, including Latinas In Podcasting. 

I also talked about my podcast idea with my clients in my membership, AGV Lab for Career Explorers. Because if there is one thing I take pride in, it is that I hold myself to the same standards that I would hold any of my clients, and I do as I preach. 

If there is something that pulls you forward strongly, my job is to support you and guide you through figuring out the way, and building yourself up and into your next bold move. That is true even for my own moves, including Lucky to Be Here. What I loved most about this is that I was supported and encouraged by them just as much as I felt responsible to follow through with my word. 

Finally, I talked about my podcast with a few of my colleagues and friends, especially those I felt this project would speak most to. If I had this idea in mind that was so intimately informed by my experiences as an immigrant across spaces, I was certain it would resonate with others, too. But I wanted to confirm. 

One of them was so excited about it that immediately, before I even had started working on it, volunteered to be a guest. That was the last piece that came together. Their willingness to join me when it was only a kernel of an idea touched me, and served me as the final nudge to get started. After that conversation, I started listing everyone I knew that I would be interested in interviewing to get started, and that led me to brainstorm and give shape to Lucky to Be Here. 

But here is the trick: Once you get started, your podcast (like any project), takes a life of its own. In the end, there is no right or wrong way, but finding your own as a collection of what you learn and what makes sense to you at each point. 

If I were to meet my pre-podcaster self a year ago, or you right now, here is what I would ultimately say: we are all figuring it out as we go, but the learning is in the doing, and we do it together. 

Grab your mic, and let’s go!