Introducing Nikki O’Brien + Quintessential Being
We are so excited and grateful to welcome the energy and wisdom of Nikki O’Brien from Quintessential Being into our business spotlight for May – give this epic woman a big, warm, SAW welcome!
The ‘Podcasting Priestess’ herself is renowned for her incredible interviewing, so in this chat with Jess McEachen Copywriting, we turn the tables & ask the questions!
Nikki takes us right into the raw moments in which Quintessential Being was conceived, and how her business began with what was not just a podcast – but a huge part of her own healing journey. Get ready for the goosebumps moment when you read how podcasting has opened Nikki up to her own magic, has allowed her to feel more whole and has given her the roadmap back to herself. Ooft, so good.
Nikki reveals the magical elements of being a successful podcast host – and *Spoiler Alert*, it’s not having a long, successful background in broadcasting! Nikki also busts the other big myths around who can be a podcaster, and you’ll be happy to hear that it doesn’t matter if you’re not an extrovert or a tech whiz for starters!
This is such a beautiful & soul nourishing read. Welcome Nikki to our Business Spotlight in May – we’re looking forward to diving right into the world of podcasting and so much more with you this month!
// Thank you for joining us in the Biz Spotlight in May – I am excited! For those who haven’t come across you yet, can you please introduce us to Quintessential Being and who you love to create podcasting magic with?
Quintessential Being started out as a podcast…having conversations with like-minded women who have overcome the challenges in their life and mindset so that I could offer myself and my audience fresh perspectives that cultivate awareness and invite more self-love and acceptance into their lives.
My business is about helping other women to launch their own podcasts so they can connect more intimately with their audiences, putting out content and conversations that really inspire, transform and uplift their audience.
I love to help soul-led business women start their podcasts, and really meet them where they’re at so that it doesn’t have to be overwhelmingly techy, or hard. It’s this really beautiful, easy process of recording conversations and sharing them with their audience.
// Now, I imagine the lockdowns and isolation of the pandemic has made plenty of people say now’s the time. Time to finally start a podcast. But…now what?
Clearly – talk to you! Can you talk to us firstly about how to know if podcasting is actually the right strategy for your business? And then, I’d love to hear about your self-paced Zero to Launch course…
Podcasting is the right strategy for your business if you’re incredibly client focused…podcasts are this amazing free resources library for the people in your orbit. It serves a multitude of people across the client journey – those who aren’t quite ready or resourced enough to jump into your higher paid containers, those who perhaps want to marinate in your energy more when they’re in your paid containers or those who are new to your digital space and need some more nurturing before they go all in.
Podcasting is like offering everyone in the room hoeur d’oeuvres, they get a taste test, satisfying their hunger no matter where they’re at.
Podcasting is also really great for introverts. If you are someone who is not necessarily really confident to step out and speak in front of a whole room of people, podcasting is really great for you because it’s just you and your microphone, or it’s just you and the listener, or it’s just you and the person you’re interviewing.
In essence, if you have a story to share, not *just* a 7 step process, if you are in your business to connect heart to heart not *just* money for service transactions – then podcasting is the right strategy for you.
Zero to Launch is my self-paced online course that takes you, well, from Zero to Launch!
It is the done-with-you program that guides you through every single step. From microphones and equipment to podcast planning, how to record with the proper levels, what software to use, how to successfully edit a podcast, creating a show intro/outro and how to create a whole podcast episode, signing up to a media host, writing show notes for your episodes, the perfect launch strategy, and how to promote your podcast with audiograms. We also do some mindset work around confidence.
It literally is, in my opinion, the most comprehensive guide to do-it-yourself podcasting. It’s a really supportive space to start your own podcast if you want to learn all the elements yourself.
// Ok, but now I’m sure there are people thinking can’t you just do it for me?! I’m really keen to hear about ‘Podcast In Your Pocket’ and who this option is perfect for…
Podcast In Your Pocket is perfect for someone who is pretty established in their business and a bit more resourced, they’re not interested in learning all the elements of podcasting but rather just want the fun part that is… recording!
They can pass that raw content onto me so I can work my magic and produce a work of audio art.
This option is for someone who KNOWS podcasting is their medium and who is willing to carve out the time to batch record their first season so that I can roll it out for them.
The recipe is simple: create consistent content full of value for your audience, give it *time* and watch it bloom!
Online users are really savvy, they can sniff out the people who are just trying to sell them something. Podcasting is a long game, it will pay if your intention is to give to your audience with no expectation. That’s the irony of it, give freely and it will come back to you tenfold.
Engage the listener like they are a real person *they are* so talk to them like you would your best friend. I often tell clients to put up a photo of someone when you’re recording and talk like you’re talking to them – it will pour out of you. Easily. These are the magical elements of a successful podcast host!
// Podcasts aren’t just a nice to do either, because they can become another income stream too. What are some of the ways you can monetize a podcast and where do you suggest people start with making their podcast into a money earner?
The easiest way for someone to make money off of their podcast is by putting in their own ‘sponsorship’ in each episode. This is a 30 second to 2 minute ‘live read’ about their low cost, paid membership container that is always open for enrollment so that whenever anyone listens to this episode they can join up.
In saying that I have had clients make a $5K sale from one podcast episode where a listener jumped into a high ticket item so it does happen that way too… the sky is the limit!
// “No one else has had the sum of your experiences, just as you have, or is able to share a message quite like you can… ya feel me?!”. OMG, yes! This recent post of yours is so on point.
Tell me, what are the biggest myths about who can start a podcast? And, what are the biggest blocks people have? I can imagine that mindset would be such a huge factor in whether a podcast flies & continues.
The biggest myth about podcasting is that it’s hard because it’s really not, you can literally start a podcast on your phone. Get your airpods and the anchor app and away you go – no joke! You don’t have to be a tech whiz.
You also don’t have to be a great speaker or presenter. You don’t have to be an extrovert.
We all know how to have conversations, we have them every day of our life and as long as you have a mission in your heart, to share with your audience all tools, processes and insights that got you to where you are today, you’ll help and inspire your audience.
Confidence can be a big block for people but I always tell my clients by episode 5 you’ll be flying! That’s how long it takes to move from ‘who am I to do this?’ to ‘I AM A PODCASTER!’
It’s just like learning to drive a car, you know, the first few times you do it, it’s really tricky and it feels hard, it feels really frustrating. You’re really scared of what other people are going to do on the road, you know, but two months down the line when you’ve been driving every day, it’s just something you do, right?! It’s autopilot now. Podcasting is the same, I promise.
So my advice there is just to start. Just start and refine as you go.
// In your opinion too, what are the elements that create a magical podcast – the one you can’t get enough & are hanging for every ep to be dropped?
The ones that give freely. The clients that I see hit the charts when they launch are the ones who go ALL IN and not only tell their story, share their knowledge and give away all of their tools but who do it consistently! Week in and week out despite low numbers at the start of their launch period, they keep putting out the content, full of gold nuggets for the audience to binge on and by week 8 they’ve hit the top 100 in their category on Apple.
It’s not as hard as you think. The recipe is simple: create consistent content full of value for your audience, give it *time* and watch it bloom!
Online users are really savvy, they can sniff out the people who are just trying to sell them something. Podcasting is a long game, it will pay if your intention is to give to your audience with no expectation. That’s the irony of it, give freely and it will come back to you tenfold.
Engage the listener like they are a real person *they are* so talk to them like you would your best friend. I often tell clients to put up a photo of someone when you’re recording and talk like you’re talking to them – it will pour out of you. Easily. These are the magical elements of a successful podcast host!
// Can we back it up a bit…Podcasting Priestess – I absolutely LOVE this! But, I feel like you don’t earn that title overnight!! Tell us a little about the journey that led you to where you are today…
In my previous life I was a radio presenter for Austereo, I worked incredibly hard for years to finally land my dream gig of becoming a breakfast radio host, but when I got there, despite being one of the best celebrity interviewers in the game, I hated it! Regurgitating the news cycle or reporting on the latest celebrity gossip just wasn’t lighting me up, I discovered I am much more soul-led than that and was so not about being a cardboard cut out (quite literally, my Mum still has the cardboard cut out me from my days in radio) so I quit my dream job and came home to Adelaide.
Fast forward a few years… after having just given birth to my son, I left his Father (with a 5 week old newborn) and became a single Mama, feeling completely lost, broken and overwhelmed by life, I knew I needed help.
I wasn’t resourced enough to have the therapy and energetic healings I wanted to at the time, so I started my own podcast Quintessential Being to have conversations with women who had been where I was standing, made it through and turned their mess into their magic!
Slowly but surely I rewired my brain and fixed my mindset from self-loathing to self-love. It is the single best thing I’ve ever done for myself and I thank my beautiful son everyday.
After starting my podcast I was in a small network of Adelaide business women and a few approached me asking if I could help them launch their own podcast so I did and that’s how my business was born.
I adore helping women access their own soul-aligned message and getting that out to more hearts and ears.
// And, what was it that made you say – I’m doing it, I’m starting my own business. Was there a single moment or a series of breadcrumbs or synchronistic moments?
Also, if someone is reading this who are on the cusp of starting a new biz, what’s your biggest piece of advice to them?
I had always, since before my son was born, wanted to start my own business… I actually really wanted to be a Life Coach, believe it or not, and I’ve always really, really loved helping people.
Reflecting to people a different perspective, helping them to see something from a new angle so that they’re not so stuck in their own story and hurt, that’s what my podcast is about. It is what I did for myself too, right – inspiring people to see the good in themselves and the good in the world.
So, I would say it was more a series of intentional synchronistic moments if that makes sense – I had the goal of starting a business from my laptop but it came a different way, a way in which I felt more confidence and could freely use my zones of genius.
My biggest piece of advice would be to build a solid relationship with yourself first, so that you can always access your own intuition and divine guidance. Whilst I fully believe in getting help from Business Coaches and mentors for strategy or mindset, no one knows your life and your circumstances like you do, and the more you rely on your own internal guidance the better actions you take and the easier it is to reach your goals.
// Can you take us a little bit deeper too because I know you’re a soulful woman. What has podcasting shifted in your life, or what have been your biggest soul lessons that you’ve learned through your work?
Oooooooftie – this is a big one! It’s actually making me emotional reflecting on that because it’s changed EVERYTHING for me.
Podcasting has shifted my whole belief in myself. It’s opened me up to my own magic, it’s allowed me to become a more whole, integrated being, it’s brought me lifelong knowledge that will serve me for the rest of my days, it’s given me the gift of being *more* of myself than ever before.
You know, I am coming up to my 39th birthday this month and I’ve been reflecting a lot on where I am now versus where I was when my son was born and I am just such a different person. My mind is freer, my energy is stronger, my belief in myself and what I can do is solidified, I am more connected to my soul. I am exactly where I wanted to be when I was a brand new Mama who felt frightened, depleted, broken, lost and quite frankly questioned whether or not I wanted to be here at all anymore.
I am incredibly grateful for everything that’s brought me here… and if you’re reading this and thinking ‘I’ve felt that’ I just want you to know that it gets better. Talk kindly to yourself everyday, especially the hard days because the world is hard enough, lean into compassion when you’re really struggling and feeling the shitty emotions, they are here to be felt too. It’s ok, you won’t feel like this forever and despite what the ‘high vibe society’ tells you, it’s ok to have a ‘bad day’ babe!
So yeah, that’s what podcasting has shifted in my life, it has given me the roadmap back to myself, back to loving myself and I don’t think anything is more powerful than that.
// I was thinking that everything you do in your work is all about collaboration and helping others to shine. Whether it’s having guests on your podcast, or teaching others how to start and nail it on their podcast, and I know you’ve recently teamed up with other SAWer Heidi Wolff for a fabulous workshop.
What do you love the most about collaboration? And, what do you love about the energy exchange it creates?
I love that collaboration is co-creation, it amplifies the outcome times a million. We are all wonderful beings of creation but when we gather together, we amplify that out to the world and magic just happens!
// To say that we love your energy, your generosity and your sparkling self in our membership is such an understatement! What do you love about being part of the SAW community and what have you gained from it?
I love that it is such a supportive space. I love the friendships that I’ve created, through going to SA woman events. I love that there’s always someone to listen to and answer a question or to offer simple advice when needed.
Having supportive spaces to have conversations as business women is really important to success I believe!
// Lastly, if you could have lunch with 3 other amazing South Australian women – who would you invite?
Sia Furler, Julia Gillard and Kayla Itsines – all incredible South Australian women who have broken glass ceilings and achieved incredible things within their fields of expertise!
Thanks for chatting with us Nikki!!
Find out more about Quintessential Being:
Podcast: Listen to Quintessential Being
FREE Bold Broadcasters Masterclass – podcast planning: quintessential-being.newzenler.com/courses/boldbroadcasters
Zero to Launch: quintessential-being.newzenler.com/courses/zero-to-launch-withnikkio
Podcast In Your Pocket: quintessentialbeing.com/coaching
Facebook: Quintessential Being
Instagram: @quintessentialbeingbynikki
LinkedIn: Nikki O’Brien
Website: www.quintessentialbeing.com