No matter where you are in life and business, there are always things to improve. And when it comes to daily inspiration for growth I like the digestibility of a good podcast. Lots of people listen to music when they edit or do other office work, but I like to put on a podcast and try to learn something. Sure, there are tons of blogs, books, and traditional workshops you can utilize to improve your business, but a podcast is a great no effort way to ingest information.
Here are five of my favorite podcasts that I listen to whenever I have some free ear time. I purposely left off podcasts that talk directly about photography, because running a wedding photography business is about so much more than just photography.
The Tim Ferriss Show
This is one of my favorite podcasts overall, because it touches on so many different areas of business and life. If you haven’t hear of Tim Ferriss, you have probably never been on the internet before (and we know that’s not true). He is the author of the incredibly popular book The 4-Hour Workweek, and his podcast is consistently one of the top on iTunes (named “Best of 2014” and “Best of 2015”). In each episode he interviews someone and extracts key insights into how they are successful, and how you can apply those techniques and methods into your own business or life.
Each episode, I deconstruct world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, sports, business, art, etc.) to extract the tactics, tools, and routines you can use. This includes favorite books, morning routines, exercise habits, time-management tricks, and much more. Prior guests include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Foxx, Edward Norton, Tony Robbins, Maria Popova, Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, Amanda Palmer, Malcolm Gladwell, Rick Rubin, Reid Hoffman, Jon Favreau, Whitney Cummings, Mike Shinoda, and dozens more.
You can listen and subscribe to The Tim Ferriss Show at http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast/.
The Dave Ramsey Show
Another name you’ve probably heard a lot of times, even if you’ve never read one of his books or listened to his radio show. Dave Ramsey is a financial author and a huge champion of getting out of debt. His podcast, The Dave Ramsey Show, is a great resource for learning about personal finance and how to be smart with money in general. A huge part of running a small business is being smart with the money that comes in your door, and having a sound personal understanding of money management is a huge step towards being smart with your business finances.
The Dave Ramsey Show is about real life and how it revolves around money. Dave Ramsey teaches you to manage and budget your money, get out of debt, build wealth, and live in financial peace. Managing your money properly will reduce stress, improve your marriage, and provide security for you and your family.
You can listen and subscribe to The Dave Ramsey Show at https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-dave-ramsey-show/id77001367/.
Entrepreneur on Fire with John Lee Dumas
Similar to The Tim Ferriss Show, EOFire with John Lee Dumas consists of interviews with entrepreneurs. A key difference here is that this podcast comes out daily and is much shorter, usually clocking in at under 30 minutes. Because it’s produced daily, there is a much wider variety of people interviewed, and not just big time names either, but regular entrepreneurs that have great tips and lessons to share regarding running a business. EOFire has also been awarded “Best of iTunes” in the past.
Failure is part of every journey, and on EOFire, the first story we share is our guest’s biggest failure and their lessons learned. The second story we dive into is our guest’s AH-HA moment and the steps they took to turn that moment into success. The grand finale is The Lightning Round, where I ask six rapid-fire questions to extract nuggets of wisdom for you.
You can listen and subscribe to EOFire at http://www.eofire.com/podcast/.
Edge of the Web
These days it feels like half of our job as wedding photographers involves SEO, and it always seems to be changing. So stay on top of the game with this weekly podcast that covers various SEO topics, from local search results to dark traffic. While you may want to hire a professional to handle a lot of your SEO tactics, having a good understanding of the landscape is paramount to knowing where to put most of your efforts. The hosts do an awesome job explaining things, and often interview other experts to shed light on more in-depth topics.
Edge of the Web Radio is a weekly, hour long Internet Marketing program hosted by Erin Sparks and Tom Brodbeck from Site Strategics and Douglas Karr from Marketing Tech Blog.
You can listen and subscribe to Edge of the Web at http://edgeofthewebradio.com/seo-podcast/.
The 5 AM Miracle
I know we’re not all early risers (in fact, I know some people who work for themselves just to be able to sleep in), but I’m a huge fan of getting up early in the morning and getting shit done. I personally feel the most productive when I get at least three things done before noon, and waking up early is a simple way to be more productive across the whole day. The 5 AM Miracle with Jeff Sanders is a weekly podcast that comes out on Mondays and tackles the topic of being productive in the morning and using that to kickstart a productive day. Sometimes he interviews guests and sometimes he just covers a topic, but either way you’ll learn something valuable to apply to your mornings.
The 5 AM Miracle is a weekly podcast dedicated to dominating your day before breakfast. My goal is to help you bounce out of bed with enthusiasm, create powerful lifelong habits, and tackle your grandest goals with extraordinary energy. Every Monday morning I release a new episode that either features a fascinating guest OR I jump on the mic myself and dive into a new topic. The core topics include early mornings, healthy habits, personal development, and rockin’ productivity!
You can listen and subscribe to The 5 AM Miracle at https://www.jeffsanders.com/the-5-am-miracle-podcast/.
Do you have a favorite podcast that you listen to in order to run a better business? Let us know in the comments!