Podcasts are booming and especially for entrepreneurs and business owners it is a way to continue to grow and develop our leadership, marketing and even sales skills while continuing to run our ventures. Business owners only have so much time to execute and complete the millions of things on our to-do list so any way that we can multi-task in an efficient way is a great opportunity. Podcasting is a good way to do that. While driving or walking the dog, podcasts offer a way to learn and grow while sometimes completing other tasks. We added a podcast to our blogging community and we wanted to hear from entrepreneurs some of their favorite business or entrepreneurial podcast.
#1-How I Built This
A podcast I really like is “How I Built This” from NPR. Each episode focuses on a different CEO or entrepreneur. I admire the deep dive each guest is willing to take into their company and how they got their start, and I find it motivating to hear the innovative ways they got their business off of the ground. Listening to other disruptive business ideas inspires me to continue to make a difference in my industry.
Thanks to Kurt Reuss, EB5 Deals!
#2-Art of the Hustle
Art of the Hustle is my “don’t miss” podcast. It’s easy to listen to and conversational, and covers a broad range of topics, even including failures that can happen before successes and big payouts. Well-known businesses are featured right alongside smaller ones, brick and mortar store along with internet-based companies. The people on each episode dig deep into their motivations, and what moves them forward. It’s an endless source of innovative ideas, some of which we end up adopting in our company.
Thanks to John Nikolaou, Nisim International!
#3-Legends and Losers
The podcast happens to be my favorite because it springs from the idea that every legend we see today was a loser or a failure at some point of time in their lives. Coming from a successful author Christopher Lochhead, there are different podcasts with successful people about their challenges and struggles, and their fight against them to succeed. Legends and Losers is truly inspirational and motivational for business owners, startup founders, or generally anyone looking to learn from the ideas of people who have been there and done that.
Thanks to Ketan Kapoor, Mercer – Mettl!
#4-The Tim Ferriss Show
My favorite business podcast is without a doubt The Tim Ferriss Show. It resonates with me because he doesn’t cover business topics alone. Tim discusses a range of topics from which I can extract general productivity tips and tools, like the time-management tricks and morning routines of interviewees including LeBron James, Peter Thiel, and Malcom Gladwell. I find that practicing productivity and integrating good habits into all aspects of my daily life – especially habits practiced by incredibly successful people — helps me continuously improve my skills as a CEO.
Thanks to Eden Amirav, Lending Express!
#5- Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income
If you are in any sort of online business then Smart Passive Income is the podcast you must listen to. In this podcast Pat Flynn invites different online entrepreneurs to share their different strategies and tactics to successfully run and grow online business. These unique and tested tactics will essentially help you to optimize your online business to your desired targets. You can effectively improve your online business to the next level by implementing the tricks learned from SPI.
Thanks to Andrei Vasilescu, DontPayFull!
#6-The Zack Miller Says podcast
The Zack Miller Says podcast is a fresh spin on what is usually a boring business podcast. A companion of his upcoming book, Anomaly, the podcast provides a regular dosage of unorthodox business advice that helps you stand out from the competition. In particular I like that he mixes the format between relatively short solo episodes and longer format interviews. He always keeps you guessing, and always provides immediately impactful tactics to propel your business forward.
Thanks to Erik Olson, Array Digital!
#7-Ignite
Hosted by Alex Membrillo, CEO of Cardinal Digital Marketing, this podcast lets listeners hear the gritty stories from top business leaders on how they have ignited growth in their companies. As an entrepreneur and business owner, I love getting the opportunity to hear from fellow business leaders on their perspectives and experiences. The podcast episodes are easy listens that keep your attention from beginning to end. The guests are top notch, including featuring the CEO of King of Pops, Director of Marketing for Macallan Scotch, and the Chief Consumer Officer at Piedmont Healthcare.
Thanks to Allison Reinert, ALR Marketing Solutions!
#8- Noah Kagan Presents
I’m a big fan of Noah Kagan Presents. It’s a great podcast where Noah sits down with famous entrepreneurs, celebrities and CEOs to share their tips and strategies on growing a business. Noah was one of the first employees at Facebook, and worked at Mint before becoming the mastermind behind sumo.com and Appsumo – he really knows what he’s talking about! He’s really down to earth, but because he’s so well-known he interviews some amazing people. He never seems to feel awkward, either, and will push his guests on questions that other probably wouldn’t. 100% worth a listen.
Thanks to Ross Davies, Strafe Creative!
#9-Jereshia Said Podcast
My favorite podcast for entrepreneurs and business owners is the Jereshia Said Podcast. Jereshia Hawk is the founder of Services that Sell, a business that helps online service providers successfully, consistently generate income selling their services. Her podcast provides a very fresh perspective in this jam-packed world of online entrepreneurs. She uses an authentic and humble voice to convey straightforward tools that are extremely appealing. She has stripped away the complexities, demystified the world of marketing, and delivers real solutions that assist online entrepreneurs with selling a specific service. Given the numerous successful clients to date, there is no wonder that this podcast rapidly rose to one of the top-ranked podcast after just one season!
Thanks to Linda Taliaferro, The TEE – The Extra Effort, LLC!
#10-Building A StoryBrand
For any podcast to make it on my list it must be concise (30-45 min tops), provide valuable information, and be entertaining. “Building A StoryBrand with Donald Miller” hits all those marks and then some. Donald’s passion lies in helping others clarify their business’ message, or as he would say, story. That said, his podcast isn’t all about his business. He covers a broad spectrum of business concepts from marketing to finance with guests that are the best thought leaders out there. These guests include Seth Godin, Ken Blanchard, Lee LeFever, Chris McChesney, and Charles Duhigg to name a few. So, if you want a podcast you can start and finish on your commute to the office that packs a punch, give Miller’s a shot. He puts out a new episode every week. I’m certain you will not regret it.
Thanks to Chad Conley, Complete Roofing, Inc.!
#11-The Top – Host Nathan Latka
The Top – Host Nathan Latka wastes no time in each episode to get straight to the story behind successful SaaS ventures and how exactly they’re achieving their growth (including specific churn and revenue numbers). If you’re a SaaS entrepreneur, want to learn but have little time, this is perfect. My two favorite episodes are with Brendan King of Vendasta, and the one with Nikos Moraitakis of Workable.
Thanks to Wences García, MarketGoo!
#12-The Six Figure Photography
As a wedding photographer, I need a podcast for my niche, but I have found it to be very informative even if you weren't in the wedding industry. The Six Figure Photography podcast talks about the best way to file your taxes as a creative all the way to optimizing your website and managing your workflow. I highly encourage anyone who is in the creative industry or works for themselves as a creative to listen to this podcast. After listening to this among others, I was able to take my business from only earning $2k in a year to $30 which is why I so strongly believe in it. Ben brings experts in the industry on and asks them their strategies to get to where they are. It has been extremely insightful and he actually had me on one episode.
Thanks to Casi Yost, Casi Yost Photography!
#13-Marketing School
Marketing School is an excellent podcast for any business owner and entrepreneur looking for a daily dose of tactical marketing tips to boost their business. The hosts, Neil and Eric discuss a wide range of marketing topics such as effective Facebook ads, creating stellar blog posts, making SEO work for your website and much more. The best part about their show is that each episode is only 5-10 minutes long, making it easy for you to learn and absorb this information. I also find the content of their show non-promotional and authentic, which makes me want to listen to this podcast on a regular basis. Both Neil and Eric own digital agencies and are truly the experts in the digital marketing space. Give this show a try, you won’t regret it.
Thanks to Jinal Sampat, Sampat Jewellers Inc.!
#14-The Mastermind Show by Kickass Masterminds
The Host (Sara Christensen) has a fantastic concept of bringing 5 entrepreneurs together and do a live mastermind session on the podcast. So each episode is dedicated to one person's specific problem and the others help brainstorm and workshop it on the podcast. It provides not only great ideas, but also a fantastic reason why entrepreneurship isn't meant to be lonely. If you want to be a fly on the wall to some fantastic discussion and great insight, check out this podcast.
Thanks to Danielle Klemm
#15-Myleik Teele's Podcast
I absolutely love her podcast because she gives it to you RAW! No fluff! She's an entrepreneur and currently running her company CurlBox. She shares how she started from the bottom and built it to the brand it is now and she's very relatable. After listening to her podcast, I feel like I can take over the world, and I usually do take over a small portion of it after listening. She shares insights and lessons from her journey and aims to prevent us from making some of the mistakes she did. She also has a lot of guests on there that you can relate to and learn from. It's not just for women though and that's a big plus. This podcast is an easy must listen to!
Thanks to Jenni Graham, JCHIC LifeStyle Brand!
#16-The Brainy Business
As podcasts go there are tons of business, entreprenuership, and for me artist-related content but there is only one business podcast that has kept my interest and that I've seen actual results from and that is The Brainy Business Podcast. Melina Palmer is witty, intelligent, entertaining and brings so much to the table. Instead of looking at SEO and advertising (which are essential to a business) she explains the equally if not more important and rarely talked about side of behavioral brain-friendly marketing. I seriously recommend giving her a listen and be sure to have a notepad and paper handy.
Thanks to Rachel A Madej, Rachel Antonia Designs!
#17-Entrepreneurs on Fire
My favorite podcast is Entrepreneurs on Fire hosted by John Lee Dumas. Every episode features an interview with a successful entrepreneur across all industries with an inspiring story to tell about how they got to where they are today. This podcast goes live seven days a week, and is easy to listen to on the go with episodes clocking in at about 20 minutes apiece.
Thanks to Deborah Sweeney, MyCorporation.com!
#18-Crushing the Tough Stuff
My favorite business podcast is Crushing the Tough Stuff with Kim Ades. She invites interesting guests to speak on a wide range of topics that any entrepreneurs would find helpful and thought provoking. Her questions stem from her natural curiosity on the stories from each guest. She has been an executive coach for many years and she helps her clients change their mindset. I also love how she ends each podcast with You have a coach on the line, what would you like to ask?. Since many of the guests are also entrepreneurs, the questions are very relevant.
Thanks to Liz Hwang, Modern Essentials Design!
#19-Without Fail
Hosted by Alex Blumberg, founder of the most successful podcasting company, Gimlet Media, Without Fail is a weekly interview with people who have done hard things, including many well-recognized business leaders such as the co-founder of Flickr and the founder of Groupon. While I usually shy away from the one-on-one interview format podcast, this one is different. The compelling nature of these interviews are the result of Blumberg’s incisive interview style (it is amazing how he gets his subjects to open up to him) and the candid discussions of the failures that people experienced as they explored their dreams.
Thanks to Chris Chancey, Amplio Recruiting!
#20- Masters of Scale
Masters of Scale provides a fantastic mix of relevance and aspiration. Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder of Linkedin and onetime-COO of Paypal, interviews big names in industry and dissects how they were able to grow to their enormous size from often humble beginnings. Hoffman sometimes dives deep into a given topic with a synthesis of past interviews citing the common ground between all of these behemoths. I love hearing of the progressions, the false starts, the mistakes and the sudden successes that allow companies to fulfill their destinies. After the best episodes I'm left with fresh ideas, affirmations that I'm on the right track, and solidarity in my mistakes. Five stars.
Thanks to Drew Farnsworth, Green Lane Design!
What’s your favorite business podcast? Tell us in the comments below. Don’t forget to join our #IamCEO Community.