How I make it work: running an art podcast
Why a podcast can make a fulfilling side hustle
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Morning, Colleague!
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I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and are filled with new-week energy. If not (me neither) here’s some guaranteed inspiration from the lovely Jo Mclaughlin, who I’ve interviewed about her side hustle. We chatted a few weeks back about running a passion project during lockdown, and beyond.
Jo works part-time in a London sculpture gallery and runs Jo’s Art History Podcast, which is designed to make the understanding and appreciation of art accessible to everyone.
Here are her thoughts on side hustle stigmas, fitting in time for your own project, and the surprising rewards that they can bring.
Why I started my side hustle
“I wanted to carve my own niche in the art world, where there’s so much noise going on. I enjoy my job but I wanted to do something for me. I love working in a sculpture gallery but it doesn’t give me the same fulfilment as ticking something off my own list.
“I set up the site and then…lockdown happened, and I found myself furloughed at the end of March. I felt an initial sense of panic, and basically brain dumped on paper. But then I started looking at it differently: if there was a government scheme to be supported while I did what I wanted, I would be first in line. So that’s how I tried to look at it.
“I’m an art historian — I’m not technical at all, so I didn’t know much about getting set up. But what I found online was a brilliant pocket of people who want to share what they already know, including a podcast workshop for a donation via The Circle.
Passion projects help you find your own space
“I started the Jo’s Art History Podcast roughly a year ago and at the moment it’s somewhere between a passion project (which is how it started) and a side hustle. There’s an opportunity to make money if it goes a certain way, but that’s not my objective. It’s allowed me to find my space — when you work for someone else a lot of the time you’re told to hush that. I’m the happiest I’ve been in myself, because I’ve listened to myself, and done something for me.
“Art history isn’t just for the few. It can change lives and it’s so varied. It just takes one message from someone to make my day. I was thinking of winding it down, and then after the third lockdown 15 different people wrote to me and said they were enjoying the podcast, and it had helped them escape. I realised it’s serving another purpose, as well as educating, so I have to keep this going.
The nuts and bolts
“When I went back to work posting every day became too much, so I cut back, and – although I am hard on myself – the world didn’t fall apart. It’s nice to set deadlines, but sometimes life happens.
“I work four days a week in the gallery, and I work on the podcast where I can. For years I said I would never get up early, but I never had a reason to. Now if I need to, I’ll do an hour of writing first thing, recordings in the evening, or a few hours at the weekend. I use my day off work to do the editing. Sunday is just my day.
“So far it’s made me no money, but it’s not cost me any either — bar buying a £30 second-hand microphone. But I’ve gained so much from it. I wonder if I’d had money at the front of my mind when I set it up, if it would maybe have come across in a different way.
“I almost felt that, because I wasn’t looking to make money, it wasn’t worthy of being my side hustle, or being a serious piece of work. There’s a stigma that you have to make money from a side hustle. But thank God, I went with it anyway, and it’s been an introduction to some wonderful people, and I’ve learnt so much about myself. I respect people like Emma Gannon who started her podcast as a side hustle and it’s grown.
[Why are all women nude during painting scenes in films??]
You don’t know what a project might lead to
“The best thing is that I’ve now met people from all over the world: the US, Germany, Norway… and given them a space to bang a drum about something that they love. One guest has been offered the chance to give a remote lecture for a US school from the podcast. During one episode I interviewed a friend who’s an antique jeweller, and we ended up saying: ‘maybe we could turn this into a book.’
“I’d say to someone thinking about starting a podcast: do it, 100%. It seems complicated, but it’s not at all. You’re going to make brilliant connections, and I’m happy to pass what I know forward, so get in touch.”
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Read more about side hustles (designed to make money) and passion projects (hobbies and projects that aren’t primarily about cash) here. You might also enjoy this article about personal brands.