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Balanced Black Girl podcast host Les Alfred shares insights on how she succeeded in podcasting and in building a loyal community

💡You have to be really intentional about who your podcast is for to grow a community.

Have you dreamt of leaving your corporate job to become a full-time podcaster? That’s exactly what Les Alfred did when she wanted to help other women like her find purpose, balance, and resources for self-development. Listen in as she shares all of her secrets, including how she built a loyal and successful community through her podcast.

Les Alfred is a content creator, business owner, and the host of Balanced Black Girl, a podcast dedicated to helping you feel your best by providing approachable health, self-care, and personal development tips.

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Transcript

From content creator to full-time podcaster

Les fell into full-time podcasting because it was an extension of her career as a content creator. She spent years as a blogger and Instagram influencer, but her podcast quickly became her most successful platform. Les credits her stubborn nature for the reason she’s still podcasting today, even though she’s experienced burnout in the past. 

How to deal with the pressure that comes from running a successful podcast

Throughout her career as a full-time podcaster, Les has felt the pressure to be perfect and help her audience with their individual problems. The pressure has come from both internal and external sources. As a Black woman, she’s struggled with finding a balance between being an aspirational figure without being too aspirational. 

She’s dealt with the pressure by reminding herself that her job is to facilitate conversations, not have all the answers. Les shares her personal experiences when she feels comfortable, but she gets to choose how and how much of herself she shares with her audience. 

Finding purpose outside of your job

Les has made several career pivots throughout her life, and her time as an entrepreneur has taught her that her job is not her sole purpose in life. Instead, she views her job as an “assignment” and finds purpose in her experiences and how her life feels. 

There will be a day when she stops hosting Balanced Black Girl, and when that happens, her life’s purpose will not be over. Instead, she will move on to her next assignment. It’s important not to hold assignments so tightly because they are not always meant to go on forever. Assignments are meant to be experiences that teach you something. 

How to know when it’s time to move on to a new assignment

Les learned how to detach her purpose from her job by watching other people she admired do it first. When she was growing up, she wanted to be Oprah Winfrey, and she admired how Oprah ended her TV show at the height of its success. Another inspiration is Issa Rae, a television creator and actor who ended her show, Insecure, at the height of its success. Lastly, she cites Elaine Welteroth, who stepped down as editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue in 2018.

All three of these women left amazing opportunities to pursue other things and start the next chapter of their lives. Les is not planning to leave Balanced Black Girl anytime soon, but she’s given herself permission to leave whenever she feels pulled to the next chapter of her life. 

Building a community around a podcast

Before Les started her podcast, she knew she wanted to build a strong community. She started by identifying her ideal listeners, which were millennial women of color who were interested in wellness but didn’t feel represented in the wellness space. She knew who she was talking to before she ever recorded an episode.

Les created her show with her community in mind, which has led to organic growth. She figured out what her ideal listener cared about and started creating episodes around those topics. When her listeners found her show, they immediately connected with it because it was made with them in mind. 

Les’s podcasting hot take

Les’s hot take about the podcasting industry is that you have to be really intentional about who your podcast is for to grow a community. You can’t expect quick fame and success, but consistency is more important than going viral. 

The biggest differentiator between the businesses that succeed and the ones that fail

Les believes that the biggest differentiator between the businesses that succeed and the ones that fail is that successful businesses are led by people who use data to make decisions. They learn from their failures and apply the lessons in order to improve. 

Important sections of the conversation

  • [1:50] From content creator to full-time podcaster
  • [4:00] How to deal with the pressure that comes with running a successful podcast
  • [13:43] Finding purpose outside of your job
  • [24:22] How to know when it’s time to move on to a new assignment
  • [28:07] Building a community around a podcast
  • [31:10] Les’s podcasting hot take
  • [35:17] The biggest differentiator between the businesses that succeed and the ones that fail

Resources mentioned

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