Top Podcasts for Small Business Owners

As the world of podcasts continues to expand and gain traction, more and more genres are represented - and gaining audience share. More and more listeners are gravitating to shows and topics that fit their interests.

Podcast Insight's October 2021 data report shows that over one-third of Americans report listening to podcasts regularly, which means that nearly 104 million people tune in to hear audio content on a daily or weekly basis. 

Most people polled explained that they listen to podcasts because they are curious, interested in self-improvement, or listening specifically to the content they want to become more knowledgeable about. Podcast listeners report that they turn to podcasts to learn or get helpful information. 

With shows and topics ranging from true crime to global news, sports, and even discussions of the paranormal, there is indeed an audience for every niche podcast.

Including entrepreneurs and small business owners!

Podcasts are aired by podcast listening apps called directories which sort and filter content based on topic categories. Some popular podcast directories include Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher. Each time a new podcast is produced, that podcast submits its RSS feed to a podcast directory. The RSS feed contains information about the show, its episode content, and topic relevance. In other words, the RSS feed is the link between the podcast's actual audio files (that are listened to) and the information those files contain. 

Guess which RSS feed is among the top five most popular podcast genres?

You guessed it – the business genre.

It should come as no surprise that there is a massive appetite for podcasts with business as a focus. Never before has it been so easy to learn tips and tools and hear from those with experience building a new business, and even from those who have had one fail.

Business podcasts are (obviously) focused on business-related topics. Many are conducted by one or two podcast hosts who interview guests considered subject matter experts or have relevant experience that would be interesting to business-minded listeners.

If you are looking for insight into how to start, grow or scale your business, here are some of our recommendations for some great podcasts for small business owners and entrepreneurs.  While in no means a fully inclusive list, we think you will enjoy these podcasts for the tips they offer, for the peek behind the scenes at how businesses function, and, at times, for the humor and laughter that brings levity into an otherwise serious arena!

How I Built This

Produced by NPR and hosted by the award-winning journalist Guy Raz, How I Built This is a podcast about "innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built." How I Built This's first episode was recorded in 2016, and listeners love that the podcast takes them on a ride, describing the ups and downs and unexpected turns experienced by all business owners - from wildly successful endeavors to those that ultimately failed. How I Built This exposes the grit and resilience necessary to take a business from conception to success.

Get Started Here:

Listen to Spanx with Sara Blakely 

Listen to Khan Academy with Sal Khan

The Goal Digger Podcast

The Goal Digger Podcast is a workshop-style business podcast that offers actionable tips to help listeners realize their dreams of business success. The Goal Digger Podcast's host is Jenna Kutcher, who describes herself as an educator, digital marketer, podcaster, author, hype-woman, and achiever. Jenna bought a $300 camera off Craigslist to begin her career as a photographer and built a seven-figure empire. Her podcast provides strategies, productivity tips, inspiring stories, and truth-telling guests.

Get Started Here:

Listen to 14 Ways to Get More Done in Less Time

Listen to If I Had $1,500 to Start a Business, Here's Where I'd Spend It

Entrepreneurs on Fire

Entrepreneurs on Fire is hosted by John Lee Dumas and boasts over 3000 episodes. Designed for listeners who have already started their business, are dreaming of leaving corporate America, or are about to enter the business world, Entrepreneurs on Fire offers interviews about entrepreneurs from a wide variety of industries. Dumas has a list of interview questions and subjects that provide insightful and diverse "aha!" moments of what drives people and businesses to lasting success.

Get Started Here:

Listen to Getting Acquired - How an Entrepreneur Built and Sold his SaaS Startup with Andrew Gazdecki

Listen to Leading a Business as a Woman of Color: Obstacles and Opportunities with Nastassia C. S.

The $100 MBA

The premise of the $100 MBA podcast is that anyone can start and run a business if they have the correct information. Shunning the idea that an expensive degree is the only way to business success, the $100 MBA offers quick action lessons in business that teach listeners how to improve and enhance their business strategies. The host, Omar Zenhom, is intent on covering business fundamentals and supporting topics like digital marketing and social media engagement.

Get Started Here:

Listen to How to Discount Your Product While Maximizing Revenue

Listen to Are You A Good Enough Leader?

The BizChix

Hosted by Natalie Eckdahl, a career coach, The BixChix is tailored to advise on the specific challenges women face when building their businesses. With weekly episodes that vary in length each week, listeners appreciate the practical and tactical guidance The BixChix offers. Subscribers often remark that the combination of mindset and helpful tips offered creates a sense of community and inspires return listeners.

Get Started Here:

Listen to Do You Have Too Many Services or Offers?

Listen to Overcoming the Fear of Rejection

Some other business-focused podcasts you might be interested in checking out:

Veteran On The Move

https://veteranonthemove.com/

24-year veteran Joe Crane's podcast works to connect entrepreneurial veterans and their families to the people, programs, and resources that will help them transition successfully into the small business world.

Mind Your Business

https://www.mindyourbusinesspodcast.com/

Host James Wedmore has a different take on the perspective and mindset necessary for small business success. He believes in aligning your physical and emotional drivers to be truly successful in life and business. 

Professional On The Go

https://www.spreaker.com/show/professional-on-the-go

This podcast is focused on small business owners in service-based industries and the challenges they have dealing with clients, invoicing, transactions, and marketing.

Free To Slay

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freedom-slay-podcast/id146889595

Host Gaynete Jones' podcast is geared to female entrepreneurs looking to fast-track their side hustles to gain financial freedom. 

Startup Stories

The Startup Stories podcast endeavors to give listeners the belief and courage to start their own companies. It interviews the founders of some of the most successful brands known today to understand the factors that go into growing a business.

Let us know what you think about our list! And if you have any other podcasts you think we should include, tell us about them.

Also, if you want to start your podcast, be sure to use a talented Freedom Maker virtual podcasting assistant to help you get it started! Your Freedom Maker will make adding your podcast to lists like these not just a dream but a reality!