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小蓝视频ing passionate entrepreneurs in the corridor; that is the idea behind a free monthly podcast hosted by Squamish鈥檚 Conny Millard.
鈥淚t stemmed from the idea I was always having the same conversations with different people,鈥� said Millard, who works as a business coach.
People were always looking for resources or for information on entrepreneurship in the corridor, she added.
Over the 14 months of the In The Hot Seat podcasts so far Millard has featured various local business and organization leaders including Suzanne McCrimmon, outgoing executive director from the Squamish Chamber of Commerce, and Squamish Public Library鈥檚 Hilary Bloom. Though the podcasts are also an opportunity for Millard to advertise her own services 鈥� each podcast begins with an ad 颅鈥� interviewees offer tips on how to access business tools in the community. Bloom, for example, shared that aspiring business owners can book one-to-one time with a librarian who will help with business and market research.
鈥淭hrough the library, they already have databases that they subscribe to鈥� and very specifically, through different industries you have access to journals and market research that is not available on Google or out there,鈥� said Millard.
Bloom also spoke about women in business and balancing career and family.
Listeners are mostly owners of small- to medium-sized businesses in Squamish, Whistler and Vancouver, Millard said.
Ideally, the goal is for the podcast to work like a 鈥渃losed loop supply chain,鈥� according to Millard.
Interviewees discuss what they do and how they do it, talk about entrepreneurship and finally about what they need so that listening entrepreneurs may be able to fill that gap.
The ripple effect of the podcasts has sometimes been surprising, Millard said. A Toronto company heard one interviewee鈥檚 podcast and ended up hiring her.
鈥淏ecause there was that personal touch鈥� so what she had done in the past, and the fact that she had done some pretty brave things in her life privately and personally, that got her the gig,鈥� Millard said.
Accurate figures are hard to come by, but according to Apple, it has hundreds of thousands of free听podcasts through iTunes.
As a communication medium, the podcast can be more authentic and intimate than other mediums, such as video, Millard said.
鈥淧eople feel pretty shy about themselves,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou are putting yourself out there 鈥� a lot of you out there 鈥� and so the podcast is a nice way of having a normal conversation without feeling under pressure.鈥�
The Business Sanctuary鈥檚 In the Hot Seat podcasts can be found on iTunes. Check out a sample podcast .
