Hey Lovesss!

I hope you all are having a great start to the week! Sending you electronic hugs and positive energy today. I’m back with another podcast review and it just so happens to fit well with the theme of #Sewphotohop Day:24, which is “While sewing I ___” .

While sewing, I do listen to music and randomly dance, but I most of the time while sewing I listen to podcasts! So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to do another podcast review. Today I’m talking about the Side Hustle Pro Podcast, one of my favorites. Nicaila Matthews Okome is the host of this podcast, which launched in 2016. Since then the podcast and Nicaila’s following has grown tremendously with almost a million downloads and over 50,00 followers on IG. Side Hustle Pro is the first and only podcast to spotlight bold, black women entrepreneurs who have scaled from side hustle to profitable business. This podcast is one to you need to add to your library.

Every time I listen to this podcast, I’m reminded that l’m not alone and that we all have ups and downs in our businesses, lives, and side hustles. These are real women who look just like me and are trying or have already conquered the road to successful full time entrepreneurship. Its beyond inspiring listening to these women tell their stories, and I’m just delighted this podcast provides a space for them to do so.

I decided to go with a “PRO-LIST” when reviewing the podcasts because I feel its easier to digest if I just hit you with the bullets of pros about the podcast, instead of one loong paragraph.

So scroll this list and see why you need to subscribe this podcast asap!

• Tells our stories. It shines a light on the untold narratives of women of color. (that should be enough to make you click subscribe)
• Voice– I like Nicaila’s voice. lol Its really chill, she’s not overly goofy or super serious either. I love when hosts have that perfect balance.
• Guests- The guests are AMAZING. Seriously from billion dollar business owners, to stock traders, to barbie doll creators this podcast highlights some pretty dope women.
• DMV GIRL BOSSES– Nicaila was born in Jamaica, raised in Bronx NY, and I believe she currently resides in DC. So she has interviewed some dope girl bosses in the DMV area. Angel Anderson the owner of The Spice Suite and Jerri Evans owner of Turning Natural have made appearances in the guest chair. It is so amazing to hear podcast from people and places who I already support!
• Podcast flow– Most podcasts do a little music to introduce the podcast but her intro is a snippet o the podcast and i think that is brilliant and this podcast is the first one I ever heard do that.
• She breaks it down– Nicaila asks her guests to talk to us like we know nothing about what they do. I love that, because sometimes I don’t know anything about trading stocks or the steps it takes to open a smoothie shop. If a guest is talking about something she think we may not understand she’ll ask “can you explain further, what does that process look like, or can you break it down for me please?”  Just asking those questions to gain clarity, allows me to really understand and put myself in their shoes.
• Solo episodes- Every once in a while Nicaila will do a solo episode where she shares her journey to success and entrepreneurship.
• If you have a side hustle, you want to start one, or you want to take your side hustle to the next level then this podcast is sure to inspire and empower you to become a side hustle Pro!

Follow Nicaila, @sidehustlepro on IG, Facebook. and Twitter. You can also visit her website sidehustlepro.co and listen to episodes on Soundcloud.

If you have already listened to this podcast. Let me know what you think about it!

Hey Loves,

I hope you are having a great day thus far!

I am sooo excited to start doing podcast reviews here on the blog. If you don’t know what a podcast it’s essentially a talk show in a digital format. You may be thinking well isn’t that what the radio is, but “unlike traditional radio, podcast hosts can produce shows in their living room on any topic they choose, without being shackled by FCC regulations. Today there are hundreds of thousands of podcasts floating about on the Web, covering every topic imaginable, including true crime, history, even gastronomy. And although podcasts are still a niche product, they’ve been steadily growing in popularity over the last decade alongside the smartphone.”

I have been listening to podcasts for about 2 years now. The first podcast I ever listened to was Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday. Once I heard that podcast I was addicted, at this point I think I’ve listened to about every episode on her show. From that point on and I would tell everyone I knew about podcasts. If I asked someone did they listen to podcasts and they said no, I would get so excited to give them recommendations! Lol That was when I knew I should just share my recommendations here!

I would say within the last year I got hip to sewing podcasts! At first all I listened to was self-help, spiritual, business, or society and culture podcasts. I had no idea there were people making podcasts about sewing. Like why didn’t I search for this sooner!

When I saw the “love to sew” podcast pop up I had to listen to it and I fell in love from the first episode. I’ve listened to a few other sewing podcasts (which I will also review) but if I had to choose a sewing podcast I listen to the most it would be the “Love To Sew” podcast!

This podcast is hosted by Caroline and Helen and recorded in Vancouver. I often confuse the two, because they look and sound alike to me, but I believe its Caroline who runs a fabric store called Blackbird Fabrics. Helen makes and sells patterns so both of them are incredibly knowledgeable and heavily involved in the sewing community.

What I like about the podcast:

THE RELATIONSHIP– You can tell these two are best friends and their chemistry is great.

TOPICS and GUESTS– The things they talk about are super relevant in the sewing community, from episodes on making swimsuits to the financials of sewing its clear these women are passionate about inspiring others to sew. The guests are also great. They have introduced me to some influencers in the sewing community I didn’t know about, so that’s always awesome.

INFO AND RESOURCES– Free info, tips, and resources related to your hobby are always great. During this podcast I recommend you take notes and rewind if you need to. You can really learn a lot from this podcast if you are a newbie to the sewing world.

CONNECTION– I think they make it a point to connect with their listeners which is so cool to me.  These ladies always welcome feedback, questions, and comments. They have a voicemail set up so listeners can leave a message, and possibly have it read on the show. They have Q&A episodes and they just are always so grateful, sweet. These ladies sure know how to make a listener feel appreciated.

NOTES– Helen and Caroline are super giggly sometimes. Which I can’t even say is a bad thing because you can tell they are having fun and the vibes rub off on me. I find myself smiling for no reason while I’m listening to it. Sometimes they just giggle a lot. I remember one episode it felt like after every sentence they did this unison chuckle as a way to ease into the next sentence.

OVERALL THOUGHTS– If you sew I highly recommend you take a listen to this podcast. It is full of tips, tricks, resources, and overall sewing info. I personally don’t have a lot of friends that sew, so this is a great way to feel like you have sewing friends. They make it seem like you’re just chilling hanging out with some of your sewing girlfriends.

Helen and Caroline can be found on Instagram @lovetosew.podcast @blackbirdfabrics @helens_closet 

Please drop a line or comment here or on my IG page and let me know what you all think of this podcast review! Thanks for stopping by. 

Sources: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/download-listen-podcasts-android-ios-181517787.html