Five Business Podcasts to Challenge Your Professional Development
Give me more.
That’s the battle cry of information- and narrative-hungry entrepreneurs who are constantly looking for the newest material and insights to strengthen their business acumen.
Of course, you don’t have to be an entrepreneur to love a good business podcast. There are plenty of resources available in the podosphere to help you be more productive at work and more whole at home.
We’ve created a list of five podcasts to download this year and we’ve tried to avoid the old guard like Tim Ferriss and EoF. Enjoy!
Business Podcast#1: StartUp
We like this show from Gimlet Media because it has that trademark Gimlet style. Business advice is wrapped in intimate narratives about how Gimlet CEO Alex Blumberg started his company.
“It tackles all the issues of starting a company, like naming it, valuing it and bringing on partners through a personal, narrative lens,” Entrepreneur contributor Matt Mayberry wrote.
StartUp made Bite Size PR’s list of “30 Business Podcasts to Listen to Now.” They describe the show as a mix between PBS standouts This American Life and Serial. “Startup paints a compelling portrait of what it’s really like to get a business off the ground.”
Business Podcast #2: Powderkeg: Igniting Startups
Another newcomer to the biz podcast world, Powderkeg is a startup show that focuses on a unique area of the tech world: entrepreneurs outside of Silicon Valley.
Here’s how Entrepreneur describes the show: “Energetic host Matt Hunckler taps into the minds of top-tier entrepreneurs, investors and innovators to provide insights that will help aspiring founders no matter where they’re located.
Here’s a quick sampling of the show’s most recent episodes, which are released every Tuesday:
- How to Clear Your Mind, Calm Your Nerves, and Pivot Like a Pro
- Leading Remote Teams and Podcasting for Business Growth
- How Startup Grind Bootstrapped from Zero to One Million
- Growing Startups and Investing Outside of Silicon Valley
Some of the personalities on the show are Jenny Blake, Derek Andreson, Paul Singh and Jay Baer.
Business Podcast #3: Odd Lots
Finance geeks, listen up. This weekly Bloomberg production hosted by Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway is marketed as “a not-so random weekly walk through hot topics in markets, finance and economics.”
While the show claims to be not-so-random, the titles of their most recent podcast reveal the creativity and originality that make the show popular:
- Could Buddhism Save the Global Economy?
- How Poker Explains the Battle of Passive and Active Investing
The show gets an average of 4 stars from 14 reviews on Podbay.fm. Recent reviewers praised the show for its smart banter and offbeat topics.
“Great for people who love to learn new things about the world of finance,” one reviewer wrote. “Perfect length, great interviews, fantastic.”
Business Podcast #4: Unemployable Podcast
This show is the brainchild of Brian Clark, a serial entrepreneur with a colorful resume that includes tenures as a lawyer and a writer. His podcast is popular with entrepreneurs and freelancers.
Clark’s show focuses on seven different aspects of being self-employed and/or starting businesses:
- Mindset
- Marketing
- Development
- Operations
- Support
- Finance
- Legal
Each category plays an important role in your journey, and Clark covers them like the expert that he is.
Business Podcast #5: Breaking Into Startups
The final podcast on this list features stories of entrepreneurs who found success in the tech universe via non-traditional backgrounds.
“The goal is to encourage and inspire people who want to get into tech by teaching them how to leverage their unique experiences in other industries,” Entrepreneur’s Mayberry wrote.
The show received some press from Tech Crunch in February when it interviewed Idalin Bobe, an IT consultant who grew up in one of the nation’s poorest zip codes.
Keep Growing, Keep Learning
Treading water doesn’t get you anywhere.
These podcasts will help you expand your perception of success, encourage you to break boundaries and push forward, and, above all else, inspire you to fulfill the drive within you.
Don’t fall into the trap of being over-enthusiastic with your listening, though. Start slow – one or two podcasts a week. Take notes and allot time to reflect on what was said. Use a few minutes each morning to explore how you can apply what you learned to your daily routine.