We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Clara Mount. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Clara below.

Clara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I would say I was entirely self-taught, but I had support from others who were learning these skills at the same time. I went into this knowing nothing about how to record audio or how to produce a podcast, and now I’ve hosted three unique podcasts and have helped two other podcasts get off the ground.

My biggest barrier was my own lack of knowledge. I didn’t know what I didn’t know – just that my knowledge gap was tremendous. That is where having a community of other learners came into play. We were all separately researching and experimenting on our own, and we’d come back together to share what we’d learned so we could all improve. Looking back with what I know now, I wish I would have reached out to more people earlier on – more experienced podcasters – to get help with the technical skills and processes that I was trying to learn on my own.

I think a lot of people would say the most essential skills are the technical skills, but I found that persistence and consistency are the most important. You need the drive to continue learning about your craft, even when it gets hard, and you need to never be satisfied with the status quo. I’ve changed the way I record audio, and now video, at least four or five times in the past two years. I experimented with different layouts for my finished show until I found a formula that felt natural and good. But that experimentation came from my desire to push through what I didn’t know and to create consistent content.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a podcaster, designer, and overall creative who works in the technology industry by day. I got my start with my first podcast, Re:Play, because I pitched the idea to the right people at a small production company when they were looking for a new podcast to bring to their network. From there I got invited to host a podcast sponsored by my grad school (a business program), and to co-host a panel-style nerdy podcast called Lifetimes of Save Data.

I’m driven by a passion for inclusivity, especially in the gaming community and industry, and I think that really comes through in my creative work. In my interview podcast, Re:Play, I have intentionally prioritized inviting women, people of color, LGBTQ, and other minorities to share their stories. It’s so important to lift up those voices in our communities that don’t get to be heard as often, to give them a platform, and to provide a space where listeners can hear diverse perspectives.

I’m really proud that my work is guided by those values, and of the relationships I’ve been able to build through my work. Some of the people I’ve interviewed have become some of my closest friends, and it all started from one conversation about something we both love.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had always been taught that whatever you’re putting out into the world, it needs to be as perfect as it can be before you share it with other people. In school, you proofread everything so you don’t get docked points for grammatical errors or the wrong punctuation. In art class, you get graded based on how well you follow the assignment and other subjective criteria. At work, you get written up if you make too many mistakes – sometimes if you make just one mistake! Growing up, my family emphasized getting good grades and pursuing education, and I think that all fed into a sense of perfectionism.

But the reality is… perfection is an impossible standard to hold yourself to. Trying to be perfect is exhausting, and it holds you back. That’s especially true of creative projects.

I wanted my first podcast episode to be as perfect as I could make it at the time. I needed the quality to be good because I was relying on people to give me external validation. For the first season of my show, I spent so much time editing the audio because I wanted to make sure every interview was as tight as it could be, as error-free as possible, and as fun to listen to as it was to record it.

That pace of spending all that time in editing wasn’t sustainable. And frankly, it wasn’t even making that much impact on the overall quality of my show. You know the law of diminishing returns – at a certain point, you’re going to start putting in more effort than the positive you’re getting back out of it. I was way past that and over-editing everything in the beginning.

When I started to let go and allow my show to have mistakes, to show ourselves as humans, I think the quality actually improved. I was less stressed about editing and stopped overthinking my content so much, which allowed me to be more natural on the air. It was especially important to take that with me into my newest podcast, Lifetimes of Save Data, because that one was recorded live – no way to hide mistakes when you’re broadcasting live!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Hands down, the most rewarding aspect is the relationships I’ve been able to build with other creatives and game industry leaders. Every time I get to interview someone, my goal is to make them look and sound as good as I possibly can. That means taking a personal interest in who they are and what they’re passionate about – I’ve been told by some of my listeners that those relationships are what make my show Re:Play special. I just consider myself lucky to count some of these incredible guests among my friends.

I’m a firm believer that if you want to know more about the world, you have to listen to people from different backgrounds who think differently from you. Every time I invite a guest on my show, I get to learn something new – about the community, industry, and hobby we love – and I get to see how it’s being shaped by people I believe in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/bubblegumtitan
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bubblegum_titan
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vampyredearest
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cbmount/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/bubblegum_titan
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcAwGH-wYnFFZLphU40g3uw?sub_confirmation=1
• Other: http://www.bubblegumbitchcraft.etsy.com/