We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Eaton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

Kelsi and I started our podcast Ridiculously Imperfect not with the overall goal of making money, but the goal of making a difference in people’s lives. Our mantra from the beginning has been: sharing life stories while embracing our imperfections. Both of us had experienced plenty of life hurt and growth, so we wanted to extend the power of community through authentically sharing in our podcast. We officially launched in November 2021, and by January we had built a steady stream of listenership.

At the end of January, a friend encouraged me to enter this contest for new podcasts through Podcash she had heard about. This contest was to provide various monetary awards, and while we were skeptical, we thought “why not try?” We enter the contest, and then it was kicked out to our listeners by the way of “love letters”. (Our listeners could then submit these “love letters” saying what they loved about our show). We honestly didn’t stress or think too hard about the contest as we felt it was a long shot since 3k+ podcasts entered the contest.

In early April 2022, I was just doing my typical morning routine and catching up on email when I saw an email in our business account titled “YOU’RE A PODCASH WINNER”! I did a double take. Did I read that correctly? WE WON? Excitement is running through my veins, and I truly am in disbelief. II want to both jump around and cry. I know Kelsi is at work, so I text her what was probably an incoherent text due to excitement…and I wait for her response. She eventually responds with equal excitement. The email stated that we had won a $250 cash prize, and to us, that was worth everything. Most importantly, it was validation that we were pursuing a passion that was actually making a difference to others.

Now, $250 might not seem like a substantial amount of money, but as a self-funded podcast, it meant that our production fees and various costs were covered for several weeks ahead. However, the prize money isn’t even the best part of the story!

Weeks later, Podcash releases the “love letters” that were written to us. These were anonymous letters, so we never knew who to specifically thank. The letters were so supportive of everything we were doing, and it was evident that the countless hours poured into our podcast was reaching others in a meaningful way. Through tears, we read each and every letter submitted on our behalf. We couldn’t believe how many there were, and all the wonderfully supportive things our listeners had to say! Those “love letters” were certainly titled correctly as they pierced our hearts in the best way possible.

So, earning our very first dollar in this venture was beyond exciting, but we couldn’t have done it without the love and support of our fantastic listeners!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Several years ago, I had a realization that I wanted to create a podcast. Honestly, there wasn’t a topic or content in mind, it was just something I felt called to do. I sat privately on that dream for several years…then in 2020 my husband approached me and told me he felt like I was supposed to create a podcast. I had never shared any of my podcast dreams with him before (or anyone else), so when he came to me with affirmation, I felt like it was time to start putting my dream into motion!

By June 2021, I had done months and months of research preparing for the start of my podcast, but I knew I was missing something: a partner and co-host. After much consideration and prayer, I felt confident that I was meant to embark on this journey with my very close friend of many years, Kelsi Foster.

When I approached her with my idea, a podcast that would tell raw and real-life stories, she immediately and emphatically said “YES! I’m in!” Kelsi and I have both learned the value of sharing life stories and living authentically in community with others, so using that as a starting point we poured the next 5 months into creating our podcast, Ridiculously Imperfect. We truly knew nothing about starting a podcast, what was necessary, how to even do it, etc. so our business was truly built from scratch.

On November 9, 2021, we launched our first episode, and we release new episodes every Tuesday. As of the time of this interview (11/7/2022), we have reached 6K+ downloads since publishing our podcast! While most of our listeners are based in the US, we’ve had downloads from 23 other countries. To give context, many new non-celebrity-based podcasts take months or over a year to hit 100 downloads. So, when our first episode hit 252 downloads, we knew we had something special.

Hands down, we are most proud of the way that our Ridiculously Imperfect lifestyle has resonated with others, and the difference that it’s making to our listeners. Countless stories have been shared with us as to where we have inspired openness through difficult situations, including hardships anywhere from illness to loss to infertility. One of the best compliments we’ve received is to hear that “I feel like I’m sitting in a room chatting with friends”.

There are thousands of choices when it comes to what podcast(s) you choose to listen to. Without a doubt, our podcast will deliver heart-felt stories, encouragement, laughs, and fun. We had no idea what to expect when we started this journey, or how many listeners we would reach. This has been such an exciting ride and we are incredibly thankful for our Ridiculously Imperfect listener base!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the freedom and flexibility to procure content that matters to us. We get to decide how and when certain topics are discussed, and ultimately, the final decision is on us as to how we move forward. There is nothing like getting to use our creative abilities and transform them into a business that helps others. It’s very fulfilling doing something that has been dreamt about for quite some time.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

There is nothing quite like connecting with others who are embarking on a similar journey, or those who are a few steps ahead of you. Unfortunately, we didn’t personally know anyone that we could connect with who had truly walked the road we were starting on. We did join some online forums within the podcast community after we had started, and I feel like it would have been a huge benefit to us to join these communities back in the months and months leading up to the official start of the podcast. The heartbeat of our podcast is community, so we’d strongly encourage any creative starting something new to look to those who recently walked that path or are currently on it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ridiculouslyimperfectpodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ridiculouslyimperfectpodcast
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ridiculously-imperfect/
• Other: https://www.patreon.com/ridiculouslyimperfect

Image Credits
Emily Eaton Kelsi Foster Jacob Eaton