We recently connected with Lily Rakow and have shared our conversation below.

Lily, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

The name of my podcast is “80/20”. Like most people who start a podcast – or any new business, really – I tossed around dozens of half-decent names until someone close to me said, “Lily, you can create something better than that!”.

A conversation I had with a fitness instructor a few months back popped into my head. I had just enrolled at the Institute For Integrative Nutrition, and the instructor and I bonded over the program. As I was walking out of the studio one day, she casually mentioned, “it really is 80/20”, referring to the classic wellness advice to put eighty percent of the focus on nutrition and twenty percent into exercise. I tucked that idea into my back pocket, and retrieved it when I was struggling to craft a podcast name.

Now, my friends and listeners have developed their own ideas for the name. “So are you feeling in the eighty today? Or more in the twenty,” one friend joked. From then on, 80/20 has shifted from just a health and wellness ratio to more of a lifestyle. Some interpret the ratio to be about finding balance within the chaos of life, others say the 80/20 rule can be applied to all aspects of life from relationships to business to wellness. It’s really up to the listeners, now!

Lily, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a podcast host, author, and speaker. A kind listener once described me like this, and I thought it was sweet and sums things up nicely: “…as a notable voice in the twenty-something’s wellness space, Lily has built a loyal audience who trusts her insights on just about everything – from the tough topics like battling anxiety and inching towards self acceptance – to lighter conversations like not-so-great first dates and hilarious roommate anecdotes.” As a top 1% podcast and frequent appearances on the self improvement and education charts, my audience is drawn to authentic, vulnerable voices.

A big passion of mine is talking about the hard stuff. I think I’ve always been this way. When I was 12, I recognized the power of storytelling when a creative writing submission I drafted, based on my middle school struggle with mean girls, was published in Discovery Girl Magazine. I quickly learned that being a human is a shared experience – we all go through struggles, so why keep quiet about it? I believe storytelling is a tool we can use to connect with one another and make life easier through community. In high school, I started a YouTube channel where I posted weekly vlogs, sharing bits and pieces of my daily life with an audience of 40,000. About five years later, I retired that channel in full pursuit of my podcast.

I felt more accepted in the podcast space, and knew I could share on a deeper level here. In my late teens and early twenties, I really struggled with anxiety and depression. I knew that I couldn’t be the only one, so I started the podcast as an outlet to discuss what I was going through. After earning a certification in Integrative Nutrition, I decided to focus my professional efforts on guiding other young women on a journey of self discovery and acceptance. Now, with millions of downloads, 80/20 has become an iconic wellness brand for women who are juggling the ebbs and flows of early adulthood. What sets 80/20 apart from other podcasts would have the be the real, raw vulnerability that draws people in and keeps them around.

Beyond the mic, I clock a lot of time in the kitchen – cooking, dancing, and laughing! Hosting dinner parties has become a newfound hobby of mine, as I love gathering all my favorite people in one room. As the middle child of three sisters, family is super important to me. Although I current reside in Annapolis, Maryland, I spend a lot of weekends back home with my family in Ocean City, Maryland! The beach is my happy place, and something about the sand and the sunshine just feels so right!

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

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is knowing that what I’ve created resonates with people. When I scroll through direct messages and see that something I’ve shared was helpful to someone, it means everything. The most powerful message I ever received would have to be from Emily, a gal who shared that my podcast was the only thing helping her feel better after someone close to her passed away. She told me it made her feel less alone, and helped her to process her grief. Knowing that my little show, that started on the floor of my childhood bedroom, was making THAT kind of impact, was really wild. My biggest mission is just to help people feel okay with feeling things, so when someone stumbles upon the podcast and it resonates, that would have to be the most rewarding thing.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

This is the most cliche advice, but just be yourself. I love that quote by Dave Grohl that says “no one is you, and that is your power.” Because it’s true! You have a unique perspective on life, so use it! No one else sees the world through your eyes. So when you create content online, whether that is videos, podcast episodes, instagram content, etc, being yourself and telling your story will always bring the right people in. There is no magic formula, except for the sheer fact that people need something to relate to! You can be that for someone, but you have to be yourself, first and foremost!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lilyrakow.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/lilyrakow
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilyrakow/
• Other: Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2vqQNb239mIHvClE5n66Bo?si=135fe5a300124f73