After six years and over 270 episodes, I’ve made the decision to bring the Your Pet Business, Your Way podcast to an end – at least in its current weekly format.
If you’ve been a regular listener, thank you so much. It really has meant the world.
If you’ve just stumbled across this episode, welcome – and don’t worry, there is six years of content and helpful free stuff for you to go and explore.
In this post I’m sharing what goes into making the podcast, why I’ve decided to stop, and what’s coming next. You can listen on the player below or read the key points here.
I never thought I’d have a podcast – I hate my voice!
I can’t believe that back at the end of 2019 I sat down and decided I was going to do a podcast and just ramble on into the microphone every week.
Six years later, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with brilliant pet professionals and recorded solo episodes.
I’ve shared everything I know about press coverage, blogging, visibility and confidence, and been lucky enough to have listeners who’ve been so generous with their support.
It’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done for my business.
Which is exactly why stopping it has been such a big decision – and one I wanted to be really honest about.
The work that goes into every podcast episode
If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, I want to take you behind the scenes first, because I think a lot of people underestimate what’s involved.
Every single episode costs money.
I pay for Captivate – that’s about £10 a month. I pay for Riverside for recording, that’s about £20 a month. I pay for editing, so that’s £30 an episode. And then there are all the smaller things that add up on top of that.
Every episode takes me at least half a day – and that’s probably a solo episode. If I’m doing an interview episode, it’s usually around a day.”
That means setting up the interview, thinking about and sending questions in advance, getting photos from guests, recording, doing a first edit before it goes to Matty.
Then when it comes back, it’s writing the blog post, going through the transcript to create timestamped show notes, and creating social media posts and video clips.
The timestamped show notes matter to me because if someone wants to skip to a specific part of an episode, they can go straight to it.
The blog posts matter because they make everything accessible to people who are hard of hearing, people who’d rather read than listen, and people who want to come back and find something specific later on.
Every blog post I create around an episode is permanent, it’s searchable and showing up on Google and ranks for the things people are looking for.
It drives traffic to my website, and sometimes years after the episode went out, I’ll have a flurry of people listening to something.
Why I don’t use AI to do this for me
When I’ve talked about stopping before a few people have said things like, ‘Why don’t you just use AI? Why don’t you get a VA? Why don’t you do less?’
I do use AI for parts of the process – Otter AI for transcripts, Claude to help me work through them. But I’m not putting an episode into AI and asking it to spit out show notes.
I’ve tried that, and the show notes it gives are wrong, the timings are wrong, they’ll give people different names.
And also, I’m a professional writer – as a journalist for 20 years, I don’t want stuff on my website that’s just been chucked out by AI because it looks rubbish and I want it to sound like me.
I make less money when I’m working on the podcast
This is the bit I wasn’t sure whether to include but I think it’s important to say out loud.
My coaching is the most profitable thing I do in my business and I get fewer enquiries for it when the podcast is running.
When there’s a new episode at least two or three of my social media posts every week are about it.
If it’s an interview episode, I’m pointing people towards my guest, not towards me and my work.
I’m not showcasing myself as a coach – I’m showcasing myself more as a journalist, which I don’t do anymore.
When the podcast isn’t running, I talk more about coaching, so what I’m learning, what’s helping my clients, my approach, and that’s when people get in touch.
I looked back at my social media at what I did between February and August last year, and I was talking loads about coaching and I got some really brilliant one-to-one clients at that time.
Why I’m stopping the podcast now
Over the last few years, I’ve had a lot going on.
My relationship, which I was in for 10 years, ended. I had two significant bereavements of people who I was very close to. I’ve moved house twice.
I’ve kept recording, kept sharing the episodes, kept sending out the emails and I’m glad I did, but it has taken its toll.
I turned 50 in January. I’m doing my Emotions Coaching Practitioner Training with Zoe Hawkins and Jo Wheatley at In Good Company, beginning in May 2026.
And I don’t have as much time – I’ve got the 2027 planner to work on, Sunnyside Cottage to run, and a non-exec director role in my family business.
When I started this podcast, it was lockdown and I was only running my online business.
I didn’t have Sunnyside Cottage or any involvement with the family business and the many other things I’ve got going on now.
I just want to enjoy my life and do the things that matter – time with Patch, seeing my friends, getting outdoors, learning, spending time with my family.
I’ve recorded 270 episodes and at some point, unless you have a team behind you, it’s ok to say that enough is enough.
It’s like the boiling frog analogy – when you start a business, you keep adding and adding and adding more things.
And then you get to the point where you’ve got so much going on, and you think, ‘How have I accumulated all of this work?’
I’ve just taken a step back and thought, ‘I need to start thinking about me a bit more.’
Thinking about starting a podcast? Ask yourself these questions first
There are loads of different ways to run a podcast – seasonal, monthly, fortnightly.
But do commit to something consistent, because putting one out on a Wednesday in January and another on a Saturday in September isn’t really a podcast.
It’s like a snowball rolling down a hill. The consistency will lead to the good things you created it for in the first place.
Before you start, ask yourself:
Do you have half a day a week to commit to it, every single week, not just when you feel like it? If you’re thinking monthly, do you have half a day or a full day a month, no matter what?
Have you factored in the costs? You’re looking at at least £50 a month for recording and hosting software, and more if you want help with editing.
Are you going to outsource the editing and the blog posts – and have you factored those costs in? And if you’re not outsourcing, are you comfortable doing it yourself to a standard you’re proud of?
Are you going to be okay using AI to put out your show notes, or are you going to be a bit of a pernickety Pauline like I’ve been and want to do things properly?
I’d also really recommend listening to my interview with Ant McGinley – I recorded it six years ago and it’s still the most useful thing I’ve ever put out on podcasting.
There are also episodes on how to be a dream podcast guest, how to pitch to podcasts, long-form content, and thinking about what’s in it for the host when you approach them as a guest.
And then ask yourself – is a podcast actually the right thing for me, or is there something else that plays more to my strengths and the time I actually have?
What’s next after the Your Pet Business Your Way podcast?
I’ll be publishing regular blog posts, because writing comes naturally to me and takes a fraction of the time an episode takes.
I’m also going to be consolidating the back catalogue into topic guides – inspired by a conversation I had with guest Osman Sharif, who did the same thing with his own podcast.
There’ll be sections for press coverage, blogging, collaborations and podcasting, so you can find everything in one place.
The search function on the podcast page means you can put in whatever you’re looking for and it will bring up the relevant episodes.
How to work with me
If you’d like tailored support with visibility, confidence and growing your pet business, find out more about one-to-one coaching here: rachelspencer.co.uk/coaching
If you’d like ongoing support with your marketing, head to my work with me page: rachelspencer.co.uk/work-with-me to see which option suits you.
And if you’d like a copy of the Pet Business Content Planner, you can grab one at rachelspencer.co.uk/shop
You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, or email me at rachel@rachelspencer.co.uk anytime.
Final thoughts
If you’ve been thinking about letting something go, if you’ve been thinking about giving yourself a bit of a break and doing things your way – not doing something because you feel like you should be doing it because you’ve been doing it for years and years – I hope this gives you a little nudge to say, ‘actually, that’s okay.’
That’s what this podcast has always been about. Your pet business, your way.
And this is me doing exactly that.
Further listening
Should you buy my Pet Business Content Planner?
Why I am an accredited pet business coach
How to choose the right pet business coach
Navigating stop start times in your pet business
The rollercoaster of running your own business
How to start a podcast with Ant McGinley
How to be a dream podcast guest
How to create a repeatable content plan
How to create a pet business social media calendar
Links mentioned:
Podcast search page: https://rachelspencer.co.uk/podcast/
Work with me: https://rachelspencer.co.uk/work-with-me/
Pet Business Content Planner: https://rachelspencer.co.uk/shop/
Sunnyside Cottage booking page: https://baytownholidaycottages.co.uk/our-cottages/property?s=sunnyside-cottage-robin-hoods-bay
Ant McGinley – how to start a podcast: https://rachelspencer.co.uk/start-podcast-ant-mcginley/
Emotions Coaching training with In Good Company: https://www.igcompany.com/emotionscoaching
Let’s connect on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/rachelspenceruk
