IAM970- Podcast Host Passionate About Women and LGBTQ+ owned Businesses

Sara is the host of The Unemployment Podcast which she started back in 2020 a few months into quarantine. She is passionate about women and LGBTQ+-owned businesses and loves writing, playing lacrosse, going to concerts, and traveling.

• CEO Hack: Meditation
• CEO Nugget: Do the actual work yourself
• CEO Defined: Believing that you can impact the world in a positive way

Website: https://www.sarabischof.com/

IG: @theunemploymentpodcast

Medium: @bischbae

Full Interview:

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Transcription

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[00:00:20.10] – Intro

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I Am CEO podcast.

[00:00:47.50] – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I Am CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Sarah Bischoff of the Unemployment podcast. Sarah, it's awesome to have you on the show.

[00:00:56.79] – Sara Bischof

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

[00:00:59.89] – Gresham Harkless

Super excited to have you on as well. Before we jump in, I want to read a little bit more about Sara so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Sara is the host of the unemployment podcast, which she started back in twenty-twenty, a few months into quarantine. She is passionate about women and LGBTQ own businesses and loves writing, playing lacrosse, going to concerts, and traveling. Sarah, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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[00:01:24.90] – Sara Bischof

Let's do it.

[00:01:25.90] – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Well, let's do it then. So to kick everything off, I wanted to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story. We'll let you get started with all the awesome work that you're doing.

[00:01:34.29] – Sara Bischof

Yeah. So I always, like, saw myself as someone with a lot of ideas. And even in college, I was doing a lot of entrepreneurial projects on the side, and I just loved all that. And I was like, someday, I just wanna do my own thing. And then I didn't know what to do, so I went and got a regular job, and that was all going in that trajectory. But when everything happened in twenty-twenty with COVID, I didn't have that job anymore, hence the unemployment name, the podcast. And so I was like, this is the best opportunity that I'm ever gonna get right now. I need to just capitalize on this and just start doing things and see what happens.

[00:02:16.80] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. I love that, and I love everything that you've been able to do with your podcast. And it's so interesting. I think, like, during the time, everybody's trying to figure out, what's happening in the world, what to do, what not to do. And I remember listening to a lot of motivational videos, and some people said, like, there's gonna be some awesome books that are gonna be created during this time and music and podcasts and all those things. So when I saw your podcast and why you started it, it reminded me of how sometimes these disruptions create awesome opportunities for people to do phenomenal work.

[00:02:49.69] – Sara Bischof

Yeah. Absolutely. I went through my phase, but then I tapped into that, like, almost, like, foresight.

[00:02:57.69] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. Sometimes we don't realize that these disruptions provide some opportunities. We can get kind of stuck in on the things that aren't happening rather than the opportunities that we have. So, I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper here a little bit more about the podcast and all the awesome work you're doing there. Could you take us through what we can find there and what you're doing?

[00:03:15.69] – Sara Bischof

Yes. Absolutely. So I love listening to podcasts myself. Like, I would listen to them at my old job, commuting, and especially in twenty-twenty at the house. Like, I just like to be taken somewhere else. So I created a podcast where I got to connect with guests, and I like to focus specifically on women and LGBTQ plus, people just because I identify as both of those. And I wanted to create that connection between me and whoever it may be because we weren't getting these connections in COVID and quarantine. So I wanted to just, in a selfish way, do that for myself and talk to these amazing people and then create a community around this as well. And we focus on just side hustles and businesses, and like I said, I love the entrepreneurship side of everything.

So I wanted to highlight more of those people that maybe not everyone was talking about. There's not on the Forbes thirty under thirty list by any means, but it's just people that I thought were interesting, and I wanted to bring them into a space to then share with more people. And then as the podcast has grown, I added, more episodes where I just dive into my self-discovery because I like to examine, like, the self-discovery and the entrepreneurship hand in hand. So if you just wanna listen to guests, there are episodes each week just for that. And if you wanna get to know me a little more, we dive into that stuff a lot more on, like, the Monday releases. So I'm doing two at one to see which, like, sticks or which I like a lot more. So that's what to expect.

[00:04:54.39] – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I appreciate that, and I love that word,  connection because I almost feel especially, like, during this time, like, we haven't been able to connect in the same way, but it doesn't mean we haven't been able to connect. So just like you, like, a lot of times when I started things, I felt like I was the one that got the most gifts out of doing the podcast. You get to awesome people and hear phenomenal stories, and I love that you've been able to have that experience and you've been able to take it further as far as, like, being able to build those connections, those relationships, and it sounds like, try out different things too to make sure that you get to where you ultimately wanna be.

[00:05:29.10] – Sara Bischof
Exactly. Exactly.

[00:05:30.80] – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. So, I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce. This could be for yourself the podcast or a combination of both, but what do you feel sets you apart and makes you unique?

[00:05:38.60] – Sara Bischof

So I'm a very loud person. I don't know if it comes through on the podcast. And I just have, like, an energy, and I've always had this energy about me that, like, is that teammate. Like, I played lacrosse in college. Like, the days that I wasn't at practice, like, something was off. Like, I've always had an energy that is a little bit contagious, and, like, I like to make people laugh. I know before we got on, I was, like, cracking jokes already. Yes. And so just me being able to just, like, focus on bringing that energy out in myself, I think, just puts other people in, like, a more positive and inspired space, whether it's through laughing or just hearing something. And people always say that I have, like, a very funny and, like, loud and contagious laugh. And so it's not like the normal secret sauce of, like, oh, I'm good at this skill. It's more of the energy that I like to bring out in myself and then therefore in other people.

[00:06:40.10] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. I love that. And I think so many times we don't realize that there is energy that we can bring out in other people and why it's so, I guess, important to be able to to to be aware of that. Because a lot of times, what we want to see in the world, we don't realize a lot of times starts with ourselves. Yeah. So when we start to create that infectious feeling, the laughter, and all those things that we did even before we hopped on the podcast, it starts to manifest itself in the work and the things that happen in our lives as well.

[00:07:10.80] – Sara Bischof

Yeah. Definitely. And it's like, you can go down the rabbit hole. It's gonna happen. And you can feel, like, those emotions from the Internet. And so it's like you could also feel the opposite of, like, oh my gosh. This inspired me to do this or this person struggled with something that I struggled with. So it's just like I wanted to be a part of the, like, energy positive energy. Because that's just my natural state too. It's not ever me, like, forcing it.

[00:07:41.80] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes so much sense. And I almost feel I don't know if you've you've had this same experience because we talked about that community piece, that I feel like once you are yourself and you're staying true to yourself, it kinda reminds people that they can be themselves as well too because I think so many times there's a copycat kinda mentality that happens on the interwebs and social media and everywhere that we sometimes forget who we are, but also even a step further, like, staying true to that.

[00:08:08.50] – Sara Bischof

Yeah. Exactly. Agreed.

[00:08:10.30] – Gresham Harkless

Yes. Nice. So I appreciate you for doing that. And so I wanted to, switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

[00:08:23.69] – Sara Bischof

Okay. So this is gonna have to be meditation. I got into meditation around, like, twenty-eighteen, and I was super resistant to it at first. But I had a life coach, and it was, like, someone I saw on the Internet, and I was like, what is this? Like, I'm not gonna tell anyone about this. Like, I feel, like, weird about this, but I just signed up for something. I was like, whatever. I had met this life coach who's now, like, a good friend of mine, and she told me to just, like, start meditating.

And I was like, okay. And I just did it. And the reason why it's, like, a hack is because it's like you can be afraid, I know I was, to hear your thoughts. And when you're in meditation, you have to learn how to just hear them and just observe them. And so even though it was really hard, being able to hear what I was saying then allowed me to go out into the world and just see it through myself, but also see what I wasn't seeing before.

And so the days that I, like, lost my meditation practice, which happened a lot in twenty because there was not as much routine, are just the days I felt like I was riding the roller coaster. And then the days that I take the five minutes for myself or the ten minutes for myself are the days that I'm actually able to think for myself and then share and create and do all the things I love to do, like the ideas.

[00:10:04.79] – Gresham Harkless

It might be advice you would give yourself or potentially something you might tell on one of your podcasts.

[00:10:11.50] – Sara Bischof

Okay. So I was talking about this last night when I was recording with a guest, and it's simple, but it's hard to hear. And it's just, like, do the work yourself. And that little piece of advice is something I would give myself, like, back when I was in college and thinking I wanna be this glamorous entrepreneur. But I never sat down and posted anything on the Instagram account I made. Or I never did a schedule for myself of what days are we gonna do podcasts or what days am I gonna write and post something.

And I just wanted it to all be at stage a hundred when I just needed to start with step one, which is, like, if you want to make a podcast, you just get your headphones. Like, I've had these headphones for five years and push record and record and then post it. So it was, like, a hard, like, wake-up call for me to just do the actual work myself. And then, yeah, maybe one day, I'm not gonna wanna edit something myself, or maybe one day, I'm gonna have someone else help me with something. But unless I can do it myself, it's not gonna happen.

[00:11:29.29] – Gresham Harkless

So now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO, and we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So, Sara what does being a CEO mean to you?

[00:11:39.89] – Sara Bischof

This oh my gosh. I don't wanna say this sounds so corny, but I know it's going to. It just means, like, to me, believing in yourself. Like, I love having women and LGBTQ-plus people on the podcast because sometimes, like, I don't believe in myself, and I know other people don't. And so for me, business isn't about a money sign in my bank account or, like, a title. It's just the everyday. Like, we've been talking about this whole episode and having the confidence. Like, I think the CNCO is gonna stand for confidence for me. Like, it's just believing that you can change the world or positively impact the world in the way that you want to, and you can do that.

[00:12:28.89] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. And I think that being able to create the community that you've been able to help remind us of that. Because I think when we are going through any frustration or we're not sure if we can do something, sometimes we lack that confidence. And I think once we hear that somebody has been able to do it or we're around people that can hype us up, so to speak, that gets that gives us the light that we know we already have inside, but it just lights it up a little bit more and we become aware of it. And then we feel like we can go and crush those goals and do whatever we need to do.

[00:12:59.50] – Sara Bischof

Yeah. Exactly. I love that.

[00:13:01.39] – Gresham Harkless

Nice. Well, I appreciate that Sara, and I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know, and, of course, how best they can get over you. Subscribe to the podcast and find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

[00:13:16.29] – Sara Bischof

Amazing. Well, yes. Thank you so much. I've enjoyed our conversation. I feel like we both have such great energy to bring, so this was an awesome collab. I am on Instagram at the unemployment podcast just so I can connect with people who wanna connect with me. And I post, like, my guest so you can scroll through and see, oh, there's this guest I wanted to check out. It's really easy to scroll through and see where they are, and what episode. And the podcast is on, I go through Anchor. So it's on Spotify and Apple and anywhere that you listen to podcasts. So check me out on all of that. And, yeah. Thank you.

[00:13:53.10] – Gresham Harkless

Thank you, Sarah. And we will have the links and information in the show notes as well too to make it even easier. I'm a little biased, but I also feel like we both have great energy, and this was a phenomenal, podcast. So I appreciate you again and and looking forward to future collaborations.

[00:14:07.60] – Sara Bischof

Absolutely. Thank you.

[00:14:09.60] – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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