How to Start a Podcast That Builds a Ride-or-Die Community (Even If You’re Scared)

Tracy Matthews I November 6, 2025

Your First Episodes Will Be Awful (And That's Exactly Why You Need to Start)

Jessica Burgio is here to tell you: Just start.

In this conversation, Jessica shares her journey from hairstylist to business mentor and podcast host, and why her “awful” first episodes were the best thing that ever happened to her business.

“If you want proof that you can suck and then get better, go to my YouTube channel and watch my first episodes,” Jessica says with a laugh. “They're totally awful. But if I didn't practice, if I didn't want to get better, I would have never rebranded, expanded, or been able to coach and have masterminds.”

In this episode, you'll learn:

[02:53] Jessica's journey from hairstylist to business mentor and how she borrowed belief from her mentors
[10:00] How Jessica rebranded from Beauty Inspires Beauty to Unscripted and brought her audience along
[27:33] Jessica's cringiest podcasting moments and why bad audio almost made her quit
[30:00] Practical tips for starting your podcast today, even if you feel unprepared
[35:00] The Lewis Howes marketing strategy that still works for growing your show

The Real Secret to Building a Podcast Community

Creating great content is only half the battle. The other half? Building genuine connection with your listeners.

Jessica's podcast, Unscripted, has become a magnet for creative entrepreneurs who want honest, raw conversations about business, pivoting, and personal development. But it didn't start that way.

She began with Beauty Inspires Beauty, interviewing people exclusively in the hair industry. When she felt out of alignment with such a narrow focus, she rebranded to Unscripted and opened up her conversations to all entrepreneurs. The result? A community that resonates with her energy, her message, and her authenticity.

“Your people will follow you no matter what,” Jessica says. “I knew that even early on as a hairdresser. People connected with me. It was the energy, the client experience.”

The Marketing Strategy That Actually Works

When it comes to growing your podcast, Jessica shares the unglamorous truth: You have to market it consistently.

One of her favorite strategies? Stealing a page from Lewis Howes' playbook. Even with his massive platform, Lewis still personally sends each week's episode to 10-15 people who would specifically benefit from that conversation.

“One, they feel seen and connected to you,” Jessica explains. “Two, they're more likely to share it and talk about the episode, which then markets your show for you.”

Other marketing tactics Jessica swears by:

Creating short-form clips from your episodes using AI tools (she uses Riverside)
Posting consistently about your episodes on Instagram Stories with genuine excitement
Guesting on other people's podcasts to tap into new audiences
Batching your content during your most creative time
Being unapologetically yourself, even if it means losing some people

What to Do When Fear Tries to Stop You

Starting a podcast is vulnerable. You're putting your voice, your ideas, and your imperfections out into the world. Jessica gets it.

But she also knows this: “Would you be laying there taking your last breaths thinking, ‘I did it all,' or would you be wishing you had just gone for it?”

Life is too short to let fear make your decisions.

Your Ride-or-Die Community Is Waiting

You don't need a million listeners to make an impact. You need the right listeners, the ones who resonate with your message, your energy, and your authenticity.

Those are the people who will buy from you, refer you, and champion your work. Those are your ride-or-die community members.

And they're out there, waiting for you to be brave enough to press record.

Listen to the full episode now and let Jessica's story be the permission slip you've been waiting for.

xo, Tracy

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