Becoming a Podcast Influencer

Becoming a Podcast Influencer with Bryn Huntpalmer

[This is also an episode of Friday Free Talk on The Tranquility Tribe Podcast on iTunes. Listen here.]

Hey, Tranquility Tribe!  In this episode, Hehe talked to Bryn Hunt Palmer, an inspirational mom and business owner.  If you’re thinking about starting a business but aren’t sure how to do it, this is the episode for you – Bryn has some super helpful tips for growing your passion into a business while finding that illusive balance between your work and the rest of your life!

Bryn’s Background

Bryn Hunt Palmer is the host of The Birth Hour, a podcast dedicated to enabling parents and families to share, learn from, and connect through each other’s birth stories.  Bryn is also the mother of 6-year-old Adelaide and 4-year-old Darwin and lives in Austin, Texas, with her kids and her husband, Richard. 

Bryn got involved in the birth world during her first pregnancy.  Eager to learn about what to expect throughout her pregnancy and birth, she read and researched as much as she could.  After deciding to have a home birth, Bryn became even more immersed in the birth world as she met others who were also interested in the process of pregnancy and birth.  She especially enjoyed reading other people’s birth stories because they allowed her to learn about the countless birth options that are available and to get an idea of the joys and challenges that she could face. 

The Birth Hour

Inspired by her passion for birth stories, Bryn decided to create a platform for people to share their experiences.  For the first two years, Bryn worked a separate full-time job and dedicated her evenings and weekends to developing and sharing her podcast.  As her podcast grew, she decided to leave her job and focus on her business full time.  After finding out that many expectant parents were using her podcast as one of their main sources for childbirth education, she decided to team up with her partner and childbirth educator, Stephanie, to create an online childbirth education course in addition to the podcast.  Through this course, Bryn provides parents with an accessible way to learn about childbirth that fits in their schedules.  As Bryn explains, her main goal is to use her business to help people be informed about all of their options so that they can have the best birth possible, no matter how they choose to do it.

The Balancing Act

Bryn describes the biggest struggle that she has faced while starting and growing her business to be finding the balance between business owner and parent.  While she enjoys the flexible schedule and ability to spend more time with her kids that running her own business allows her to have, being a business owner is a unique challenge in that you don’t always have the option of “leaving work” at the end of the day.  Because running your own business can require a lot of headspace, Bryn emphasizes the importance of prioritizing and allowing yourself to step away from your work when necessary.  However, despite the challenges of being a business owner, Bryn shares that she is excited to have the opportunity to pursue her passion and to be able to show her kids that they don’t have to follow a specific path. 

To parents who are considering starting their own business, Bryn advises finding something that you are truly passionate about to avoid burning out.  Bryn also recommends starting your business off slowly and building it as you go rather than expecting it to be your sole source of income from the beginning; relying on your business while it is just starting to grow can create pressure and stress, which is not something that you want to associate with your passion project!  Finally, Bryn highlights the value of incorporating self-care into your daily routine, especially by advocating for yourself and knowing when to let go of control and accept help from others.  Use your resources and draw from the support of people around you.  It’s okay to be a little selfish sometimes!

If you would like to check out Bryn’s podcast and online childbirth education course, visit thebirthhour.com.  You can also find Bryn on Instagram at @thebirthhour and @brynhuntpalmer.  If you are interested in applying to share your birth story, you can submit your story on her website!

Don’t forget to join our private Facebook, The Tranquility Tribe Podcast, and follow us on Instagram at @tranquilitybyhehe!