HELLO!

NICE TO MEET YOU

I'm Steph Shoell

Pod Savvy Guide and a full-on PodNerd in the best way. I started podcasting in 2017 as a creative outlet, and what began as a passion project eventually turned into a career, where I now specialize in B2B podcasting.

Between producing real estate podcasts for work and running my own shows, I’ve created dozens of podcast series and published over 1,000 episodes. And if there’s one thing all of that experience has taught me, it’s this: done is better than perfect. You don’t need fancy gear, a massive budget, or a whole team to start a podcast, just a simple system and the courage to hit record.

Now, I help women move past the “where do I even start?” phase of podcasting and feel supported as they figure it out. Through Pod Savvy Guide, I’ve created go-at-your-own-pace guides that walk you through editing, promoting, and automation. I also offer weekly and monthly challenges with built-in accountability, so you’re not just learning about podcasting, you’re moving from idea to reality.

My Story

My story started in 2016, in Ketchikan, Alaska, during what I now call my full-blown “30-life crisis.”

I was working at a fishing lodge, cleaning toilets, doing dishes, and trying to figure out what I actually wanted to do with my life. The island was remote. It took a 30-minute boat ride and another 30-minute drive just to get to the mainland. Most days, everyone else was out fishing, and there wasn’t much conversation or connection to be had.

So I turned to podcasts.

The Wi-Fi was painfully slow, which meant I had to download episodes the night before and hope they’d be ready by morning. As I listened, the podcast hosts started to feel like friends. They kept me company while I worked, challenged the way I thought, and introduced me to ideas I hadn’t considered before. Somewhere between scrubbing floors and hitting play, I had a thought I couldn’t shake: maybe I could do this too.

I shared the idea with my friend Miranda, and without hesitation, she said, “Absolutely. You’ve got this.” I shared it with someone else, and they said, “You know what I love about you, Steph? You’re a dreamer.” I remember thinking, No, I’m not a dreamer. I’m a doer.

It still took me ten months to put out my first episode. I overthought it. I doubted myself. I waited for things to feel ready. One day, I finally worked up the courage to reach out to a popular blogger named Mina whose blog I absolutely loved. To my surprise, she said yes. And once that recording was on the calendar, everything shifted. I had already bought the equipment, but now I had to actually figure out how to use it. Booking that recording was the thing that got me moving. It stopped being an idea and started becoming real.

I recorded nine episodes but didnt publish them, worried the audio wouldn’t be good enough or that my editing was so bad that my guests would be embarrassed. But eventually, I realized waiting for perfect wasn’t helping anyone. So I hit publish on my very first episode on Memorial Day weekend in 2017.

Now, more than 1,000 episodes later, I know this for sure: I’m not just a dreamer. I’m a doer. Podcasting didn’t just change my career  it changed how I show up in the world. And it all started the moment I decided to stop waiting and hit record.

Why I Do It

For almost five years, I ran a local podcasting group and started noticing a clear pattern. The guys who said they wanted to start a podcast usually did. Within weeks or months, they were up and running. The gals would come back year after year with great ideas, still wanting to start, but never quite turning those ideas into reality.

When I began asking why and actually polling women who wanted to podcast, the answers were consistent. Learning new technology felt intimidating. There never seemed to be enough time. Some didn’t want to show their face or didn’t like how they sounded. Others wondered what they would even talk about, who would listen, or what people might think.

That’s the moment I knew I wanted to help.

One of my favorite things is watching women and gals finally start the podcast they’ve been thinking about for years. Seeing the excitement when someone books their first recording, figures out the tech, and realizes they can actually do this never gets old. I’m a full-on cheerleader, and I genuinely love watching people succeed.

That’s why I do this. I want more gals to stop overthinking and start creating podcasts about the things they care about whether that’s generating leads for their business, spreading awareness for a cause they’re passionate about, or collecting family stories as a legacy. The moment someone hits record and realizes it’s not as scary as they thought, everything shifts. And getting to be part of that moment is exactly why I love this work.