Do you have an idea, business, or project you want to launch this year? Is fear or doubt holding you back? Sarah shares her launch story and offers tips for you to move forward with your own dream in 2019. And if you have ever wanted to start your own podcast, this is the episode that will give you a jump start on that goal!

Scripture: Genesis 1:27 NIV “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

**Transcription Below**

At The Savvy Sauce, we will only recommend resources we believe in! We also want you to be aware: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Surviving Sarah Podcast

Sarah’s Book

Are My Kids On Track Podcast

Want to learn more about the enneagram? The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile

Off Camera with Sam Jones

The Next Best Thing with Emily P Freeman

Dais with Rachel Hollis

Guide to Start and Grow Your Podcast

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Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

**Transcription**

[00:00:00] <music>

Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.

[00:00:17] <music>

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Today's episode is brought to you by one of my favorite brands in Central Illinois, Leman Property Management. With over 1,600 apartment homes in all price ranges throughout Morton, Pekin, Peoria, Washington, and Canton, they can find the perfect spot for you. Check them out at MidwestShelters.com or like them on Facebook by searching Leman, L-E-M-A-N, Property Management Company. Thanks for sponsoring today's episode. [00:01:31]

Today I'm excited to interview Sarah Bragg. Sarah is an author and podcaster based in Atlanta, Georgia. Her podcast is called Surviving Sarah. If you've ever wanted to start your own podcast, today is the episode you can't miss. We will go over many practical tips for how to get started. Here's our chat.

Hi, Sarah.

Sarah Bragg: Hi there.

Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce. Thanks for coming on today.

Sarah Bragg: I'm so excited to get to hang out.

Laura Dugger: Well, let's just start off. Can you tell all of us briefly a little bit about yourself?

Sarah Bragg: Yes. I will try to do that in a little snapshot here. So I am turning 40 this year, which I still can't believe. I still feel like I'm like, aren't I just like 23? Isn't that true? So I'm turning 40 and I've been married to Scott for... I guess we're celebrating 13 years this year. I have two girls. Sinclair is in fourth grade, she's about to be ten and Rory is in second grade. So she's gonna be eight. [00:02:39]

I'm the only one who like rounds up. I start rounding up ages about ten months before I actually turn that time. I'm like telling my youngest attorney, I mean, she still has like six months to go, I need to slow down, she's seven. So we'll make myself slow down here.

But anyways, currently I am a podcaster and I am a writer and a communicator and host and I've always had a heart for ministry, ministering to women specifically. I can remember... I just shared this with some friends last week. I can remember being... I guess I was 20. I don't think I was even 21 yet. And I was at this leadership kind of thing for this internship I was doing and they had us write a purpose statement. And at the time I wrote to inspire, encourage and serve women for the glory of God.

I just love that because I was 20 years old. At that time, my emphasis was working with young women, so middle school girls and high school girls, people that were just one step behind me. And I just love that 20 years later that is still the heart of what I'm doing. [00:03:42] And so I have a history of just working in ministry.

I worked in full-time ministry for almost a decade — that was student ministry — and then I've been working for a non-profit organization called Orange off and on for the last 12 years, just helping to create resources for churches to use to help them partner better with parents and to reach the next generation. That's kind of a snapshot.

I'm an author. I wrote a book forever ago. I always laugh. I was like 27 when it came out, but it's called Body. Beauty. Boys: The Truth about Girls and How We See Ourselves. Again, it's that heart for ministry for those young girls. I just thought if they could understand what I know now, what I wish I had known then, and that's really what that is my story of body image and learning how to find contentment and who God created me to be.

The podcast is called Surviving Sarah, and it has been around for just over two years and it is just the most fun thing. It is so fun to get to sit down with women and men, I have been on the show too, and have conversations with people to get to hear their story and how they're contributing to the world and just really get to be a megaphone for who they are and get to cheer for them. And so that's been a really great highlight of what God has kind of pushed me in the last couple of years. [00:04:55]

Laura Dugger: I love that because it sounds like even as young as age 20, He planted this seed. And now He's being faithful to carry on to completion what he's put in your heart.

Sarah Bragg: Yes. And you know what? It's so funny. I was telling someone the other day how my dream job when I was that age, when I was in college, like graduating college, was to be the co-host with Regis Philbin. He was going to be like, Live with Regis and Sarah. That's what I wanted.

So it's so fun to go, Oh, this is like... I'm hosting. I get to host a show now. And sure, I don't have Regis by my side, which would be very fun, but it's that same dream of what I was dreaming then, I'm getting to do that now. so that's been really fun.

Laura Dugger: You mentioned a few of them, but you've accomplished some amazing goals. You've completed seminary, written a book, launched a podcast. So is all of that typical of your personality type or did you have to overcome some obstacles? [00:05:49]

Sarah Bragg: You know, it's funny, I don't think I would have said it's my personality type when I was younger. I don't know if I even knew that about me. I wasn't a driven kid. My mom would say I was the most easy-going child. She's like, "Bringing you home from the hospital was like bringing groceries home. You were just easygoing I could leave you anywhere., I could put you in anyone's arms and walk away and you're like, 'Okay, see you later.'" So easygoing.

But something I feel in me as I grew older this drive really kind of appeared. I think that it was one of those things where I love ideas, I have ideas all the time, but I still would have never thought of myself as an idea person. So I feel like there has been something in me that has this drive or this...

I do have a fear of failure, but at the same time, when I feel like, no, this is what I'm supposed to do. I feel like I have a very strong confidence about what I'm supposed to do. And I think it's confidence in God and confidence in what He is pushing me towards, even if I don't totally feel I know what I'm doing.

Even with ministry, my first job was actually at a minor league baseball team. [00:06:58] That's where I began my whole career. I thought I wanted to work in baseball, but I think I just probably wanted to marry a baseball player, if I was being real honest.

My first job in ministry was in California, and I was living in Tennessee at the time, and I didn't blink an eye at that. I was like, "Yes, let's go to California. Let's do this." So I feel like I have always kind of, maybe as a young adult and leaning in, I have definitely always had this sense of "What's next?" It can be a bad thing, but it can also be a great thing. It pushes me forward to try things and to do something new.

I think I love meeting new people and so all of those kind of things always open themselves up to being with people. I think that's part of who I am as well.

Laura Dugger: That's so cool. And then unpacking your personality a little bit. I've heard on your podcast, you've said you're an Enneagram 3. Is that right?

Sarah Bragg: Yes.

Laura Dugger: Well, let's totally just take a rabbit trail. How did you discover that was your number? Did you take the paid test?

Sarah Bragg: I took a free test online. It was going around our office. We were all talking about it. And I was like, Okay, I'm fascinated by all that kind of stuff. And so I took it and then I just like, Oh, three with a two. That's when it first came back. And I was like, Oh, whatever. Like I didn't even look into it.

Then the more I started looking at it, I was like, "Oh, this is kind of depressing. I need to feel valued and I need to feel loved." And I was like, "Oh, this doesn't sound very good." Like I was kind of like, Ah. Then the more I started reading into it, I got The Road Back to You by Suzanne Stabile and Ian. I can't remember Ian's last name. But I read that and I started reading online and it was those things where you're going, Oh gosh, someone has been spying on the corners and the insides and the cobwebs of my brain and they wrote it in a book. And I don't know how they did that.

The more I kind of researched and learned... like Suzanne Stabile was on the show and she really kind of unpacked, you know, what each number was and did kind of this big overview of it all. I think I'm probably a three with a four rather than a two I think in the state of life I am in, where I'm a mom and I feel like you kind of have to be a helper a lot, but that's not generally who I am as a whole. [00:09:23] If you look back on years past, there's a lot more of that creative kind of brain.

And it's funny because I can't remember now what the four is called. Five is the investigator. I can't remember what the four is. But anyways, it's one of those where they value authenticity and they value being real but then I'm a three who is playing this game of like, who do I need to be in order to be valued by this group of people?

So I always feel like the four in me is prosecuting the three in me of going, "Oh, you're not really you. That's not who you are. This isn't..." You know, and it's like this crazy... I'm like, I feel like I'm going to be checked into a mental home at some point for my personalities. But it has been fascinating.

It's been really helpful to learn who my husband is. He is a five. And it's been helpful to just kind of be able to understand him and things that... What a lot of times frustrate me, like, why don't you have enough energy to go and do this? Why can't we have people over every weekend? You know, why can't we do that? And it's going, Oh, this is who he is, and this is how he operates and sees the world. And this is what he gains from this and this is what he loses and all of this.

So then it helps me to have a little bit more grace for who he is and how he operates of going, This is just how he is wired. This is not a bad wiring. This is good wiring. And if I can understand that, then I can offer him a whole lot more grace for who he is. [00:10:41]

Laura Dugger: You've said before that you've been through seasons of finding your voice, then losing it and finding it again. Can you elaborate on that journey?

Sarah Bragg: Yeah. I think that's part of the hardship of my wiring of that three who's constantly driving forward. I feel like, you know, my 20s were very accomplished years. My first ministry job was at Saddleback Church, so it was this large mega-church in California and doing this thing. So I just kind of started there. I didn't even work my way up. That's where I started.

That was in my 22 maybe at the time when that happened and then published my first book when I was 27 and was traveling and speaking. And then it transitioned at this point, was working for this organization that was well known. I knew all these people. I was so networked and doing all this stuff.

Then I had kids and it was like the brakes screeched stop and all the achievements and all the striving, everything just stopped. So it was a really hard moment of feeling like, okay, I was moving so fast forward and then I had this kid and that was a whole nother thing. Because I couldn't achieve this kid. Like there was no success at the end of the day. [00:12:07] The only success, if I could have gone back and told myself, was like, well, you changed her diaper every time and she was fed and you kept her alive. Good job. That was your success today. But it was one of those where it just was different.

And motherhood was very different from the career that I had been in. And so I feel like that was part of it. And being in a place where I was essentially hired because I was this voice and I was a published author and I was a communicator and all these things but then they decided for me not to use those gifts or skills and what I was doing and the combination of my age and having a kid and then that just crushed my voice. I all of a sudden began to be very self-doubtful in who I was and what I had to say and what I had to offer.

Going back to kind of Enneagram talk, if my main thing is to feel valued, that was a season of life where I felt invaluable in everything. [00:13:10] So it just really pushed me, I feel like, in a dark place of "I feel like I didn't enjoy motherhood. I feel like I didn't have any words to say."

I remember my publisher would come back to me, like, "We really want you to write another book." And I was like, "That's great, but I have no words to say." Because at the end of the day, sure, I didn't have a lot of words because being a first-time mom and have a newborn or even a one-year-old is just a lot. But I questioned my voice. I didn't feel like my voice was worthy anymore because there were certain people that I valued their opinion and they said your voice isn't what we want. And that just crushed me.

And so there was several years of just not doing the things that God had really skilled me to do. Of course, you know, you can look at it and you can see there was a season. I can look now and I think, "Well, of course, I didn't have another book to write because I needed to live some more life, I needed to experience some more." I can see that in hindsight. [00:14:12] But it took about four years of really just almost like circling back to the truth even that God had taught me as a 20-something in regards to body image.

It was the same kind of struggle. It was the same questioning of identity and questioning of worth, except I wasn't starving myself and I wasn't looking in the mirror and going, "Oh, you're so ugly" or "You're not this." But it was the same root problem.

I was looking at my voice and who I was and what I had to offer and going, Well, you're just not worthy. Like you're just not good enough. You're just not good enough for us. You're not funny enough, or you're not whatever enough. You don't write in the right voice.

It took about four years of really just going back to those essential truths of... you know, I think about how, you know, Genesis 1:27, that God created man in His own image and that men and women are the only image bearers of God. And that alone gives us value. If nothing else, we have value simply because we were made in the image of God. Nothing external, nothing that because of what I did, nothing... It's just simply because I was created with His image, with that intrinsic value. [00:15:27]

And going back and just reminding myself of that truth, or reminding myself of, you know, you're fearfully and wonderfully made, wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well, and how He intimately acquainted with all my ways, all these things. Coming back to, how did He weave me? He made me unique. He made my voice this way. And it's okay if these people don't value your voice because your voice matters, because God created you this way, and He's given you something unique to say.

It was years of reinforcing those kind of truths about my identity and where my worth and my value really comes from, so that when the opportunities came back up to use my voice and I was ready to speak and ready to write and ready to use my voice, I was able to walk into the same organization, the same people, all these things, and be at a place that was much healthier and go, It's okay if you don't want me to do this because I know that apart from anything external, I have worth and my voice matters. [00:16:30]

Those years were really as hard as they were and as I hated walking through the pain of that, and kind of in my mind it was a failure, and I don't like to fail. But it was good. It was good. It brought me to a place of Being able to do what I do from a place of acceptance not looking for acceptance from people.

Laura Dugger: It's exciting to see now on this side that one of your dreams, having that voice, being a podcast host, that's coming true. So what practical steps would you recommend to a listener who has a dream, whether that's launching a podcast or something totally unrelated?

Sarah Bragg: Well, I think dreams are good. I think take a step. You know, I'm a big cheerleader for other people's dreams. Like my mom always laughs at me because if she says something, I'm like, "Okay, what if you did this, this, and this, and you could do this thing?" And she's like, stop trying to make me do something. I'm fine. I don't need to do that.

But I just love this... like put some action to whatever that dream is. Even if it's a step. I have people all the time say, I think I want to write a book. And I'm like, Do it. Like when I had the idea to write my book, it actually wasn't even the book that got published. [00:17:43] I was an intern at Saddleback and the intern pastor was like, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" And I was like, "Well, I want to be a writer and a speaker."

And he was like, "Well, if you want to be a writer, maybe you should actually write something." And I was like, novel idea. Take a step. Do something." I had no agent at the time. I had no book deal. I had none of that. But I just sat down and I started thinking, "What do I want to say and who do I want to say it to?" And then out came a book.

And I just would sit down and no one was paying me and I would go sit at a coffee shop or sit in my room and I just wrote a book. It's like you're just taking the next right step. I think sometimes we have dreams in our heart that may not ever even come to a fruition of payment. Or I think a lot of us think the only measure of success on our dreams is if someone pays us for it. I don't think that's true. I think that just even doing something with your dream, taking steps with your dream, those are steps of success.

That would be my advice is just whatever that dream is, think about what the next right step might be, and then just do it. [00:18:48] Then just kind of you're just following the next right step. Because even launching the podcast, you know, I was in a season where I didn't know what was next. I just knew I was ready.

My youngest had gone off to kindergarten and I knew. I was like, I know God is not done with me. I may have at one point thought I peaked at 30, but I knew that I was not done, that God still had something to do through me. I just didn't know what it was. And I said, "Is it speaking again? Is it writing another book? What is it that you want me to do? I just know that I want to use my voice, and I know that God for years have been saying, "You need to push others forward."

And so it was in the season of just seeking. Seeking out, what do you want me to do? I don't even know what the dream is. I just know that these are the things that I want to do with my life. I went to a conference and ended up in a breakout about podcasting for no other reason than there was nothing else to go to. And it was there that God was like, "I want you to start a podcast where you get to use your voice to push others forward."

That was in October, and then I launched the show two months later. So it was just like, "Okay, let's do this." Like you just start taking steps and one step leads to another. At some point, it may stop, and that's okay. But I think it's one of those you owe it to yourself to at least take a step on the idea or the dream that you have. [00:20:00]

Laura Dugger: Yeah. It's great to hear how you were just faithful in that thing right in front of you. Now let's speak to the person whose dream is to launch their own podcast and we'll break it down to a practical level. We heard where your idea began. When you mentioned that to your friends and family, what did they say when you said, I want to start a podcast?

Sarah Bragg: Well, thankfully, my husband was clued in enough about podcasts that he said, "I don't know why we haven't thought about this before." He's like, "This is the absolute perfect thing for you." I had some friends around me that really kind of championed that for me. Then I had people who were like, what? What's a podcast? What is this? And so it was like a strange… like podcasts were moving forward, but they were still not totally everyday language for people.

I had some people around me that were like, yes. And I'm thankful that my husband was, because that would have been hard if he would have been like, "I don't think this is a great idea." And it was a hard season. He is also an entrepreneur. He is a perpetual idea person and creator of things. [00:21:01]

So we were in a season of both of us that year, 2016, he had tried launching something new and then here I am trying to launch something new. We're going, "Oh, why are we both launching something new at the same time?"

But thankfully, podcasting is not expensive. You can get a microphone and some headphones, and as long as you have a computer, and then the monthly hosting service is cheap. So it's one of those where it's like, Okay, this didn't take a lot of expense for me to make happen. And I think that was helpful. I mean, my time, but actual hands-on expense was not bad.

Laura Dugger: Sure. So if you had to guess a round number to start a podcast, how much do you think yours cost?

Sarah Bragg: Oh, I don't even know. We started with really good microphones. My husband is a video editor, and so this is a little bit in his world. So he's like, "We are going to have good microphones. That is one thing that we will have." So our microphones were a little bit more expensive.

But I think that you can get a microphone, a good one, for around $250. And then the hosting site, I use a site called Libsyn, and it can be as cheap as $15 a month. [00:22:07] You can use a WordPress site that doesn't cost anything. And as long as you can learn how to edit... I just actually learned how to edit, even though my show is over two years old. My husband has been editing it this whole time. I just learned how to edit like a month ago. So I'm real proud of myself right now for learning how to edit a show.

Laura Dugger: What do you use to edit your show?

Sarah Bragg: We use something called Adobe Audition. The reason why we use that, again, my husband is this video editor and he uses Adobe for video editing. He's like, "Listen, if you want my help, if you run into a problem or have a question, you've got to learn Audition. Because if you use GarageBand or something else, then he's like, "I won't know how to do it." So I learned on that. It's been good. Like someone said, that's a harder one, but I feel like to me it's a little bit... It feels intuitive.

Laura Dugger: Do you have any other tips like technology, websites, books, or other resources?

Sarah Bragg: Yeah. My favorite... I just launched another podcast two weeks ago. It's called Are My Kids On Track? It's a kind of companion study with a book that already exists by the same title. [00:23:13] So when I was launching it, it had been over two years since I had launched a podcast. And I was like, Oh, wait, what do I do? Like, how do I apply to iTunes? How do I upload a brand new show to Libsyn?

So my friend, JC, she used to be the host of the Around the Table podcast, and she's a good friend of mine. She wrote a podcast guide about how to start a podcast. I'll send you the link so that you can put it in your show notes. But that was super helpful because it truly was like step by step. She even breaks it down like if you need to know how to edit, she teaches you how to edit, like how to, you know, prepare questions, all these things.

So it was super helpful to be able to just refresh my memory using that and going, Oh, yes, these are the qualifications for an iTunes image and these are... you know, all of that stuff she included, which was super helpful.

Laura Dugger: Definitely. Thank you for being generous and sharing that. We'll link to it for sure. And now a brief message from our sponsor.

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Laura Dugger: You had alluded to this earlier, that it was maybe two months, but I just wanted to clarify, how long did it take to get from an idea to the first published episode of Surviving Sarah?

Sarah Bragg: Yes, it was two months pretty much exactly. It was mid-October when I went to that conference. So I came home and I wrote down a list of 52 people. Because I was like, If I can think of 52 people, that's one year, that I could ask. Now, whether they said yes or no, you know, I didn't know. But I thought of all the people who I would want to have on the show, and some of them were big names and some of them were just normal people like me. So I wrote this out, and I thought, where am I going to start? Like, who are people that I'm texting friends with, you know, so that I know that they're people that most likely would not say no to me. I'll start there.

I think I recorded About four episodes before I launched. I launched with two episodes, which is always good to launch with more than one so that people will listen once and they'll listen again. And that will help kind of boosting your show in iTunes a little bit. [00:26:35]

So I launched on December the 20th, so the week before Christmas, because I thought, Well, maybe people will be traveling and they'll listen because they're traveling. So I just knocked out a few. I get to do probably, I don't know, maybe 40... at least 40% of my podcast episodes are recorded live in person in my home.

I live in Atlanta and there's just a lot of people here. So it was fun to get to have some people come around my table early on and get to have a conversation in person. Then it just kind of rolled from there. I always tried to stay a couple of weeks out so that you weren't just recording and then feeling the pressure that it's got to come out, you know, in three days.

So I gave myself a little breathing room before I launched, that I knew that I had some episodes in the can so that I could get some momentum going. Because people who are moms, especially summer's always coming, you know, there's always a winter break. So you use breaks that you've got to think about and plan for and plan ahead so that you're not scrambling all summer long going, Oh, how am I going to record an episode with people in the background? I couldn't do it. There's no way. I just wouldn't have a show if I had to record in the summer with my kids. [00:27:50] But yeah, so it's about two months exactly of start to launch.

Laura Dugger: That is really helpful to think about winter break, summer breaks. You still release an episode one per week, is that right?

Sarah Bragg: That's right. 2017 I took one week off. I took the week of Christmas off, and that was a big deal. I was very nervous. I don't know, I guess because you've been in the rhythm of doing this. And I remember just feeling like, It's okay to take a break. I think that, again, lends itself to my achieving personality. And it was one of those where you just need to trust. It's okay to take a break.

Some advice I heard early on is to either answer is good, but either treat it as a hobby or a job. There's going to be two different ways you approach your show. And either answer is good, whatever it needs to be for you. But for me, I knew I wanted it to be a job. So for me, I was like, to take a week off was really hard, because I thought, Oh, no, am I not doing what I need to be doing, or doing enough, or people are going to stop listening, or people are going to... I had all these things. But yeah, so I took the week off, though. And it was fine. We survived. Every week, every Tuesday, it comes out. [00:28:56]

Laura Dugger: And then for that summer break, what has been your solution around that?

Sarah Bragg: I hustle up in March and April. So currently... and I have never been this far out. I don't know what happened. My husband was laughing at me because we were turning the calendar year and I said, "I'm really stressed. I don't know if I have enough people lined up." Then all of a sudden I looked at my content calendar, I was like, "Oh, like I'm two months out." So that has been helpful just to hustle up.

Like last summer, I remember I picked one week in that and I thought, Okay, if I can record, few episodes this week or something like that to where it was... in the first year, I was like, If I could do one week a month or one day every other week and they could go to the neighbor's house for this time frame and I could line... Yeah.

So I think it just takes a lot of strategy. It takes thinking ahead because your built-in time that I normally have during the school year is gone. But I do try to hustle up and it's a lot of work and it's a lot of time on the front end, but it's nice to not have to stress about creating space in the summer when we just are more lax on everything. [00:30:06]

Laura Dugger: So even in the summer, though, as you're releasing these episodes, there's a lot of follow-up, I would assume. Do you still have to carve out time for emails or anything else that we wouldn't be thinking of with a podcast that takes your time?

Sarah Bragg: Yes. There's a lot of time on the back end of even getting an episode ready. So the recording and the prepping for a conversation, that is one thing. But then the other part, the part that then once you've recorded, that's a lot of time. So not only is it editing the actual show that you're going to release, but it's creating images that you will use for promotion. I now create voiceover images. So that's another piece of editing.

It's emailing with the people that are on the show and then creating show notes, which includes all my takeaways from the conversation. So there's just a lot of things on the back end part that take several hours to create. [00:31:06]

Because I also work for Orange still in some capacity, so I still have other work that's not even the podcast-related that I need to do and need to work on. And it is just knowing I need about four to six hours for the podcast. And that's just going to be what it is for the back end to make everything happen.

So then I just need to build that in every week, even if it's while the girls are, you know, watching TV or whatever. I think last summer I can remember working by the pool, like took them to the pool. I was like, Okay, I'm going to sit because my girl's going to swim. It's like the glorious promise land that when you're a mom of little kids, you just can't fathom. But I can actually sit by the pool and not have to get in the pool. It's a remarkable phenomenon that happens.

So yeah, there's definitely a lot of work on the other end that's not just the fun part of sitting and getting to have a conversation.

Laura Dugger: That's a very good realistic picture. How long did it take to get a sponsor? [00:32:04]

Sarah Bragg: You know, I didn't go after sponsors for about two years. It's a tricky line. Everybody is different. I did want it to be a job. I did want it to eventually pay for something. I have a tendency for my... Again, this is my wiring all coming out. I can tend to push something so hard that it kills the fun of it.

So for me, I was having so much fun in doing this that I wanted to be very protective of this creative thing that I was doing. I didn't want to kill my creativity because I was trying to force it to pay my bills. So I wanted to be very cautious of that.

I was thankful that my husband... because I would start and you know, there were many moments where I was stressing and feeling like, well, I'm not successful because I'm not making money on it. And he would draw me back and go, "No, that's not true. That is not true." And he would say, "Just focus on making good content. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep delivering good content, then with the right time, the sponsors will come." [00:33:09]

In December, this past December, I signed with just a sponsor, like an advertising firm, essentially. And so now they help bring sponsors to me. I'm not having to go after them. They get the sponsors and bring them to me and I can approve or not approve.

I know for me, when I started out, there were podcasts that were two years in, that were two years, so essentially where I am currently, and I would look at them and think I needed to be where they were, but I needed to be there on day one. That was something that I would always have to remind myself, "No, no, they have put their time in, they have done the work for two years and they are here." Like, I'm not expected to be there on day one or even in the first six months.

I think there were a couple times in the first year where I had a couple people come to me and ask to be sponsors and it worked out and that was fine but it wasn't something that I was... Again, everybody is different but for me, it just wasn't a thing that I was going to push hard until I was established and had a proven track record of content and of listeners. [00:34:12]

It's been great finally getting to bring in some income for what we're doing and that will help offset the cost of not just the website and the hosting and the equipment, but just also my time. It's a lot of time when you think... This is a hobby that... I mean, it's a hobby that I want to be a job that takes a whole lot of my week.

I think it's one of those where, you know, the beauty of sponsors for podcasts which I think that sponsors realize this, is that they live on. I record advertisement for Casper mattress or HelloFresh or whatever and it's gonna still live on like months from now. Someone's gonna go and download that random episode and they're gonna hear an ad that I'm no longer getting paid for.

So I think that's kind of the beauty for sponsors where they see the benefit in advertising on podcasts because TV shows, it's not the same. It doesn't live on like podcast advertising does.

Laura Dugger: And then on a more personal note, for you, how has life changed since launching that first episode? [00:35:17]

Sarah Bragg: Well, my girls think I'm famous because I'm on iTunes. So everybody on iTunes is famous. I always laugh about that. My youngest calls it my popcast. She's like, "Are you going to do that popcast today?" And I love that.

You know, I think that I have felt a renewed excitement about what I'm supposed to be doing right now. And so for those years of like wondering what's coming next and have I peeked and is it over, so there has just been a real renewed drive and a renewed excitement. I just think when you're doing things that give you life, there's a different attitude that you bring to everywhere you go, whether that's from relationships or friendships or ministry, whatever you're doing. I feel like that has changed in that respect.

Laura Dugger: Is there anything else you would like to say as final encouragement to somebody who shares this dream of launching their own podcast?

Sarah Bragg: Yeah. I would say just take a step. It's okay if it was for a season, that you did this and then you stopped. That's okay, too. I've had friends who… one friend just stopped and is no longer doing it, but it didn't mean that what she did during that time wasn't worth something. Then I had another podcast friend who started and stopped for a long time and then started again.[00:36:42] I think it's those kind of things where it's taking pressure off of what you're hoping to do.

One of my favorite podcasts to listen to you is Off Camera with Sam Jones. I remember he interviewed Will Ferrell and they're essentially saying, if I'm no longer having fun, I'm going to stop doing it. So it's that never forgetting to just have fun. That's really how I try to approach it. And I pray that before I interview, I'm like, "Just help me to have fun with this. Help me to bring out the best in who these people are and just have fun."

Do not be overwhelmed with all the things and, well, I've got to be seen and I've got to be this and I've got to do this. Just remember at the end of the day to have fun with what you're doing. That's really what has driven me, I think, for the last two years is just this is fun. Sure, I'm not getting paid a lot. I was not getting paid at all for a time, but this was fun. I am getting to just have conversations with people and this is fun.

Laura Dugger: Fun. I would echo that. It is so fun. The podcast here is called Savvy for a reason, because "savvy" means practical knowledge or discernment. [00:37:50] So as we close today, Sarah, we would love to know, what is your savvy sauce?

Sarah Bragg: Oh, man. Well, I do love podcasts. I feel like that is practical information at your fingertips. A new podcast that is not necessarily new, The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman, that has been a good listen. It's short. It's like 15-minute episodes. So it's very easily digestible. I feel like things like that...

I've been listening to Deus podcast by Rachel Hollis. Those have been, again, short, easy to digest. I definitely think just growing in the nooks and crannies. Like, okay, I'm listening to this for like two seconds as I'm running from here to there. So that's a practical thing is just podcasts.

I know that we've been talking about podcasts, but that is something I feel like I go through seasons, which people are always like, Oh, you must listen to a lot of podcasts. Sometimes I do and sometimes I'm like, no, I just want to listen to Spotify. I just need to hear music. Like, I need to hear songs and not words being spoken. [00:38:55] Then sometimes I get into seasons where I'm just digesting lots of words and lots of stories and humor and all that kind of stuff.

Laura Dugger: Thank you so much for all the work that you continue to do to release this great content, and thank you for being generous with your time and being our guest today. I really enjoyed having you.

Sarah Bragg: I'm just honored that you asked.

Laura Dugger: One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners and God is perfect and holy, so He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, we're separated from Him.

This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a savior. But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. [00:40:01]

This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.

We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

So would you pray with me now? Heavenly, Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change their lives now for eternity. In Jesus name, we pray, amen. [00:41:06]

If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him, you get the opportunity to live your life for Him.

At this podcast, we are called Savvy for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you're ready to get started?

First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision my parents took me to Barnes and Noble to get the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. Start by reading the book of John.

Get connected locally, which basically means just tell someone who is part of the church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.

We want to celebrate with you too. So feel free to leave a comment for us if you made a decision for Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process. [00:42:06]

Finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.

If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce

Practical chats for intentional living

A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others. Expect encouragement, surprises, and hope here. Each episode offers lively interviews with fascinating guests such as therapists, authors, non-profit founders, and business leaders.

They share their best practices and savvy tips we can replicate to make our daily life and relationships more enjoyable!