287 Marla Isackson - Elevating Women’s Voices & Building The Only Indie Women’s Podcast Network (Empire)

Episode Summary:

Founder and CEO of Ossa Collective, Marla Isackson, joins the show to discuss the incredible work she’s doing to elevate and amplify women’s voices worldwide. Marla is also the host of The Mind Of A Mentor podcast, the show that features topical conversations and vital advice for podcasters about podcasting.

Today, Harry and Marla engage in a rich discussion about Marla’s extensive business background, Marla’s passion for raising women up and what inspired her to launch Ossa Collective. Marla expounds on her process for identifying and hiring a passionate world-class team as well as her thoughts on the virtual shift that has occurred in the workplace. They talk about what led Marla to podcasting and what she loves most about the incredibly supportive podcast community. Finally, Marla shares her future goals for Ossa, explains how she came up with the name Ossa and makes a unique ask of the audience.

Episode Sponsors:

Focusrite – http://pcjk.es/focusrite

FullCast – https://fullcast.co/

Key Takeaways:

06:30 – Founder and CEO, Marla Isackson joins the show to share her eclectic background in business and the decision to launch the world’s first women-focused podcast advertising network

20:37 – How Marla has grown and improved as a podcast host and what goes into her research process

26:29 – Ossa Collective’s origin story

35:02 – Building a passionate, world-class team

38:19 – Working remotely vs. in-person

43:22 – A warm and supportive podcast community

45:52 – Ossa’s roadmap to world domination

50:04 – Marla’s ask of the audience

52:07 – The inspiration behind the name ‘Ossa’

53:02 – Something Marla has changed her mind about recently and

56:01 – Harry thanks Marla for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can connect with her and learn more about Ossa Collective

Tweetable Quotes:

“I really focused on why I was doing it, which was to hear the stories of heroes - amazing women who have had fabulous lives and to talk to them about their experiences with mentorship. I met some very cool women doing this. The conversations were incredible and very emotional.” (16:33) (Marla)

“And I thought about it and realized that podcasting is a natural medium for women. We like to have conversations and we’re really good at it.” (28:08) (Marla)

“We’re looking to partner with companies that are focused on elevating the voices of women in their companies. And I think that there is definitely a lot of opportunity to go beyond the podcasting industry.” (32:35) (Marla)

“The podcast people are the nicest and incredibly collaborative. Yes, everyone says this, but it’s the truth. We all want to help each other. And, I’m not gonna succeed by putting someone else down. I’m gonna succeed when someone else succeeds, and vice versa.” (43:51) (Marla)

“The people who listen to these podcasts are devoted. It’s a niche audience, but they are so devoted to their host. So when a host recommends a product, you better believe that ask will convert. So, I guess my ask would be, ‘Don’t discount us. Count us in. We are growing. We have a lot of powerful women in our network and we’d like to talk to you. And we want to make this mutually beneficial and I think we can.” (51:19) (Marla)

Links Mentioned:

FullCast Website – https://fullcast.co/

Podcast Junkies Junkies Facebook Group –https://www.facebook.com/groups/podcastjunkiesjunkies/

Link to Podfest Expo Virtual Summit – https://podfestexpo.com/

Link to The Podosphere – https://www.thepodosphere.com/

Marla Isackson LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlaisackson/

Ossa Collective Website – https://ossacollective.com/

Ossa Collective Twitter – https://twitter.com/ossacollective

Ossa Collective YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5DzNimKAu9h_aQ5WQPLO6w

Ossa Collective LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/ossa-collective/

Ossa Collective Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ossacollective/

Ossa Collective Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ossacollectivenetwork