We were lucky to catch up with Rachael King recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rachael, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I got my work ethic from farm life! Of course I had the list of weekly chores I did to earn my allowance, like so many kids, but working on my grandfather’s dairy farm every summer was a whole different level of work ethic. We shoveled out the stalls, fed all the animals (mostly cows, but also goats, chickens, pigs and farm cats), cleaned *everything* that needed cleaning, hauled things from here to there — and our reward was building a hay fort, driving the tractor or a free cone from the ice cream stand we set up near the road.
Those summers were priceless. I can’t imagine anything that could better teach a kid about the value of hard work; we could see the fruits of our labor when the animals were all fed and happy, and making my grandfather proud was its own reward. Because of this, I was super excited to start “officially” working when I turned 16 — I worked as a host and server at a TGIFriday’s all through high school, and earned more than $5K to contribute to my college fees.
All of this to say, I learned the value of hard work in my youth from cows, my grandfather, and a chain restaurant with too many tchotchke on the walls — and they all taught me well.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m the Co-Founder and CEO of Pod People, a global content + marketing studio for award-winning podcasts and social creative. We work with the world’s biggest brands and best talent, such as Netflix, HBO, EA, Marvel, People, Vogue, Bon Appetit, CNN and more. My career has always been in some form of brand storytelling; I’ve spent nearly 20 years helping brands from startups to Fortune 500s share their messaging across every medium, and Pod People is my third founded company in the media and communications space.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I believe the three things that helped me most in the early stages of my career were ambition, adaptability, and curiosity. I’m extremely driven when I’m excited about something, I know how to roll with the punches (I credit that one to restaurant life), and I love connecting with new people and learning more about them and what they’re passionate about. This is an excellent recipe for how to forge your way into any new industry!
My best advice for young folks just starting out is to find an industry that you really care about (whether that’s solar energy, or publishing, or AI); if you’re genuinely excited about the work, it’ll be easy to show up every day, and you’ll be struck with inspiration and new ideas far more often. In terms of practicing adaptability, try out a new hobby or activity you’ve never done before every few months — like pottery or rock climbing! Stretching yourself to do new things and sit with the discomfort of being bad at it is so good for you (and humbling, which is always helpful).
In terms of curiosity, I don’t know that this can be taught. But if you go deep enough with a person or topic, I guarantee you’ll find something interesting in the layers. Dig until you find it; or at the very least, train yourself to be a really, really good listener!
How would you describe your ideal client?
Our ideal clients are:
1. Fortune 1000s who want to reach a new, targeted audience, shift brand perception and/or create a new owned channel;
2. Venture-backed startups (especially B2B) who are focused on brand awareness, thought leadership, or competitive differentiation;
3. Media companies with IP they want to adapt or test out as a podcast, or create companion podcasts as a marketing tool for their film/tv show/video game etc!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://podpeople.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/rachaelgking
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/rachaelgking
Image Credits
Credit to Pod People
