How to Build a Personal Brand and Start a Podcast with Francheska Stone

What if starting a podcast could become the beginning of an entirely new career?

For Francheska Stone, that’s essentially what happened.

Francheska is an entrepreneur, brand strategist, podcast host, and founder of 9 to 5 Mom with a Pod and Second Shift Marketing. But before building her brand and business, she spent more than a decade working as a litigation paralegal.

She didn’t leave her career with a perfectly mapped-out business plan.

Instead, motherhood, curiosity, experimentation, and paying attention to what people were already asking her for eventually led her toward something new.

In this episode of The Classy Career Girl Podcast, Francheska and I talk about how to build a personal brand, why podcasting can be such a powerful business tool, and what happens when you stop trying to appeal to everyone and start creating for the people you’re uniquely positioned to help.

If you’ve been thinking about starting a podcast, growing your visibility, or turning your knowledge into a business, here are some of the biggest lessons from our conversation.

Francheska Stone’s Journey From Paralegal to Entrepreneur

Francheska built a career as a litigation paralegal and genuinely enjoyed the work.

Her entrepreneurial journey wasn’t the result of hating her career or having a lifelong dream of owning a marketing agency.

Her perspective began to shift during a major season of change.

She moved from California to New Jersey, became pregnant with her daughter, and during maternity leave started wondering whether her existing career was really going to be the only thing she did.

So she experimented.

Her first podcast was The Good Paralegal, based on the work she already knew.

That podcast eventually faded.

Then she launched another podcast with a friend centered around life and pop culture. When their schedules and priorities changed, that show ended too.

But Francheska discovered something important through the process:

She loved podcasting.

Instead of looking at those early attempts as failures, she kept following her curiosity.

That ultimately helped lead her to the business and brand she has today.

How to Build a Personal Brand: Pay Attention to What People Ask You

One of my favorite lessons from Francheska’s story is how naturally she discovered what she could build a business around.

She was part of a Facebook group for moms, and women began coming to her with questions.

How do you edit content?

How do you put content together?

How do you batch content?

How do you build your brand?

To Francheska, many of the answers seemed obvious because she already knew how to do these things.

But that’s exactly the point.

Often, the knowledge that feels ordinary to you is incredibly valuable to someone else.

If you’re trying to figure out how to build a personal brand or what your business could be about, start paying attention to the questions people repeatedly ask you.

Ask yourself:

• What do people naturally come to me for help with?
• What can I explain easily that other people find confusing?
• What have I learned through my career or life experience?
• What problems do I genuinely enjoy helping people solve?

You don’t necessarily need to invent a completely new expertise.

Sometimes your niche is already showing up in your conversations.

You Don’t Need a Perfect Business Plan to Start

Francheska didn’t have a step-by-step entrepreneurial playbook when she began.

She experimented.

She started podcasts.

She learned.

She listened to the questions people were asking.

Then she moved toward what was working.

This is an important reminder for anyone waiting until they have their entire business figured out before putting themselves out there.

Your first idea doesn’t have to become your forever idea.

Your first podcast doesn’t have to become your forever podcast.

Your first offer doesn’t have to become your forever offer.

Starting gives you information that planning alone can’t provide.

You learn what you enjoy.

You learn what your audience responds to.

You learn what people need help with.

And you begin discovering where your strengths and the needs of your audience intersect.

Why Starting a Podcast Can Help Build Your Business

Many people think about podcast monetization and immediately think about sponsorships or building a massive show.

Francheska took a different approach.

Her podcast became a platform that supported a larger business.

As people discovered her content and learned from her, they could also discover the services she offered through Second Shift Marketing.

The podcast became part of the customer journey.

That’s one of the reasons I love podcasting as a business owner, too.

A potential client might discover you through Instagram or a Google search and only spend a few seconds with your content.

A podcast gives someone the opportunity to spend 20, 30, or even 60 minutes learning from you.

They hear how you think.

They understand your values.

They learn your approach.

They begin to trust you.

For coaches, consultants, service providers, and experts, that depth of connection can be incredibly valuable.

Your podcast doesn’t necessarily have to be the business.

It can help grow the business.

Don’t Build Your Podcast for Everyone

Another important lesson from our conversation was Francheska’s approach to authenticity.

You don’t need to create content for the masses.

You need to create content for the people who are meant to connect with you.

Maybe you start noticing that working moms consistently follow you.

Maybe career changers keep asking you questions.

Maybe new entrepreneurs respond most strongly to your content.

Pay attention.

Your audience will often give you clues about who your message resonates with most.

Instead of imagining thousands of strangers when you’re recording, think about one person.

What does she need today?

What question is she asking?

What could you say that would make her feel understood?

Creating for one specific person makes it much easier to develop a recognizable personal brand.

Authenticity Matters More Than Looking Perfect

Building a personal brand doesn’t mean creating a polished version of yourself that looks perfect all the time.

Francheska shared that sometimes creating content as a busy mom means recording wherever you happen to have the opportunity—even from your car.

That’s real life.

You don’t need the perfect office.

You don’t need the perfect background.

You don’t need every day to look impressive.

You need to show up in a way that’s sustainable for your actual life.

And you need to remember that not everyone has to like your content.

Not everyone is supposed to be your audience.

Your job is to connect with the right people, not every person.

Focus on Work That Moves the Needle

I also asked Francheska what meaningful work means to her in this season.

Her answer was a great reminder for entrepreneurs.

Meaningful work is prioritized work.

It’s not necessarily cleaning up your inbox or reorganizing your systems.

It’s asking:

What can I do today that actually moves something forward?

That might mean responding to a client.

Following up with a potential client.

Making an offer.

Creating an important piece of content.

Recording the podcast episode.

These are the activities that actually create momentum.

There will always be another email to answer.

There will always be another system you could organize.

The goal is to protect your best working time for the activities that matter most.

Build Your Business Around the Season You’re In

Francheska also shared how she structures work around motherhood.

When her daughter is at school, she focuses on deeper work. When her daughter is home, she can shift toward lighter tasks such as systems, administrative work, or email.

This is something I think more women need permission to do.

Your business doesn’t have to operate exactly like someone else’s business.

Your schedule doesn’t have to look like someone else’s schedule.

Different seasons require different rhythms.

The goal isn’t to create a business that looks impressive from the outside.

It’s to create one that works for your actual life.

Motherhood, Business, and Learning Patience

When I asked Francheska what motherhood had taught her about success, her answer was simple:

Patience.

As entrepreneurs, we want things quickly.

We want the audience.

The clients.

The revenue.

The growth.

The successful podcast.

But businesses grow in seasons, too.

Sometimes you haven’t reached a milestone because it simply isn’t time yet.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t working.

It doesn’t mean you should give up.

Sometimes you need to keep showing up, learning, adjusting, and allowing the business to grow.

The Real Freedom Entrepreneurship Can Create

Toward the end of our conversation, Francheska talked about one of the greatest gifts entrepreneurship has given her: time with her daughter.

She has been able to be present for this stage of her daughter’s life in a way she doesn’t believe would have been possible if she were still spending her days in an office.

And ultimately, that’s what building a business is about for so many women.

It’s not simply about making more money.

It’s about creating choices.

More autonomy.

More flexibility.

More control over your time.

And the ability to be present for the parts of your life that matter most.

How to Start Building Your Personal Brand Today

If you’ve been thinking about building your personal brand or starting a podcast, you don’t need to have everything figured out before you begin.

Start by paying attention.

What are people asking you?

What do you enjoy talking about?

What problems can you solve?

Who seems to connect most strongly with your message?

Then create something.

Record the first episode.

Publish the first post.

Talk about the thing you know.

Listen to the response.

And keep going.

Francheska’s story is a great example of how your first attempt doesn’t need to be the thing that succeeds.

Sometimes the first thing simply leads you to the next thing.

And eventually, all those experiments can help you build a brand—and a business—that gives you far more freedom than you originally imagined.

Listen to the Full Conversation with Francheska Stone

Listen to the full episode of The Classy Career Girl Podcast to hear our entire conversation about personal branding, podcasting, entrepreneurship, motherhood, meaningful work, and creating more freedom in your career.

If you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to start building your personal brand or launch your podcast, consider this your reminder:

You don’t need the entire roadmap.

You just need to start.