Today I’m talking with writer, content and web strategist and podcaster, Jennifer Snyder.

Jennifer’s first passion is writing, but she also loves her job working with authors and entrepreneurs to build their online presence at Winning Edits and then of course there’s her side passion, producing her popular podcast, Creating Your Own Path where she talks with her fellow creatives.

SHOW NOTES:

Creating Your Own Path podcast Jennifer's website

• Working part-time salaried job for Winning Edits doing content and web strategy.
• Used her English major working in marketing and PR, which she left in 2010 right at the heart of the recession to start a startup that she later shuttered.
• Wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next, had always dreamt to write for a living so decided to try that, but was hard to find work in writing without a lot of experience to show.
• She found that working alone, at home left her craving human interaction, so in 2014 she decided to start a podcast so she could connect and have conversations with interesting people. She found she loved it, even though it did push her out of her comfort zone.
• How in 2015 Jen “allowed the podcast to take over” in her life by doing a road trip of in-person interviews. Started with two test runs to LA and Portland, and then did a 6-week cross country trip - over 8,700 miles, 17 or 18 interviews. 
• During that time she didn’t do any other freelance projects, invested a lot of time and money, some difficult family issues came up and found herself exhausted. Heading into 2016, she really wanted to be able to keep going with the traveling show, but she had to make the decision not to.
• Then a freelance job at the company where she now works, came up and it just made sense to take that job, but she had to reconfigure how to keep the podcast as a big, important part of her life.
• Discovering that now that she has the part-time job in addition to freelance work and the podcast — everything has equal weight which is overwhelming.
• We talk about how right now she’s in a transitionary phase, and it’s hard to know what will happen with the weight on each side.
• Thinking about how to having a reliable paycheck benefits her; she can choose to pay someone to edit, and she’d get help she needs but she would also be giving someone else a job!
• Finding balance between enjoying a regular paycheck, appreciating the variety of projects she gets to work on additionally in her freelance work and also the podcast AND knowing when she needs space for non-work activities and downtime.
• Jen’s husband is a good reminder when she might be working “too much” - when he comes home from work and she’s still working.
• Thinking ahead to the future of the podcast, trying new things and at the same time balancing with everything else going on in her life.