E253: Best of 2023 / Holiday Party!
E265: Best of 2023 / Holiday Party!
In typical Aquarius fashion, I GHOSTED YA’LL on the podcast, and while I needed to step away from the show abruptly, I’m sorry it was without warning.
Recently I felt excited and inspired to record one last show for the year, our traditional holiday party!
Before we dive in, I would like to say that I do plan on bringing the podcast back to life. Details are to be determined.
In the meantime, I would LOVE to hear from you. Email me with your podcast requests/ thoughts/ or just to say hi! My email is hello@valerielavignelife.com
You can tell me all the things you’d love to see/hear with the show when we come back!
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Welcome back to the Women’s Empowerment Podcast! I have missed you terribly. It feels so strange coming back to record this last episode of the year, and also so naturally to be back in front of the mic. I know that this won’t be the last episode of the podcast, but I’m still not sure what the new… we’ll call it season of the show will be.
If you’re new around here, you’ve got hundreds of episodes to catch up on and they are all available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you’re currently listening - PLUS we have a handful of episodes available to watch on YouTube – Including this episode! www.youtube.com/@vallavignelife
Today’s episode is a little different. It’s our Holiday Party, and I’ve hosted one every year since 2019. It felt important for me to record this final episode of the year for you.
Past Holiday Party Episodes:
Episode 213: 2022
Episode 160: 2021
Episode 109: 2020
Episode 59: 2019
We always start this show with a TOAST! So raise your glass with me. Usually I have something more festive to drink, but today I have red raspberry leaf tea to help me prep for labour, which I could really go into any day now. Hahah I’m just shy of 38 weeks pregnant.
Okay, a toast: To a year of ups, downs, and new beginnings. To a community of women on a mission inspired to empower each other through their own brave adventures. May 2024 bring us richness, great love, and unwavering courage!
In this episode we reflect on the year we’ve had together. The podcast was the first place I announced my pregnancy online and I was so nervous, and also relieved to be able to share the news. I actually kept pretty quiet about being pregnant, and it wasn’t until my third trimester that I really started sharing my experience in more depth. I mostly do this through instagram. I started a NESTING series if you want to check it out you can find me @vallavignelife
Between announcing my pregnancy and now, we were experiencing exponential growth in our pilates studio, which is my other business. We had what everyone would call “good problems” lots of new members, 80%+ capacity every week consistently. But with this growth and my lessening energy – and also knowing that I wouldn’t be teaching in the near future – we had to act fast. We began to update our systems, AND we rebranded and rebuilt our Pilates Teacher Training Program. It sold out within a couple weeks and I was in charge of this project, including delivering the teacher training.
For me, this meant hours upon hours of work, on top of teaching and the regular operations of the studio. Any chance I had for free time, I was working on the manuals and training. It was my first training running it solo and there were some fears and insecurities for sure, but now that the teaching part is over, I feel super proud of what we’ve accomplished and very excited for next year’s TWO training sessions that we’ve launched.
Because of this quick change in workload I had to make a lot of tough decisions. One of those decisions was to pause my coaching business. And then also the podcast. For those of you who don’t already know, this podcast is a one-woman show. I produce this whole thing start to finish. It’s a lot of work!
Recently a friend and fellow podcaster shared a post with me from another show that says “it takes six team members 26-32 hours to make one episode” @whatshouldireadnext HOLY SMOKES! Now I’m not sure what their entire process is, but what I do know is that doing it alone is a lot of work. This year I hired a VA to help me with starting new brand partnerships – but unfortunately it was so soon after hiring her that I made the decision to pause the podcast. I cried. A lot.
BUT we still have lots to celebrate this year! Last year something new we added to the show were the “Book Report” style episodes. This year I continued the tradition and we had three of these episodes in total.
They were:
E235: Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything
E251: Why Am I Like This? The Science Behind Your Weirdest Thoughts & Habits
This year’s new addition to the Women’s Empowerment Podcast were the YouTube videos for each podcast episode. Believe it or not, we used to publish the videos on YouTube but I had no clue what I was doing back then and while I’m truly dabbling into YouTube now, I’m excited that we have this new medium to consume the podcast. SO FUN!
Let’s start our Top 5 Episodes of 2023 shall we!!??
#5: E223: Gain Clarity & Empower Your Career with Emilia Stypulkowska
Our guest Emilia is a career coach and founder of Sunny Side Up Coaching. She helps people define their vision for their career, articulate their impact, and land their dream job!
In this episode we chat about some of the incredible tools Emilia uses to help her clients. One of the methods was something I was able to experience in a workshop of hers that I attended and we were able to dive into that with her in this episode. She calls this the Career Clarity Exercise. It’s great for anyone who is feeling stuck in their job, looking for a shift, or who are seeking clarity in what they want to do next for their career.
Emilia also helps us work through the excitement and fears that come up with making changes in our work, using tools for mindset and negotiation.
This episode is definitely worth re-listening! AND later this year, after this episode aired, Emilia wrote a book! I’ll link to the book in the show notes of this episode as well as the caption of this video for you. Female Friendship Guide
Emilia was one of the MANY GUESTS we’ve had on the show this year. We had 12 incredible guests on the show, and I even have some more episodes recorded with some epic guests that I’m still hoping to air in the near future.
Let’s continue our countdown!
#4: E222: 7 Things to Do for a Smooth Month Ahead
I’m so happy this episode made it into the top 5 because I love it so much! And not only is it perfect for the start of a new month, but also for the start of a new year! Now that I’m thinking about it, perhaps I will use this to plan my 2024 – loosely of course because I’m having my first baby and I know there will be a lot of changes hahaha
Okay so in this episode, I go through seven things you can do to support you going into a new month. I share a bunch of different suggestions and techniques to help you review the past month, and for setting goals for the new month.
While the list is more focused on business, there are also fun/personal parts to the practice as well, like scheduling in self care appointments, organizing a girl’s brunch or adding in a date night.
For my witchy gals, we also have some manifesting tools available in this episode, and even if you’re not super witchy, you’ll love the practical twist on a spiritual practice!
You can re-listen to this episode or rewatch it! I’ll link to it in the show notes for you.
We’ve had such an incredible year on the podcast, and it really does go to show you that you don’t need new content every week to make an impact – although I highly recommend consistency in your content for greater growth and impact.
I know that this podcast can be a labour of love, but when I look back at the statistics, the reviews, the emails and DMs I get. It makes it so much more worthwhile knowing that I have helped, or supported, or empowered these amazing humans.
This year on Spotify, we were the TOP Podcast for 116 fans! If you are one of those fans, THANK YOU so much for listening and loving the show.
And there are 588 of you who love the Women’s Empowerment Podcast enough for us to be in your Top 5 Podcasts!
And… love that Spotify hypes the show haha we were in the Top 10 Podcasts for 926 fans! WOW! WOW! WOW! Thank you so very much, this is a HUGE accomplishment for the show.
I know I’ve said this before, but producing a podcast solo can feel really lonely at times and you often wonder, is anyone listening? Does anyone care? So the statistics really help keep the show alive because I can see that YES! You are listening and YES! You want more!
The other thing that really helps the show are your honest reviews. Oh my goodness, thank you so much to all of you who have written reviews for the show. I wanted to share one from JeskaStar that says:
“Here for the Empowerment!
I’ve added this podcast to my weekly rotation. So many great guests and helpful suggestions that are easily actionable to get progress and results right away. Val is a gorgeous soul and has such a calming voice… it’s an easy listen!
”
THANK YOU SO MUCH! This means so much to me, truly.
If you haven’t left a review yet on Apple Podcasts, please do so, I love reading them.
Our third most popular episode of the year was…
show notes continue here also
[00:00] TIME CAPSULE 21 QUESTIONS!
One of the traditions of this show is really similar. It’s our 21 questions! The questions are pretty much the same every year, but the answers are always evolving.
I’ll share all the questions with you because I’d love for you to do them every year too. Once you answer them, look back on last year’s answers and you can reminisce on where you were at, or celebrate how far you’ve come. It’s pretty fun to see the growth and transformation in your life with these questions.
What's the first thing you thought of this morning?
What's the first thing on your to do list?
What's something that you feel like should be on your to do list, but isn't?
What song are you loving right now?
What's your favourite essential oil?
When you started the Women's Empowerment Show, did you think you'd be where you are today, four years later?
What's the best advice you received this year?
What's the biggest lesson you learned?
Where do you get your show and business ideas from?
When is the best time for your creative process?
Who do you get your inspiration from/who do you find inspiring?
Tell us about your current routines…
What 3 things should everyone have in their carry-on luggage?
What was the last thing that made you cry?
What do you want to be remembered for?
What's the best gift you've given that doesn't cost money?
What is a tradition you love, or started when you were a kid?
What do you do to combat holiday stress + chaos?
Favourite quote + why?
Biggest highlight of 2022?
What do you want to tell your future self, one year from now?
keep the show notes going here
Podcast Host
Valerie LaVigne
Valerie is the creator and founder of Valerie LaVigne Life and the Women's Empowerment Show. She helps busy and empowered women create healthy habits so that they can become the best version of themselves and transform their lives. Learn more about Valerie here!
