12 months of the podcast: Year in review & look ahead!

Episode 55:

2020 is a year none of us will ever forget to say the least, but it was also a year that this movement and podcast launched. What an amazing journey! 

As mentioned in the episode: 

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Full Transcription: 

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Today's podcast is going to be all about this past 12 months, a year in review for the be that mom movement podcast. It is pretty amazing. Stay tuned.

Speaker 2 (00:14):

Welcome to your source for tips, tools, and support to help you be that mom that is tuned in and proactive for yourself, your family, and for the wild ride of raising kids in this digital age, inspired by a mother's love with a relatable real life. Proud to be that mom flair. This is the bead that mom movement with your host, Dolly Denson. Holy moly. Check this out if you are,

Speaker 1 (00:40):

Or a mom that is looking to give your kiddo a phone, but you don't want to open up the world of the smartphone to them yet. Check out the pinwheel phone. The pinwheel phone is the latest and greatest for dumb smartphones. It gives you absolute control over what they do and who they can contact, and we'll help them to develop healthy habits around using a phone, check out [email protected] use code be that mom 10 for a discount. So it's crazy to me that it has been an entire year that I have been recording this podcast. When I think back over this past year, I'm sure you probably have the same sort of reaction where you are like, Holy cow, what just happened when I started the idea of this podcast, back in January of 2020, I had no clue what was coming, but I had a vision and a mission in my heart.

Speaker 1 (01:33):

And that was based on struggles that I had in my own family that blindsided us, that we had no inkling of an idea were anything to worry about or was going on until it smacked us in the face. And so this podcast came out of my vision of trying to reach more people than I could just on my social media platforms. And podcasting kind of like fell into my lap and became something that was on my radar that I thought maybe would be a way for me to reach more people. And that's when this idea was born January of 2020, it was then that I stumbled upon a podcast course. As I was listening to the Angie Lee podcast, she had a guest on and her name was Stephanie gas. And Steph, she goes by Steph has a podcast course that is called podcast pro university.

Speaker 1 (02:26):

And she talks about that on Angie Lee's podcast. And so I checked it out. It was more money than I wanted to spend at the time, but I knew that this was going to require a little bit of an investment and that it would come back in return. And, you know, with the benefit of how many moms I could help to navigate this wild world of raising kids in the digital age. So stumbled upon that podcast course. It took me through all the setup and getting it out into the world. And Steph even had a free community on Facebook where we could bounce ideas off of each other. I worked on the, the art for the cover and all of that. And it was such kind of a tedious process, but also so simplified by her whole course and program and all of that. So I launched this thing in March of 2020, just days before, or maybe right as all of this stuff with the pandemic was kind of coming out and, you know, the world was shutting down and all of that.

Speaker 1 (03:27):

So it gave me something to work on and it was kind of weird because suddenly I was at home and my job as a nurse practitioner was like put on hold as we regrouped and figured out how to function in this new order of things in the world. And so that gave me time to really dig in and focus on this and figure out what I wanted to do. My original vision was to do two episodes a week, but that became just simply not possible with all of the demands and the stress of these COVID times and being in the healthcare world and all of that. It just was too much for me to do two episodes a week, but I have done a few weeks where I've done like a bonus episode, but I still think that I stuck well to my vision and my mission for the podcast.

Speaker 1 (04:12):

So I hope that you have found this to be helpful. However, you have found it. I was just sitting here looking at stats of the podcast and I don't typically look at this very closely. Sometimes I'll glance at it to see if I'm ranking in any countries or, you know, if there's anything that pops out at me as being significant. Well, it's probably something I should be looking at more just to kind of see what's resonating with you most. But as I looked at this, I was just simply amazed that podcast is actually ranked all over the world. The majority of downloads have been in the United States. The next top country for download is actually Spain. I had no idea. I had not been looking at that. So all of you in Spain that are listening. Thank you so, so much. The other countries that are top ranking for downloads include Canada, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and Guam, and then Argentina, the Philippines, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Germany, South Africa, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Indonesia Aruba, the United Arab Emirates.

Speaker 1 (05:19):

Some of these I haven't heard of by rain, Switzerland, Greece, India, Italy, Kuwait, Mali, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Singapore, and then a couple that it says unknown. That just amazes me. And it's not something I've paid real close attention to, but I need to do that more, but thank you so much wherever you are for tuning in. And I hope whichever episode caught your eye, that it was enough for you to stick around and subscribe to the podcast. And I'd love to hear from you. I'd love for you to leave me a review. Let me know what resonates with this. If you have input into what's going on in your own life and your own family, something you can add to what sharing I'd love to hear from you. Some of what my vision was for the past year was to have guests on my episodes about every three or four episodes to have a guest.

Speaker 1 (06:07):

I've had some authors reach out to me and ask if they could be on my podcast. I'd like to have some therapist or someone that's kind of in the counseling world when it comes to helping guide kids with all the digital things or guide families. And then I'd also like to be a guest on other people's podcasts too, if my message will resonate with their audience. So that's kind of, some of my vision for this next year is to kind of expand in some of those ways 2020 was just way too much for all of us to handle I'm sure, but just having this, you know, I have my job as a nurse practitioner. I have this podcast, I am a wellness coach. I help women mostly, but really anybody. I help women to navigate the world of their wellness and aligning their daily choices with their health and despite all the busy and all of that.

Speaker 1 (06:55):

And then I have my three kids and my family and all the crazy things that are going on this year. So some of what I had envisioned didn't happen, but it is going to be something I'm going to be working on in this next year. A few other stats I wanted to tell you about is so I've had 55 episodes. I envisioned having many more than that, but I still think that the 55 I've done have been valuable and have resonated with y'all. I've actually had 3,643 downloads total for the podcast. I have friends that started their podcast at the same time as me that have massively more episodes, but I try not to compare myself to them and just work on making really valuable information, things that are pertinent to the times and pertinent to our struggles, you know, in the mom world. And as this ever evolving digital thing, you know, it's like a monster that just keeps on coming and we've got to just continue, continually figure out how to navigate it and Dodge it and all of that.

Speaker 1 (07:52):

But the podcast is also had 537 downloads in the last 30 days. And in the last seven days, 173 downloads, these things are kind of surprising to me because I just haven't paid attention to it very much. In the last 30 days, the top downloaded episode was episode 53. That was about the apps used for hiding things. And then the second most downloaded episode was episode 54 drugs on every street corner, where I talked about that one mom's son who died from taking a pill that they believed was leased with fentanyl. And he got it through a contact on Snapchat. So if you have not listened to that episode, please go listen to that and please have a talk with your kiddos. I had to talk with my kiddos because I just don't. We cannot assume that they know better because just of the state of the world we're in and the interconnectedness and all of that, the top episode of all time that has been downloaded is episode 33, the pinwheel phone.

Speaker 1 (08:53):

And I'm not surprised so much about because I have referred so many people to that episode and to the pinwheel phone. It is absolutely top notch, the best thing out there for us moms, when we are wanting to take that next step and give our kids a phone, the pinwheel phone is such a great option to start out with when you're ready to move down that road. It is giving them a little bit of the digital stuff, but it still gives you a lot of control. And of course you can put bark on it, which, you know, I rave about bark. So you can put bark on that and then you have more control. You can see what they're doing, help them guide them with responsibility and all of that before you step into the world of a smartphone and the increased monitoring and all of those wonderful things that we must face, we cannot ignore in this mom hood world in the digital age.

Speaker 1 (09:47):

The second most downloaded episode was a bonus episode that I did where I talked about us being unified in our mother's love. And I did that after seeing that my podcast was being downloaded in other countries, I think it was New Zealand. It ranked as one of the top parenting episodes that week. And so it just kind of blew me away to think that this there's so much, that's different about each one of us, every family, every, you know, place in the world has different cultures, has different ideas about things, beliefs, religions, all of those things. But this one thing, this digital world that we introduce our kids to is a common ground among us all it's undeniable. And if we deny it, then that's where the difficult days happen. And that's, you know, ultimately my mission is to help you to not deny that approach it proactively because our kids need us to do that.

Speaker 1 (10:48):

So, so bad. So that episode was all about a mother's love and how we are all here as mothers. And if you're a dad, you're welcome here too, but we're all here as mothers to just help each other navigate this. So I hope that that has done that for you. So ultimately this episode is probably a little bit boring. Maybe you're like, okay, let's go on to something more helpful, but I just want to thank you so much for listening for being here. I want to continue to expand on what I'm doing and provide you with more resources and more ways to help you navigate this. And I will continue to try to stay on top of the trends and the different things that are forever changing when it comes to the world of all the digital stuff. So I hope you will stick around, continue listening, leave me a review on Apple or wherever you're listening, if you haven't done so already those help the podcast to rank higher.

Speaker 1 (11:44):

So it gets into the hands of more moms. So you leaving a review would be a wonderful thing to help other mothers and to help get the word out to all of us as we build this, be that mom movement. The other thing that I'm working on right now, I've mentioned in a couple of episodes is a B that mom movement method course. And it is basically what I have identified as kind of a common thread among all of the struggles and kind of, I'm going to give you a framework to follow, to help you to, you know, even if, if you're first introducing your kid to a pinwheel phone or smartphone or all of the above, or if you're backtracking on those things, and then also give you tools to walk through the path and to reassess and to know when you need to seek outside help and all of those things, not that I'm an expert, but I've just done a lot of reflecting and researching and trying to find and bring together all of the things that could help us to make sure that we are on the front lines of this, not, you know, like in a proactive stance versus a reactive stance and where we are giving our kids the guidance that they need instead of always kind of being like building fences.

Speaker 1 (12:51):

But instead, you know, starting out with these tools in this framework, and then as you go along, it helps you to navigate it with your kiddo and helps them to mature with all of the technology as they get older, instead of allowing all the influences to come in and affect their self-esteem and affect their decisions in life. And, you know, just bombard them with things that takes them away from the normal childhood development that they should be doing. You know, getting sidetracked with being addicted, to gaming and being on their phones and Tik TOK and Snapchat and all the things and all the dangers that come with that. So I'm working on that. I had wanted to already have it out. Gosh, like in January. And it's just been one thing after another, with everything going on in the world, you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (13:36):

So I just haven't gotten there yet. And I'm trying to give myself grace and not beat myself up too much about it, but do have a lot on my plate. So I'm working on that one thing I do want you to know, if you are interested in a pinwheel phone, they have changed my code to, I believe it's be that mom. It's been be that mom 10, and now it's be that mom dash 10 is I think that's what they told me. Okay. Yes. So it is be that mom dash 10 and 10 is T E N. So that's going to be the discount code for pinwheel, for bark. It is still be that mom, I have updated some things on my website to go to Dolly denson.com and go to the tools and resources. And there's some free downloads there for you. I'll also put these in the show notes, but there's some free downloads in there for you.

Speaker 1 (14:19):

There's more resources. I can't talk more resources for you as mom, your own health. There's some kid friendly recipes. There, just some light kid approved ones that my kids slash teenagers slash young adults. Like, and there's just a whole bunch of stuff there. I'm adding more stuff to that. I have a multiple things that I share there. And these are all things that I personally use for myself and my family. I would never promote something just to promote it. Some of them are affiliate codes. Not all of them are, but some of them are. And if it an affiliate code, it costs nothing extra for you, but it does give me compensation so that I can continue bringing you the things that this podcast is about. Okay. So thank you so much. If you do use any of my codes and it is an affiliate link, thank you for your support.

Speaker 1 (15:06):

You are helping me to bring this information to you. So I greatly appreciate that. I want you to know that besides that, if you do go to my website, I don't know why it's like this. I'm not real tech inclined when it goes to the website, but make sure you put the HTTPS colon slash slash www.dollydenso.com. I'll put that in the show notes too. Sometimes want to, if I just put in Dolly denson.com, for some reason, it doesn't show up, it doesn't come up all the time. I get like that error code. So not sure what's up with that, but thanks so much for tuning in today. And I hope this was enlightening that if anything else, that you are not alone in this journey, this is a worldwide journey. This is a mother's journey, no matter where you are in the world, know that you are navigating something that every other mother is, unless they just do not allow any to visual things and don't have, you know, any type of digital thing in their house.

Speaker 1 (16:00):

We are all facing the same thing. It's so, so very important that we join hands and we, you know, be that mom be that mom's strong for ourself and for our kids. So I hope you will continue to listen and just join hands with us. I have a telegram channel that I haven't been real active in yet, but if you have the telegram app, check out the link in the show notes and join me over there. And I also have one that help with wellness tips. I am on, I have a free community on Facebook and we have like 120 hundred and 30 people in there right now. So you're welcome to join me on there. If you're on Facebook and then I have an Instagram page too. So hopefully this next year, we will continue to expand on this and get you more resources and continue to bring you the things that you need to navigate this path.

Speaker 1 (16:48):

I think that the other thing that I want to say about 2020 is that it was the most challenging year for us in navigating this. My gosh, like how could it be harder? Because they saw like the episode, I did a couple of episodes back. I talked about barks findings for 2020, and they saw a huge spike in the number of kids that were having, you know, spending more time on virtual things, of course, because we were all doing school from home and all of that, some I know some of y'all still are. And then, you know, just the challenges of all of the games and the predators and all of the things out there that are trying to get at our children. So what a crazy year it was, thank goodness we have, I have tools like pinwheel and bark, and I'm glad that, you know, for the sake of bringing this to you, I think that my family, what we faced was put there for a reason.

Speaker 1 (17:38):

And I think that for every single one of us, if we can dig deep, we can find that that is the same, that whatever it is that you have been challenged with in this past, if you can use that, whether it's with your kids or yourself or whatever, if you can use that to somehow make you stronger and to stand upon that for your next step in your life, as a mom or your family as a whole, whatever it is, I hope that you can take those challenges from this past year and use them for good, whether it's just sharing it with a friend who has a kid that's younger and helping to enlighten them on what dangers there are, or, you know, if you want to have a bigger voice, if you would like to do a podcast or something like that, whatever it is that you want to speak about in the world podcast is such an amazing platform.

Speaker 1 (18:27):

I can put the link for the course that I took. If you are interested in that, you know, just as a side note, I'll put a link in the show notes, so you can check that out. But I think the lesson of 2020 and early 2021 is, you know, sometimes these challenges are there. I think all the time, these challenges are there to help us to grow and be stronger. So 2020 was by far a very hard year, no matter where you are or what your perspective was. So I hope that you and your children can somehow take that to be stronger and wiser and all of that, and also know that whatever mistakes you might've made, missteps, you might've made allowing too much screen time. All of those things, kids are resilient. Love them, support them, talk to them, regroup, reassess, and then move forward with a new plan.

Speaker 1 (19:17):

You know, a tweaked plan with, you know, them in mind, their wellbeing in mind, as well as having them as a part of the plan, if that's possible. And of course seek outside help if you need that too. Okay. So I'll quit rambling on, but I just want to thank you so much for listening. I had definitely seen a spike in listeners in the past couple of weeks, and that is just amazing to me. So I want to keep bringing you valuable information. Please email [email protected]. If you want to share your story with me, whether just, you know, something that I share on the podcast, or you could be a guest, or just send me what you have, if you just want to share it, one-on-one, I'd love to chat with you. Okay? So connect with me for any of those things. And thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (20:03):

Have a great week friends. Did you hear there is an app that will transform the safety of your kids, smartphone and technology use. It is my favorite way to sleep easy at night and have peace of mind because it is monitoring my kids' activity online without me being in their business. It is the bark app and yes, bark like a dog bark bark bark. It tells you when there's something that you need to be concerned about starting at a small fee each month, you can protect your whole family across all devices. Get connected with bark today. Use code, be that mom for 20% off your subscription for life and get a seven day free trial to check it out.

Speaker 2 (20:41):

Thanks for tuning in being that mom isn't easy, but together we can be that mom's strong. Don't forget to leave a review, connect on social and join Dolly's free community till next time

Speaker 1 (20:55):

Either before you go, I want to just give you a heads up on something. When things have been hardest in my role as a mom, the thing that was so very helpful for me was having a routine to take care of myself each day. I know that this whole thing around raising kids in a digital world is so very overwhelming. But if you have a place where you are taking care of yourself every single day with a simple routine that works despite where you are or what your schedule is, you will be able to be more present for your family and handle all of the ups and downs of this most amazing role that we could ever play in this world. So connect with me and let's get you connected to fitness and nutrition tools made by experts that will help you simplify this and then connect you with my fit club community that will support you, guide you and give you momentum and motivation to show up every day, take care of yourself first so that you could be better present for our digital native kids.