Nothing can be more frustrating than being stuck in a traffic jam. But for Kathlyn Hart, a hot, ten-times-longer-than-usual Los Angeles commute was when inspiration struck. “Sitting in that sweltering car, all I could think was, ‘What am I doing?’” she recalled. “I was living paycheck-to-paycheck, hardly making rent, and not saving a penny.” Hart realized her life was moving about as fast as her car in bumper-to-bumper traffic. “That day a mental switch within me flipped, and I knew if I wanted to a change, I couldn’t just sit there dreaming about it. I needed to go out there, take risks, and hustle to make it happen,” she said.
A New Road
During the course of the next few years, Hart quit her job, moved to San Francisco, grew her savings account, and crossed off a number of things on her bucket list: travel worldwide, become a certified scuba and yoga teacher, start her own business, and become a motivational speaker and coach for other millennials feeling stuck. On top of it all, in December 2015 Hart launched a podcast, aptly titled “The Big Leap Show,” in which she interviews other women who mustered the courage to overcome their fears to achieve their dreams.
“I’ve been surprised to find that many of my listeners have no plans to start a business, but they listen because they like to hear stories of women who are making things happen, and that inspires and encourages them to act more boldly in their lives,” she said. Stories like these make Hart tick. She said she always has had a knack for motivating others. “I want everyone to take action and make a leap toward their dreams — whether that’s starting a business, making a career change, or making a leap in your personal life,” she said.
Girl Power
When Hart began listening to podcasts, she soon realized that most of them were hosted by men who primarily interviewed men. “I loved the insights I heard, but the struggles and challenges they faced seemed so different than mine,” she recalled. As Hart began brainstorming for what would become “The Big Leap Show” she knew she not only wanted to get women’s voices out there but also give her listeners an authentic perspective.
“In this day of social media, there are so many lives shown through a filtered lens,” she said. “It’s easy to assume that every woman we follow online who is pursuing her dream is having so much fun and doing everything effortlessly.” Hart continued, “We forget just how curated these feeds are. The aim of the podcast is to pull back the curtain and show what it’s really like for these women.” Contributing to the female collective is another one of Hart’s goals. “We need as many female role models and cheerleaders in the world for women, young and old,” she said. “There needs to be a million times more stories of kickass women.”
Blooming with Bluehost
Bluehost has been Hart’s hosting service from day one. “Even from the beginning, its support was helpful in setting up my first site, changing the DNS records, and creating my first domain-specific email,” she said.
As her site and podcast have grown — “The Big Leap Show” now boasts 3,000 listens each month — Bluehost has been there every step of the way.
“My favorite thing about using Bluehost is how helpful customer service is 24/7,” she said. “I like to get in my code, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve messed it up and caused my site to crash. Support has always helped me to trouble shoot it promptly and calm my nerves whether that’s at 2 p.m. on a Monday or 3 a.m. on a Saturday.”
As a life and business coach, Hart finds herself in the position of recommending Bluehost to her clients. “Whenever I help clients set up their first website, I show them how to do it through Bluehost,” she said. Helping people is at the heart of all she does. And even with a few bumps in the road, life as an entrepreneur and motivator contain rewards beyond the lack of miserable commutes. “My favorite moments are when I get an email from a listener telling me how much an interview helped them,” Hart said.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than that because ultimately I do this week after week for the listeners.”
Emily Edmonds was the editor of a business magazine for eight years and currently teaches a college news writing course.
