Behind the Review - new podcast!

This past Tuesday, November 10th, was my 6 year Yelpiversary. It gave me a chance to reflect on my career, and personal journey these past few years. Many of you know a bit about what I do, but in a few words I work to educate business owners about the free tools available to make the most of their online presence, and manage their online reputation. In a pre-COVID world I traveled to trade shows, conferences and conventions and spoke to business owners about what they were doing to see online success and engage in digital hospitality. In 2020 my role has shifted and Yelp has been exploring new and unique ways to educate and connect with business owners during this challenging time. 

In the past few years the concept of launching a podcast has come up a handful of times, and now, I’m happy to say it’s finally come to fruition. Yelp partnered with Entrepreneur and created a show that we’re really excited about. Behind the Review is a weekly podcast that will feature conversations with business owners, and reviewers about the stories and business lessons behind their interactions. Not only will entrepreneurs share learnings that can be applied to any industry or business, but you’ll hear first hand from reviewers not only about what’s written in their review, but also why they review and what about their experience made it worth sharing. I would love it if you check it out (subscribe please!) and let me know what you think! Episode 1 launched today and features a conversation with an incredible floral shop serving the greater Manhattan area for over 24 years. Nic Faitos the owner of Starbright Floral Design will share expertise and knowledge, and Marla Frezza will share her perspective as a consumer and what about the experience turned her into a loyal customer.  

This project has been a labor of love and I’ve learned so much in the past few months as I navigate podcasting for the first time, let alone in a pandemic. I would be remiss in not addressing the challenges and mental health intersection of working on a big project like this. In 2018 when I had my first manic episode resulting in hospitalization, I had been creating a plan for a social media account to educate business owners about Yelp and my brain became obsessed with the concept. I was scribbling notes in notebooks all day, waking up in the middle of the night and having to jot down everything before it left my brain, and the web of social media was sucking me in and draining all of my time, energy and attention. 

I’m not going to lie - I was horrified when I left the hospital and saw all of my social media activity in the days leading up to my hospitalization. Not only was I posting constantly, but I was writing a stream of thought in my messages and posts that were honestly hard to follow. I was manic! For months after my hospitalization I hardly put anything on social media at all. I was afraid of ‘looking crazy’ or becoming obsessed again. 

I also set some really strong boundaries for work. I did not stay up late working on projects, and I prioritized sleep and my health above all else. As this project first started, it became clear very quickly that the boundaries I had created and enforced for the previous year would need to bend a bit to make this show happen. I would need to work on nights and weekends sometimes to write scripts or record my audio. With that knowledge, and my fear of slipping into mania, I set very low expectations and didn’t give much thought to what would happen if this show takes off. 

This week we’ve had incredible support and coverage and things are beginning to do just that - take off. This is exciting, and terrifying. After I posted some images from my previous few years at Yelp to my instagram yesterday and talked a bit about my career, I took a social media break. I honestly had forgotten all about the post until I logged back in a few hours later. I had hundreds of notifications and a handful of messages, which gave me an adrenaline rush, and then knocked me down with fear. 

While my boundaries need to bend, I can’t let them break. Staying up until 11pm on my computer is not an option. And if I ever get to that point I need to take a hard look at my mental health and see where I can reset. I met with my therapist this week and talked through some of my thoughts, fears and concerns and she reminded me that I have done alot of work to find and maintain balance. Not only work on myself, my energy, and the things that matter to me, but also the work of taking my medication daily and monitoring my sleep closely. 

I have a tribe of people who would notice and tell me if they started seeing red flags. I have my own red flag moments, but having others keeping an eye on me not only at work, but at home and in my friend group is so important. I guess I share this as a way to acknowledge how strange it feels to be energized and excited about a big project, but I know many of you feel that way too. How long will this energy and excitement last? Will I take it too far? What will be the breaking point?

I’m going to do my best to continue to share my journey with this project here as well as on my mental health instagram account (@bipolarbroughtbalance). I can’t wait to hear what you all think of the podcast and hope that you’ll let me know if you have any feedback! Thank you for taking the time to keep up with me and what I have going on. I feel lucky to have such great support in my life. Until next time!