You have the go-ahead for a company podcast. Here is a realistic 90-day plan to get from decision to a steady show, and the early mistakes to avoid.
By Will Nash
31 August 2026
The gap between deciding to start a podcast and actually having one is where most firms get stuck. There is no obvious first move, so weeks pass, enthusiasm cools, and the project quietly becomes a someday. A plan fixes that. Ninety days is enough to go from a green light to a show with a rhythm, if you spend each stretch on the right thing.
Here is what a realistic first quarter looks like, without pretending it is effortless.
Before you record anything, settle three things
Do not book a studio or a guest yet. First, decide who the show is for. Not "clients and prospects" in general, but a specific person whose problems you understand. Second, give the show one clear job: build the firm's reputation in a practice area, nurture existing clients, support a launch. A podcast that tries to do everything reaches no one. Third, write down your first six topics, so you are not starting from zero every time you sit down to plan.
This week of thinking saves a month of drift later. Skip it and you will feel the absence by episode four.
Weeks 1 to 4: set the foundation
This is the setup stretch. Lock the format: interview, two-person discussion, or something built from written material. Decide roughly how long and how often, and be conservative; a monthly show you sustain beats a weekly one you abandon. Sort the practical basics, whether that is recording kit and a quiet room or a production partner who handles it for you. And line up who is in the first two or three episodes, choosing your most willing people rather than your most senior.
The goal by the end of the month is not a published episode. It is that nothing practical is in your way any more.
Weeks 5 to 8: make the first episodes
Now you record. Expect the first one to be the hardest and the least good, and make it anyway; the second is always easier, and by the third you have found the show's voice. Do not chase polish on episode one. Get three made, because three is the point where you can see the pattern and the format settles.
Build a small buffer if you can. Having two episodes ready before you launch means the show does not stall the first time someone is on holiday or a matter blows up. A buffer is what turns a burst of enthusiasm into a sustainable cadence.
Weeks 9 to 12: launch and find the rhythm
Publish, and then put as much effort into distribution as you did into recording. A launched episode nobody hears is not progress. Pull an article, a few posts, and an email from each one, so the show earns its place across your channels rather than sitting on a page. Settle into a publishing rhythm you can actually keep, and start planning the next batch of topics before you run out of the first six.
By day ninety, the aim is modest and real: a show that exists, has a handful of episodes, has a format that works, and has a plan for continuing. That is a genuine achievement, and most firms never reach it.
The early mistakes that sink new shows
A few are common enough to name. Committing to weekly before you know you can sustain it. Starting with the most senior, most nervous person instead of the most willing one. Perfecting episode one for a month instead of making three. And treating publishing as the finish line rather than the halfway point. Each of these feels reasonable in the moment and each is how promising shows quietly stop.
In short
Ninety days is enough to turn a decision into a working podcast if you spend it deliberately: a week settling who it is for and what it is for, a month clearing practical obstacles, a month making the first three episodes, and a month launching and building a rhythm. Aim for a show that exists and continues, not a perfect debut. The firms that get this far are the ones that planned the quarter instead of waiting for a good moment.
A lot of the first ninety days is practical load your team may not have the hours for, and that is the part we take on. If you have the green light and want the setup handled, that is exactly the conversation to have. Get in touch.
