> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.revenuerulebreaker.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # I was finally going to take off this August. Then, I started a podcast series. - URL: https://www.revenuerulebreaker.com/i-was-finally-going-to-take-off-this-august-then-i-started-a-podcast-series/ - Published: 2026-09-27T10:04:43.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-27T10:04:43.000Z - Description: Stephanie Graham had the perfect plan for her break until she realized she worked straight through it. - Author: Stephanie Graham - Tags: Work Styles, #top-story *It can feel impossible to take a break as a solo operator no matter how many times people tell us we should. That pressure is worse for podcasters because they risk losing their audience if the show gets too far behind.* *So, what do podcasters do? They try to get ahead of their schedule. Batch episodes. Schedule out releases far in advance. But there's a major tradeoff there which is that you're basically working double or triple time in advance of your break.* *Podcaster Stephanie Graham thought she had the perfect plan to take August off this year. She planned it out early. Set a concept and a schedule. Had interviews booked. But the project designed to give her a break ended up becoming bigger than she imagined. This is the story of "31 Days of Black Business."* *—Lex* --- Last year, everyone seemed to be off in August, but not me. In fact, I worked most summers, and I didn't think nothing of it. I freelance, so I welcome the work when it comes. I remember [years ago listening to Gary Vee](https://youtu.be/wr5ZpFLAS8Q?si=nzQ75Qa7n9%5FqCeUQ&ref=revenuerulebreaker.com) tout how important it was for a business owner to work in August. It's when everyone sleeps, but noooo, not us hustlers. I’m a hustler, so I agreed with that reasoning, but I’m over it now that it's hot as hell outside. The sun refuses to let us wear clothes. And on a hot summer day, after an exhausting work week, I hauled myself to the radio station, where I record my podcast live 2x a month. I left, tired, thinking: next year, I'm taking August off. Even folks at the station took August off. It was time to turn in this hustler lifestyle. Here's what I've been taught about podcasting: never leave your podcast feed empty. If you take a break, cool, but your podcast has to have something going for your listeners. You can replay episodes, feature other podcasts, but whatever you do, just don't abandon it while you're on break. If you must, you say, "I'm going on a break, go listen to other episodes of the show." I needed an idea to help me take August off, and this is where Denzell Turner comes in, unknowing to both of us just how inspiring he was about to be. You see, Denzell runs [*Black Fridays*](https://www.blackfridayspod.com/?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com), a podcast about Black businesses in Detroit. We met last year at a fellowship I was part of for local change makers. He mentioned August was Black Business Month. I never heard of this, and boom, that was my content: "31 Days of Black Business." I'd interview business owners and release an episode every day of August. Now I just needed to find 31 Black business owners who would come on my show. Seems easy enough. I thought about it this way: I can make my August off an event. This would be the best of both worlds. I would be at the pool chilling with my Bluetooth radio while I keep my feed fresh with dope interviews with Black folks who have businesses all over that we could visit, hire, purchase from, and learn from. Also, my show generally interviews artists, activists, and community friends, so this would be a cool special series. I wanted to interview people I had never met before. This project took months, from October through the following June, looking for business owners, building a website and an application, pitching sponsors, all while working two separate film gigs back-to-back. The results were slow. I had folks who said yes, but it wasn't enough for my goal, especially because I wanted a variety of businesses. I asked everyone I knew if they could recommend Black business owners for this project A few of my friends came through recommending some folks and making connections. I asked for recommendations on Facebook, [Instagram,](https://www.instagram.com/p/DVtT4WjDbLk/?img%5Findex=1&ref=revenuerulebreaker.com) and my email list many times. It was slow getting names of people to talk to. But then one night, I don't know what happened, [I posted on Threads](https://www.threads.com/@stephaniegraham/post/DXGAiZ-EZjP?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com) and got a ton of replies. Everyone was tagging whoever they knew with a business, and just like that, I had a little over 40 people. Now mind you, I only needed 31\. Did Mark Zuckerberg and his gold chain just bring me my roster? ![Stephanie's post on Threads](https://www.revenuerulebreaker.com/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-24-at-9.43.16---PM.png) Stephanie's post on Threads I blocked off three weeks in June to record, while starting up another film gig that would run through August. By the time August actually arrived, I had been planning this out most of the year around two film gigs and really didn't have much of a break. The reality of producing 33 episodes in 31 days as a solo operator is still something I'm processing. There were power outages. Chicago's been having storms this summer. My power was knocked out for two days, and I had to reschedule 6 interviews. Some guests didn't show up. Others had to reschedule. I booked a movie as an art director and ended up pulling 12- 14-hour days on set while prepping this series. I fired off guest emails from my phone between takes, at lunch, and while dressing sets. On my “off days,” I was up at 7am and editing until 6pm, squeezing in recording sessions wherever I could. It was exhausting. Don’t worry, though. I stayed hydrated. ![Stephanie's Instagram post showing the process for business owners to apply for the series](https://www.revenuerulebreaker.com/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-24-at-9.46.41---PM.png) Stephanie's Instagram post showing the process for business owners to apply for the series I'd built out tiered sponsorship packages starting at $250, ranging from a basic logo placement to a full series partnership with ad reads and a bonus episode. I worked with [Softer Sounds](https://www.softersounds.studio/?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com) on what my sponsor packages would be in podcast advising sessions, that I took advantage of many times. Oftentimes, I wrote the cost of these sessions into the grants I would apply for (and win!) for my podcast. I pitched a mix of small-business platforms, creator/email marketing tools, and Black business media outlets. Some folks didn't get back to me at all, but that's more on me for not following up. Some said no, it wasn't a fit for them. Damn. Amelia Hruby, PhD from [*Off the Grid*](http://offthegrid.fun/?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com) said yes before I'd even gotten far into promoting, which made me cry; someone believing in this work like that got me. Others couldn't afford it right now, and some of those who couldn't still offered to support in other ways, promoting the work or even inviting me onto their own platforms. I wanted to keep pushing for more, but my film gig was eating up my bandwidth, so I stayed and celebrated the one sponsor I had. ![The project website for 31 Days of Black Business](https://www.revenuerulebreaker.com/content/images/2026/09/BlackBizWebsite-2.png) The project website for 31 Days of Black Business If I do this again—and I will because the response was overwhelming—I will do 8-12 episodes. Not 33\. I assigned myself a genuinely unreasonable amount of work, and somehow I finished it, but I would not recommend my own methods. Looking back, I would have hired an editor not just for editing, but for the YouTube and clips I needed to promote the series. I'm still catching up on this part, months later. My podcast is audio-first, but for this series, I thought it would be good to share the video version of these conversations, build their visibility, and learn YouTube. [Risha Brown](https://www.linkedin.com/in/risha-brown/?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com) gave me a template to follow to churn these videos out, but I also want to put real effort into getting these folks as much visibility as I can. I would have hired a social media person too, someone with access to the files to make clips and keep the conversation going while this series was happening, not after. I should've started recording earlier and had everything edited before August 1st. That was the actual plan, but then I got a film gig which gave me less time over the summer to prep episodes. Sponsorship is something I should be doing all the time, not just when I need it. Amelia at *Off the Grid* came through, but that's also an established relationship I was already a fan, already in their community, already knew them. That's the kind of relationship I need to build more of, earlier and more often, not out of the blue. Going forward, I plan to set monthly pitch dates instead of trying to do it all at once the way I did this time. I also want to circle back with a few folks who offered affiliate deals instead of sponsorship now that the series is actually out, that might be worth testing. I could do a better job pitching and positioning myself, and next time, I'll begin outreach in the spring, not the summer. But here is what I would not change: the guests. Every single one of them. [![The 31 Days of Black Business series live on the podcast site](https://www.revenuerulebreaker.com/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-24-at-9.47.52---PM.png)](https://www.noseyaf.com/episodes/?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com) The 31 Days of Black Business series live on the podcast site I really care about the work all of my guests are doing for the culture and personally, because I could really use all of their projects and services myself. Guests kept thanking me; I am the one who should be saying thank you. Folks took the time away from their businesses to talk to me. 33 Black business owners said yes to me. Tech founders. Healers. Handymen. Educators. Landscapers. Vintage shop owners. A natural foods maker. People building things in communities that don't always get to see themselves reflected in the business world. [Jennifer Kelly, who owns Vintage Frills](https://www.noseyaf.com/vintage-is-a-form-of-luxury-with-jennifer-kelly-nichols-of-vintage-frills/?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com), talked to me in the back room of her shop while her business was open! --- I wanted this series to be a permanent archive. These conversations now live on the internet forever. When someone searches for these businesses, these people, these stories, they will find them. That matters to me more than the download numbers. And sometimes the impact shows up in unexpected ways. One business owner I talked to was facing zoning issues where her coworking and event venue are located. [Episode 126 featuring Nadia Anderson](https://www.noseyaf.com/from-cfo-to-venue-owner-with-nadia-s-anderson-of-lavender-hill/?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com) of Lavender Hill. She followed the rules to open the business, but the requirements changed right afterward. After her episode went live, she had folks reach out to her to express interest in helping her. My goal of having August off was a total fail. I’m wondering if Gary Vee was right that we should be hustling that month. I’m not sure what my next August will look like. Summer 2026 was a doozy. Zooming out, I did what I love: made a movie, made a podcast series, and got to know 33 business owners. I got to give people their flowers in real time while they can still smell them, but going forward, I'm including my own. **Check out Stephanie's podcast series at** [**noseyAF.com**](https://www.noseyaf.com/episodes/?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com)**.** --- *Stephanie Graham is a Chicago-based artist, filmmaker, and host of noseyAF, a podcast about the people quietly shaping culture in their own backyards. She loves a good story, a messy truth, and the Real Housewives. Reach out if you want to talk about any of the three. Find Stephanie* [*on her website*](http://www.missgraham.com/?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com) *or* [*on Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/stephaniegraham?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com)*. (Photo by* [*Dorey Kronick*](https://www.doreykronick.com/?ref=revenuerulebreaker.com)*.)* --- ***Have you ever worked through your break? Tell us what went wrong in the comments!***