Before We Begin...

We’ve been busy.

Like, way busier than we expected.

When we first started talking about creating Formerly Junior High, it was basically a silly long-distance phone conversation between two lifelong friends.

“You know what? We should have a podcast.”

Famous last words.

Before we knew it, we were knee-deep in LLC paperwork, microphones, recording platforms, artwork, social media accounts, contracts, scripts, intro music, affiliate links, and about 97 browser tabs explaining how to start a podcast.

And the funniest part?

We haven’t even recorded our first actual episode yet.

How Did We Get Here?

Starting a podcast sounds simple enough.

Buy a microphone.
Hit record.
Talk.
Post it.

Apparently, no.

There’s an entire behind-the-scenes world that happens before anyone ever hears you say, “Welcome to our podcast.”

First came the business contract.

Since this little idea might actually turn into a business, we needed to figure out who owns what, who handles what, and what happens if one of us suddenly loses our mind and decides we should start selling Formerly Junior High branded tube socks.

Then came filing the LLC — Form 205.

Nothing says “fun new podcast” quite like state paperwork.

Next up: creating the artwork.

Because apparently you can’t just take a random picture of yourselves from 1987 and call it good. Although, honestly, we considered it.

Then we needed an intro song.

Something that says:

We’ve been friends forever.

We have stories.

We survived junior high.

We survived marriages, divorces, babies, college tuition, questionable decisions, and now menopause.

Welcome aboard.

Then came setting up all the social media accounts.

Instagram.

TikTok.

Facebook.

YouTube.

And probably three other platforms we haven’t even discovered yet.

Every platform needs a profile picture, a bio, a description, links, posts, content, and somehow enough material to convince people that we actually know what we’re doing.

Spoiler alert: we’re figuring it out as we go.

Then We Joined Riverside

Next on the adventure was joining Riverside so we could actually record the podcast.

This was the point where things started getting very techy.

Microphones.

Cameras.

Audio settings.

Video settings.

Recording quality.

Editing.

Uploading.

Downloading.

Hosting.

Publishing.

At some point you realize that starting a podcast requires you to suddenly become a producer, audio engineer, graphic designer, social media manager, accountant, lawyer, marketer, and IT department.

Meanwhile, all we really wanted to do was sit down and tell funny stories.

Oh Yeah… We Need Scripts

Then came writing scripts.

Not necessarily word-for-word scripts, because anyone who knows us knows there is absolutely no chance we are staying on script.

But we do need some direction.

Topics.

Stories.

Questions.

Segments.

Episode ideas.

And a gentle reminder somewhere in giant letters that says:

GET BACK TO THE POINT.

And What About Guests?

We also started thinking about who would make a great guest.

People from our past.

People in our lives now.

And hopefully some interesting people we haven’t even met yet.

Of course, thinking someone would be a great guest and actually finding someone willing to come on your brand-new podcast are two completely different things.

“Hi! We have a podcast.”

“Great! How many episodes have you done?”

“Well…”

“None.”

So there’s that.

Wait… We Haven’t Even Started Yet

After all of this planning, paperwork, equipment, artwork, social media, music, and brainstorming, we suddenly realized something.

Shit. We haven’t even recorded an episode yet.

Which honestly makes the whole thing even funnier.

We have officially built the restaurant before cooking the first meal.

And Then There’s Affiliate Marketing…

Because apparently starting a podcast wasn’t enough.

Now every time we talk about something we love, we start thinking:

“Wait. Can we get an affiliate link for that?”

A microphone we use?

Affiliate link.

A skincare product we mention?

Affiliate link.

A travel destination?

Maybe.

A menopause product that actually works?

Absolutely.

If we’re going to talk about the things we buy, love, hate, recommend, regret buying, or can’t live without, we might as well figure out how affiliate marketing works too.

Because why only learn one new industry at a time?

So Here We Are

The truth is, it’s a little overwhelming.

There are days when we feel like we’re crushing it.

And there are days when one of us sends the other a message that basically says:

“What the hell are we doing?”

But underneath all the contracts, technology, social media, and endless checklists is the same thing that started this whole idea:

Two friends who met in junior high and somehow stayed friends through more than four decades of life.

We have stories.

A lot of them.

Some are hilarious.

Some are embarrassing.

Some are heartbreaking.

Some probably should never leave the group chat.

And hopefully, pretty soon, we’ll finally stop setting up the podcast…

…and actually record the damn thing.

Welcome to the behind-the-scenes chaos of Formerly Junior High.

We’re just getting started.

If you stumble across this Blog tell us which cover art you would vote for