Michelle Akhidenor – How She Became A Global Podcast Entrepreneur

SUMMARY

Have you ever thought of starting your own podcast? If so, do you know what you’d like it to be about?

Michelle Akhidenor, 20-something marketer and entrepreneur knows a thing or two about podcasting. After graduating high school in 2012, she has accomplished A LOT.  

Most notably she’s the Founder and CEO at The Peers Project, a podcast production agency for progressive brands. She and her team have created podcasts for the likes of Forever New, Modibodi and even Little Dreamers, who we also collaborated with to create a Happow Life Lesson called Start A Business With Impact.

So how did she even go about starting a media company like this?

It all started when she made her first global podcast called Peers2Peers, where she continues to chat with loads of millennial entrepreneurs achieving BIG goals around the world, including Tedx speakers and those featured in Forbes 30 Under 30.

Michelle has studied abroad, knows 3 languages and has even been called a Millennial Careers Coach. 

Gianna and Michelle chatted about a lot of things in this episode including her life at uni, how she became an entrepreneur, life as a podcaster, tips when starting a business and loads more.

So let’s Power Up Life!

CREDITS

Host: Co-Founder/CEO Happow, Gianna Lucas

Producers: Gianna Lucas, Marija Dukadinovska, Carissa Shale

SUBSCRIBE

Listen via happow.com/podcasts

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

Subscribe on Google Podcasts

#PowerUpLife!

ADVOCATE PROGRAM

Wanna be a Happow Advocate and contribute to our weekly talk topics and more? Email us at [email protected]. Looking forward to hearing from you!

CONTACT US

Via our email at [email protected]

Via our Happow Instagram page here

Via our Happow Facebook page here

Power Up Life is a podcast by Happow

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH OUR GUEST

Instagram: @thepeersproject

Instagram: @michakhidenor

TRANSCRIPT

00:00:02
Speaker 1: Three, two, one.

00:00:02
Speaker 2: I’m not just happy, I’m Happow.

00:00:11
Gianna Lucas: This is Power Up Life, the podcast. I’m your host, Gianna Lucas, co- founder and CEO at Happow, the social enterprise that powers this podcast. We help you slay life in high school, uni and beyond. Each week on the show, you’ll learn epic life skills in a super chill way, hear from well- known legends as they reveal their biggest setbacks and milestones to date, and you’ll find out what our Happow squad think about a whole stack of topics too. From epic challenges to super raw moments, this show has it all. So let’s power up life.
Have you ever thought about starting your own podcast? If so, do you know what you’d like to talk about? Well, Michelle Akhidenor, a 20- something- year- old marketer and entrepreneur knows a thing or two about podcasting. After graduating high school in 2012, she has accomplished a lot, most notably she’s the founder and CEO at The Peers Project, which is a podcast production agency for progressive brands. She and her team have created podcasts for the likes of Forever New, Modibodi, and even Little Dreamers, who we ourselves collaborated with to create a Happow life lesson called Start a Business With Impact. Bit of a fun fact for you.
So how do you even go about starting this type of media company? Well, it all started when she made her first global podcast called Peers2Peers, where she continues to chat with loads of millennial entrepreneurs, achieving big things around the world, including TEDx speakers and those featured in Forbes 30 Under 30. Michelle has studied abroad, she knows three languages, and has even been called a millennial careers coach. We chatted about a lot of things in this episode, including her life at uni, how she became an entrepreneur, life as a podcaster, tips when starting a business, and loads more. So let’s power up life.
And I’ve got her on the line right now. Welcome to the show, Michelle Akhidenor. Yay.

00:02:30
Michelle Akhidenor: Thank you so much for having me.

00:02:32
Gianna Lucas: Now, I absolutely love your journey. I did a good LinkedIn stalk of you. Luckily, there’s a lot of information I can find of you online, so it wasn’t too hard. But the one thing I find so amazing about you is you graduated in high school in 2012, and you’ve established yourself as quite a well- known podcast producer, creator here in Australia, working with amazing brands. Can you tell us how on earth did this happen? I know it’s a big question with lots of detail, but you’ve done a lot of things in such a short amount of time.

00:03:03
Michelle Akhidenor: Thank you. I think just firstly, thanks for having me on.

00:03:05
Gianna Lucas: That’s all right.

00:03:06
Michelle Akhidenor: It’s so exciting, this new podcast you’re doing and I’m so excited to hear all the other episodes and whatnot. And being a podcast nerd or fanatic, I always love when people start new podcasts. So yeah, it’s been a bit of a journey, and as you said, it is probably a testament to me in terms of, I move quite quickly, just get bored quite easily and like to move on to the next thing. So yeah, graduated high school back in 2012, here in Melbourne, and straight off the bat after that, I headed into uni. I studied something very different to media, but I studied a bachelor of commerce in the bachelor of arts and a diploma in Chinese, in languages. So really random.

00:03:49
Gianna Lucas: Have you created a Chinese- esque podcast yet? No?

00:03:54
Michelle Akhidenor: Not yet.

00:03:54
Gianna Lucas: Not yet. Okay.

00:03:54
Michelle Akhidenor: No, we haven’t taken it that far, but that may be on the horizon. Yes, so did that, that was a five- year course and got to travel quite a bit during that time and study overseas and all the fun stuff. And I guess, during that time, having those stints overseas, I studied in China and the UK, and having that time abroad, really being able to just do me and do what I love and explore what I love really allowed me to figure out earlier on, maybe the things I didn’t like so much and the things I did. So that really led me to… I still was on that traditional trajectory for a while there. Graduated, and actually it was my final year, but in my last two years of university, I worked in finance. So I was a finance major and I thought yeah, business, finance-

00:04:47
Gianna Lucas: While studying?

00:04:47
Michelle Akhidenor: While still studying, yeah.

00:04:48
Gianna Lucas: So was that a part- time job while studying part- time or full- time?

00:04:52
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah.

00:04:52
Gianna Lucas: How did you work all that?

00:04:54
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. I still studied full time, but I just pretty much did full- time hours at work as well, so that was a fun time. But yeah, I was just so eager to get to the next step. The next step was work for me and I was like, ” Let me get in there.” And I quickly realized, going through quite a few different internships and part- time roles and in the space, in the finance corporate world, I slowly began to realize that maybe wasn’t all cracked up to be, and maybe it wasn’t what I really wanted. So through the travel that I did during that time as well, I really came to realize that, well, if I’m going to be working for the rest of my life, maybe I should actually do something that I kind of love.

00:05:35
Gianna Lucas: Something you enjoy.

00:05:37
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. That’s it.

00:05:39
Gianna Lucas: Yeah.

00:05:39
Michelle Akhidenor: And so that’s what led me into the world of podcasting.

00:05:44
Gianna Lucas: So you said before that you felt when you were working in a more traditional workplace, that you found it wasn’t for you. What was that trigger or was there a series of things that went, ” Hmm, something’s not sitting with me”? Can you pinpoint what it was?

00:05:58
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. Really good question. I think it was a couple of things all in one. I think one of the main things was that I’m quite energetic and I’m quite high energy, and at the time, I had language skills, I had business skills that I was developing at uni, and I really felt like I was pigeonholed.

00:06:17
Gianna Lucas: Yeah.

00:06:17
Michelle Akhidenor: And not to say I wasn’t grateful. So grateful for the internships I got, because it’s so difficult to even get those roles and positions, but I always felt like I could be doing more. What am I going to do with this language background? What am I going to do with the ideas I’ve got? I wanted to make, I guess, quote unquote, ” A bigger impact.” And even in the roles I was doing and I felt that they were quite strict, and I now completely, looking back on it, understand it from a business perspective. You employ someone to do a certain-

00:06:46
Gianna Lucas: Job. Yeah.

00:06:46
Michelle Akhidenor: … thing to help you with your overall vision. But at the time I didn’t understand what was going on. I was like, ” Why can’t I be part of the strategy?”

00:06:54
Gianna Lucas: Do you feel trapped in the sense that you couldn’t fly the way you wanted to? Yeah.

00:07:01
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. A little bit like that. And just, I was just a bit like, how have I studied for so long, all the way through high school and then five years of university, to be in my fourth or fifth year and be like, ” Wow, is this it? Is this what it’s all cracked up to be? Is this what it’s all about?”

00:07:19
Gianna Lucas: Something was missing.

00:07:20
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah.

00:07:21
Gianna Lucas: Yeah. So then you decided to go on this podcasting journey. So before you started your company, The Peers Project, is that right, that you started up another, just your own podcast, because you were passionate about it?

00:07:34
Michelle Akhidenor: That’s right.

00:07:34
Gianna Lucas: Can you tell us a little bit about how that all came about?

00:07:38
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. So that’s exactly right. So quite a bit before I started the business, it was really in my final year of university, I had that burning desire to figure out if you could do what you loved every day as work. I had no idea. And the question I really wanted answered was is that possible? Or are your, quote unquote, ” Passions,” what you do on the side, and then work is what pays the bills? Is it possible to do both?
So I didn’t even understand at the time what entrepreneurship… I didn’t even know doing your own business and starting your own business, I was 23 or 22 at the time, was even a thing. I didn’t even think it was a thing, but I definitely knew there were people out there in the world that were my age, doing cool things. So I literally was just like, I just want to sit down and have coffee with them and just ask them how did they do it?

00:08:34
Gianna Lucas: Pick their brain.

00:08:34
Michelle Akhidenor: Exactly. And throughout, going to coffees and quote, unquote, ” Networking,” really just meeting great people was really how I even got into the corporate world. So I knew that really well. I had no issue DMing people on LinkedIn, asking them to go for coffee and picking their brain. I was pretty great at that. And so I was like, great, I’ll just do that, but for young people, my age who have maybe started businesses, and doing things they’re passionate about. But then I remember, I was talking to a really good friend of mine at the same time, and she was like, ” I want to hear the stories of these amazing people. I want to know what they did.”
And I was like, ” Okay, well maybe I’ll start a YouTube channel, or maybe I’ll start a podcast.” And back in 2017, even though that was still very recent, podcasting wasn’t really a thing. It hadn’t really blown up as it has 2020 now, 2019. It was still a bit rogue and a bit like, Oh, I don’t know, whereas YouTube was quite a big thing. So I thought I’ll start a YouTube channel. And then I was speaking to my sister about it and she was like, “Oh no, Michelle, podcasting is going to be the next big thing.” She’s got this strange intuition. She was like, ” I just know it’s going to blow up in a couple of years. Just do a podcast.”
And I was like, ” Cool. I’ll do a podcast.”

00:09:46
Gianna Lucas: I trust you. I trust you. I’ll do what you say.

00:09:49
Michelle Akhidenor: Exactly.

00:09:49
Gianna Lucas: Is she older than you or younger?

00:09:50
Michelle Akhidenor: She’s actually the younger one. I’ve got two sisters, which is so strange.

00:09:53
Gianna Lucas: So the younger one’s wiser. Okay.

00:09:56
Michelle Akhidenor: Always. That’s always how it goes.

00:09:59
Gianna Lucas: I love it.

00:10:00
Michelle Akhidenor: But yeah, then I was like, “Okay, I’ll do a podcast,” and that’s how it all started.

00:10:07
Gianna Lucas: Because you’re still running it now.

00:10:09
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah.

00:10:09
Gianna Lucas: It’s called Peers2Peers, with the number two.

00:10:12
Michelle Akhidenor: That’s it.

00:10:12
Gianna Lucas: And by the time this podcast is, you would be probably at your 100th episode, or thereabouts.

00:10:18
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah.

00:10:18
Gianna Lucas: Which is quite amazing and an incredible feat, because like you said, you started in 2017. I haven’t spoken about it yet in this particular episode, but I had run a podcast before, at the time called Promenade With Me. And I established that in mid 2017, I think it was around May or something like that. I don’t even know, but mid 2017, and I ran 65 weekly episodes, where I interviewed women of all ages, but my target market was young women. And I did it very similar to you, in the sense that I came from a pure passion and insightful place where I just wanted to learn from people’s stories and share positivity.
And then out of that though, it didn’t become a business for me. It ended up leading into, down the track, the work I do with youth today because of that step that I took in creating that podcast. So it’s quite amazing what these things can do for us, especially not just because it’s a podcast, but more so following your passions and when you’re on the right path where it actually leads you. You know what I mean? There is something really special and exciting about it.

00:11:22
Michelle Akhidenor: I couldn’t agree more. I think honestly, if I didn’t start the podcast, who knows? I might be sitting in a corporate job right now. Probably would have been. That is very probable. It’s almost really quite rogue and interesting that I’m not. So yeah, I couldn’t agree more.

00:11:39
Gianna Lucas: And I was reading an article that was written about you in Medium, on the Medium website. I think back in 2018, it was written. And I wrote down a quote in there because it really resonated with me, and I know that a lot of people will connect with it. And a question was asked of you. I don’t know if you remember the question, but I’ll bring it up anyway. A question was us about when you’re in your 20s, how do you know what path is the right one for you? And then you said, ” You just have to try, try, try different things and you’ll get closer.” And I think that’s exactly how you live your life. Have you found a pattern in all these interviews you’ve done with these entrepreneurs and amazing young people? Have you found a synergy between each and every one of them? You’re like, “That’s the one thing they all seem to do”? Have you noticed that?

00:12:26
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. No, it’s so funny you say that. We’re actually currently in preparation to record our 100th episode, and it will be a solo episode-

00:12:34
Gianna Lucas: Oh.

00:12:34
Michelle Akhidenor: I know. So all me. Where I talk about the 10 lessons I’ve learned from interviewing almost 100 amazing millennial entrepreneurs. So I will preface it by saying that yes, 100%, there are key things and the entrepreneurs I’ve been fortunate enough to interview are those who have been on the Forbes Under 30 list, on Shark Tank, have been TEDx speakers. They’re really the creme de la creme, I honestly believe build businesses, fuel economies, change industries because of their creations.
I’ve been fortunate enough to do that podcast and interview across the world. So we’ve done podcast tours over the years. Last year, we were in New York for two weeks interviewing, then we were in London. Just on note of that podcast, I think when I decided to start it, I didn’t think it was going to be something big, I just thought. But I think deep down, I wanted it to be awesomely big. So I think since then, since starting and being able to travel around and interview with these amazing people, yes, 100%, there are some key things that they all do, or they all have in common.

00:13:45
Gianna Lucas: What would be a couple that you’ve noticed?

00:13:45
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. I guess one, just coming up the top of my head, we were going through this today.

00:13:52
Gianna Lucas: It’s very fresh.

00:13:55
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah, exactly. So one was that they all have grit. So all of them had this incredible deep desire to do something and create something. And most of the time it doesn’t start off like some amazing thing that’s already on the Forbes list. It really does start off as this little idea and this passion and this drive to change this thing. And the grit that literally, I would say, the 100 interviewees that I’ve had, I believe that every single one of them has had this level of grit and determination to actually go out there and make it happen, even when it becomes really, really hard.
Yeah. And another thing I’d say would be that they’re all really curious. So they never take things as just that’s how it is. They always question. And I think, because of being around these amazing humans, I find myself starting to do that a lot, and I think just so valuable. The reason why so many of them have gone on to be so successful, and I define that as fulfillment as well, highly fulfilled in what they do and obviously changing and making-

00:15:01
Gianna Lucas: Living a happy existence.

00:15:04
Michelle Akhidenor: Exactly. Exactly. And so, I think it’s really because they’ve been so curious and gone into industries that maybe they’ve had no background in it, but they’ve literally questioned why this thing happens a certain way, and as a result built a business off that, and then progressed from there.

00:15:21
Gianna Lucas: I think they’re two amazing things. Tie in curiosity and grit together, you get resilience and that whole idea of never giving up. And I think for yourself, when you started up The Peers Project, which is the company you run, you’ve worked with the likes of Forever New and Modibodi, who create underwear basically for women with periods and things like that, which is so, so essential, and of course sustainable, and obviously, Forever New being a big Australian women’s apparel brand and accessory brand here in Australia. But how did you go about approaching these people? Did they approach you? For someone in your 20s, you’ve done a lot of great stuff. These are big businesses. Have you learned along the way? How did that all take place?

00:16:04
Michelle Akhidenor: Oh, I love this question. Did they approach you? No, I love it. It’s so amazing. I love that people might think that. Yeah. So I guess there is a big difference between podcasting and that awesomeness of connecting with amazing people and then business. And I think throughout the journey of the last really two and a half to three years, longer slightly, I’ve really had to learn business. And I’ve really learnt that through lots and lots of mistakes and failures. I just dived head first. I did have a business degree. I do have a business degree, but going out there and starting a startup from scratch when you’re… I started at 24, I think I was 23 or something, is really just a whole different ball game.

00:16:51
Gianna Lucas: Full on?

00:16:51
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah.

00:16:53
Gianna Lucas: Crazy, scary experience?

00:16:54
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah, exactly. So I guess, how did I learn to do that, et cetera? As I said, I really just tried and I just kept going.

00:17:04
Gianna Lucas: Tried, tried, tried?

00:17:06
Michelle Akhidenor: Exactly.

00:17:08
Gianna Lucas: You practice what you preach.

00:17:09
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. Even back in 2018, I knew what I was talking about.

00:17:13
Gianna Lucas: I love it. I love it.

00:17:15
Michelle Akhidenor: What that’s led to is that in the last… So really what I mean by try is, I would literally go out there, it’s quite hands- on, and develop a pitch deck of who we are, what we’re about, and then reach out to businesses, and companies, and CEOs, and marketing managers and just pitch them a podcast for their brand. And when you do that, favorite channel to do this on, it’s actually free. Well, I use LinkedIn Premium, so it’s technically not free.

00:17:46
Gianna Lucas: But it’s only a few dollars a month, isn’t it?

00:17:48
Michelle Akhidenor: Exactly.

00:17:49
Gianna Lucas: Yeah.

00:17:49
Michelle Akhidenor: So it’s really-

00:17:50
Gianna Lucas: Affordable.

00:17:50
Michelle Akhidenor: … a really great platform, exactly, to start on. I literally would just, as I would reach out to people for podcast interviews or coffee dates back in the day, I would then just reach out to these CEOs and marketing managers and brand managers about a podcast for their brand. And when you do that for a period, I think literally last year, I did it for about eight months straight, and you’re pitching and you’re pitching, you’re pitching, you’re pitching, and you’re trying to aim for the real top, as you said, some of the biggest brands in the country, some of the biggest marketing managers, and you’re obviously going to get a lot of backlash, a lot of no responses.
But when you do that over a course of eight to nine to 10 months, you start figuring out how it works and what words get you the responses and how many meetings will mean one deal, and all that kind of stuff. So amongst the, probably about hundreds of marketing managers and CEOs I reached out to, yes, two of our most notable clients, we’re so fortunate to be working with, Forever New, Modibodi, up in Sydney, and a couple of others as well, who have just really allowed us to take our brand to that next level, and really position ourselves as leaders in the space.

00:19:10
Gianna Lucas: Yeah. And I think you really spoke so well about the whole idea of LinkedIn because LinkedIn is a great networking tool because people are there to do business and to network. It’s a bit different to Instagram and very different to Tik Tok. You can talk to a brand manager on Tik Tok if they have an account, but usually they’ll probably use some other name you don’t even know, that they are the brand manager at some company.
So I think you’re right. I think when you reached out to them, I’m guessing you leave them a LinkedIn message, so you inboxed them. And I think that’s such a great idea and which leads me on to another question I want to ask you, and it’s completely related to a young person listening right now to this interview going, ” Oh, I’m so inspired by Michelle. I’ve got this burning desire. I’m curious, I’m inspired. I want to do something with my life, but I just don’t know where to start.” That person might be studying, even finishing school. They might be going into uni and beyond. And we’re noticing that entrepreneurs now, come in all shapes and sizes, young and old. There’s no real perfect age to start a business. I think now, this world has become a lot more easier to get access to. So in your experience and what you’ve learned, what would you say right now to a person listening, going, ” Oh, I just want to get a couple of top tips from you based on your experience”? What would they be?

00:20:30
Michelle Akhidenor: Just number one is to talk to as many people as you possibly can, whether it was trying to get an internship back in first year uni, or whether it was trying to convince an amazing Forbes Under 30 to come on the Peers2Peers podcast, or whether it was trying to get Forever New to sign a deal with us, for us to produce their podcast. Whatever it’s been, it’s always been about people. I honestly believe that the world, whether it’s business, really anything, it’s people that you’ve really got to chat to and get to know, and figure out how people work. So I think just number one tip is get to learn about people and talk to as many people as you possibly can.
I guess the second tip is to allow yourself to start with a clean slate. I think so many of us get really caught up in our heads. We maybe look at our past failures and we go, ” How am I even going to start again, and try and maybe get my career going? Or maybe get myself really involved in university? Or stand out in year 12 or in year 11?” So many of us just think, ” How am I going to do that? I’m just a normal person, and I’ve failed so much in the past.” And I think just allowing ourselves to have that clean slate and just to really wipe it all clean and go, ” You know what? You can start again,” and especially when you go out there into the quote unquote, ” Real world,” there’s so much going on that people often don’t take too much notice of you, and I say this in a good way because that-

00:22:03
Gianna Lucas: I know what you mean. I think you’re referring to that sometimes we are so in our own head, that we think that we’re stuffing up, or people are analyzing everything that we’re doing, and are we stepping in the right or wrong place? And people have got their own stuff that they’re working out. People are just trying to do the best that they can, that they’ll probably look at you and go, ” Wow, you’re awesome,” not, ” You suck,” or, ” You’ve got so much learning to do.”

00:22:25
Michelle Akhidenor: Exactly.

00:22:26
Gianna Lucas: You’re right. I think we have this idea in our head sometimes that we’re filled with self doubt and that we’re probably conscious of what people are saying about us, fearing the worst case scenario, when often the best case scenario is the one that takes place majority of the time.

00:22:42
Michelle Akhidenor: Exactly. So it’s literally just don’t even worry about anyone else, go out there, make it happen. Really just follow that gut feeling, know that you’ve got a clean slate. I would say they’re definitely some of my top tips. I could literally speak on this for hours, so I’m just being mindful.

00:23:02
Gianna Lucas: No, I think they’re two very important things. And if each of us can utilize and take away those top tips and utilize them in our everyday life, this world would be an incredible place, if we just believe in ourselves and not give up and try, try, try again. Even if you fail, don’t give up. I absolutely love it, Michelle. Right after this, we’re going to be asking you about some of the big and small things that you’re grateful for.

00:23:28
Brendan: This is Power Up Life.

00:23:32
Carissa Shale: This week, we asked you what your dream job is, and here’s what you had to say.

00:23:38
Speaker 6: If I could have any job I liked, I would be a stage designer for concerts. That would be awesome. Getting the opportunity to meet different artists and really help their vision come alive on the stage, and then be rewarded to see it all come together when they perform.

00:23:51
Speaker 7: A job I would love to do is personal train someone. I love helping people. And if it has to do with fitness, then I’m in. I enjoy watching their progress and lifting their spirits when times get hard. I also think it would help with my self development. Seeing them at their full potential will make me want to do better.

00:24:07
Speaker 8: I would like a job of helping people with their health and fitness, as I’m very passionate about that and want to help people live their healthiest lifestyle.

00:24:18
Speaker 9: Being in the startup space and working with sustainability. There’s really no other thing that brings me happiness and trying to create a difference and impact others.

00:24:27
Carissa Shale: I’m Carissa Shale, and that’s this week’s talk topic. Got something to share? Drop us an email, yoursay@ happow.com.

00:24:38
Speaker 10: Did you know Happow is on socials? Come and say, ” Hey.” Follow us, @ happowau, and be sure to check us out at happow. com.

00:24:48
Gianna Lucas: Michelle, one of the biggest questions I love to ask my interviewees is something that you are grateful for, big and small. And even though it’s one of our smallest segments, I believe it’s one of the most powerful, and I love hearing your responses. So let’s start off with one big thing that you are grateful for in your life that you just so appreciate.

00:25:07
Michelle Akhidenor: First thing that comes to mind is my family. I’m really grateful for them. I think having big goals and big dreams can sometimes not be perceived very well when it comes to your family. They often just want to protect you and make sure that you’re going to be okay financially, et cetera. And I’m just so fortunate that my parents are entrepreneurs. My family’s very business minded and oriented. My sisters are also quite business minded. And having the support of them on the journey I’m on and building this company has just been amazing. Yeah, I just really appreciate them.

00:25:47
Gianna Lucas: I love that response because you’re right, not everybody comes from a family that understands, or at least supports you when you think outside the square, outside the box. And to have that support from the very beginning is a reassuring thing to know that you’re not alone, because sometimes the entrepreneurial journey can be isolating, and so to have a family there going, ” You can do this,” even just one person can really change one’s life. So I love that response.
Okay. Something small that you are grateful for, that maybe others would take for granted and not care that much, but you’re like, ” No, it’s a big deal in my head.”

00:26:24
Michelle Akhidenor: This is going to sound really strange.

00:26:25
Gianna Lucas: No problem.

00:26:25
Michelle Akhidenor: But my home. I’m just so grateful, especially during this time in COVID, where it’s just everyone’s crept up at home. I’m so grateful that I have somewhere to be and a beautiful home to live in and I feel comfortable. I don’t feel trapped. I’m just grateful for shelter, really.

00:26:45
Gianna Lucas: Yeah, I love that. And you’re right, because I think this period that we have been going through has taught us a lot of life lessons and helps us realize what’s most important, and recognizing the things that we probably have previously taken for granted, because it’s always there as being the most essential thing in our life that protects us from uncertainty and things like that, and it makes us feel safe. So another fantastic answer. Thanks Michelle. Don’t go anywhere guys, because guess what’s coming up? The challenge. Are you excited, Michelle?

00:27:15
Michelle Akhidenor: So excited.

00:27:16
Gianna Lucas: Okay, good. Everyone’s saying that they’re excited every week. So, we’re obviously doing something right.

00:27:20
Carissa Shale: Want to power up life? Download your free power pack wallpapers at happow. com.

00:27:29
Gianna Lucas: All right. So it’s challenge time, Michelle, and we love to play all sorts of different games on the Power Up Life Show. So this one, we’ve actually made up. A couple of them have never been done before, at least not on this show anyway. We’re calling it silent songs. Have you played silent songs before, Michelle?

00:27:48
Michelle Akhidenor: I have not. I have never.

00:27:50
Gianna Lucas: Neither have I, to make you feel better. Okay. So basically, I was talking with Bren and we thought, what should we play this week? Now, silent songs is a game that we made up where basically, there are amazing songs out there, it could be power ballads or hip hop, a real genre of a song that’s quite popular from an artist that everybody knows, a household name, but we’re basically taking out all the music. We’ve taken out the artist completely, and Brendan’s going to say the lyrics of the songs. He’s asking me to do a beat, which Brendan, to be honest with you, I’m not sure if that’s a good idea or not. Pippa’s now barking, our dog, so it’s all happening. She’s trying to weigh in, get her claws into it as well. So Brendan, can you explain, so how many songs are you giving us?

00:28:33
Brendan: There’ll be four songs and basically, I’m going to read the lyrics, not sing them, as you would normally hear them on the radio.

00:28:41
Gianna Lucas: Okay.

00:28:41
Brendan: And basically, you need to work out what song that is. And if you guess it correctly, then kudos to you.

00:28:47
Gianna Lucas: So is it the first person to guess the song correct, wins, right?

00:28:51
Brendan: That’s correct. First person to guess the song. And there’ll be four songs. The persons who gets the most out of four wins.

00:28:56
Gianna Lucas: Okay. That’s a pretty easy game. Okay. Time for the first song. So come up to the mic, Brendan.

00:29:01
Brendan: Okay.

00:29:02
Gianna Lucas: Do I do a beat or not?

00:29:03
Brendan: Drop me a beat. Yeah.

00:29:06
Gianna Lucas: I’m not doing it. I’ve got to think about the song. I feel like it’s too much pressure on me. I can’t win otherwise.

00:29:11
Brendan: You know I’m back, like I never left. I never left. Another sprint, another step. Another step, another day. Another breath, another breath. I’ve been chasing dreams-

00:29:20
Gianna Lucas: I know this song.

00:29:21
Brendan: … but I never slept.

00:29:22
Michelle Akhidenor: Me too. God damn.

00:29:25
Gianna Lucas: I’ve got it in my head.

00:29:27
Michelle Akhidenor: I don’t know. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, something.

00:29:28
Gianna Lucas: She reckons Ryan Lewis and Macklemore. That’s Michelle though.

00:29:33
Brendan: Macklemore, that’s right.

00:29:34
Gianna Lucas: Is it Ryan Lewis as well?

00:29:36
Michelle Akhidenor: Is it Ryan Lewis and Mackle?

00:29:36
Brendan: No Ryan Lewis. No. Someone else.

00:29:39
Gianna Lucas: Can you say the chorus please? Because I know the chorus will help me.

00:29:45
Michelle Akhidenor: We suck at this.

00:29:46
Gianna Lucas: I know. (singing) I feel glorious, glorious.

00:29:56
Michelle Akhidenor: Oh, you’re right.

00:29:57
Gianna Lucas: Got a chance to start again. Is it Glorious?

00:29:58
Brendan: Yes.

00:29:58
Michelle Akhidenor: You’re right.

00:29:58
Gianna Lucas: You guessed the artist and I guessed the song name.

00:29:58
Michelle Akhidenor: You guessed the song name.

00:30:01
Brendan: A point each. Half a point.

00:30:03
Michelle Akhidenor: Oh, half a point each. I’m happy with that.

00:30:05
Gianna Lucas: That’s good. Good start.

00:30:06
Brendan: Song two. Right now, I’m in a state of mind I want to be in like all the time. I ain’t got no tears left to cry. So I’m picking it up, picking it up. I’m loving, I’m living, I’m picking it up. I’m picking it up. I’m loving, I’m living, I’m picking it.

00:30:46
Michelle Akhidenor: Picking it up. No idea who it is.

00:30:46
Gianna Lucas: Can you try to do the course again, because I think that’s going to help us, because I know where this is going. I know where this is going. I feel it in my bones.

00:30:46
Michelle Akhidenor: I know the song, I just don’t know the…

00:30:46
Gianna Lucas: Yeah. I’ve got the melody in my head.

00:30:46
Brendan: Right now, I’m in a state of mind I want to be in like all the time. I ain’t got no tears left to cry. So I’m picking it up, picking it up. I’m loving, I’m living, I’m picking it up.

00:30:47
Gianna Lucas: Oh goodness.

00:30:48
Michelle Akhidenor: I would have no idea.

00:30:49
Gianna Lucas: I don’t know if it’s Brendan, that he’s not doing a good job of it or we just can’t understand.

00:30:51
Michelle Akhidenor: Blame it on Brendan.

00:30:54
Gianna Lucas: His execution.

00:30:57
Michelle Akhidenor: I know the song, I know the lyrics, but I don’t know.

00:31:00
Gianna Lucas: Yes.

00:31:00
Michelle Akhidenor: So go for it you’ve got-

00:31:00
Gianna Lucas: We’re both stumped. No, I genuinely don’t know. Sorry. For both of us.

00:31:06
Brendan: Ariana Grande, No Tears Left to Cry.

00:31:08
Gianna Lucas: ( singing).

00:31:13
Brendan: I even said it in the third sentence.

00:31:13
Gianna Lucas: (singing).

00:31:13
Brendan: I said, ” I ain’t got no tears left to cry.”

00:31:18
Gianna Lucas: You know what you should do? When you say it, you should have said it in a higher pitch, and that would have given it away.

00:31:25
Michelle Akhidenor: That would have given it, 100%.

00:31:27
Gianna Lucas: Yeah. All right. So we’re still half a point each.

00:31:29
Michelle Akhidenor: Okay.

00:31:29
Gianna Lucas: Okay, what’s the third song?

00:31:30
Brendan: If you don’t want to see me, did a full 180, crazy thinking about the way I was. Did heartbreak change me? Maybe. But look at where I ended up.

00:31:40
Gianna Lucas: I already know this.

00:31:41
Brendan: Go, go, go.

00:31:41
Gianna Lucas: As soon as you said the first line, because I have been listening to the song on repeat. Actually, I don’t even know if I know the… I know the artist, Dua Lipa. Dua Lipa? Dua Lipa? Is it?

00:31:53
Brendan: Correct.

00:31:53
Gianna Lucas: Okay.

00:31:54
Michelle Akhidenor: Oh, yeah.

00:31:55
Gianna Lucas: I think, because I’ve been listening to her whole album that she released this year, so I’m trying to remember.

00:32:01
Michelle Akhidenor: I don’t know what the song’s called though.

00:32:02
Gianna Lucas: I could actually stuff this up.

00:32:03
Brendan: Do you want the chorus?

00:32:04
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah, please do.

00:32:05
Gianna Lucas: Yeah. Give me the chorus, because I’ve got one or two songs in my head and I don’t know which one it is. This is high stakes.

00:32:13
Michelle Akhidenor: Oh, it really is. I think you’re going to win. I’m going to try.

00:32:18
Gianna Lucas: Try, try.

00:32:19
Michelle Akhidenor: Try, try, try.

00:32:20
Brendan: Don’t show up. Don’t come out. Don’t start caring about me now.

00:32:26
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. About me now.

00:32:31
Gianna Lucas: Yes. It’s Don’t Stop or Don’t Start Now. It’s one or the other. Don’t Stop to Don’t Start.

00:32:36
Michelle Akhidenor: Don’t Start Now.

00:32:36
Brendan: Don’t Start Now. That’s correct.

00:32:36
Gianna Lucas: Don’t Start Now.

00:32:36
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. You’re right. Well done.

00:32:40
Gianna Lucas: Because she had so many don’ts in the chorus. I’m like, ” It’s not Nostalgia,” because I thought it was Nostalgia, and I wasn’t sure, but that’s okay.

00:32:45
Michelle Akhidenor: Oh, yeah. No.

00:32:48
Gianna Lucas: How many songs have we done?

00:32:48
Brendan: Three.

00:32:49
Gianna Lucas: That’s three. Okay. So this is our last one.

00:32:51
Michelle Akhidenor: Last one.

00:32:51
Gianna Lucas: So I’ve got-

00:32:51
Michelle Akhidenor: One and a half.

00:32:51
Gianna Lucas: … one and a half points.

00:32:52
Michelle Akhidenor: I’ve got half.

00:32:53
Gianna Lucas: Versus half a point. Okay.

00:32:54
Michelle Akhidenor: Okay.

00:32:54
Gianna Lucas: So it could be a draw if you get the next one.

00:32:57
Michelle Akhidenor: It could be.

00:32:57
Gianna Lucas: A full point. Okay.

00:32:59
Michelle Akhidenor: It could be.

00:32:59
Gianna Lucas: Okay. You can do this, Michelle.

00:33:00
Brendan: Right. This is a tough one, number four. Here we go. When I was six years old, I broke my leg and I was running from my brother and his friends, and tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass I rolled down. I was younger then. Take me back when. I found my heart and broke it here, made friends and lost them through the years.

00:33:21
Gianna Lucas: I don’t know.

00:33:21
Brendan: And I’ve not seen the roaring fields in so long. I know I’ve grown, I can’t wait to go on my home. I’m on my way, driving at 90 down those country lanes.

00:33:32
Michelle Akhidenor: Oh.

00:33:33
Gianna Lucas: Do you know it? I don’t know it?

00:33:34
Michelle Akhidenor: No.

00:33:34
Gianna Lucas: Singing to Tiny Dancer.

00:33:41
Michelle Akhidenor: It’s not Ed Sheeran.

00:33:41
Brendan: And I miss the way you make me feel.

00:33:41
Gianna Lucas: Can you give us a clue? Can you give us the chorus?

00:33:41
Michelle Akhidenor: It’s not Ed Sheeran, is it?

00:33:41
Gianna Lucas: Is it Ed Sheeran?

00:33:41
Michelle Akhidenor: No.

00:33:43
Gianna Lucas: She thinks it’s Ed Sheeran.

00:33:44
Brendan: And it’s real.

00:33:45
Gianna Lucas: Hang on, is it Ed Sheeran?

00:33:45
Brendan: We watched the sunset.

00:33:45
Gianna Lucas: Is it Ed Sheeran? You just said-

00:33:45
Brendan: Over the castle on the hill.

00:33:45
Michelle Akhidenor: Oh, no. Over the castle on the hill.

00:33:45
Gianna Lucas: She said Castle on the Hill, Ed Sheeran.

00:33:50
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah.

00:33:50
Gianna Lucas: Correct.

00:33:55
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. Yay.

00:33:59
Gianna Lucas: Well done. I’m glad you got that-

00:34:01
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah. Now we’re a draw.

00:34:01
Gianna Lucas: … because you said you lived in the UK for a while.

00:34:03
Michelle Akhidenor: Yes. So there you go. Yeah.

00:34:03
Gianna Lucas: If you didn’t, I would’ve… I’m so glad you got it. So that means we’ve got to draw.

00:34:11
Michelle Akhidenor: Okay. Love it.

00:34:12
Gianna Lucas: Which is a nice way to finish. Or is it not a draw?

00:34:13
Brendan: We need to do a tiebreaker.

00:34:14
Gianna Lucas: Oh, we need a tiebreaker?

00:34:15
Brendan: Yeah.

00:34:15
Michelle Akhidenor: Oh.

00:34:16
Gianna Lucas: Oh.

00:34:16
Michelle Akhidenor: Okay.

00:34:17
Gianna Lucas: This is something we did not expect at the start of this.

00:34:18
Michelle Akhidenor: We did not.

00:34:19
Gianna Lucas: This is off the charts. This is taking silent… What is it? Silent songs? Silent songs. I’ve forgotten what we called it. Taking it to a new level. Okay.

00:34:30
Michelle Akhidenor: Okay. We’re ready.

00:34:30
Gianna Lucas: All right. So song number five, for the tiebreaker.

00:34:34
Brendan: Caught my heart about one, two times. Don’t need to question the reason I’m yours. I’m yours.

00:34:40
Gianna Lucas: Hang on.

00:34:40
Brendan: I’d move the earth or lose a fight just to see you smile, because you’ve got no flaws. No flaws.

00:34:46
Gianna Lucas: I know this song. I hear this on the radio all the time.

00:34:49
Brendan: I’m not trying to be your part- time lover. Sign me up for that full- time. I’m yours. All yours. So what a man gotta do? What a man gotta do?

00:35:00
Gianna Lucas: Yes, I know. I know. I know it. I know it.

00:35:02
Michelle Akhidenor: I don’t know it.

00:35:02
Brendan: To be totally locked up by you?

00:35:04
Gianna Lucas: Yes. This is Jonas Brothers.

00:35:04
Brendan: What a man gotta say? What a man gotta pray?

00:35:06
Gianna Lucas: Okay.

00:35:06
Michelle Akhidenor: I have no idea.

00:35:06
Brendan: To be your last good night and your first good day?

00:35:12
Gianna Lucas: I think the song is called-

00:35:14
Brendan: So what man gotta do?

00:35:15
Gianna Lucas: He’s still singing. Can I guess the song? He just wants the microphone. This is not karaoke. Okay. I have to say, because I also do some dabbling in radio, I’ve been fortunate enough to hear this song probably too many times, so I think I’ve got it. Is it Sucker?

00:35:34
Brendan: No.

00:35:36
Michelle Akhidenor: Yes. Okay. Can you keep doing the lyrics, sorry, so I can-

00:35:39
Gianna Lucas: Yeah, keep doing the lyrics.

00:35:39
Michelle Akhidenor: … start guessing? I might have to get a half point.

00:35:42
Gianna Lucas: So it’s Jonas Brothers. So we know that.

00:35:47
Michelle Akhidenor: Jonas Brothers. Yeah, you got that. Yeah.

00:35:47
Gianna Lucas: So, it’s not Sucker. So we know that it must be another one.

00:35:47
Michelle Akhidenor: Okay.

00:35:48
Gianna Lucas: Okay.

00:35:48
Brendan: So what a man gotta do? So what a man gotta do, to be totally locked up by you? What a man gotta do?

00:35:59
Michelle Akhidenor: Is it just, What A Man Gotta do?

00:36:00
Brendan: What a man gotta prove?

00:36:00
Gianna Lucas: Yeah. Is it What A Man Gotta Do? Michelle’s asking if it’s what-

00:36:03
Brendan: Correct.

00:36:05
Gianna Lucas: Half point each.

00:36:06
Michelle Akhidenor: Half point each. Tied again.

00:36:08
Brendan: Could it be more obvious with that chorus?

00:36:10
Gianna Lucas: So, that’s it. We’re finished off. We are tie-breaking, team.

00:36:12
Michelle Akhidenor: Yeah, we are tie- breaking.

00:36:14
Gianna Lucas: Which is a beautiful way. Brendan, thank you for your poetry prowess.

00:36:18
Brendan: You’re most welcome. Thanks for not dropping the beat.

00:36:20
Michelle Akhidenor: Thanks Brendan.

00:36:24
Gianna Lucas: Oh my goodness. It has been a tiebreaker. It’s been a great show and what a way to finish because here at Happow, we are all about empowering young people, millennials, Gen Zs, and if we finish on the same page, we are working together, collaborating, not competing. So I think that’s a good way to finish.

00:36:40
Michelle Akhidenor: Love it. Yay.

00:36:40
Gianna Lucas: Thank you so much for coming on the show, Michelle. You’ve been an absolute legend. How can people get in touch with you? How can they follow everything that you’re doing?

00:36:50
Michelle Akhidenor: I love it. Yes. Yay. Thank you for having me. So you can follow us on Instagram, we’re @ thepeersproject, P-R- R- E- S Project, for the business. You can follow me on Instagram, I’m just @ michakhidenor, my really hard to spell last time, but I’m sure Gianna will link them up in the show notes.

00:37:11
Gianna Lucas: Yes.

00:37:11
Michelle Akhidenor: And then also, you can jump onto LinkedIn if you’re there. I always connect with people there. It’s just Michelle Akhidenor, and that’s pretty much it.

00:37:19
Gianna Lucas: Fantastic. Well, wishing you all the best with your 100th episode of Peers2Peers, and everything else that you’re doing for The Peers Project, and beyond. Thank you so much.

00:37:29
Michelle Akhidenor: Thank you.

00:37:31
Gianna Lucas: As you can see, Michelle works very hard as she works towards achieving her goals, whilst also making other people’s dreams come true, thanks to her accompany, The Peers Project. Her story and marketing know- how has been featured in the likes of Marie Claire, Smart Company, and now even our Power Up Life podcast. We wish Michelle all the very best and of course, look forward to seeing what she has coming up next.
A fan of Power Up Life? Why not tap the Share button and send it to someone who’ll love it? And of course, don’t forget to follow us on socials. Simply search for HappowAU to follow us and stay in the know. Want more Happow? Sign up to our free life skills platform to get access to our on- demand, expert- led video masterclasses called Life Lessons, quizzes, blogs, and more. Simply visit our site, happow.com. This episode of Power Up Life was produced by me, Gianna Lucas, Maria Dukadinovska and Carissa Shale for the Happow Podcast Network.
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Power Up Life, a Happow podcast. If you loved this episode, be a legend and leave us a quick rating and review on your fave podcast app. Dive into the show notes for all episodes on our website. Catch you next time, and remember to power up life.