We had the good fortune of connecting with Samantha Carney and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Samantha, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I think about risk the way some people think about opportunity. They’re basically the same thing, except the word “risk” implies a negative connotation. Taking a chance on something always requires a leap of faith – whether it’s quitting a full-time job to start your own business or opening up an Etsy shop as a side hustle for extra income.

For me, taking risks has always been easy to a certain extent because I have always believed that everything would work out for me once I made the decision, and thankfully it always has. I think sometimes we let our limiting beliefs hold us back or convince us that we’re not worth the risk of what may happen. We are.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started The Experience of Wonder Podcast on July 1, 2021 with one of my best friends, Allyson Spencer.

We feel so passionately that every single person has a story to share and that every one of us is shaped by our experiences in life. We really wanted to create an open space to have raw, real conversations with real people about where they are, the challenges they faced, the wins they’ve had, and their outlook for the future.

A lot of work went into the podcast planning – from deciding what we wanted to bring to the table, to how often we wanted to record, and how to edit and produce (which I’m grateful to say my husband does or us). We have improved our audio quality and flow with each episode we have recorded and we have now released over 25 episodes.

I had to learn how to set up a podcast on multiple platforms, get the podcast RSS feed in place, and which hardware would sound great and still be affordable for a beginner. I’ve learned a lot and we’re always tweaking our approach to how we list episodes and advertise them to our audience. I’ve also become bolder in how willing I am to approach “strangers” to see if they’re willing to join us for an interview. It’s been a lot of fun!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had a friend coming out we would HAVE TO hit up some beaches. I personally love Scripps Pier because it’s beautiful but always quieter than most of the other beaches in San Diego. We would drive up 101 for the views and stop in Cardiff for some Cardiff Crack or amazing seafood.

I also can’t ignore that San Diego has one of the best Zoos I’ve ever been to (even as an adult) and people LOVE being able to visit. I personally adore Balboa Park and getting drinks in the open air Prado. The Farmer’s Market in Little Italy is another staple, and wandering around the Gaslamp is a must for new visitors!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I need to give a huge shout out to Eric Berman and Brandetize Marketing Agency in Banker’s Hill.

I spent the last 6 years working and growing within the agency and he dedicated time and energy to teaching me how to run a business and think about what goes into the operations of budgeting, hiring, thinking about benefits and understanding how it all comes together so you can ensure your bottom line revenue is enough to cover expenses and still deliver a profit.

Eric has given me so many opportunities, like speaking on stages, developing investor decks and executive summaries, joining acquisition meetings and more. I owe a lot of the skills I was able to gain so quickly to his willingness to teach me these things.

Website: www.theexperienceofwonder.com

Instagram: instagram.com/theexperienceofwonder

Image Credits
Stephanie Topper