Back Roads and Bold Moves
"Back Roads and Bold Moves" is the podcast for anyone building a business far from the city lights. Hosted by Elyssa Giedraitis - rural WA mum, social media strategist, and unapologetic straight-shooter. This show is about real business talk without the buzzwords.
From social media that actually works (even with crappy Wi-Fi) to the messy reality of running a business in a small town, Elyssa dives into the strategies, stories, and bold moves that matter. Expect unfiltered opinions, rural grit, and conversations that cut through the fluff.
If you’re tired of cookie-cutter advice and want to do business your way, whether you’re on the back roads or beyond, this podcast is for you.
Back Roads and Bold Moves
Let me introduce you to Back Roads & Bold Moves
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After a little break, the mic is back on, and this time, things are different. I’m done with the cookie-cutter, polished, “say what everyone else is saying” kind of business advice. This podcast is about the real stuff: the messy, gritty, and sometimes hilarious reality of running a business in small towns and regional communities.
In this episode, I share why I pressed pause on creating content, what I’ve learned about finding my own authentic voice, and why I’m committed to showing up as the unfiltered version of myself from now on.
This podcast is for you if:
- You’re building a business from the bush, between nap times, or with dodgy WiFi.
- You’re sick of recycled marketing advice that doesn’t fit rural reality.
- You’ve got ideas but also worries about what your neighbors might think.
- You’re ready to hear (and maybe make) bold moves that don’t follow the rulebook.
We’ll be talking about the overlap of kids and business, working around the seasons, and the not-so-glam side of small-town life where everyone knows your business. And yes, expect the occasional swear word, hot take, and perspective you won’t hear on other podcasts.
You are listening to the Back Roads and Bold Moves Podcast, the podcast where we talk about the reality of running a business in small towns and regional communities. I'm your host, Alissa Giedraitis, a rural mom, social media strategist, and someone who knows firsthand the grit it takes to make it work out here. From unfiltered business advice to stories that hit close to home, this is where rural life meets bold ideas. Let's dive in. Hello? Wow. This is weird. It's been a while since I sat in front of the microphone. It does feel a little bit odd and different to be talking to someone other than my toddler and my baby in the middle of the day. Whether you're listening from the cab of your ute while folding laundry or sneaking a coffee break in during work. Thanks for hanging out with me. The reason I stopped creating content for my podcast was simple. It felt like I was creating content that was the same shit that everyone else was creating. So many businesses and marketing podcasts are just feel like rinse and repeat episodes of what someone else has already said. I didn't feel like I had anything different to say, and I wanted to take time to step back and find my own authentic voice and not be influenced to create content that sounds just like everyone else, because I don't do business the same way that someone else does business. So the podcast should reflect that. I have also realized that I put on a bit of a facade when I'm in business mode, and I become this incredibly polished version of myself, and that has started to feel like a whole heap of effort, and that I'm perhaps pretending to be someone that I'm not because I want to put on this different persona. And I have spent a long time doing that, and it's so hard to click out of doing that. And people have started picking up on it as well. Like a couple of months ago, I was on a call with a consultant and she just point blank told me that I wasn't showing my personality in my content because she had watched my content, and what I was like on that call was not what she was expecting, because from my content, she had got this really serious person, and that's not really me. Um, so this podcast is kind of like my first step to being this truly authentic version of myself and shining my personality through in my content. Who is this podcast for? It's for anyone who is building a business in a small town, working from home between nap times, or just trying to figure out social media with shitty WiFi. It is for the people who are over the polished advice that does not fit our reality. This podcast is for anyone who has an idea, but no idea how to execute it, or they're worried what the people in their community are gonna think or even worse, say. That being said, there will absolutely be the odd swear word. I will probably share thoughts and opinions that other business creators and professionals don't agree with. The kind of stuff that goes against popular belief. Hopefully this will get you thinking about things and show you different perspectives and help you see different points of view. Originally this podcast was called Localize and Socialize, and that was because I really wanted to hone in on my niche of rural and regional local businesses. And believe me, that is still my niche. I still work with rural and regional businesses, but I'm now kind of focusing on not for profits and organizations in the same space. That is with my social media management company, Local Social Co. But I also want to be able to expand a little bit and include broader topics of marketing and business that can reach and help more rural and regional businesses, as well as include parts from my personal brand. And I think that renaming signifies this new area of growth. So this is the Backroads and Bold Moves podcast. Welcome. If you are here for the latest social media updates, this is not the place for you. I mean, I might pop in one day and be like, oh my God, did you see this happened on whatever platform and do a deep dive or whatever? But this podcast is not going to be me coming in every week and saying, this is what's changed on social media. This is how you shop right now, because there are plenty of other podcasts and platforms that do that already. And if you want one of those, I can absolutely send them in your direction. If you are here for cookie cutter marketing and business advice, this is also not the place for you. I do not want to regurgitate the same stuff that other people are telling you already. I want to create content that's original and it's basically straight from my head. So there might not be a lot of structure to everything, but everything that I share is my real experience, my real thoughts, my real opinions and things that I wholeheartedly believe in. If you are new here, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alyssa Gardner and I live in rural WA. I have run my business local social co for over five years now. I think it's six years in a couple of weeks. Um, I have worked in the family ag business for a little over eight years. I have two small children and I have experience in plenty of different things, and I want to share my knowledge and experiences that I have gained with you. I have built community platforms. I've given local government a go. I'm a staunch advocate for rural communities. I have built a platform that focused on feminism and mental health. I've run community projects. I've worked with events and businesses throughout Australia. I have done quite a bit in my short twenty eight years. Am I twenty eight? I am, yes. I had my birthday last week, so I'm twenty eight and I want to start sharing that with people, as well as sharing what is still to come and the journey that I am still on. In future episodes, I'll dive into the world of building a business organisation, or even just an idea from the ground up in the middle of the bush. We'll talk about the messy overlap of kids and business, working around the seasons, and the realities of running a business in a town where absolutely everyone knows who you are and they know your business. I wanted to make this first little introduction to the podcast super short and sweet. Just let you know what the podcast is about and who I am. So next week from Wednesday, new episodes will be rolling out every week on different topics, different ideas, basically just whatever has popped into my head and I'm like, okay, we gotta we gotta record a podcast about that. So thank you for tuning in and I will see you next week. That is it for this episode of Backwards and Bold Moves. If you're vibing with this no fluff, real talk approach to business, hit follow and share this episode with someone who needs it. You can find the podcast on Instagram at Backroads Podcast. Slide into my DMs and tell me what bold move you're making this week. Until then, stay greedy, stay bold, and I'll catch you next time.