Our latest edition of Behind-the-Show features Shelina Jokhiya, host of the DeCluttr Me podcast, which was the first branded show Amaeya Media published back in 2018.
Regular listeners of the show will know that Shelina has a very distinctive voice and personality. Her short weekly episodes on organization and decluttering has found fervent listenership in over 120 countries. With 122 episodes to-date, DeCluttr Me is one of the longest running podcast show in the Middle East, and has amassed nearly 200,000 downloads!
Beyond numbers, Shelina discloses in this exclusive interview that having a podcast has helped her business gain international recognition and secure direct client bookings. Oh, and she also describes the moment she crashed face-first into a famous English actor!
If you could rename your show to anything else, what would you choose for your podcast?
Can You Find It In Five Seconds?
Your profession (aside from being a podcast host)
Professional organiser and declutterer (and ex Solicitor/Lawyer)
How has having a podcast helped you or your business?
It has helped to get my business out there globally. I do get clients who have listened to me and then book me to help them and they are always surprised I sound the same as I do on the podcast.
Top three things you love about podcasts?
Learning something new, listening to someone other than myself, and the topics out there in the podcast world.
Top three things you dislike about podcasts?
The hour long ones are hard-going. I don't have patience or time to listen to those long ones unless I am driving to another Emirate.
What three words best describe your podcast host personality?
Friendly, funny and knowledgeable
What’s your current favourite podcast?
Table Manners with Jessie Ware
What would your #1 advice be for someone who is looking to start a podcast?
Ask yourself the following:
- Do you have enough content to have episodes for a few weeks?
- What is the aim of having a podcast? If it is just to be famous or an influencer, give up now.
What was your motivation to start a podcast?
Chirag (Desai) had started his network and kept telling me about the podcast medium and how I should have one for my business. It took a few weeks (of relentless suggestion), and I finally gave in. We landed up being the first of its kind in the region, back when it wasn't as cool as it is now and it's given me a fun opportunity to talk to other organizers & people who's tips could help my listeners.
If you could have dinner with one person right now, who would it be? What would both of you eat?
Madonna. We would have a good rib eye steak and mash.
What’s your most memorable facepalm moment?
Too many to name, but I did once crash into Sir Michael Edward Palin in Covent Garden. Full forehead on his chest. He was very kind and gentlemanly about it.
What gets you out of bed each morning?
My cats wake me up!
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Chocolate and listening to Madonna very loudly and singing along.
What is the first place you would travel to once the restrictions are lifted? Why?
London (it's home and I miss my family), then somewhere in South America to eat lots of yummy food (been watching too many food shows on Netflix).
If you were to write a book about your life, what would its title be?
Yep, that really happened!