This conversation with Taina Brown is a powerful exploration of the insidious ways that white supremacy and capitalism have infiltrated online entrepreneurship. As a white woman, it was eye-opening to hear Taina's firsthand experiences navigating these systems as a non-white entrepreneur. Her insights on the coded language, biased algorithms, and lack of diversity in professional communities really challenged me to be more intentional about the spaces I create and the people I amplify. This episode is a must-listen for any entrepreneur who wants to build a business rooted in equity and justice, rather than perpetuating the harmful status quo.

One of my favorite resources in online business is my friend Amber Gilormo. She's a lawyer who runs an agency providing resources and contract templates for small businesses like ours. I personally use several of her templates and she's my go-to for all my legal questions. I'm even an affiliate for her program! I've learned so much just from following her on social media and I knew I had to have her on the pod so you can learn from her too.

This week, my guest, Becky Mollenkamp, and I are talking about taking up space and showing up authentically, even in the face of criticism, when operating from a place of intersectional feminist values. I was really curious to hear about Becky's experience navigating social media as an outspoken advocate, and the challenges of building a business aligned with feminist principles within a capitalist system.

One person who might just be more critical of the online coaching industry than I am is my new friend and today's guest, Lindsay Hyatt. She particularly uses her online platform to speak about the shame that so many entrepreneurs feel, especially around financial investments they've made into coaching scams. In today's episode, we're dissecting the shame, guilt, and insecurity that fuels the continued problems with online coaching, and how to overcome and thrive as entrepreneurs without falling the snake oil.

In today's episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Jordan Gill, the automation expert and business mentor behind Systems Saved Me. We dove deep into the topic of innovation in business - what it really means, how to approach it, and why it's so important, even when things feel tough. Jordan shared some fantastic questions and prompts to help spark innovative thinking, like exploring how you can make your offerings bigger or smaller, faster or slower. We also discussed the power of changing up your delivery to better align with your mission. And of course, we encourage everyone to trust their own intuition when it comes to new ideas.

This week, I'm joined by Alexandria Alecci of Alecci Media. Alexandria's passion for cultivating a diverse, values-driven culture in her marketing agency really resonated with me and the core mission of Big Brave Business. From her international experiences shaping her unique perspective on work-life balance to her thoughtful approach to navigating strong opinions and ethics in business, Alexandria offered so many insights that I know will inspire our audience of purpose-driven entrepreneurs.

We haven't had a ton of money conversations on this podcast, so when I connected with Neysa on threads and she was dropping truth bombs about money and sales, I KNEW we had to have a conversation for the podcast. In addition to talking about our personal relationships with money, Neysa is also sharing her framework for approaching sales and it is going to blow your mind.

One thing I've questioned so much in the past few years is - "Why do we consider 'hard work' a virtue?'" Some of the hardest working people in the world are the least productive, least 'successful,' and least wealthy - and yet the wealthiest folks in the world don't work anywhere near as hard as those living under the poverty line. Where does the myth that hard work leads to success come from and why does it persist? My friend Lisa, a productivity coach, is back on the podcast today because her unique perspective about what 'productivity' even means follows this exact line of questioning and interrogation.

When you spend a lot of time in the spaces online where people are discussing online business (especially typical coaching spaces), you'll hear a lot of "one-size-fits-all" advice - about online courses, memberships, high ticket offers, low ticket offers, focusing on one thing, and raising your prices, just as a few common examples. But the reality is that we are all totally different people and therefore, we have totally different strengths. Rather than trying to fit into some kind of mold for success, my guest today (Hannah Miller) is here to break down the value of really learning about your own strengths (like, through an assessment such as CliftonStrengths), and using what you know (and what you learn!) about how your unique brain works to create your own definition of success.

It seems like every time you try to talk to someone about 'marketing' in the online business coaching space, they just want to talk about social media. Now don't get me wrong, social media is full of opportunities for personal branding, marketing, and messaging. BUT... there are so many other ways to market your business! Emily Aborn is back this week because we both feel passionately about this. Let's talk about it!

When I asked today's guest (my friend Dee Ntšala) what was on her heart to talk about during this episode, she mentioned a really intense, staggering statistic about the mental health challenges that entrepreneurs face. Did you know that founders are more likely to have suicidal ideation? I didn't, so this conversation floored me.

Y'ALL my friend Dr. Cherie is my guest on the podcast today and you are going to love her as much as I do. She is sharing all about radical self care and burnout for entrepreneurs - but this is not the conversation about burnout you've heard before. Dr. Cherie literally has a PhD in this stuff - her dissertation was all about what causes burnout and how to prevent it in human services professionals. Tune in to hear the conversation we NEED to be having around self-care.

In this episode, we're chatting about balancing wealth and lifestyle, overcoming imposter syndrome, the importance of community and support, handling business challenges, future goals, and so much more.

What a treat to introduce you to my friend, Jacki Hayes. Her podcast, Here's What I Learned, is all about doing business your way and I've been honored to be a guest on her show a couple of times already. This week on Big Brave Business, we're turning the tables to talk to Jacki about what it means to do business her way, and also why the concept of doing business your way matters.

This conversation with my friend and colleague, Lisa Zawrotny, changed my life. Maybe a little change, but honestly it's stayed with me since we spoke and it is something I have been able to reflect on every day. Not only did we discuss the concept of overachieving, especially as part of our identity (if you've been listening to this podcast for awhile, you know that's me), but also we talked about redefining productivity, the idea of 'hard work,' and the impact of clutter (this is the part that blew my mind the most, my friends).

This week I welcomed my friend and colleague, Ana Xavier. From the time Ana and I first connected on Instagram, I have been struck by her refreshingly approachable and authentic energy - a stark contrast to the "gatekeepers" I've encountered in the podcasting world. Ana shares how she's built a thriving business by staying true to her values of collaboration, impact, and empathy, rather than trying to emulate the "bro marketer" tactics that dominate our industry. One of the biggest takeaways for me is Ana's emphasis on the power of in-person connection, which has motivated me to step out of my comfort zone and attend more events and conferences. Ana also reminded me of the deeper purpose behind these connections - tapping into the collective wisdom and support of our community to uplift and inspire one another.

This week, I'm joined by my friend & long-term client, Candace D'Agnolo. She's been an entrepreneur for over 25 years and has built and scaled brick-and-mortar businesses, retail business, service-based businesses, and digital businesses. When it comes to starting, scaling, and selling businesses, Candace is my go-to expert. So it's no surprise that I was thrilled to bring her on the podcast to talk about her idea of what it means to be big and brave in business. And you know what might surprise you? Of ALL her experience that many of us are so far only dreaming of, her idea of big and brave is all about her personal development and team leadership. No matter how successful you are in business, it always comes back to that!

One of the things that Brooke and Tristan are so passionate about is running businesses ethically - which is complicated to do as anti-capitalists in a capitalist world. The more you are aware of the heinous atrocities and human rights violations happening worldwide that are woven into everything we do and the way we engage with our economy, the harder it can be to see (and follow) the light. Is there such a thing as running and growing a business as an anticapitalist founder? We explore this topic and more in today's episode.

This week, I'm thrilled to introduce you to my friend Emily Aborn. One of the first things she asked me the first time we met was something along the lines of, "What's an ethical challenge to online business that's particularly interesting to you right now?" and I knew we were going to get along. Today, we're chatting about ethical content creation to create authentic and meaningful connection, especially amidst the conundrums that come with AI.

You know the crazy thing about taking that time to slow the hell down? I actually made more money in July than I did in June. So what did I learn? I'm reflecting and sharing insights with you this week in the second-ever solo episode of Big Brave Business!

What a thrill to have my friend and former client, Cheryl Ham, on the podcast this week. Cheryl jumped at something I said in a previous episode / on social media about the expression 'hire before you're ready' and felt passionately about coming on the podcast to dissect that advice and to help us understand when that advice is good and helpful, and when it's potentially toxic and harmful.

One of the things we hear all the time in the online business space these days is "trauma-informed." This was one of the fundamental keys to the discussion I had in today's episode with trauma-informed marketer, Stephanie Bilinsky. There are a lot of ethical questions and layers in online marketing in 2024 and beyond, and it was my honor and privilege to get to speak about some of these nuances with Stephanie.

If you've listened to this podcast for a little while, you might remember that I started my business in the wake of getting laid off. My guest today has had the distinct and unique pleasure of experiencing the trauma of getting laid off multiple times (which I literally can't imagine, what a powerhouse brave woman she is). Today, we're sharing our lay-off stories and also exploring how to build courage in entrepreneurship, especially after a lay-off.

Let's be honest, basically every entrepreneurial or business podcast out there has an episode about burnout. So when Alenka and I met on Threads and she mentioned she wanted to talk about burnout, I knew right away that I wanted to make sure this was a conversation that goes beyond just 'what is burnout,' 'what does burnout feel like,' 'how can you avoid burnout,' etc. Alenka and I explored the gendered nuances of burnout - and although there are many other factors and characteristics that can also impact your relationship with burnout, this episode is specifically about burnout for women.

Human Resources is such an interesting beast. I have certainly felt both the benefits and the obstacles of HR in a typical 9-5 corporate environment, and it's a whole other complicated aspect of business as a small business owner. I asked my friend, HR consultant Kirsten Zeigler, to join me for this week's episode of Big Brave Business to talk about HR's role in business, when we need HR, and the ethical complications with AND without HR.