Soulful Mba

In this episode, we check in with Jeni about her family’s maker business, Woodland Alchemy. It’s now been a year since the seed of an idea began to germinate into a creative outlet, a family hobby, and (eventually) a local artisan business. Where is the business now? What’s been Jeni’s proudest achievement? What lessons have they learned? What do they plan to do differently in the upcoming year? Joy: linen smock (similar) Hustle: Ken Burns on MasterClass  

Maura Manzo began to practice yoga to “learn to breathe” after a fire destroyed her home in 2006 and has been on a journey to share yoga with others ever since. Following her yoga teacher training, Maura raised $20,000 for HIV/AIDS programs in South Africa in collaboration with Off the Mat into the World. She considers that project a defining moment in her life and in taking her practice to the next level, both as a student and as a teacher. Maura has extensively studied trauma informed practices and the intersection of social justice and yoga and she is dedicated to making the practice of yoga more inclusive and accessible for all people. Maura’s deep commitment to building community shows up in all that she offers. Maura has been invited to teach at Wanderlust Philly, has been named one of Be Well Philly’s Top 5 Yogi’s to Watch, and was featured in Origin Magazine. She teachers classes, workshops, and trainings at her studio, Yoga Home, which also offers online classes through Namastream. Joy: Basketball G

We’re sharing the down and dirty details for how we track and manage the finances for our business. You’ll learn our favorite tip for reducing our year-end tax burden and we’ll share some suggestions for what types of information you should be tracking each month in your own business. What steps can you take now, before the end of the calendar year, to reduce your tax burden? What metrics should you be measuring each month? What is a customer journey and why/how should you be tracking it?   Joy: Seedlip Hustle: “I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You.”

After five years of immersion into entrepreneurship, we’ve learned a few things. Here’s the advice we’d like to share with our fellow founders, distilled into 23 suggestions for building an intentional business online.   These are the practices of Digital Artisanship: Identify your core values early. These will be your touchstone and will help you to navigate every difficult decision. Ask why. Daily. Don’t assume that what’s been right for others is right for you. Build it well. Quality matters. Strive to be an artisan with your work—whether you’re making soap or outlining an online course. Curiosity is essential. Your ability to approach problems with wonder will carry you through. Audit your supply chain. Prioritize your values over what’s cheap or convenient or fast. Hire the people whose work you want to see more of in the world. Embrace niching. This will be the key to your financial success. Understand a specific group of people and serve them well. Value relationships over transactions. Treat your emp

As with last year, we’re bringing you a recap of the year vis-à-vis our favorite things. Here are the links for you (think of it as a stellar gift guide or a place to bookmark for inspiration later on):   Best Books Jeni: The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore / Charlotte Walsh Likes To Win / The Female Persuasion: A NovelSandy: Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic. / Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.   Best Netflix Shows Sandy: Feminists: What Were They Thinking?Jeni: Salt Fat Acid Heat + (the book)   Best Purchase Jeni: kayakSandy: private pilates classes   Most Influential People Sandy: Tara MohrJeni: Sandy <3   Favorite Instagram Accounts Sandy: @selfportrait_societyJeni: @generalstore   Best Decisions Sandy: our return to wellnessJeni: finally putting our software on sale   Best Articles Sandy: Powerful Women Talk About PowerJeni: Reconsider / Signal v. Noise   Best Conference Jeni: She RecoversSandy: She Recovers   Best Podcasts Sandy: ZigZagJeni: Yoga Behind Bars: A Conve

Our industry has evolved significantly over the past decade, and this is perhaps best exemplified by the explosion of the Peloton brand. How does a spin bike company that’s now valued at a whopping $4 billion impact regular people like us? What changes are we seeing in the mainstream yoga industry? What are our own plans for the future? Listen on... Joy: The Sill Hustle: Dare to Lead / (available for sale in our Soulful MBA Shoppe)

“Ready” is relative. Most people who have done everything in the known universe to prepare themselves to become first-time parents, or move to a new country, or come out to their families will STILL be surprised or uneasy when the time comes. The same goes for launching an online business—even if you’ve taken ALL the courses and read ALL the books and worked with coaches, you’ll never be able to anticipate every triumph and setback. Which is totally, 100% fine. Because readiness isn’t about knowing exactly what to do in every situation, it’s about being prepared to bounce back when the unexpected arises. It’s about seeing where your unique talents meet a pressing customer need. It’s about attitude and energy and momentum and consistency. So how can you tell if you’ve got the right attitude, energy, and momentum to launch your online business RIGHT NOW? Here are seven indicators that you’re prepared to take the plunge: Your product or service addresses a need. You understand the risks. You have unwavering fai

In this episode, we’re discussing our favorite strategies for setting your new business (or new product, program, or service) up for success. How do you ensure that you’ll have paying customers when you open the virtual doors on day one? Which old-school marketing strategies should you be utilizing to gather your initial pool of students? How is a client roster different than an email list? We’re unpacking all of these questions and sharing our favorite advice for new online teachers in this episode... Joy: 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the WorldHustle: old-school paper flyers

Somehow, it’s November. (Anyone else feel like 2018 was about 15 minutes long?) And that means we’re hurtling toward the holiday season at quite a clip. And THAT means many of us are madly scrambling to concoct marketing plans that will help us take advantage of the upcoming gift-buying frenzy. We’d like to suggest a new twist: Make sure those marketing and business plans align with your ethics. It’s so easy to get sucked into the vortex of gift guides and gimmicks, clickbait and formulas. We totally get it. The online business world is crowded and cutthroat right now, and it’s tough to stick to your beliefs. It’s tough to resist when dozens of supposed-experts tell you to push your offerings hard and often and relentlessly. It’s tough to consider dialing back during a sales season when everyone else is amping up. But you can do this. You can do what’s right instead of what’s easy. And, in the long run, it’ll benefit your business. Why? Because you won’t burn out. You’ll remain aligned with your true goals an

In this episode, we share some previously unshared details about our business partnership... How we met. How we work together. The pitfalls. The benefits. We also explore our opinions on different kinds of business relationships. What about partnering with an investor? Or a technical co-founder? What are the ways to work together without dividing up your company? We’re both organically drawn to work collaboratively, so partnership was an ideal business decision for both of us. Our business is like a shared child, and we trust each other to steward the company and serve as an equal decision maker. In our case, the whole is truly greater than the sum of the parts. Joy: jenifer lake ceramics Hustle: The Four Agreements (especially the audiobook version)

“In 2018, there is no earthly reason, biological or otherwise, why men should have more power than women.” - Hanna Rosin In this episode, we explore our relationships to power. Are you comfortable with the concept of power? What about empowerment? What about laying claim to your own power (Can you get behind the idea of power for other women, but not for yourself)? This is a term that many of us wrestle with regularly in our work and lives. Perhaps we ought to take Mary Beard up on her suggestion to transform power from a noun into a verb. This way, it is less about power being a character trait and more about power being an intentional practice, comprised of multiple daily acts. Our takeaway? Collectively, we need to stop judging other women for exercising power, while constantly finding ways to effect our own. Joy: Cauldron Hustle: Powerful Women Talk About Power (And Powerlessness)

“The view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. It can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value.” — Carol Dweck In this episode, we discuss Carol Dweck’s work on the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. The bottom line? Your true potential is unknown and malleable. It is so often shaped by the internal language you use to define your experience. How can you overcome a fixed mindset? Identify it, recognize it, name it, and ask for help. Joy: Vijay Gupta Hustle: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Word-of-mouth is priceless. Every business that wants to grow (or grow fast) needs a solid online marketing strategy and a few well-timed ads, but organic promotion will always be king. When your customers spread the word about your business, they do so to people who already know and trust them. Personal referrals feel more genuine to the listener, which means they’re more likely to lead to action than sterile, geo-targeted Facebook ads. If your clients say glowing things about your services, they’re happily and naturally endorsing your wellness business. If actual, word-of-mouth is priceless, online reviews are platinum. Meaning online approval is slightly less valuable to your business, but not by much! Recent research shows that 97% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, and 85% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. And we’re not talking testimonials on your own website, we’re talking about third-party platforms where reviewers can be candid and honest. We’re talking abo

In this episode, we interview entrepreneur Rynda Laurel—who has an extensive background in the entertainment industry and with building brands in the online space. She is on a mission to help more people learn about the natural ways they can supplement their bodies and brains to truly become happy, joyous, and free. Rynda, who has a background in the music industry, is a highly sought-after consultant and currently works with a select number innovative, like-minded entrepreneurs, lifestyle brands, content creators, and experiential events. She has helped to grow multiple companies and ventures. Her network is vast and she has a knack for combining creative concepts with the right people to get achieve powerful results. Rynda has also just launched VRYeveryday, a supplement line supporting mental health and well-being. She has over 25 years of continuous sobriety and recovery from drug addiction and almost 3 years of full remission from clinical depression. It’s not everyday that you meet a woman who took it u

“Your heart knows about your career the same way that it does about a relationship…the houses of success and failure sit right next to each other.” - Kayce Brown In this episode, we share our recent conversation with business strategist and innovator, Kayce Brown. Kayce predicts trends and seizes opportunity. She’s hard to put into a box. She is creative, impactful, and disruptive. Following over a decade in the film industry, her unique blend of talent and expertise sit at the cross-section of tech, pop culture, social good, and entertainment. Kayce’s deep knowledge and experience within these industries have allowed her to make connections and strategically partner with global brands, influencers, nonprofits, and media. (Kayce has worked with everyone from Uber to the NFL, from Bird scooters to GYFT, a recently launched digital pregnancy companion.) In this conversation, we get a peek into Kayce’s mindset, and she shares some invaluable advice for all of us in the process. Other Mentions: Mindset: The New

This podcast has become a diary of our business, our friendship, and a place to explore our evolving ideas about entrepreneurship. As we hit the 100th episode mark, listen in to learn about why we love recording this show, our plans for the podcast moving forward, and what we are working to improve upon. Joy: Sunrise Rock Everything OilHustle: How to Book and Prep Podcast Guests / Power Your Podcast with Storytelling

“American women are liberated, but they’re not empowered.” - Tara Sophia Mohr This episode features a raw conversation about our roles as mothers and feminists, our differing responsibilities, and the complex relationship we each have with financial security. Whenever we travel for our businesses, we encounter the double standards that have come to define our lives as modern women and mothers. It’s the truth. The truth is messy. Joy: Malibu Beach House Airbnb / diane krön chocolatier Hustle: The Wealthy Feminist / Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood

Today’s episode features an interview with Jess Frank, who serves as the Program Director for Yoga Behind Bars (or YBB for short). YBB is a Washington State-based nonprofit that has been sharing trauma-informed yoga and meditation with thousands of incarcerated youth and adults since 2008. Starting this month, September 2018, the organization’s comprehensive trauma-informed training will be available online for the very first time. (Full Disclosure: YBB is working with us via Namastream to host this program and we’re so humbled that Jess and her team have chosen to use our platform). Jess’s passion for providing transformative opportunities to incarcerated people sparked at the start of her career and has only grown since she became a YBB instructor nearly 5 years ago. As a program coordinator for the Post Prison Education Program and University Beyond Bars, Jess became both intimately acquainted with the challenges facing people in the criminal justice system and deeply inspired by the dedication of the stud

Every new business needs a sidekick–someone who understands how to set up shop, maneuver taxes and licensing issues, and build out some basic spreadsheets. In this episode we interview Jenny MacLeod (aka “Jenny Girl Friday”), who has been working one-on-one with self-employed women for over five years. She’s on a new mission to make those necessary business chores easier and even fun…for every single self-employed woman in Seattle. As a small business owner herself, Jenny offers Sidekick Services (tax reminders + how-to articles via email), one-time consults, workshops, and, coming SOON, an online business apothecary.  She also released a book last year, How to Become Self-Employed in Seattle: A Guidebook, Companion, and Reference. Jenny lives in Seattle in a half-finished house, with her husband Alex and two teenagers. You might spot her driving around town in her VW bus on her way to yoga or happy hour. Amazing, Jenny has never owned a cell-phone and she built her business out of the belief that self-employ

We’re giving you an insider peek into our biannual business planning process. Our second 2018 business retreat is happening next week in a Malibu beach house (we can’t wait). In this episode, we walk you though our metrics analysis and tracking process, how we set and evaluate goals, how we choose the next features for our software, and why we incorporate trend forecasting into our retreats. We also reveal some updates related to our our Soulful MBA course + community! Joy: State the LabelHustle: Take a business retreat of your own.