Soulful Mba

This episode touches on our use of the word “guys” (and why it is so problematic). Usage of this term has seen a massive rise since the advent of the Internet, but it creates a subtle, yet troubling speech pattern for the plight of women. There is no gender-neutral, plural pronoun in the English language (unlike Spanish or German or a host of other languages), but choosing to default to an informal masculine plural pronoun is not the answer. The language that we choose to use each and everyday matters; by opting to be lazy with our language, we add more fodder to an existing series of microaggressions against women. According to Sherryl Kleinman, Professor Emeritus of  Sociology at UNC Chapel Hill, “...women want to be included in the term that refers to the higher-status group: men. But while being labeled one of the guys might make women feel included, it’s only a guise of inclusion, not the reality. If women were really included we wouldn’t have to disappear into the word guys.” Amen, sister. Other Mention

A cognition crisis is not defined by a lack of information, knowledge or skills. We have done a fine job in accumulating those and passing them along across millennia. Rather, this a crisis at the core of what makes us human: the dynamic interplay between our brain and our environment — the ever-present cycle between how we perceive our surroundings, integrate this information, and act upon it. - Adam Gazzaley We were profoundly rocked this summer by Jaron Lanier’s new book: Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, and this podcast episode explores the reasons why this book has had such an immense impact on each of us. How does social media impact our access to economic dignity? What are the long-term implications of new technology? Why is the freemium model of social media so dangerous and why does the success of HBO and Netflix highlight what’s wrong with free software? What does social media and artificial intelligence have to do with religion and spirituality? Other Mentions: The

This episode explores some recent news stories that have caught our attention, including articles that explore topics like facial recognition software, gender imbalance in journalism, and the ubiquity of product-placement ads in mainstream publications geared toward women. It’s all a bit heavy, isn’t it? Joy: make something by hand Hustle: NPR’s sexist blunder is proof that women’s work isn’t just overlooked—it’s erased / Women’s Media Is a Scam / How Facial Recognition Could Tear Us Apart / The Calmest iPhone Yet

We’ve been thinking a lot lately about the value of building a personal brand, even though this is a concept that makes the two of us a bit uncomfortable. We’ve both been known to “hide” behind our corporate brand because we’re part of a larger team, but are we doing this at the expense of our future success? There’s a feeling that many women share, that we need to have a doctorate (or more!) in a subject in order to speak publicly about it. But the truth we're realizing is, that in business, we each just need to show up fully as our imperfect selves. Some great examples of personal brands we follow: Patricia Russo, Danielle LaPorte, Carmenspagnola, Elena Brower, Lisa Lister, Brené Brown. Joy: How to Make Shrubs, Girl Meets Dirt Hustle: 2 Years From Now, If You Don’t Have A Personal Brand, Nobody Is Going To Work With You

Change is the only constant in life (and business). Here are a handful of interesting trends/shifts that we’ve been noticing over the past few months:    Email Marketing: The traditional advice in the online business space has been to grow your list and email your subscribers A LOT. The new trend we’re noticing? Email only when you have something of value to share. As the Internet has become more noisy, we need to be mindful about adding to the cacophony… Live Video: Part of showing up and embodying your brand these days involves live video. We don’t see this trend going away anytime soon, so we suggest becoming comfortable with this medium if you’re looking to grow your business online. Long-Form Blogging: Put out LESS content, but make it BETTER. It should be in-depth, comprehensive, and useful for your quintessential clients. Audio + Digital: The sweet spot of business (and modern culture) is increasingly the intermixing of digital and analog. Human connection PLUS (or via) tech. Passive income is g

As a follow-up to Part 1 of our Online Coaching conversation, this episode reveals some specific tips for how to determine pricing for your live-streamed coaching sessions. Let’s start with a huge and incredibly important DON’T: Never sell your services by the hour (or even by the session). Going this route means giving your clients total control of your process and an escape hatch if the work gets too tough. (Of course, you’d never want to trick your clients into purchasing more services than they need, but most clients need far more support than they realize.) One big breakthrough is not enough; they may feel done long before they actually are done. What’s the alternative? Create packages of sessions. Doing this allows you to deliver real value to your clients, truly help them improve and develop, and embrace a business strategy that creates sustainable income for you as a coach. Here are some rules of thumb for pricing your online coaching packages: Keep it simple. Offer at least three options / levels. K

We’re bringing back Office Hours this week to discuss the practical tactics of how to take your in-person coaching practice online. It’s a little known fact that online one-on-one coaching sessions are often more reliable money-makers than courses or memberships! Far too many entrepreneurs dive into launching an online course before they’re truly ready. And courses may seem like “passive” revenue streams, but they actually require some serious prep work and behind-the-scenes management. One-on-one online consults, on the other hand, are the perfect way to build both revenue and clout while offering valuable services to eager clients. You may want to eventually build a course, but starting with online coaching sessions can help you build the foundation you’ll need to make that future online course a massive success. Need more reasons to take the live-streaming route right now for your coaching business? Here you go: Private online coaching requires virtually no prep. Unlike pre-taped videos, classes, and cour

We’ve been collecting some of our favorite resources to share with you this summer, including our newest Instagram favorites, some powerful, yet simple, tech tools to try out, our favorite new podcasts, and some bonus online shops that we recommend you check out. Favorite Instagram Accounts Sandy: @helloplantlady / @knitatude / @thehellyeslifeJeni: @accidentallywesanderson / @riseandwander / @ritual_botanicaBusiness + Tech Resources Sandy: CutStory for Instagram StoriesJeni: DuckDuckGo Chrome Extension Podcasts We’re Crushing On Sandy: Call Your Girlfriend / Ear HustleJeni: Werk It: The Podcast  Online ShopsSandy: Piece on Peace / RMS BeautyJeni: Primary Children’s Clothing

“The fitness industry needs this invitation towards embodiment.” - Brooke Tyler In this episode of the podcast, we interview powerhouse Namastream client Brooke Tyler about her experience growing her Asheville, NC-based acupuncture and pilates studio online. After growing her local studio and clinical business to a 4,000+ ft location with twelve employees, you’ll learn why Brooke chose to pursue the online growth path (rather than opening up an additional studio location). Brooke discusses her decision to incorporate seasonality into her online program, how she balances single motherhood with her business, and the specific way that she schedules her time each week and month to fit everything in.  Connect with Brooke: Clasique Acupuncture & Pilates Studio / Core Self Online / Instagram 1, 2, 3 Other Mentions: Dorothee VandeWalle Joy: You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life / You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth Hustle: blank journal

In this episode, we interview beloved Namastream client, Nikiki Estrada, about her transition to online business. Nikki, who lives in Northern California with her husband and two daughters, has more than 20 years of teaching experience and has been leading 200- and 300-hour teaching trainings for more than a dozen years. She is YA500hr E-RYT and was Director of Trainer Development for YogaWorks for more than 7 years, where she supported and mentored teacher trainers. She leads intensives, immersions, and workshop series in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. In addition to offering her own yoga membership on Namastream, Nikki contributes to Yoga International, served as a 2016 Athleta Ambassador (for embodying the Power of She), was sponsored by Zobha, has presented at Yoga Journal conferences, and was voted best yoga teacher by Marin Magazine in 2016. In our conversation, Nikki shares her opinion on the relationship between yoga and tech and offers tactical insight for building a thriving virtual studio.

In this episode, we dive into our “must read” books for the summer. Here they are, in no particular order… Sandy: Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic. / Warlight: A novel / Walden / The Josephine B Trilogy / The Female Persuasion: A Novel Jeni: Tell the Machine Goodnight: A Novel / The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from a Secret World / Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead / Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World / The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More   Joy: The Crafter’s BoxHustle: VSCO

At some point in our mainstream culture, brand authenticity started to equate to the physical reality of the space where we are completing our work—but that’s often the least interesting part of what we do. More interesting questions: What is your work making possible? How is it impacting our culture? Our guest today, Amy Walsh, reveals that deep expertise in Photoshop and an eye for a pretty flat lay is not a requirement for producing interesting and important imagery for your brand. Amy is an artist, visual storytelling specialist, sculptural worldmaker, and founder of the Bureau of Tactical Imagination. She helps people uncover the visual story of their work, and use it to communicate their most important ideas. As a visual artist she has exhibited in places as institutional as museums and as everyday as the streets. She has devoted her life to understanding and teaching about visual culture and creative process - a road that winds through her work as a university educator, a museum exhibit interactive des

With summer upon us, we dive into the concept of vacation in this episode (and the cultural and legal differences between the United States and Canada). With Sandy about to take an extended trip to Europe, we discuss the importance of time off and reflect on some of our favorite trips. Joy: Daily HarvestHustle: Logitech Slim Folio

“Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.” - Leonardo da Vinci In this episode, we interview Namastream client, Kate Case. At the intersection of Eastern wisdom and Western science, Kate's body of work combines twenty years of experience as a professional yoga therapist, yoga teacher, Thai massage therapist, Eastern medicine (Chinese medicine and Ayurveda) practitioner, women’s wellness leader, women’s moon circle facilitator, and eastern energy anatomy expert. Kate is a Nature-based Yogini, Moon Maven, Ritual Queen, Anatomy Geek, and Hormone Whisperer specializing in women's health, cycles, rhythms, body wisdom, and soulful integration. You can learn more about Kate’s company, SHE Collective (the “SHE” stands for soulful, holistic, and embodied) here and her Ritual Box sub

Inspired by a recent graduation speech by Abby Wambach and the classic book by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run with the Wolves, this podcast episode dives into the importance of women supporting one another in business and life. In her 2018 commencement address to Barnard College, Abby Wambach delivers four pieces of advice to women embarking on their careers out of college. This is amazing advice for young women, but we believe that these themes are universal: Make failure your fuel. Lead from the bench. Champion each other. Demand the ball. We’re grateful to be part of this collective wolfpack with each of you… Joy: 2018 Barnard Commencement Address Remarks as Delivered, video versionHustle: 13 Reasons Why You Should Read “Women Who Run With the Wolves” Instead

This episode features an interview Mae Karwowski, the founder of Obviously—a tech startup that matches brands with social media influencers. After working in social media management after of college, Mae had a hunch that influencer marketing was coming and had an idea to build a different kind of business—pairing an agency with a tech platform. Mae has gathered a team of experts to help her turn her vision into a reality, and in the process, she’s built a client roster of some of the world’s most iconic brands. We loved interviewing Mae, a fellow bootstrapped female founder, because her story is incredibly inspiring and her experience is so similar, in many ways, to ours. Listen in to learn why innovation requires thinking outside of the box and why listening to your customers is such a powerful strategy for getting an edge on the competition.  Other Mentions: obvious.ly, Mae on Instagram Joy: half-day FridaysHustle: Trello

In this episode, we dive into Jeni’s new side hustle, Woodland Alchemy. Listen in to learn about why she created a new business this year with her young daughter and how she fits it in while running our software company and co-hosting this podcast. Other Mentions: Stop Stealing Dreams: What is School For? Joy: Woodland AlchemyHustle: OnlineLabels.com

In this episode, we chat with Seattle-based communications expert Dr. Michelle Mazur. Michelle’s motto is “Incite Action Always” and she’s known as the Communication Rebel. Michelle has a PhD in Communication and was a university professor prior to starting her own online business. We chat with Michelle about her own entrepreneurial journey and then dive into her process for helping brands to craft their unique three-word “rebellion” (and why it matters to do so).  Other Mentions: Michelle Mazur’s website (where you can download her “3 Word Rebellion” worksheets for free!) Joy: Game of ThronesHustle: The Four Tendencies

“Like workout culture, wellness is a form of conspicuous consumption. It is only the wealthy who have the resources to maintain the illusion of an integral and bounded self, capable of responsible self-care and thus worthy of social status. The same logic says that those who smoke (read: poor), or don’t eat right (poor again), or don’t exercise enough (also poor) have personally failed and somehow deserve their health problems and low life expectancy.” - Gabriel Winant We explore some controversial themes in this episode as we question the fundamental societal shifts that have caused “wellness” to explode as an industry in North America (and “medicine” to effectively function as big business). Although we’ve questioned some of our culture’s intense demands for “productivity” and “exercise culture” in the past, this is the first time that we’re questioning the concept of mindfulness. We’re not placing any stakes in ground on this issue quite yet, but the conversation is important.   Joy: Joule Sous VideHustle:

In this episode, we interview video marketing expert Dana Goldstein. Dana’s company, ChicFlicks, is Calgary’s leader in video production for small to medium sized businesses. She specializes in helping women business owners effectively share their stories with authenticity. In this interview, we dive into Dana’s entrepreneurial journey from journalist to mom to entrepreneur and author. She shares advice on how to best integrate live video into your social media presence and how to keep your social media schedule grounded and realistic. Other Mentions: Dana’s website Joy: Google HomeHustle: Dubsado