The world of business—big business, small business, micro business—has a bias for more. More revenue equals a more valuable company. More users equal a more valuable platform. More followers equal more valuable content. And that bias for more has largely been...
While there are many white women entrepreneurs who are on this journey with me, few have been so public about her learning, her missteps, and the action she’s taking in her business as Whole30’s Melissa Urban.
About a year ago, shortly after I finished my own life-changing Whole30, I noticed that Melissa announced she was searching for someone to lead diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for her company. I kept my eye on those developments and always enjoyed seeing her update her audience on the hire and progress they were making.
So when we decided to do this month on leadership, I knew I wanted to talk with Melissa and the woman she hired to fill this role, Dr. Carrie Kholi-Murchison, now Whole30’s Director of People & Culture. I wanted to find out why and how Melissa has been leading so publicly on this front—and I also wanted to find out what Kholi was doing to lead this change internally in the organization.
This conversation has been several months in the making—even though we recorded it less than a week ago! And I am so excited to share it with you.
Alright, here’s what Melissa, Kholi, and I talked about in this conversation: how Melissa gradually woke up to the lack of diversity and inclusion in the Whole30 community, why she thought free equalled accessible and open to everyone, and the work she’s had to do to not immediately get defensive when someone points out something potentially harmful. Kholi shares how she pushed Melissa on whether Whole30 was just a wellness cult for while women, the challenges of doing DEI work with an internet business, and the specific projects they’ve launched to make the Whole30 a more inclusive community.
Today, my guest is Rob Walling and Rob is committed to doing things differently.
Rob is best known for his leadership in the world of bootstrapped software-as-a-service businesses. He is the founder of Drip, MicroConf, and most recently TinySeed. He’s also the host of Startups for the Rest of Us and the author of Start Small, Stay Small.
Rob has chosen, from the beginning, to do things differently—and the reason is his values. His values led him to realize that he could build a business without playing by everyone else’s rules—and that’s made him a leader for thousands of others who are looking to do things differently too.
I talk with Rob about the throughline that weaves his different ventures together, the values that define his work, how his community and events are a reaction to the “standard” in his field, and how he views his role as a leader. Plus, I ask him how he’s ensuring his values continue to play out as his community rapidly expands.
But today, my guest is Erica Courdae, the founder of Silver Immersion, a Baltimore-area hair and makeup business, as well as a diversity, equity, and inclusion coach.
She’s also the host of Pause On The Play, a podcast where she shares insight and expertise on fulfilling your values for diversity and inclusion in your business.
I met Erica at She Podcasts Live! in Atlanta last October and I knew she’d be a perfect fit to kick off this month on leadership.
Erica and I talk about the frustrating origin story of her first business and whether she’s always been someone willing to speak up and share her truth.
We also talk about how she models her values for her team members and the clients they service—and why that’s a key part of how she leads. Plus, we talk about why she ventured into the world of coaching and how she settled on diversity, equity, and inclusion as her specialty.
This is a great episode to listen to if you’ve felt the call to bring your own values into your business more concretely but don’t know where to start or how to lead the change.
Andréa Jones has worked with hundreds of small businesses, startups, and podcasters since 2014 by helping them create social media strategies that save them time and amplify their message. She’s also the host of the Savvy Social Podcast, a weekly show for budding entrepreneurs and she’s the founder of Social Media for Podcasts, a social media agency for podcasters by podcasters.
But I didn’t ask Andrea on the show to talk about crushing it on social media.
Instead, Andrea and I talk about how she uses social media behind the scenes to develop relationships with people who can help her get in front of the right people. She explains step-by-step exactly what she does to find people to connect with, start a conversation, and follow up—plus, how she manages it all in Asana.
It’s possible to design a product people are clamoring to buy AND for that product to serve a much, much bigger mission. Learn how Fear Her Fight Athletics founder Maria Rodriguez combines smart product development & activism.
Tara’s business has changed a lot over the last 10 years. Find out more about the journey–and why CoCommercial is now The What Works Network.
Mia Scharphie believes in the power of a virtuous circle. It’s all about proactively cultivating the business allies within your realm who help take you to new heights — in business and in life. In this episode, Mia shares exactly how she cultivates strong business allies by making asks, connecting over a virtual coffee date with people she admires, and so much more.
It’s important to show your customers that you care. But saying “thanks” can be more than a note or gift. We asked 5 small business owners what works when it comes to showing gratitude and elevating your customer experience.
When Elena Rue was pregnant with her first child, she didn’t meet with leads in person once she started showing. “I didn’t want them to assume that’s going to change StoryMine,” she says. Which, of course, it didn’t. Instead, it altered her perspective on running a creative business as a parent — for the better.
Host of What Works
Tara is a podcaster, small business community leader, strategist, and speaker. She’s been helping small business owners build stronger businesses for over a decade.
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