Podcast Archives | What Works

EP 365: Asking Abundant Questions To Solve Business Challenges

Nov 30, 2021 | Mindset & Identity, Podcast

Truthfully, I’m not sure I can define abundance succinctly.

What it means to me is a present knowing that I am enough, that I have enough, and that there is enough time, attention, and support to live a meaningful life and do meaningful work. I can’t say that this is my mindset at all times—far from it.

But in the times when I’m feeling most hopeless or desperate, it’s the mindset that I eventually bring myself back to. It’s the Truth that’s guided difficult decisions and unlocked completely unexpected paths forward. An abundance mindset—when I’m truly in it—shifts my perception and presents new possibilities.

Maybe one way to think about it is that an abundance mindset isn’t so much an answer to the problems of scarcity, urgency, and precarity, but a series of questions that remind you there is always a way forward.

Throughout this month, my goal has been to speak some of those questions out loud. Hopefully, you’ve experienced at least a small shift in perception as a result.

Today, we’ll round out this series with 3 more stories about interesting questions and new ways forward. You’ll hear from sales coach Allison Davis, business strategist AnnMarie Rose, and Athena Village founder Kelly Pratt. Listen for the shift in perception that allowed them to see a new possibility for their work and businesses.

EP 364: The Abundant Value of Virtual Assistants with Janice Plado Dalager

Nov 23, 2021 | Business Models, Podcast

I’ve seen a lot of entitlement to service without regard for the person doing the work.

And that’s why I was desperate to have this conversation with Janice Plado Dalager.

Janice is a virtual assistant, consultant, and the founder of Janice Your VA. She manages a team of virtual assistants who pride themselves on making the lives on entrepreneurs and small business owners easier.

Just like me, Janice has seen some shit. She’s also been on the receiving end of that shit and has learned how to navigate the world of virtual assisting to avoid most of it.

Our conversation is all about the dynamics between support contractors and the small business owners who hire them. We explore how these relationships break down, the hidden skills that make the people in these roles so valuable, and why this class divide persists. We also touch on the gendered and racialized aspect of support work—and how small business owners often find themselves playing out the mistreatment they’ve experienced.

My hope is that this conversation changes the way you think about how you hire, who you hire, and the relationships you develop along the way.

Janice and I couldn’t help ourselves and dove right into the conversation—I’ve edited it lightly for flow and clarity.

Strap in for this conversation about the entrepreneurial class divide with Janice Plado Dalager.

EP 363: Making The Hard Call With 90-Day Business Launch Founder Michelle Ward

Nov 16, 2021 | Business Models, Podcast

I’ve known When I Grow Up Coach Michelle Ward almost as long as I’ve been working for myself. So when she emailed me a couple of weeks ago to ask if she could come on the pod to talk about how she’d retired the When I Grow Up Coach brand and gone all-in on her 90-Day Business Launch program, I said: hell yeah!

This is a story about wrestling with long-term success and the decision to go a different way. It’s also a story about recognizing that, any time you make a big move, things like money and marketing won’t magically stay the same. And finally, it’s a story about recognizing abundant long-term opportunity over short-term consistency.

Now, let’s find out What Works for Michelle Ward!

Debunking The Myth Of Scarce Attention

Nov 9, 2021 | Culture, Marketing, Podcast

I’m starting to wonder whether attention is *really* a scarce resource. Perhaps what is truly scarce are media and messages worth paying attention to.

When we make work designed to satisfy the demands of the algorithm, we’re rarely making work that satisfies the interests of the people we want to connect with. Just because something gets likes or reach doesn’t mean people are really paying attention.

EP 361: Embracing Your Whole Identity With Coach & Consultant Angela Browne

Nov 2, 2021 | Mindset & Identity, Podcast

This week, my guest is Angela Browne, a coach for luminaries and a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant for organizations. Part of our conversation is about the way she’s learned to bring her whole self into her work—whether in her former work as a head teacher or in her roles.

But another key part of our conversation revolves around abundant curiosity—the kind that is willing to ask bold questions without needing to have definitive answers.

My hope is that this conversation will inspire you to consider how you can both make space for your many identities in the way you work and make space for abundant curiosity.

Now, let’s find out what works for Angie Browne!

EP 360: Slowing Down To Make Sustainable Choices

Oct 26, 2021 | Mindset & Identity, Operations, Podcast, Productivity, Time Management

Today, you’re going to hear from 4 other business owners who have also found that slowing down has helped them operationalize their values in their businesses.

You’ll hear from Sarah Cottrell, the founder of Former Lawyer, Gracy Obuchowicz, a self-care consultant for companies & organizations, Yvette Ramos-Volz, a glass artist & aromatherapist, and Jennie Morris, the founder of Vegology.

Each one is finding ways to create the necessary space to check in with their core values before making decisions about their business—big or small. By slowing down, they make their values a core operational consideration, instead of merely good copy on a website.

EP 359: Operating An Ethical Business With the ethical move Founder Alice Karolina

Oct 19, 2021 | Culture, Marketing, Podcast, Sales

When you orient your motive toward making room for difference, including people who’s experiences aren’t like yours, taking steps to not hurt people with your business, I think you can find both some peace and the motivation for real, lasting change.

Today, I have a conversation with Alice Karolina. Alice is a brand strategist as well as the founder of the ethical move, which champions ethical marketing and sales among small business owners.

Alice and I talk about how the ethical move came to be, the values that guide the work the ethical move does, and how the business is set to evolve into the future.

Now, let’s find out what works for Alice Karolina.

EP 358: Imagining New Ways To Work With Future Proof Skills Lab Founder Liz Wiltsie

Oct 12, 2021 | Culture, Podcast

My guest today is a perfect example of this. Liz Wiltsie is the founder of the Future Proof Skills Lab and the host of Sustainably Human At Work. She’s a trauma-informed, abolitionist skill builder on a quest to support small business owners to create more intentional, imaginative, and connected workplaces.

Liz and I talk through the values her business is built on, as well as the movements her business uses as the focal point of her work. Plus, she sheds some light on how both our needs and our values end up manifesting in different ways, as well as how that applies to the workplace.

Now, let’s find out what works for Liz Wiltsie.

EP 357: Building A Business Based On What Matters With Coach Mara Glatzel

Oct 5, 2021 | Culture, Operations, Podcast

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how much we take existing systems and ways of working for granted—and then find ways to operate within those conventions that make us feel like we’re honoring our values. Instead of getting clear on what actually honoring our values looks like and then deciding whether we can participate in existing systems and ways of working—or whether we need to create something new.

And that’s where today’s conversation with coach, podcaster, and writer Mara Glatzel begins. Mara is the host of Needy, the creator of Tend, and the kind of person I naturally think of when I think about operationalizing values. But what you’ll hear Mara tell me first is that, a while back, she realized that the kind of life and work she wanted for her clients wasn’t the kind of life and work she had structured for herself.

That’s easy to understand since Mara’s values and the values her business is built on run counter to the values of capitalism and workism.

What I’d love for you to think about as you listen to this important conversation is what you take for granted as you build your business. What assumptions do you bring with you? What shoulds and supposed-tos get in the way of fully realizing—and operationalizing—your business’s values?

Mara and I unpack how she did that for herself and what’s come out of the process—and I think you’ll find the conversation a creative jumpstart for considering how you could do things differently too.

Now, let’s find out What Works for Mara Glatzel.

EP 356: Creating A System Of Care

Sep 28, 2021 | Operations, Podcast

Today, I have 3 more contributions to this month’s discussion about systems. Each one tackles a different aspect of this idea that “systems just are.”

Writer Mary Beth Huwe shares a beautiful definition for systems as a whole and how that applies to the way she approaches working with her clients.

Krysta Williams, an artist and systems support person for small businesses, shares how seeing businesses as systems has led her to a more holistic approach to business-building support.

And Amy Kuretsky, an acupuncturist and business coach balancing two businesses, shares how she created a care system for herself as an entrepreneur to make sure she has what she needs as her businesses see massive growth.

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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.