I met Janne Robinson years before this podcast existed. Then, back when I joined the first cohort of her year-long program, Your Truth Is Your Medicine, I was rebuilding myself after a codependent marriage, and she was the first person who truly gave me permission to be who I am.

Janne is a poet, author, facilitator, and keynote speaker, and she has built a business by refusing to narrow herself down to one thing. Her anchor isn't a niche or a funnel. It's purpose. She treats every offer she makes as a 50-50 conversation between what excites her and what her audience actually wants, and she's at peace when the answer is no.

There's a thread Janne keeps coming back to around generosity, what she calls sharing the cow. It started at an archaeological site in Sedona and runs through everything from the scholarships she gives away to a whale trip a CEO gifted her, the one she's now turning into a retreat for other people. We talk about what it actually looks like to run a business that way, and why being public carries a real cost she chooses to pay anyway.

In this episode:

• Why purpose works as a filter for what to build next
• What it looks like to run a business as a multi-passionate person vs forcing yourself into one lane
• How Janne handles criticism and the cost of putting your real self in public
• Why your own story, not a tidied-up version of it, is the actual work

Connect with Janne Robinson:

Find Janne's first book This is for the Women Who Don't Give a Fuck here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1945796413

Find Janne's second book There's cobwebs on her Vagina here: https://www.amazon.com/Theres-Cobwebs-Her-Vagina-Collection/dp/1734042109

Book a consultation to do purpose work 1-1 with Janne here: https://hello.dubsado.com/public/form/view/646333e19b539e6b47ed9138

For Organizations (Speaking, Executive Coaching, Culture Repair and Enhancement Work): https://jannerobinson.com/organizations

Swim with the Humpback Whales Retreat (2027): https://janne-robinson.mykajabi.com/2027-retreat

Connect with Leslie Silverman:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/

Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com

Chapters:

01:49 Janne's Methodology and Impact

02:42 Personal Life and Creative Endeavors

02:48 Generosity and Boundaries in Community Living

38:53 Cultural Wisdom and the Power of Prayer

42:00 The Healing Power of Whales and Nature

45:50 Reconnecting with Community and Personal Joy

49:27 The Courage to Share Your Truth in Writing

52:46 Coaching and Retreat Opportunities

In this episode of A Category of One, I sat down with Jessica Millhiser, the founder of J.Mills Consulting and an operations strategist who helps service-based entrepreneurs build businesses that are clear, organized, and intentional. Jessica's work sits at the intersection of structure and intuition, and that combination is rare.

We talked about what it actually takes to build a business you can step away from. Jessica took nine weeks off last year and her business grew 34%. That number tells you something, but the conversation underneath it tells you more. It's about how you design a business in the first place, what you stop chasing, and what you let yourself want.

Jessica wants to bring hospitality back to the forefront of how entrepreneurs run their businesses. Not hospitality as an industry, but as a posture. The way you treat people. The way your back-end operations show up as front-end client experience.

She also opens up about a single intuitive decision she made years ago that changed the entire shape of her life. It's one of those moments in a conversation that you don't see coming.

In this episode:

• Why slowing down is the actual prerequisite for sustainable growth
• What it means to bring hospitality back into a service-based business
• How operational clarity creates space for you to step away from your business
• The difference between time-for-money pricing and value-based pricing, and how to make the shift
• Why your ideal client is probably not you, and what that means for what you charge

Connect with Jessica Millhiser:

Website: https://www.jmillsconsulting.com/

Operations Audit (Free Resource): https://www.jmillsconsulting.com/operations-health-check

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicamillhiser/

Connect with Leslie Silverman:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman

Website: https://lesliesilverman.com

Branding Agency: https://hive180.com

Chapters:

00:49 Strategies for Building Intentional Businesses

01:06 Introduction to Jessica Millhiser's Work

04:02 The Importance of Intentionality in Business

07:00 Defining Success on Your Own Terms

09:57 Client Journey and Strategic Planning

13:09 Systems and Operations in Business

16:01 Bringing Hospitality into Business

18:44 Navigating Client Relationships and Pricing

21:53 The Shift from Time to Value-Based Pricing

24:52 Trusting Intuition in Business Decisions

27:49 Personal Stories and Life Lessons

30:44 Conclusion and Resources

In this episode of A Category of One, I sat down with Kelly O'Connell, founder of the brand studio Kind & Funny, to talk about creativity, self-expression, and what it looks like to stay connected to the version of yourself that existed before the world started shaping you.

Kelly is one of those people who walks into a room and gives everyone else permission to take up more space. She runs a brand studio. She paints over fashion ads. She hosts a monthly Self-Expression Club. She wears a tutu in public sometimes. And underneath all of it is a real practice of meeting herself where she is, of treating creativity as a way home rather than a performance.

We talked about how fashion became her daily check-in with who she is, why we don't see other people in our industry as competition, and what changed when she started building a business around being a human first. We also went into her ADHD diagnosis, what she's learned about shame and self-acceptance, and why parts work has been a quiet game-changer.

This one moves between the playful and the tender. Kelly is luminous, and the conversation reflects it.

In this episode:

• Why self-expression starts with asking "how do I want to feel today"
• The shift from scarcity to abundance with peers in your industry
• What an inner child has to do with how you show up at work
• ADHD, shame, and the practice of not doing it alone
• How parts work creates more grace and more room
• Building a business that sustains you as a human

Connect with Kelly O’Connell:

Website: https://www.kindandfunny.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/bekindandfunny/

Connect with Leslie Silverman:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman

Website: https://lesliesilverman.com

Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com

Chapters:

00:49 The Kind and Funny Brand Shop: Empowering Women-Owned Businesses

01:09 Introduction to Kelly O'Connell and Her Vision

01:33 The Art of Self-Expression

04:17 Fashion as a Personal Brand

07:16 The Power of Community and Collaboration

09:53 Embracing Authenticity and Individuality

12:49 The Self-Expression Club Experience

15:39 Creativity Beyond Boundaries

18:41 Navigating the Entrepreneurial Journey

21:36 Understanding ADHD and Self-Care

24:17 Vulnerability and Connection

27:07 The Journey of Self-Discovery

In this episode of A Category of One, I sat down with Paula Friedland, licensed counselor, certified life coach, actress, singer, and creator of Soul Speaks, a program she's been teaching in some form for nearly 20 years. Paula's work starts with public speaking but doesn't stay there. It opens into something most people don't expect: a practice of being fully yourself, with one person, in any room.

We talked about where Soul Speaks came from. A stand-up comedian with stage fright, a grassroots method, and Paula's own background in musical theater and therapy that she eventually stopped trying to keep separate. We got into what it actually means to find your voice versus find your words, why experienced speakers are often the hardest to teach, and what happens when a room full of people breathes together.

There's also a moment in this conversation about showers of appreciation, a practice Paula uses where an audience reflects back the essence they see in a speaker, not the content. It's about receiving. And how hard that is. And why it matters.

In this episode:

• Why finding your voice matters more than finding your words
• The Soul Speaks method: speaking to one person at a time, even in a crowd
• How the "landing breath" changes everything about presence
• What showers of appreciation reveal about self-worth and receiving
• Why experienced speakers are sometimes the hardest to reach
• How authentic networking and authentic speaking come from the same place

Connect with Paula Friedland:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/paula.friedland
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulafriedland/

Website: https://www.soulspeaks.biz/

Connect with Leslie Silverman:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman

Website: https://lesliesilverman.com

Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com

Chapters:

00:00 The Birth of Soul Speaks

02:45 The Intersection of Performance and Authenticity

06:00 Transformational Experiences in Public Speaking

09:02 The Journey from Acting to Coaching

11:52 Growth Mindset and Self-Expression

14:48 The Role of Breath and Somatic Practices

17:50 Receiving Appreciation and Building Connection

21:00 The Importance of Self-Love and Positive Self-Talk

23:44 Competing in Speaking Contests

26:51 Finding Your Voice Over Your Words

29:55 Soul Speaks Salons: A New Networking Approach

Gabby Jockers is a boudoir photographer based in Colorado, but that description doesn't really cover it. What she actually does is help women figure out what's standing between them and feeling at home in their own bodies, and then create an experience built around that. Not around what a boudoir shoot is supposed to look like. Around what each person actually needs.

This conversation goes a lot of places. We talk about how Gabby built a business by asking different questions than her industry was asking: the cookie-cutter shot lists, the heavy editing, the assumption that every woman wants to feel "sexy" in the same way. We talk about body neutrality versus body positivity, and why the difference matters more than most people realize. And we talk about something Gabby brings into her work that most photographers don't: the embodiment practices that help women quiet the inner critic long enough to actually be present for the experience.

We also get into what Gabby figured out when she scaled back her bookings. More space didn't mean less. It meant more energy, more creativity, and more passion for the work itself. And why she thinks the pressure to constantly produce is something worth questioning, not just managing.

In this episode:

• Why "empowering" became a word Gabby stopped using and what she does instead
• The difference between body positivity and body neutrality, and why it matters
• How meditation and embodiment practice became part of a photo shoot
• What happens when women see their images and realize the session was for them all along
• Why your worth isn't measured by your output and how to actually live that way

Connect with Gabby Jockers:

Website: https://embodiedartboudoir.com/

The Body Deck: https://embodiedartboudoir.com/the-body-deck/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/embodiedartboudoir/

Connect with Leslie Silverman:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman

Website: https://lesliesilverman.com

Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com

Chapters:

00:00 Understanding Boudoir Photography

03:13 The Unique Approach to Boudoir

06:02 Gabby's Origin Story

12:14 Empowerment and Body Image

17:56 The Body Deck and Affirmations

25:00 Work-Life Balance and Intentional Living

Marie Mack showed up to one online networking event, and that's where Leslie met her. One time. The universe was paying attention.

In this episode of A Category of One, Leslie sits down with Marie Mack, a business strategist, partnerships expert, and operations consultant who runs two complementary businesses entirely remotely. This conversation covers a lot of ground: how Marie went from blogging in 2014 to building a partnerships methodology, why she stopped copying what worked for other people, and what it actually looks like to show up as yourself in business when the platforms and strategies everyone else is using feel flat.

Marie's two businesses reflect two sides of the same instinct. Powerful Online Partnerships (POP) helps consultants, coaches, speakers, and authors grow their visibility through strategic referral partnerships, not ad spend, not cold outreach. Her consulting firm works at the operations level inside larger companies, where she functions more like a chief of staff than a COO: getting the whole orchestra to play together.

What runs underneath both is a specific kind of thinking: the belief that abundance is the operating system, not scarcity. That a referral you send out comes back. That the right collaboration doesn't cost you a lead; it multiplies them.

In this episode:

• Why Marie tried every business model that was working for others, and why none of them fit
• What strategic partnerships actually are (and what they're not)
• How referrals, list swaps, and podcast swaps work as a visibility strategy
• The difference between a chief of staff and a COO, and why it matters
• What it takes to be ready for partnerships, and the honest signs you're not yet

Connect with Marie Mack:

Website: https://powerfulonlinepartnerships.com/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-mack/

Connect with Leslie Silverman:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman

Website: https://lesliesilverman.com

Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com

Chapters:

00:00 Embracing Change: The Move to Idaho

04:57 The Power of Purging: Creating Space for New Beginnings

08:02 Building a Business Ecosystem: Marie's Entrepreneurial Journey

14:00 Finding Your Flow: The Importance of Intuition in Business

19:56 Powerful Online Partnerships: Collaborating for Success

26:53 Navigating Business Relationships: Referrals and Collaborations

31:45 Conducting Business: The Role of Operations in Success

In this episode of A Category of One, I sat down with Sadie Hessing, a curly hair specialist based in Boulder, Colorado, whose work goes far beyond hair.

This conversation started with curls, but it quickly opened up into something deeper. Sadie shares how so many people grow up seeing their hair as something to fix, and what begins to shift when that narrative changes. Not just in how it looks, but in how someone feels walking through the world.

We talk about the emotional side of hair, the identity tied to it, and why something that seems surface-level is often anything but.

Sadie also walks through how she’s built her business in a way that doesn’t follow the typical path. From evolving her services, to questioning industry norms, to continuing to learn even when there isn’t a clear roadmap to follow.

There’s also a thread throughout this conversation around transitions. Hormonal changes, aging, health shifts, even the process of growing something out or letting something go. And how much support people actually need in those in-between stages.

If you’ve ever felt like you were supposed to “fix” something about yourself to make it work, this conversation goes there in a real way.

In this episode:

• Why so many people grow up thinking their hair is a problem to solve
• What changes when you start working with your natural texture instead of against it
• The emotional and identity layers tied to hair
• Supporting people through transitions like gray hair, hormonal shifts, or post-chemo regrowth
• How Sadie built her business by questioning industry norms and continuing to evolve
• The gap in hair education and why she’s exploring trichology

Connect with Sadie Hessing:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/naturescurlssalon

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@naturescurlssalon

Website: https://www.naturescurlssalon.com

Connect with Leslie Silverman:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman

Website: https://lesliesilverman.com

Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com

00:00 Introduction 

02:39 Embracing Natural Curls: Sadie's Journey

05:33 The Emotional Connection to Curly Hair

08:33 Supporting Transitions: Hormonal Changes and Hair

11:49 Navigating Societal Expectations and Self-Expression

14:35 Innovative Ideas: Education for Parents and Eco-Friendly Practices

17:33 The Passion for Learning and Evolving in Business

20:27 The Importance of Holistic Approaches to Hair Care

23:10 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In this episode of A Category of One, I sit down with Danette Shaifer, a coach and certified Why Discovery facilitator through Simon Sinek’s Optimism Company, to explore what it actually looks like to get clear on your why—and then live from it.

This conversation started from a shared experience. Danette guided me through my own why discovery process, and what stood out wasn’t just the clarity—it was the permission. Permission to use language that already felt true. Permission to trust what had been there all along.

We talk about what happens when you stop “shoulding” yourself, step away from the expected path, and start making decisions from a place that feels aligned instead of prescribed.

There’s also an honest look at the in-between. The moments where things don’t feel clear. The pause that feels counterintuitive but ends up being the thing that moves everything forward.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What the why discovery process actually looks like in practice
• Why clarity often comes from someone else reflecting patterns back to you
• Leaving a successful corporate career without second guessing it
• The difference between pushing forward and taking a meaningful pause
• Letting go of what you thought your business “should” look like
• The role of intuition vs. structure in decision making
• How self-awareness shows up in both business and personal relationships
• Working through triggers instead of reacting to them
• The shift from hustle into a more intuitive way of working
• Why alignment makes decision making simpler

Connect with Danette Shaifer:

Website: https://www.florishion.com/empowher

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaiferd/

Connect with Leslie Silverman:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman

Website: https://lesliesilverman.com

Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com

Chapters:

00:00 Embracing Authenticity: The Journey Begins

02:55 The Power of Why Discovery

05:54 Navigating Career Transitions

08:55 Empowering Women in Leadership

11:55 The Importance of Self-Discovery

14:49 Integrating Personal and Professional Growth

17:47 Resilience Through Adversity

20:48 The Role of Parenting in Personal Growth

24:01 Evolving as Entrepreneurs

26:51 The Power of the Pause

30:01 Embracing Feminine Energy

33:07 Connecting Generations

35:49 Calling in Women Leaders

In this episode of A Category of One, I sit down with Emily Garcia, keynote speaker and founder of Tribe Mind Body Wellness, a counseling practice that has grown far beyond what she originally set out to build.

This conversation starts with what happens when you pay attention to what’s pulling you, even when it doesn’t make logical sense.

Emily shares how her business evolved from a solo practice into a team of 16 without a traditional growth plan, what it looked like to leave a role she felt responsible to stay in, and the moment she knew in her body she had made the right decision.

We get into the tension between stability and alignment, how leadership can feel uncomfortable even as you grow into it, and why so much of what she has built came from stepping away long enough to actually hear herself think.

There’s also a deeper thread around belonging, relationships, and the idea behind “tribe” — not as a concept, but as something people are actively missing.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The moment she realized staying in her job was no longer sustainable
• Building a business without forcing a growth plan
• What it actually feels like to trust yourself in real time
• The difference between logical decisions and internal knowing
• Leadership, boundaries, and still finding hard conversations hard
• Why stepping away created clarity she couldn’t access while busy
• The role of relationships in overall wellbeing

Connect with Emily Garcia:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/emilytribemindbody

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tribemindbodywellness/

https://www.instagram.com/emilygarciaspeaks

LI: www.linkedin.com/in/emily-garcia-tribe

Website (swag too): https://tribemindbody.com/

Connect with Leslie Silverman:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman

Website: https://lesliesilverman.com

Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com

Chapters:

00:00 The Power of Connection

06:50 Trusting Intuition and Embracing Change

12:35 Building a Supportive Team Culture

18:10 Creating a Holistic Wellness Approach

24:15 Expanding Beyond Therapy: Speaking and Podcasting

In this episode of A Category of One, I sit down with Maria Gabriela Guevara, an Ayurvedic practitioner and former pharmacist, to talk about what it looks like to support your body and mind in a way that actually feels sustainable.

We start in an unexpected place—Mercury retrograde, the equinox, and the feeling that something is shifting—and move into a deeper conversation about intuition, midlife, and why so many of us have been conditioned to look outside ourselves for answers.

Maria shares how her own experience with burnout, anxiety, and perimenopause led her to Ayurveda, and how that shifted not just her health, but the way she relates to her body entirely.

This isn’t about rigid rules or perfect routines. It’s about learning how to pay attention, understanding what your body is communicating, and making adjustments that support you in a more connected way.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What Ayurveda actually is and why it’s often misunderstood
• The difference between managing symptoms and understanding root causes
• Why intuition is a key part of healing (and how to reconnect with it)
• How midlife can act as an “unmasking” of accumulated habits
• The role of sleep, daily rhythms, and small practices in feeling better
• Why so many women feel disconnected from their bodies—and how to shift that
• The transition from Western medicine to a more integrative approach
• Rethinking perimenopause and aging as something to move with, not fight

We also talk about the idea of celebrating life transitions instead of quietly enduring them—and what it might look like to approach this phase of life differently.

Connect with Maria Gabriela:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/intuitive_ayurveda/
Website: https://www.intuitiveayurveda.com/starterkit

Connect with Leslie Silverman:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lesliesilverman/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-silverman-hive180/

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/leslie.a.silverman

Website: https://lesliesilverman.com

Hive180 Branding Agency: https://hive180.com

Chapters:

00:00 Astrology and Its Influence on Life

02:57 Intuitive Ayurveda: A Holistic Approach

06:01 Understanding Ayurveda: The Science of Life

09:06 Celebrating Life Stages: From Menstruation to Menopause

11:48 Embracing Change: The Transition into Elderhood

14:43 The Role of Community in Aging Gracefully

18:09 Self-Compassion and Acceptance in Aging

21:02 From Pharmacy to Ayurveda: A Personal Journey

23:54 The Importance of Holistic Health

27:02 Practical Steps for Integrating Ayurveda

29:53 Spring Cleansing: A Seasonal Reset