Founder, Unfiltered

My friend Lauren Alvarez has been laid off three times. She went to USC, covered red carpets right out of school, spent four years at The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard, then landed at Amazon Music and ByteDance, the company behind TikTok and CapCut. After her third layoff, she sold flowers and candles and did Instacart runs in the morning. Today she’s doing work she loves on her own terms: contract and fractional roles, consulting, and UGC for brands like Toyota and Wingstop.

What I love most is where she landed. As Lauren put it, if she got let go tomorrow, she’s not at ground zero anymore. That’s what having something of your own does. Her story is so close to mine, and we go way back (she booked me as a wellness creator in her WhoSay (owned by CAA at the time) days!), so this felt like catching up with a friend who gets it. If a layoff has you wondering whether you’ll be okay, press play.

Listening on Apple or Spotify? Come find me on Substack at themaxwellmethod.substack.com, where every episode lives in full.

✦ A few things we talked about

* How Lauren landed a job at Amazon Music with no tech background, and why knowing culture gave her the edge

* What Amazon’s famously tough interview “loop” looks like, and how she prepped for it

* How to curate your LinkedIn feed so open roles, and the people hiring for them, show up for you

* Why a post that reaches 100 of the right people beats one that goes viral (plus my cold email that got a reply four months later)

* What the job search feels like after a layoff, and why people in it deserve more compassion than “just apply”

* How a job you didn’t want can hand you your next skill set

* The “$200 here, $400 there” mindset: selling flowers and candles, delivering groceries for Instacart, and doing what you have to do with zero ego

* How to start doing UGC with no portfolio, including the unboxing video she made herself to get her first gigs

* Why contract work isn’t as scary as people think, and how Lauren runs herself like a production company

* Money talk for working on your own: Roth IRAs, health insurance, pricing your rate to cover taxes and benefits, and why the clients who haggle hardest usually treat you the worst

✦ Mentioned in this episode

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, Insense and Cohley (UGC platforms), Micro1 and Mercor (AI vetting work)

✦ Sitting where Lauren was?

If you have years of skills and no idea how to package them into something of your own, book a Single Strategy Session. In 60 minutes we’ll map your next move. Start here.

Hi, I’m Natasha. I’m a brand and marketing strategist. I’ve spent years helping founders, wellness brands, and personal brands turn what they already have into something people understand and buy into. I started in fashion marketing, moved into wellness, and now work across brand strategy, content, and digital business. I’ve been laid off three times, which is why I believe everyone should have something of their own, even if it starts as a bridge.

✦ Find and follow

My Substack: themaxwellmethod.substack.com | Founder, Unfiltered on Apple Podcasts: All Episodes | Instagram: @themaxwellmethod | Website: themaxwellmethod.com | LinkedIn: Natasha Maxwell

Lauren’s Instagram: @laurenn_alvarez_ | LinkedIn: Lauren Alvarez | Website: https://laurenalvarez.com | TikTok: laurenn.alvarez | Substack: Built in LA

✦ Special thanks for our early viewers

Thank you Liz in Los Angeles, Safia Pulliam, The Creative Sip, Hailey, and other Substackers for tuning into my live video with Lauren Alvarez!

Join me for my next live video in the app next month.

I have been reading a dating book. It’s called Getting to I Do by relationship therapist Dr. Pat Allen, and it’s all dating advice for women who want to get married. You’re probably asking yourself, okay, what does a dating book have to do with being a founder? Let me drop a couple of gems for you.

One of the things she talks about is masculine energy versus feminine energy in a relationship. If you’re a woman who wants to be mostly in her feminine energy in a relationship, she says you have to make a choice. These are her words, not mine, so don’t come for me, ladies. The choice is this: are you a career woman, or are you a woman with a career?

Something in that sentence clicked for me. It got me thinking, okay, wait a minute, which one am I?

The bio I couldn’t get right

Funny story. For the past year, I have written and rewritten my Instagram bio. I cannot tell you how many times. I know this sounds so trite, and it possibly sounds ridiculous. But every time I wrote it, something felt a little bit off, and I wasn’t able to place it until I read that section of the book.

I was leading with my business first. I was leading with all the things somebody can expect from me as a brand strategist, like the marketing tips and the “this is what you should do for your brand.” None of that felt right, and I think it’s because there’s so much more to me than my business. I was forcing myself into this title. And it’s like, no, no, no. I’m a person that runs a brand strategy company. But that’s not all that I am, and that’s not all that I do, and that’s not all that I’m into.

So when the book asked, are you a career woman or a woman with a career, my answer was, I’m a woman with a career.

When I made that connection, I was able to rewrite my bio and say: Hey, I’m Natasha. I’m a seeker. I’m a traveler. And yes, I’m a founder. And yes, I’ve been laid off a few times. And yes, that led to me running a branding business. But that’s not who I am. It’s just what I do.

It has never felt so good. I wasn’t boxing myself in anymore.

Same book, six years later

A little backstory. I went through a divorce around six years ago, and that’s the first time I read this book. After taking some time in therapy and working through healing, I wanted to get back out in the dating field, and this was one of the books that was highly recommended to me.

At that time I was kind of like, what is this masculine feminine stuff? I wasn’t in the headspace to take it in. I just wanted some tips. Is the dating app the best thing for me? Should I ask for a referral to meet a guy?

But I do remember being very clear that in my work, I am all in my masculine. When I was coaching clients at Equinox, I was literally telling them what to do day in and day out. Masculine does not mean man. It just means the energy of planning, doing, strategizing. I’ve been in that energy at work for many years. In my personal life, I’m much more in the receiving and in the flow.

Fast forward six years. I’m in a place where I would like to find a life partner and get married again. So I’m rereading this book, and I’m in a different place as a founder too. The first time, I was building my business. Now I’m in it, scaling, and thinking about next steps. I don’t have to be all in my business by myself. I have a business partner. I have a VA. There are people I can rely on now, so I can be more in a receiving type of energy, like the receiving of help.

Love and money

In programs like To Be Magnetic, which I’ve done since getting divorced, they talk a lot about the energetics of money and romantic relationships, and how there is a similarity to them. I remember hearing what they were saying. I could hear it conceptually, but it didn’t click for me in my body until I was reading this book.

I think for me, it was feeling like I have to fit in a box in order to get X, Y, and Z. But I really don’t. That box was self-imposed.

What clicked was this: define what matters most to me, and then give the things that matter most an assignment. What matters most to me is myself. My career is one aspect of me. It’s something that I do.

Which way do you lead?

Are we what we do? Or are we ourselves, and we just happen to do these things? That’s an important question for me as I move forward as a founder, which is a title in itself.

Even when I think about new clients and new services and new things I want to offer the world, I recognize that I first want to lead as myself. That’s what’s most important to me. And then, yes, what I do and how I can best serve and help. Of course that’s important.

It’s just so crazy that it took reading a dating book to finally get here.

An exercise for you

Don’t worry, it’s not dating homework. It’s for anybody who has been stuck on their Instagram bio, their Substack description, their LinkedIn, or wherever you’re doubling down.

* Open that bio and read the first line. Is it about who you are, or about what you do?

* Write down three words for who you are that have nothing to do with your job.

* Rewrite your bio with those words first and your work second.

* Read both versions out loud. Keep the one that feels like you.

Leave a comment and let me know which one you kept. I’m very interested in exploring this conversation further.

And if you did the exercise and you still can’t figure out how to lead with yourself, come sit with me for an hour and we’ll work it out together. Come Sit With Me.

*******

Hi, I’m Natasha Maxwell. I’m a brand and marketing strategist, and I’ve spent years helping founders, wellness brands, and personal brands turn what they already have into something people understand and buy into. I started in fashion marketing, moved into wellness, and now work across brand strategy, content, and digital business. I’ve also been laid off three times, which is why I believe everyone should have something of their own, even if it starts as a bridge. Since then, I’ve built my own business, worked remotely, and lived in places like LA, Lima and Madrid.

Find and follow

* Substack: themaxwellmethod.substack.com

* Instagram: @themaxwellmethod

* Apple Podcasts: Founder, Unfiltered

* Website: www.themaxwellmethod.com

* Work with me: Come Sit With Me

Niching gets a bad rap, especially if you’re multi-passionate. It can feel like you’re boxing yourself in or hiding the rest of who you are. I’ve gone back and forth on it myself, and I’ve shape-shifted around what I thought the algorithm wanted more times than I can count.

If this is your first time here, follow along at themaxwellmethod.substack.com for new episodes every week.

Here’s what happened. My three newest clients have nothing to do with wellness, the space I’m known for. One is an artist. One is a general contractor narrowing his business down to roofing. One is a spiritual healer who works with corporations.

They found me because I’m so focused on one space. When people see how much you care about your niche, they trust you’ll care that much about them too. Your niche might decide who walks in first, but it won’t stop other people from walking through the door.

How to piece your ideas into a credible brand and offer

* Get it all out of your head. Write down every idea, offer, and interest you have, even the ones that feel random.

* Look for the thread. Ask who each idea helps and what problem it solves. The same person or problem usually keeps showing up.

* Pick one to lead with. Choose the idea that’s easiest for people to understand. The rest become things you offer once they’re in the door.

* Say it in one sentence. If a stranger can’t get what you do in one line, keep cutting until they can.

* Show proof. Results, stories, and client wins are what turn “that sounds interesting” into someone buying.

Want help piecing yours together?If you’ve got a pile of ideas and can’t see the thread yet, that’s exactly what we do in a Single Strategy Session. Bring me everything, and in 60 minutes we’ll piece it into one offer that makes sense.Book here: 60-minute 1:1 session

Hi, I’m Natasha Maxwell. I’m a brand and marketing strategist, and I’ve spent years helping founders, wellness brands, and personal brands turn what they already have into something people understand and buy into. I started in fashion marketing, moved into wellness, and now work across brand strategy, content, and digital business. I’ve also been laid off three times, which is why I believe everyone should have something of their own, even if it starts as a bridge. Since then, I’ve built my own business, worked remotely, and lived in places like Lima and Madrid.

Find and follow me:Website: www.themaxwellmethod.comSubstack: themaxwellmethod.substack.comInstagram: @themaxwellmethodWork with me: Strategy sessions

If you’ve ever had an ugly career, one that zigzags and doesn’t move in a straight line and doesn’t always make sense on paper, this one’s for you.

This is the first time I’m doing Founder, Unfiltered live. I already have the podcast version, and it’s all about the messy middle, for those of us running our own businesses. In this live, you’re getting to see a strategy session, a real one!

Before I get into Matthew ✨ ’s story, I want to give you a little bit of mine first, because it’s actually why I wrote the note that caught his attention in the first place.

A few weeks ago I posted a note on Substack calling it the ugly career. It’s this version of a career that zigzags, that doesn’t move in a straight line, and is most definitely not linear. I wrote that note because it’s my own story too, and it’s not really a part of myself I talk about that often. I tend to share the parts of my journey that already feel put together, not so much the messier stuff underneath. This is some of that messier stuff.

I’ve been laid off three times over a 15 plus year career. And that obviously didn’t feel good. There were feelings of helplessness, feelings of if I just keep going like this, I’m always going to be at the mercy of somebody else. Which is why I decided I wasn’t going to keep doing that. That’s why I started my own strategy and consultancy business.

What’s been so cool about the ugly career, for me, has been this. When I built the roadmap myself, it was really cool to see all these skills I’d amassed over 15 years, even in roles that don’t seemingly connect. And it gave me life again. It gave me a feeling of being strong. It gave me a feeling of being resourceful, like I can survive this no matter what. That, to me, is the ugly career. And it’s what’s led me to be able to work for myself, be location independent, and no longer be at the mercy of a company handing me my pink slip.

So that’s the note Matthew found. It’s this version of a career that zigzags, and the cool thing was, when I did the roadmap myself and traced it back, it made a lot more sense than I realized. So I shared that exercise, and Matthew was one of the people who reached out and said, hey, I did this, could we do a possible collaboration from it. I said absolutely. From there it turned into us agreeing to do this live. I think it was mutually beneficial. He’d get a comped strategy session out of me, and I’d get to work with somebody who has one of these zigzag careers and help him piece it together, which is something I love doing anyway.

Between Matthew’s time in the seminary program, becoming a Catholic priest and leaving that, and then working in hospital chaplaincy, he’s got this beautiful wealth of information. And as we went through the session, there was so much more that unfolded just from the questions I was asking him. It became really clear that he’s an editor. He’s an editor of systems, an editor of people, an editor of words. It became clear he’s also great at setting up events and doing research, and people have always looked to him as a mentor. There was just so much more that came out of it than either of us expected.

The biggest roadblock was that he didn’t have eight to nine years of his career on his resume at all. He had it listed under schooling, but not under any of the actual things he was doing. And I think that’s the part that’s so great about this particular session. Once we really got into it, we were able to see so much more underneath. None of it showed up on his resume, because he’d been hiding those years for a while, since to him it just didn’t make sense, or he couldn’t figure out how to make it make sense. That was a really beautiful arc in this session.

So if you’re sitting on your own gap, don’t hide it. Really try to piece together your experiences, because you’re going to realize they’re a lot less scattered than you think. That’s exactly why I help people work through this in a strategy session, whether you’re a personal brand, an aspiring consultant, or somebody with your own ugly zigzag career trying to figure out how to plug yourself on LinkedIn. I can help with this because I went through it too, and it’s something I’ve been doing with people for the last six years.

A special shout out to Matthew ✨ for being my first guest on this series, Founder, Unfiltered Live. If you want to follow along with his own writing, find him at @NotesfromUnemployment on Substack.

And you guys know where to find me.

📍 Website · Instagram · LinkedIn

If this hit close to home and you’re ready to stop hiding your own zigzag, let’s talk.

Show Notes:

Three months ago I canceled my Netflix membership, almost without thinking twice about it. I’d been living in Madrid and then Lisbon, and I noticed I really wasn’t turning it on anymore. So I figured, let me save the membership fee and just feel out what it’s like to not use it.

In this episode I get into what happened after that. I’m not giving too much away here, but I’ll say this. I got my evenings back, and I found a version of myself that’s a lot more playful and a lot more creative than I realized. There’s also something I never expected that showed up, and it changed how I think about what I let into my brain every day.

This isn’t an anti-Netflix episode. I still love it, I’m a true crime girly, I’m a Love Is Blind girly, and I’m not ruling out rejoining someday. This is more about noticing where my time and my attention were actually going, and asking myself if that’s where I wanted them to go.

Try This Challenge:

I also share a little challenge I want you to try this week. Pick one night and do a streaming fast. It doesn’t have to be Netflix, it could be HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount, whatever you reach for without thinking. One night, don’t open it. Notice what you do instead, and journal what it felt like.

Come find me and let me know how it goes.

You can follow along on IG or head to themaxwellmethod.com for my full scope. If you’re a wellness founder, personal brand, or service provider looking to get support with your brand, I offer one on one strategy sessions and a six week mentorship program, both linked on the site.

🎧 Also on Spotify and Apple Music.

People are hungry for what you have. So why aren’t you sharing your menu?

I see this constantly across Substack, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Genuinely talented creators and coaches sharing incredible value, and when someone goes looking for a way to actually work with them or buy from them, there’s nothing there. No landing page, no Stan Store, no Etsy listing, nothing.

I know this one personally. Before I went back into marketing, I spent years as a nutrition coach and personal trainer, and that era built the bulk of my following. People were in my DMs constantly asking questions. And when I went back and audited that old content recently, I realized I almost never had a call to action. No link to my blog, no scheduling link, nothing pointing to my services. And underneath that, I’m sharing why I think that happened, because it wasn’t just an oversight.

If you’ve ever hesitated to share what you offer, this one’s for you.

Follow the show here on Substack so you never miss an episode: themaxwellmethod.substack.com

Prefer to read it out? Try this.

Grab a notebook or your notes app and answer these:

* What’s one thing people already ask you about, in DMs, comments, or in person, that you’ve never turned into something they could buy?

* If someone wanted to work with you right now, today, where would you send them? If the answer is “nowhere,” that’s the gap.

* What’s the lowest lift version of your menu? Not the dream offer, the one you could put up this week.

* Where does your audience already hang out (Substack, IG, LinkedIn, Etsy)? That’s where your menu goes first.

You don’t need the whole restaurant built. You just need the doors open.

If this episode has you thinking about where your own menu lives (or doesn’t), a Single Strategy Session is the fastest way to get it built: themaxwellmethod.com/lets-talk

I’m Natasha Maxwell, brand and marketing strategist for wellness founders, personal brands, and service providers who have something to offer and need help getting it in front of the people who are already looking for it.

Follow along: Instagram. LinkedIn. Website: themaxwellmethod.com.

Show Notes

You’ve been showing up. Posting consistently, trying new hooks, rewriting your captions, maybe even changing your whole aesthetic. And it’s still not translating. Or worse, you’re getting likes and comments and saves, but not sales.

Here’s what I don’t think enough people are willing to say: it’s probably not your content. Most of the time, when things go quiet like that, it’s not your tone of voice or your strategy. It’s that you’re not talking to anyone in particular. You’re talking to everyone, which means you’re not really landing with anyone.

That’s where this episode starts. Going back to my dream client, the main founder my business is built for. I call her Sarah. She’s got a whole personality, a specific age range, a specific lifestyle, hobbies I could rattle off for ten minutes. But more than any of that, she’s a dreamer who actually takes action when she’s pointed in the right direction. Once I got specific about her again, things moved. The DMs picked back up. I started getting asked to guest on podcasts. It didn’t happen because I posted more. It happened because I finally knew who I was posting for.

In this episode I walk through what that process actually looked like for me, and I share the questions I used to find her again:

* Who is this person?

* What’s the problem I’m solving for her?

* Why me?

* What’s the transformation for her if she works with me?

Listen to the full episode above ↑

If you’re new here, this is Founder, Unfiltered, where I talk through what’s actually happening in my business as I figure it out, not the polished version after the fact. Hit follow so future episodes land in your inbox before they hit Apple and Spotify.

I built a free guided exercise so you can meet your own dream client the same way I met mine. It walks you through the same questions from the episode, with space to actually sit with them.

Download the guide: You’re About to Meet Your Dream Client →

Quick note: it won’t be fillable if you open it straight from Google Drive. Download it first, then open it up from there, and you’ll be able to type directly into it.

If you’d rather talk it through with me directly, you can book a Single Strategy Session and we’ll get specific about who she is and how to reach her.

Let’s Talk → Book a Single Strategy Session

This is Natasha, and I’ll be back next week with another episode of Founder, Unfiltered. Talk soon.

You can also find me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at themaxwellmethod.com.

SHOW NOTES

My mom is ghostwriting an autobiography for a friend of hers, a man who built his empire from nothing in the South, at a time when that wasn’t supposed to be possible for someone who looked like him. He shared a story with her that his grandfather told him back when he was still climbing, a story about crabs in a bucket. When one tries to climb out, the others pull it back down. His grandfather used it to tell him what to watch for on his way up.

I’ve been that crab. I’ve also been the one climbing anyway, nails breaking, blood on my fingers, because I could see exactly where staying would lead.

A few ways to tell if you’re in the bucket:

* You downplay your goals around certain people before you even realize you’re doing it.

* Your plans get met with “yeah but” more often than “how can I help.”

* You feel guilty for outgrowing a room instead of proud.

If any of that hit, the next step isn’t leaving everyone. It’s getting clear on where you’re actually headed so you’re not just reacting to who’s holding you back. That’s exactly what we work through in a Strategy Session, one hour to map out what your brand and next move actually look like: Let's Talk

New episodes every week. Catch Founder, Unfiltered (and everything else I write) on my Substack, themaxwellmethod.substack.com. Welcome to the deep end.

This episode is also live everywhere you listen, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Hi, I’m Natasha. I say the thing other brand strategists won’t. I help wellness founders, creators, and personal brands build businesses people relate with and buy into. Come find me on Instagram or The Maxwell Method.

In this episode of Founder, Unfiltered I break down a pattern I keep seeing on discovery calls: founders who go straight for Google Ads or Meta Ads, or bring in a paid ads company, before ever stopping to look at whether their own brand or business is set up to hold that traffic.

In this episode:

* Why reaching for ads or outside help feels like the fastest path to income, and why that instinct makes sense

* An anonymized example from a recent discovery call and audit

* The home renovation analogy that explains exactly what’s going wrong

* What “foundation” actually means for a brand, and how to tell if yours is shaky

* Why the instinct to run ads for visibility isn’t wrong, just early

A few things to sit with before you spend another dollar on traffic:

* If a stranger landed on your page right now, could they tell what you offer and who it’s for in five seconds

* Traffic doesn’t fix a weak foundation, it just puts more eyes on it

* Check that your offer, your tone, and your visuals are all telling the same story before you pay to amplify any of it

Press play, and if this hits close to home, there’s a link below to talk it through.

New episode of Founder, Unfiltered drops weekly. Follow along at my substack so you never miss one.

Think your ads might be flopping because of what’s happening before someone clicks? Let’s talk about it: themaxwellmethod.com/lets-talk

Hello Founder Fam, we’re back with another episode of Founder Unfiltered.

I had a discovery call this week with a urologist who’s been in her field for over 30 years. Her focus now is perimenopause and menopause, and when I asked her about her offers, her answer stopped me. Every single one traced back to something she wished she’d had access to 20 years ago, when she was going through it herself.

That sent me down a rabbit hole about my own business, and where it actually came from. Not the version I usually tell. The real one.

This is a shorter episode, but it might be the one that makes you go back and look at your own offers differently.

Follow along at themaxwellmethod.substack.com so you don’t miss the next one.

A few questions to sit with after this one:

* What’s the version of you that this business was actually built for? How long ago were they struggling?

* Look at your current offers. Which one traces back to something you needed and didn’t have?

* If you stripped away the trends and the “what’s working right now,” would your offers still make sense? Why?

Journal prompt: Write about the moment you decided you needed to build something. Not the polished version you tell people, the real one. What were you missing at that time?

That gap is your positioning. It's the thing nobody else in your industry can say, because they didn't live it.

Let’s Talk → Book a Single Strategy Session

You can also find me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at themaxwellmethod.com.