Hard on Business

In this episode of Hard on Business, Bethany Burgoyne shares how a journalist covering intimacy and sexuality became the founder of Sassy Talent, an agency representing the creators and brands the mainstream overlooks. She talks about life as a bearded woman in front of the camera, the censorship that turns every post into a creative puzzle, and why owning your audience matters more than any follower count.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Bethany and Sassy Talent

01:06 From Journalism to Body Hair Representation

03:44 Landing the First Big Client at a Conference

05:14 One Blog, Two Goals, Ten Years Later

06:26 What Journalism Teaches You About Managing Talent

09:16 Striptease as a Way to Strip Away Shame

12:15 Your Openness Is Your Superpower

15:25 Why Media Should Stop Using Sex Lives to Shame People

16:08 The Daily Grind of Working Around Censorship

18:50 Only Working With Talent Who Have a Mission

19:44 When a Platform Deletes the Whole Business

22:08 Where's the Newsletter? Owning Your Audience

23:26 Appeals, Paid Fixers and Getting Accounts Back

25:50 Building a Marketing Mix Through Collaboration

29:00 Comedy as a Way Through the Algorithm

33:03 Why Face-to-Face Beats Cold Email

36:31 Frozen Accounts and the Banking Problem

39:21 Reframing the Language to Survive Moderation

42:05 Advice: Community Is Everything

The Sassy Show, Bethany's podcast mentioned in the episode:
https://www.thesassyshow.com

Find Bethany on social:

• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bxsassy2
• Sassy talent - https://www.instagram.com/sassy_talent/
• The Sassy Show on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_thesassyshow

Follow your host Johannes:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-kanter
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johanneskanter
• FastoPayments - https://fastopayments.com

In this episode of Hard on Business, Kate Batchelor shares how a registered nurse ended up buying a pole studio, stripping in her thirties and founding House of Gaia, discussing the whiplash of selling that studio to go online, the judgement that comes from both sides of the industry, and why visibility, not failure, is the thing that actually holds founders back.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Kate and House of Gaia

01:25 Blowing Up Her Life and Buying a Pole Studio

02:16 Selling the Studio and Moving the Business Online

04:16 Twenty Years of Curiosity, Shame and Coming to Terms With It

07:14 Does Lived Experience Make You a Better Teacher

11:16 Beginner's Mind and Why She Keeps Taking Classes

13:14 When Family and Old Friends Get Confronted

17:28 Too Sex Workery, Not Sex Workery Enough

20:28 What It Takes for a Partner to Be on Board

23:00 Venues That Ghost You and Printers Who Raise an Eyebrow

24:50 Shadow Banning: 100 DMs, 20 Percent Delivered

26:37 Where Clients Actually Come From Now

29:54 The Emotional Cycle of a Launch

34:05 Twelve Reps, Not One Failure

35:18 Visibility Is the Real Bottleneck

37:41 Advice: Find a Mentor and Start Before You Feel Ready

Find Kate on social:

• Website - https://houseofgaia.au
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/gaia_kate/

Follow your host Johannes:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-kanter
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johanneskanter
• FastoPayments - https://fastopayments.com

In this episode of Hard on Business, Borislav Donchev shares how he built Cleopatra into one of Bulgaria's leading premium adult brands from three physical stores in Sofia, discussing the bank rejections that nearly stopped him online, the supplier who cut him off overnight, and why he learned SEO himself because he could not afford to pay anyone else to do it.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Borislav, Cleopatra and MAX Digital

02:09 Opening an Adult Store in Bulgaria on a Joke

04:10 Rejected by Every Bank in the Country

06:59 How a Competitor Solved the Payments Problem

09:25 Two Kinds of Adult Shop and Who the Real Competition Is

11:11 The Supplier Who Cut Him Off Overnight

13:38 Seventy Hours of Cold Outreach to Find New Distributors

17:39 You Cannot Be Fully Independent, So Know the People

18:54 How to Actually Work a Trade Show

22:29 Moving Toward Wellness and Education

26:00 The Hardest Year: Currency Switch, Inflation and Stress

29:57 What Adult SEO Teaches That Normal SEO Never Will

35:20 AI Models Are Just New Search Engines

39:42 Advice for Founders Starting Out in the Industry

Find Borislav on social:

• LinkedIn - https://bg.linkedin.com/in/borislav-donchev
• Personal Website - https://donchev.bg
• MAX Digital - https://maxdigital.bg
• Cleopatra - https://cleopatrabg.com

Follow your host Johannes:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-kanter
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johanneskanter
• FastoPayments - https://fastopayments.com

In this episode of Hard on Business, Amari Leigh shares how she accidentally built a sex-positive virtual assistant and social media agency that now supports 128+ clients across 17 countries, discussing shadow banning and platform censorship, the mistakes she made in her first year of business, and why diversifying beyond social media is survival rather than strategy.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Amari and Admin by Amari

02:20 Who Hires a Sex-Positive Agency

04:39 From Sociology Student to Accidental Agency Owner

09:02 The Hardest Parts of Running the Business

11:02 Early Mistakes: Contracts, Payment and Vetting

14:55 Shadow Banning Explained and What It Costs

19:30 Which Platforms Censor the Hardest

21:49 What Adult Industry Founders Are Really Like

23:15 Why Industry Knowledge Beats Generic Marketing

27:54 How Amari Actually Gets Clients

30:08 Growth Plans Beyond Social Media

31:35 Advice for Newcomers in the Adult Industry

Amari's censorship guidebook and webinar, mentioned in the episode:
https://www.adminbyamariagency.com/for-sexual-wellness-professionals/p/shadow-banning-guide-84bsp

https://www.adminbyamariagency.com/for-sexual-wellness-professionals/p/webinar-on-combatting-shadowbanning-and-censorship-in-the-womens-and-sexual-health-sector

Find Amari on social:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amari-leigh-629b95197
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adminbyamari.agency
• Agency Website - https://www.adminbyamariagency.com
• Sex Coaching by Amari - https://www.sexcoachingbyamari.com

Follow your host Johannes:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-kanter
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johanneskanter
• FastoPayments - https://fastopayments.com

Welcome to the very first episode of Hard on Business. In this episode, Deidre Olson shares her journey from journalism to social media expert in the sexual wellness industry, discussing the challenges of content moderation, effective strategies for online engagement, and the importance of human storytelling in a digital age.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Sexual Wellness and Storytelling

02:52 Navigating Social Media Challenges in Adult Industry

06:00 Creating Viral Content: The Power of Trends

08:56 The Importance of Physical Retail in Sexual Wellness

11:51 The Role of Journalism in Shaping Brand Storytelling

14:42 Community Building in the Adult Industry

17:53 Advice for Newcomers in the Adult Industry

21:01 Future Aspirations and Closing Thoughts

Find Deidre on social:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deidreolson
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/deidreolson
• Personal Website - https://deidreolson.com

Follow your host Johannes:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-kanter
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johanneskanter
• FastoPayments - https://fastopayments.com