Pause On The Play

Business and life come with a lot of prescribed standards for how things should be done.

But following the shoulds can lead to burnout when those paths don’t feel authentic to ourselves. What would it be like to have the freedom to decide for yourself how you want to do life and work? 

Tasha Booth (she/her) and Erica discuss making your own choices and setting your own standards in business and life.

In this discussion:

• How living life on your own terms shows up in your business
• Why following prescribed paths leads to burnout
• Why your launch needs to keep accessibility and inclusivity in mind
• Why Imperfect Allyship® is more than what’s noticeable on the surface

Connect with Tasha Booth:

• TashaBooth.com
• The Launch Guild
• Instagram: @thetashabooth

Ready to dive deeper?

In order to create freedom and set new standards in your business and in your life, you have to be clear on what matters to you and the impact you want to create. You have to be in alignment with what you value and why.

If you want guidance in getting explicit about what you support and to align your actions with that, join the Implicit to Explicit Masterclass.

Learn more at pauseontheplay.com/explicit.

Resources:

Listen to Erica’s conversation with Amy Porterfield on Imperfect Allyship®

Systems like patriarchy, capitalism, productivity, and urgency are extensions of white supremacy that support no one but especially don’t support those that have been historically and currently disenfranchised and marginalized by those same systems.

We all interact with these systems, but we don’t have to actively participate in them. There are ways to run our businesses and our lives that actively work against these oppressive systems and work toward equity.

Helen Tremethick (she/they)  joins Erica for a conversation about resisting oppressive systems in your business and building a business that is rooted in equity and ethics.

In this discussion:

• The lies we tell ourselves that are tied to white supremacy and capitalism
• What capitalism means as a system
• What building regenerative systems mean in business and our communities
• Why the act of noticing is the first step toward change

Connect with Helen Tremethick:

• HelenTremethick.com
• Instagram: @HelenTremethick
• Love and Badassery on Facebook

Ready to dive deeper?

In order to build ethical, equitable businesses, it is vital to name your values. Naming your values requires you to be in alignment with what matters to you and why. If you’re clear on your values, you can chart a course that resists oppressive systems and prioritizes what truly matters to you and the impact you want to create.

If you want support in learning to lead through your values and getting explicit about what you support and how your actions are aligned with that, join us for the Implicit to Explicit Masterclass.

Learn more at pauseontheplay.com/explicit.

Resources:

• Helen’s conversation with India Jackson about Building A Bad-A** Brand Voice

Getting clear on your niche can help your business flourish.

Finding your niche can mean more than honing your service offerings and ideal client avatar. Niching down can help you express your values in your business.

But the way that niching is talked about and taught in the mainstream can become a matter of chasing money and be out of alignment with your values.

Chelsea Stevenson joins Erica for a conversation about what it has really meant to niche down her business and how her values inform all of her business decisions, from the services she offers, to how she attracts her ideal clients.

In this discussion:

• How your values inform your niche and the clients you want to reach
• How niching down in alignment with your values helps your business thrive
• Why niching down has to be about more than demographics
• Why you need to go deeper when envisioning your ideal clients

Connect with Chelsea Stevenson:

• Hennapreneur
• Cardamom and Clove Henna
• Facebook:@hennapreneur
• Instagram:@hennapreneur.official

Ready to dive deeper?

To find your niche, you have to know your values. Being clear on this means you can chart a course in your business that prioritizes your values and the impact you want to have.

Being explicit about who you support and how your actions align with that can help your business thrive. If you want support in learning to lead through your values, join us for the Implicit to Explicit Masterclass.

Learn more about leading through your values at pauseontheplay.com/explicit.

Resources:

• Erica and India discuss Psychographics vs Demographics
• A video on Jobs to be Done Theory

You can do things differently. You can define success for yourself in a way that accounts for your whole self and wellbeing and not just the work you do for others.

You don’t have to be grinding and hustling every hour of every day. Being burned out is not a badge of honor.

Jordan Gill joins Erica for a conversation about VIP days and how implementing them has supported both their businesses and their lives. 

In this discussion:

• How VIP days create natural boundaries for you and your work
• How VIP days allow you to be more present for your clients and in your life
• How VIP days support you in your Imperfect Allyship®
• Why you need to stop apologizing for what you need to be great

Connect with Jordan Gill:

• Systems Saved Me
• Instagram: @SystemsSavedMe

Ready to dive deeper?

Getting clear on your values helps you understand and recognize what you need in order to be the most effective version of yourself in your business and in your life.

To be in alignment with what matters to you and why, so you can chart a course that prioritizes your values and the impact you want to create, you need to be explicit about those values.

If you want support in getting clarity on what you support and how your actions are aligned with that, sign up for the Implicit to Explicit Masterclass.

Learn more about leading through your values at pauseontheplay.com/explicit.

So often, the issues you’re reacting to existed long before you acknowledged them. And the fix can’t be immediate.

Erica discusses reacting with urgency to the events of the day, how it leads to burnout, and how it can pull you away from your values.

In this discussion:

• How discomfort and urgency are related
• How urgency undermines addressing root causes with long-term solutions
• Why being consistent in your values and your actions in support of them mean doing less damage control when things do go wrong

Ready to dive deeper?

How are your values playing out through your actions? Where do you want more clarity, alignment, and understanding as you navigate choices, from who you hire to where you shop? Being clear on this means you can chart a course that prioritizes your values and the impact they can create.

Leading through your values means being explicit about what you support and how your actions are aligned with that. If you want support as you consider and clarify what matters to you and why, join the Implicit to Explicit Masterclass.

Learn more at pauseontheplay.com/explicit.

Children should be able to explore their expression and identity as part of growing up.

So how do we best support them and prioritize their needs as they navigate that journey? As adults, how can we do better for the children in our lives? How can adults deprogram the sometimes harmful ideas and beliefs they grew up with?

Mackenzie Dunham joins Erica for a conversation about what it takes to create supportive, affirming spaces for kids.

In this discussion:

• Why we need to normalize therapy from a young age
• How parents and caregivers can open conversations about gender identity
• Actions parents and caregivers can take to support trans and gender-expansive kids

Connect with Mackenzie Dunham:

• Wild Heart Society
• Camp Wild Heart Podcast
• Instagram: @Wild.Heart.Society

Ready to dive deeper?

Getting clear on your values supports you in your life and in your business. If you’re ready to get explicit about what you support and how your actions are aligned with that, join India and Erica for the Implicit to Explicit Masterclass.

You’ll chart a course that prioritizes your values and the impact they can create through every person you hire and the business you buy from. These decisions shape how you live and the legacy you leave.

Learn more about leading through your values at pauseontheplay.com/explicit.

We can be Imperfect Allies® to people who live, look, and love like us, as well as to those who are demographically different from us.

What supports us when we give and receive Imperfect Allyship® from each other from within our communities? What do we need when those who are different from us on paper want to support us?

Paula Edgar joins Erica for a dynamic conversation about what can happen when Black women are allies to one another and Paula’s passion for supporting and prioritizing Black women.

In this discussion:

• How Imperfect Allies® within the Black community can use institutional and situational privilege to support other Black people
• How reparenting themselves and receiving mentorship can help Black women get comfortable with receiving support
• Why Black women need advocacy and allyship from each other
• What non-Black Imperfect Allies® can do to make change for Black women

Connect with Paula Edgar:

• PGE Consulting
• Twitter: @PaulaEdgar
• Connect with Paula on LinkedIn

Ready to dive deeper?

Imperfect Allyship® requires you to get clear on your values and take action in alignment with what matters to you.

Every person you hire and every business you buy from brings you closer to or further away from your values. To get support in clarifying what matters so you can chart a course that prioritizes the impact you want to create, sign up for the From Implicit to Explicit Masterclass.

Learn more at pauseontheplay.com/explicit

Imperfect Allyship® is more than just a phrase. And it’s an entire thought process, action framework, and a way of being. Imperfect Allyship® is a movement.

Imperfect Allyship® is a nuanced and layered concept that requires commitment, collaboration, and vulnerability. But it also doesn’t have to be that complicated.

India joins Erica to dig into the meaning of Imperfect Allyship® and how it comes to life in action.

In this discussion:

• Coming to a working definition of Imperfect Allyship®
• How perfectionism gets in the way of allyship
• How Imperfect Allyship® supports DEI efforts
• Why allyship goes across lines and demographic checkboxes

Ready to dive deeper?

If you’re seeking connection and community on your journey of Imperfect Allyship®, join us at Pause on the Play®, The Community, where you can expand your awareness and get support, understanding, and share experiences at the intersection of learning and evolution.

Learn more at pauseontheplay.com/community PauseOnThePlay.com/Community

Hiring and retention are at the top of mind for many business owners, large and small, as the Great Resignation forces us to rethink work and company culture.

And you can’t talk about hiring, retention, or company culture without talking about values. 

Rebecca Teaff joins Erica to discuss how getting explicit about her values has shaped her hiring process, company culture, and allowed her to successfully retain team members and hire during this tumultuous time.

In this discussion:

• How to use culture fit interviews in your hiring process
• Why your team needs to collaborate on defining your values
• Why infusing your company culture with your values will touch every part of your business
• Examples of the actions you can take as a business owner to take your values from implicit to explicit

Connect with Rebecca Teaff:

• Redstart Creative
• Facebook: @RedstartCreative
• Connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn

Ready to dive deeper?

Leading with your values requires being explicit about what you support, the company culture you’re seeking to create, and how your actions align with that. To get support and insight into how you can do company culture and hiring differently, join us for the From Implicit to Explicit Masterclass.

Learn more at pauseontheplay.com/explicit

Not having a college degree has become a huge hindrance for people not only being able to get a job, but to get a sustainable job with opportunities for advancement.

And it’s a significant roadblock to advancement for Black people.

Maurice Jones of OneTen joins Erica and India to discuss the realities of the job market and how OneTen is working to evolve the employment ecosystem to open up pathways of sustainable achievement for Black people.

In this discussion:

• How degree requirements create systemic barriers to advancement and reinforce wealth gaps
• How small businesses can shift their hiring and advancement practices to support a more equitable workforce
• Why we need to shift to a skills-based hiring process rather than checking boxes with credentials
• Four elements of a sustainable job

Connect with Maurice Jones:

• OneTen
• Connect with Maurice on LinkedIn
• Twitter: @MauriceOneTen

Ready to dive deeper?

Every hiring decision you make shapes your company culture and can bring you closer to your values. But first, you have to get explicit about what you support and how your actions align with that and support those you are seeking to impact. 

If you want support on getting clear on what matters so you can chart a course that prioritizes your values and the impact they can create, join us for the From Implicit to Explicit Masterclass.

Learn more at pauseontheplay.com/explicit