Rooted & Relentless

In this episode of Rooted & Relentless, Steph challenges the hustle mentality that keeps entrepreneurs stuck in reactive mode and explains why creating intentional space to think is one of the highest-level responsibilities of any CEO.

If every decision is made while you're distracted, overwhelmed, or chasing urgency, you're not leading—you're reacting.

Steph shares why strategic planning isn't about predicting the future. It's about making better decisions with the information you already have, creating planning rhythms that support long-term growth, and finally leading your business instead of letting it lead you.

If you're tired of feeling like everything is urgent, this episode will completely change the way you think about planning.

💛 Connect with Steph on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/virtually_stephrubio

In this episode, we cover:

1. Why the quality of your business depends on the quality of your decisions.
2. The hidden cost of never creating space to think strategically.
3. How reactive leadership creates unnecessary chaos.
4. Why not making a decision is still making a decision.
5. The difference between urgency and importance.
6. How to build planning rhythms that actually support growth.
7. The four planning rhythms every CEO should have:
8. How to create a decision filter so you're no longer chasing every opportunity.

Memorable Moments

"The quality of your business is determined by the quality of the decisions you make."

"The quality of your decisions is determined by how much space you have to think."

"Not making a decision is still making a decision."

"We keep solving today's problems instead of preventing tomorrow's."

"Information without processing becomes noise."

"Space is where pattern recognition happens."

"Distance creates perspective."

"If thinking is part of your job, that time belongs on your calendar."

In this episode, Steph breaks down why reflection isn't a luxury reserved for slow seasons—it's one of the most profitable leadership habits you can build.

Because better businesses aren't built by people who simply work harder. They're built by CEOs who pause long enough to replace assumptions with evidence.

You'll learn how to evaluate where your time, energy, and money are actually producing results, identify what's quietly draining your business, and make confident decisions based on data instead of panic.

If you've been feeling like you're doing everything and somehow getting nowhere, this episode is your permission slip to zoom out before you sprint into another six months.

🌿 The Rooted Reset

If this episode hit home, chances are you need dedicated space to think like the CEO your business needs.

The Rooted Reset is an intimate women's business planning retreat where we step away from the day-to-day, evaluate what's actually working, and build a clear plan for the year ahead. You'll leave with decisions made, priorities aligned, and confidence in where you're headed next.

👉 https://www.stephrubio.com/rooted-reset-business-planning-retreat

💛 Connect with Steph on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/virtually_stephrubio

1. Why activity compounds just as much as strategy
2. The hidden cost of staying "busy"
3. How reflection stabilizes your nervous system and your business
4. Questions every CEO should ask during a quarterly or mid-year review
5. How to know what to keep, stop, simplify, and start
6. Why data—not emotion—creates confident leadership

"Activity compounds just as much as strategy does."

"Reflection isn't about looking backward. It's about collecting evidence to make better decisions moving forward."

"Pausing to reflect is how we replace assumptions with evidence."

"Data is how you stabilize and act on reality instead of reacting on emotion."

"Reflection isn't something you've earned after the work is done. That's where you start and where you end as a CEO."

In this episode, Steph sits down with email marketing strategist Melissa Seideman, CEO of Not Another Email Company, to unpack why email marketing is still one of the highest ROI tools available for entrepreneurs—and why too many business owners are leaving money on the table.

Melissa shares the exact strategies her clients use to average 50.7% email open rates and 6.64% click rates—far above industry averages.

Run to get Melissa's free email audit (are you kidding me): https://notanothervirtualassistant.com/offers-nav/free-audit/

Keep up with Melissa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notanotherva

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@notanotherva

Need to start your email list or maybe just migrate to THE email marketing platform that makes design, connection, & conversion easy? Get 25% off your first full year of Flodesk.

Together, Steph and Melissa dive into:

1. Why your email list is more valuable than your social following
2. The welcome sequence mistake costing businesses thousands
3. How to write subject lines people actually open
4. Why funnels aren't dead—they just need to evolve
5. The Rule of Three that dramatically improves click rates
6. Why engagement matters more than list size
7. What happened when Melissa unexpectedly lost access to Instagram for five days

If you've been relying on social media to grow your business, this conversation might completely change the way you think about marketing.

✔ Why industry averages are misleading

✔ How to improve your email click rate

✔ The biggest welcome sequence mistakes

✔ Why list size isn't the metric that matters

✔ How to use segmentation to increase sales

✔ The dangers of building your business on rented land

✔ Why email is still the highest ROI marketing channel

"I'd rather have a smaller list that's engaged than a bigger list that doesn't buy."

"Stop chasing the algorithm. Own your audience."

"Funnels aren't dead. Bad funnels are."

"People open emails because they know, like and trust the sender—not because of luck."

"Your business deserves an audience you actually own."

Steph brings the realist of the real to help you grow in business and in life. Keep up with her Shenanigans via email:

https://stephrubio.myflodesk.com/letsconnect

In this episode of Rooted & Relentless, Steph sits down with entrepreneur, author, speaker, and Small Business Sister Circle founder Stephanie Ross for a conversation every ambitious business owner needs to hear.

Together, they unpack the realities of entrepreneurship beyond the highlight reel—the storms, the pivots, the growth pains, and the unexpected lessons that shape us into stronger leaders.

Stephanie shares the inspiration behind her book Seasons of a Soulpreneur, including the difficult decision to walk away from a decade-long business, the lessons she learned navigating uncertainty, and why some of the hardest seasons of business ultimately became her greatest gifts.

If you've been feeling overwhelmed, behind, burnt out, or questioning your path, this episode is your reminder that growth isn't linear and you're probably doing better than you think.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephanieleaross/

Grab a copy of her book: https://www.stephanieleaross.com/?page_id=1024

Join Steph's email list to learn all you need to grow & scale your business:

https://stephrubio.myflodesk.com/letsconnect

Join The Rooted & Relenltess Mastermind:

https://www.stephrubio.com/themastermind

1. Why entrepreneurship is often more difficult than social media makes it appear
2. The four seasons of business growth: planting, growing, storms, and harvest
3. How to recognize when a storm is actually an opportunity
4. The danger of isolating yourself during difficult seasons
5. Why community matters most when things feel hard
6. How motherhood changes the way we build businesses
7. The difference between sustainable growth and hustle culture
8. Creating rhythms, routines, and rituals that support resilience
9. Why your business journey shouldn't be compared to someone else's

"You're not failing. You're just in a different season."

"Do not isolate yourself in the storm."

"My storm became my superpower."

"The harvest is in glimmers."

"You are building in a way that makes sense for you."

"Something better has always opened on the other side of every storm."

In this episode, Steph shares the realization that opportunity often comes with barriers many people don't see.

From caregivers and parents to people with disabilities, chronic illnesses, financial limitations, and countless other responsibilities, not everyone has the same ability to travel, attend conferences, or spend days away from home.

That doesn't make them any less deserving of access to the information, relationships, and education that help businesses grow.

This episode explores:

1. Why in-person events are making such a strong comeback
2. The opportunities that happen through real-world connection
3. The hidden privilege behind "just get in the room"
4. Why protecting the integrity of online business matters
5. How accessibility impacts entrepreneurship
6. Why Steph created the Relentlessly Real Business Panel

Because building a healthy business community means making sure opportunity doesn't only belong to the people who can board the plane.

Grab your ticket to the June panel:

https://www.stephrubio.com/relentlessly-real-business-panel

Continue the conversation - join Steph's email community:

https://stephrubio.myflodesk.com/letsconnect

"Ten minutes talking to you and I know more about you than six months online."

"Not everyone can get in the room physically. That doesn't make them any less deserving of the information."

"Working online and building virtual businesses has changed lives."

"If someone can attend fifteen events and I can attend two or three, the growth trajectory changes."

"We have to keep this information accessible to people who need it, want it, deserve it, and simply have different life circumstances."

"When we keep the online industry healthy, people stay in business. And when people stay in business, we all have business."

In-Person Connection Matters

Relationships often accelerate faster face-to-face than they do online.

Access Is Not Equal

Not everyone has the same freedom, resources, caregiving support, health, finances, or circumstances.

Online Business Changed Lives

Remote entrepreneurship created opportunities for parents, caregivers, and people who otherwise may never have been able to participate in traditional business environments.

We Need Both

The future isn't choosing between online and in-person experiences. It's creating both.

Accessibility Is a Business Issue

Making information available only through expensive or inaccessible channels limits who gets to grow.

What happens when people start looking to you for answers?

In this episode of Rooted & Relentless, Steph shares an unexpected realization: somewhere along the way, she became a community leader. And with that comes responsibility.

As more business owners turn to trusted voices for recommendations, guidance, and perspective, Steph explores what it means to hold that trust carefully—especially in an online industry overflowing with conflicting advice, fear-based marketing, and constant noise.

This conversation digs into the weight of influence, the importance of discernment, and why nuanced conversations matter now more than ever. Steph also shares the vision behind her new quarterly virtual panel: a space where business owners can hear honest conversations from people actively building businesses, making decisions, and navigating a rapidly changing market in real time.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by contradictory advice or questioned who to trust online, this episode is for you.

Join the panel on June 25th: https://www.stephrubio.com/relentlessly-real-business-panel

Live to the Event Series w/ Taylor Smith,Start with Episode 1

On Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/event-series-part-1-tips-on-how-to-choose-events-that/id1821487374?i=1000752877055

On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6HS9IWyjXy4UsrUwezG9xc?si=bxWDnNSBTRy44W0Z6TaTvQ

1. The responsibility that comes with influence and recommendations
2. Why online business owners keep getting pulled off course
3. The problem with fear-based marketing and guru culture
4. Why nuance is missing from many online conversations
5. How real conversations help business owners make better decisions
6. The vision behind Steph's new quarterly virtual panel
7. What it takes to build trust in a rapidly changing market

"One thing about me, baby. If I see something, I'm gonna say something."

"It's not only my money, time, and energy on the line anymore. It's my community's too."

"People are consuming content all day that makes them feel like they're falling short."

"Two people can be growing on the same trajectory while using completely different tactics."

"The goal isn't to fearmonger. The goal is to have real conversations about what's actually happening."

"You're going to stabilize your nervous system when you stop listening to every polarizing opinion online."

The businesses that thrive won't necessarily be the ones consuming the most information. They'll be the ones learning how to think critically, filter noise, and make decisions from a grounded place instead of reacting to every trend, headline, or hot take.

📩 Join Steph's email list for strategic insights and behind-the-scenes leadership conversations:

https://stephrubio.myflodesk.com/letsconnect

A lot of the self limiting beliefs keeping you stuck weren't actually your beliefs. They’re inherited. Absorbed. Repeated so often by other people that eventually they started sounding like truth.

In this episode of Rooted & Relentless, Steph gets brutally honest about the comments, relationships, and experiences that shaped her self-worth for years — from being told she’d always be “white trash” to believing she wasn’t capable of more. But this isn’t a revenge story.

It’s a story about realizing the life you want is actually possible when you stop letting other people’s limitations dictate your future.

Steph shares:

1. The mindset shifts that changed everything
2. How survival mode fueled her growth
3. Why self-limiting beliefs usually aren’t yours to begin with
4. The importance of boundaries and support systems
5. What it looks like to step into the identity of the person you want to become
6. Why clarity is the first step toward creating the life you actually want

This one is raw, emotional, empowering, and probably going to make you want to burn your old belief system to the ground.

“A lot of the problems in your business and your life stem from your self-limiting beliefs… but they didn’t start as yours.”

“It was me all along.”

“You can do actually any freaking thing you want.”

“If you set this crazy big terrifying target and never reach it, you’ll still be happier marching toward it than pretending you never wanted it.”

“Don’t let the notions of insecure idiots dictate your life.”

Access Your Terrifying Vision Experience. Because getting where you want to go starts with knowing where that is: https://www.stephrubio.com/your-terrifying-vision?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Connect on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/virtually_stephrubio?utm_source=chatgpt.com

What if the biggest growth strategy in your business isn’t more content, more marketing, or more visibility… but how people feel after working with you?

In this conversation, Steph sits down with now friend (who started as a client) and operations powerhouse Kendra Harris, a self-described “business doctor of organization,” to unpack the concept of stakeholder experience — and why your reputation might be your most powerful revenue engine. Kendra is one of the most intentional service providers I met and every time I get a thoughtful little something extra I know takes her time, I'm always left shocked how she can manage it while also managing a client load and living the life of a mother of 5 kids.

From leaving a 15-year teaching career to building a six-figure business in under two years, Kendra shares the real story behind sustainable growth: intentional relationships, thoughtful systems, and showing people they matter. This episode is equal parts strategy and humanity — because business growth isn’t just operational… it’s relational.

Aspiring new VA's:: Kendra is proud to offer affordable coaching to new and aspiring VAs:

https://www.kendraharris.co/coaching

💌 Join Steph’s email list (Steph’s Shenanigans + The COO Edit):

https://stephrubio.myflodesk.com/letsconnect

⚡ Work directly with Steph — Decision Intensive:

https://www.stephrubio.com/small-business-consulting

1. Why client experience alone isn’t enough — and what stakeholder experience really means
2. How thoughtful gestures create long-term referrals without constant marketing
3. The mindset shift required to leave security and bet on yourself
4. Why systems make personalization scalable
5. How being remembered turns into predictable revenue
6. The difference between transactional service providers and trusted partners
7. Why “extra effort” is actually elite business strategy

“When you’re remembered, you get referred.”

“Nothing comes without risk — but growth lives on the other side of belief.”

“I don’t just want clients. I want relationships.”

“Your reputation becomes your greatest revenue engine.”

“Being thoughtful isn’t fluff — it’s strategy.”

In this episode of Rooted & Relentless, Steph Rubio unpacks the very real phenomenon of “Maycember” and why it matters to more than just mompreneuers and parents alone.

This isn’t just a conversation about parenting busy seasons. It’s about understanding the rhythms of your audience, planning your business around real human capacity, and creating strategy that actually meets people where they are instead of pretending everyone has unlimited time, energy, and brain space year-round.

Steph breaks down:

1. Why buyer behavior changes seasonally
2. How to anticipate summer slowdowns strategically
3. What service providers should actually focus on during slower seasons
4. Why backend operations matter more than flashy marketing during certain quarters
5. How calm leadership creates sustainable growth
6. The strategic planning framework most small business owners skip entirely

This episode is part business strategy, part reality check, and part permission slip to stop marketing like every month functions the same.

“You have to know the business rhythms of your ideal client just like you need to know yours.”

“Your audience isn’t ignoring you. They may just not have the brain space right now.”

“Stop selling like it’s March.”

“Summer isn’t the time to disappear. It’s the time to shore up your backend.”

“Stable calm leadership means knowing your people, knowing their rhythms, and planning accordingly.”

“Business has seasons. So do buyers.”

1. Seasonal buyer behavior affects engagement, sales, and decision-making
2. Parents of school-aged kids often experience “May-cember” and summer capacity shifts
3. Strategic planning should account for audience energy, not just business goals
4. Summer can be the perfect operational cleanup and preparation season
5. Q3 and Q4 momentum depends heavily on what gets prepared beforehand
6. Strategy is about timing, context, and market awareness — not just tactics

Explore The Rooted Reset retreat

https://www.stephrubio.com/reverse-engineering-vip-day?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Connect on Instagram - Steph is a voice note Kween

https://www.instagram.com/virtually_stephrubio?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Scaling your business shouldn’t cost you your sanity but for a lot of women, it does.

In this episode of Rooted & Relentless, Steph sits down with systems strategist and business coach Katelyn Hamilton to unpack the truth behind “scaling” and why so many entrepreneurs are burning out chasing it.

Here’s the reality: more clients, more offers, more revenue… isn’t scaling. It’s just more.

This conversation breaks down what sustainable growth actually looks like, how to build systems that give you your time back, and why your capacity—not your ambition—is the real constraint in your business.

If you’ve ever felt exhausted, resentful, or like your business is running you instead of the other way around, this is a cannot miss episode because we'll reframe the way you think and leave you with actionable takeaways to know better then do better.

If you enjoyed this conversation, why step here.

Continue the Conversation

Take Katelyn's Leadership Assessement: https://katelynhamilton.myflodesk.com/leadership-self-assessment

✨ Join the waitlist for The Rooted Reset so you can plan ahead like a Leader:

https://www.stephrubio.com/reverse-engineering-vip-day

💌 Join Steph’s email list (aka the good stuff):

https://stephrubio.myflodesk.com/letsconnect

Key Takeaways

1. Scaling ≠ adding more. It’s increasing efficiency and capacity without increasing effort.
2. Burnout isn’t just being tired—it’s losing interest, energy, and clarity.
3. Systems and automations are not “nice to have”—they’re how you buy back your time.
4. Sustainable growth means your business supports your life—not competes with it.
5. Capacity isn’t fixed—it’s hidden in inefficiencies.
6. Pausing to evaluate your business is not failure—it’s leadership.

Memorable Moments & Soundbites

“You don’t scale by adding more—you scale by doing what you already do better.”

“Burnout is when you wake up and think… what am I even doing this for anymore?”

“You can’t scale adding more manual work to your plate.”

“Sometimes the most strategic thing you can do is pause.”

“Your business should support your life—not the other way around.”

“Capacity isn’t gone—it’s hidden in inefficiency.”