Soulful MBA Podcast

In this episode, we dive into our “must read” books for the summer. Here they are, in no particular order…

Sandy: Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic. / Warlight: A novel / Walden / The Josephine B Trilogy / The Female Persuasion: A Novel

Jeni: Tell the Machine Goodnight: A Novel / The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from a Secret World / Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead / Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World / The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More

Joy: The Crafter’s BoxHustle: VSCO

At some point in our mainstream culture, brand authenticity started to equate to the physical reality of the space where we are completing our work—but that’s often the least interesting part of what we do.

More interesting questions: What is your work making possible? How is it impacting our culture? Our guest today, Amy Walsh, reveals that deep expertise in Photoshop and an eye for a pretty flat lay is not a requirement for producing interesting and important imagery for your brand.

Amy is an artist, visual storytelling specialist, sculptural worldmaker, and founder of the Bureau of Tactical Imagination. She helps people uncover the visual story of their work, and use it to communicate their most important ideas.

As a visual artist she has exhibited in places as institutional as museums and as everyday as the streets. She has devoted her life to understanding and teaching about visual culture and creative process - a road that winds through her work as a university educator, a museum exhibit interactive designer, an activist and now digital culture maker.

Amy helps her clients and communities build the creative and risk-taking skills to be true innovators in all areas of their work. Connect with Amy: The Bureau of Tactical ImaginationOther Mentions: Art Objects, Draw Your Weapons

Joy: go outside and feel the earth under your feetHustle: mastermind, Co-Commercial

With summer upon us, we dive into the concept of vacation in this episode (and the cultural and legal differences between the United States and Canada). With Sandy about to take an extended trip to Europe, we discuss the importance of time off and reflect on some of our favorite trips.

Joy: Daily HarvestHustle: Logitech Slim Folio

“Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.” - Leonardo da Vinci

In this episode, we interview Namastream client, Kate Case. At the intersection of Eastern wisdom and Western science, Kate's body of work combines twenty years of experience as a professional yoga therapist, yoga teacher, Thai massage therapist, Eastern medicine (Chinese medicine and Ayurveda) practitioner, women’s wellness leader, women’s moon circle facilitator, and eastern energy anatomy expert.

Kate is a Nature-based Yogini, Moon Maven, Ritual Queen, Anatomy Geek, and Hormone Whisperer specializing in women's health, cycles, rhythms, body wisdom, and soulful integration.

You can learn more about Kate’s company, SHE Collective (the “SHE” stands for soulful, holistic, and embodied) here and her Ritual Box subscription here. 

Connect with Kate: www.shecollective.ca / www.ritualbox.ca / Instagram

Other Mentions: The Great Work of Your Life by Stephen Cope

Joy: Red Hot and Holy: A Heretic's Love Story, NatureHustle: High Speed Internet, Journal

Inspired by a recent graduation speech by Abby Wambach and the classic book by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run with the Wolves, this podcast episode dives into the importance of women supporting one another in business and life.

In her 2018 commencement address to Barnard College, Abby Wambach delivers four pieces of advice to women embarking on their careers out of college. This is amazing advice for young women, but we believe that these themes are universal:

1. Make failure your fuel.
2. Lead from the bench.
3. Champion each other.
4. Demand the ball.

We’re grateful to be part of this collective wolfpack with each of you…

Joy: 2018 Barnard Commencement Address Remarks as Delivered, video versionHustle: 13 Reasons Why You Should Read “Women Who Run With the Wolves” Instead

This episode features an interview Mae Karwowski, the founder of Obviously—a tech startup that matches brands with social media influencers.

After working in social media management after of college, Mae had a hunch that influencer marketing was coming and had an idea to build a different kind of business—pairing an agency with a tech platform. Mae has gathered a team of experts to help her turn her vision into a reality, and in the process, she’s built a client roster of some of the world’s most iconic brands.

We loved interviewing Mae, a fellow bootstrapped female founder, because her story is incredibly inspiring and her experience is so similar, in many ways, to ours.

Listen in to learn why innovation requires thinking outside of the box and why listening to your customers is such a powerful strategy for getting an edge on the competition. 

Other Mentions: obvious.ly, Mae on Instagram

Joy: half-day FridaysHustle: Trello

In this episode, we dive into Jeni’s new side hustle, Woodland Alchemy. Listen in to learn about why she created a new business this year with her young daughter and how she fits it in while running our software company and co-hosting this podcast. Other Mentions: Stop Stealing Dreams: What is School For?

Joy: Woodland AlchemyHustle: OnlineLabels.com

In this episode, we chat with Seattle-based communications expert Dr. Michelle Mazur. Michelle’s motto is “Incite Action Always” and she’s known as the Communication Rebel.

Michelle has a PhD in Communication and was a university professor prior to starting her own online business. We chat with Michelle about her own entrepreneurial journey and then dive into her process for helping brands to craft their unique three-word “rebellion” (and why it matters to do so). 

Other Mentions: Michelle Mazur’s website (where you can download her “3 Word Rebellion” worksheets for free!)

Joy: Game of ThronesHustle: The Four Tendencies

“Like workout culture, wellness is a form of conspicuous consumption. It is only the wealthy who have the resources to maintain the illusion of an integral and bounded self, capable of responsible self-care and thus worthy of social status. The same logic says that those who smoke (read: poor), or don’t eat right (poor again), or don’t exercise enough (also poor) have personally failed and somehow deserve their health problems and low life expectancy.” - Gabriel Winant

We explore some controversial themes in this episode as we question the fundamental societal shifts that have caused “wellness” to explode as an industry in North America (and “medicine” to effectively function as big business).

Although we’ve questioned some of our culture’s intense demands for “productivity” and “exercise culture” in the past, this is the first time that we’re questioning the concept of mindfulness.

We’re not placing any stakes in ground on this issue quite yet, but the conversation is important.

Joy: Joule Sous VideHustle: Natural Causes, Mind Control: Barbara Ehrenreich’s radical critique of wellness and self-improvement

p.s. This podcast is sponsored by Audible. Head over to audibletrial.com/soulfulmba to get a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial!

In this episode, we interview video marketing expert Dana Goldstein. Dana’s company, ChicFlicks, is Calgary’s leader in video production for small to medium sized businesses. She specializes in helping women business owners effectively share their stories with authenticity.

In this interview, we dive into Dana’s entrepreneurial journey from journalist to mom to entrepreneur and author. She shares advice on how to best integrate live video into your social media presence and how to keep your social media schedule grounded and realistic.

Other Mentions: Dana’s website

Joy: Google HomeHustle: Dubsado