The EmpowerElle Podcast

What if the best way to build trust isn’t to sell more - but to actually tell people when they don’t need to buy something?

Janette Spiezio has built Sustainable Haus around that idea.

After a 30-year corporate career, Janette created a business rooted in sustainability, education, and an “anti-sales” approach that puts trust before transactions. And she’s proving that you don’t have to sacrifice your values to build something successful.

We talk about why consumers are craving more trust and connection, what her corporate career taught her about business and empathy, choosing your values even when there’s money on the table, and why meaningful change doesn’t have to happen all at once.

We also get into sustainability in a way that feels a lot less overwhelming - because you don’t need to replace everything in your house tomorrow or suddenly do everything perfectly. One small change can lead to another, influence the people around you, and eventually create a much bigger impact.

This conversation is such a good reminder that whether we’re talking about business, leadership, sustainability, or life, you don’t have to be perfect to make a difference. You just have to be willing to start.

Connect with Janette and Sustainable Haus:

To learn more about EmpowerElle, visit: www.empowerelle.ca

Have you ever spent an entire weekend doing absolutely nothing, only to wake up Monday morning feeling just as exhausted as you did on Friday?

Here's the thing: just because you're taking a break doesn't mean you're actually recharging.

Sometimes what we call rest is really just escaping. Scrolling endlessly, binge-watching Netflix, or distracting ourselves from everything we don't want to think about. And while there's nothing wrong with switching off sometimes, there's a big difference between escaping your life and giving yourself what you actually need.

In this episode, we're talking about why high-achieving women often struggle to truly disconnect, how to recognize when you're escaping instead of recharging, and what it really takes to restore your energy.

Because maybe the solution isn't another vacation, a longer weekend, or a better self-care routine. Maybe it's taking a closer look at what you're constantly trying to recover from.

You deserve more than a life you need to escape from every Friday. You deserve success that feels good while you're living it.

If this resonates with you, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Send me a DM on Instagram @empower_elle and tell me what helps you truly recharge.

And if you're ready to get out of the constant cycle of overwhelm, grab my free guide, The Overwhelm Reset, at www.empowerelle.ca. It includes five simple shifts to help you feel back in control of your time and energy.

To learn more about EmpowerElle, visit: www.empowerelle.ca

Follow on Instagram @empower_elle

Gratitude can completely change the way you experience your life - but not when you’re using it to convince yourself that everything is fine when it isn’t.

Around Thanksgiving, we hear a lot about being thankful, counting our blessings, and focusing on the positive. And while there’s real power in noticing what’s good, gratitude doesn’t mean ignoring what’s hard.

You can be grateful for your career and still want something to change. You can love your family and still feel exhausted. You can appreciate your life and still have bigger dreams for it. Two things can be true at the same time.

We’re talking about finding gratitude your brain and body can actually believe, why the extraordinary things we once wanted eventually start to feel ordinary, and how simply changing what you notice can shift your perspective on your entire life.

Because maybe the question isn’t just, “What am I grateful for?”

Maybe it’s: What have I stopped noticing?

DM me on Instagram at @empower_elle and tell me one thing you’re genuinely grateful for right now - or something you realized you’ve stopped appreciating because it became normal.

And if life has been feeling a little more overwhelming lately, head to empowerelle.ca and grab my free Overwhelm Reset, with five easy shifts to help you move from overwhelmed to feeling back in control.

To learn more about EmpowerElle, visit: www.empowerelle.ca

Think you’re getting more done by answering emails during meetings, checking notifications while working, and constantly jumping between tasks?

You might actually be making everything take longer.

Multitasking can feel productive because you’re always doing something - but most of the time, your brain is really just switching rapidly between tasks. And all that switching comes with a cost: less focus, more mental exhaustion, and that frustrating feeling of being busy all day without accomplishing what actually mattered.

We’re talking about why multitasking isn’t the productivity hack we’ve made it out to be, how constant availability is affecting our ability to focus, and simple ways to work differently - including task batching, focus windows, and protecting your attention like the valuable resource it is.

If this episode hits home, DM me on Instagram at @empower_elle and tell me where multitasking shows up most in your life. I’d love to hear what you’re struggling with.

And if you’ve been feeling overwhelmed and pulled in too many directions, grab my free Overwhelm Reset at empowerelle.ca. It includes five easy shifts to help you move from overwhelmed to feeling back in control.

Want more support creating structure around your time and energy? Overwhelmed to Organized is designed to help you do exactly that. You can find all the details and register at empowerelle.ca, or send me a DM and we can chat.

To learn more about EmpowerElle, visit: www.empowerelle.ca

You don’t need to be completely exhausted before you’re allowed to protect your time.

And you definitely don’t need an apology paragraph explaining why you’re not available.

So many ambitious women aren’t struggling with time management because they need a better planner or productivity system. The problem is that every time someone asks for a piece of their time, they immediately start figuring out how to make it work.

Could I squeeze it in? Could I move something? Could I work later?

But the better question isn’t “Could I?”

It’s “Should I?”

We’re talking about protecting your time before you hit burnout, treating commitments to yourself with the same respect you give everyone else’s, leaving margin in your calendar, and learning to say no without feeling like you need to prove that your reason is good enough.

Because an empty hour on your calendar doesn’t automatically mean you have capacity.

And being capable of carrying more doesn’t mean you should.

Your time, energy, priorities, rest and goals deserve protection too - and you don’t need to apologize for that.

To learn more about EmpowerElle, visit: www.empowerelle.ca

What happens when the success you’ve spent years chasing doesn’t feel like enough anymore?

I sat down with Josée Cormier for a fun, honest conversation about redefining success, choosing joy, and building a life you actually love living.

We talk about her evolution from Your Way Weight Loss to Your Way Living, healing her relationship with diet culture, and realizing that her worth was never tied to how much she achieved. Josée also shares how accepting that we only get one life changed the way she thinks about her time, relationships, work, and priorities.

We get into finding movement that feels like fun instead of punishment, remembering who you are outside of the roles you play, and why we need to stop waiting for someday to do the things that make us feel alive.

This conversation is a reminder to make the plans, follow what lights you up, and stop saving your life for later.

Follow Josée on Instagram: @josee_ywwl

To learn more about EmpowerElle, visit: www.empowerelle.ca

You got promoted because you were good at getting things done. You knew the answers. You solved problems. You were the person people could count on.

But leadership changes the job.

When someone comes to you with a problem, giving them the answer might feel like the fastest solution - but if you’re always the one solving, deciding, fixing and stepping in, your team never gets the chance to build those skills themselves.

And eventually, you end up with a team that needs you for everything… while you wonder why no one takes initiative.

This conversation is about making the shift from giving answers to developing people.

We’re talking about the subtle ways micromanagement can show up, why high achievers are especially prone to it, how to coach your team through problems instead of immediately solving them, and why allowing people to do things differently - or even make reasonable mistakes - is part of building a stronger team.

Because your job as a leader isn’t to create five versions of yourself.

It’s to build people who can think, problem-solve and make decisions without needing you in the middle of everything.

The goal isn’t to be needed more.

It’s to build a team that became stronger because of the way you led them.

To learn more about EmpowerElle, visit: www.empowerelle.ca

There’s something about September that feels like a fresh start.

After the slower pace and disrupted routines of summer, September brings a natural shift in energy - back to structure, focus, goals, and getting intentional about what comes next. And for business owners, it might actually be a better time to reset than January.

Because unlike January, September comes with perspective.

You’ve already lived eight months of the year. You know what worked, what didn’t, what your business needs, what you need, and which goals still matter to you. And with four whole months left, there’s still plenty of time to create meaningful momentum.

This conversation is your invitation to do a September reset - not from a place of pressure to accomplish everything you haven’t done yet, but from a place of intention.

We talk about looking honestly at what’s working in your business, letting go of goals that no longer fit, choosing two or three priorities for the rest of the year, and rebuilding the routines and boundaries that support both your ambition and your well-being.

You’ll also be challenged to think beyond what you want to accomplish by December and ask a different question:

How do I want to feel when this year ends?

Because finishing the year strong doesn’t have to mean squeezing more into every available hour. It can mean feeling proud of what you created, confident in the choices you made, present in your life, and energized for what comes next.

September isn’t about starting over.

It’s about starting again - with more experience, more information, and a clearer understanding of what matters to you now.

You don’t only have four months left.

You have four whole months.

What do you want to do with them?

To learn more about EmpowerElle, visit: www.empowerelle.ca

Summer was full in the best possible way - boating weekends, comedy shows, Acadian celebrations, country music, time with people I love, and a whole lot of memories packed into a couple of months.

And now? I’m ready for September.

There’s something about this time of year that feels like a reset. The routines come back. The structure comes back. And unlike January, there isn’t this massive pressure to reinvent your entire life overnight.

There are still four months left in the year. That’s four months to look at the goals you set, decide which ones still matter, let go of the ones that don’t, and ask yourself one important question: How do I want to feel on December 31st?

I’m catching you up on what summer looked like for me, why I’m genuinely excited to get back into a routine, and what I’m refocusing on as we head into the final stretch of the year.

I’m also sharing some big updates from the EmpowerElle world - including what’s next for Overwhelmed to Organized, a new version created specifically for business owners, and the new phases I’m adding to help women go from overwhelmed to organized to aligned to unstoppable.

September might just be the entrepreneurial new year - and I’m here for it.

To learn more about EmpowerElle, visit: www.empowerelle.ca

There’s a version of you that you already know is possible.

She trusts herself. She speaks up. She protects her energy. She follows through on what matters to her. She’s ambitious without believing she has to sacrifice herself to succeed.

And maybe you keep thinking that one day you’ll become her - when you’re more confident, more experienced, less busy, or finally feel ready.

But what if becoming her isn’t something that happens someday? What if it’s happening through the choices you’re making right now?

This conversation is about closing the gap between who you are and who you know you can be - not by trying to become someone completely different, but by trusting yourself enough to start living in alignment with the woman who’s already there.

We talk about why action often comes before confidence, how small everyday choices build self-trust, and why becoming more of yourself may require disappointing people who were comfortable with an older version of you. You’ll also hear why it’s important to stop measuring your growth against an imaginary timeline and start recognizing the evidence of how much you’ve already changed.

Most importantly, this episode will challenge you to ask yourself one powerful question:

What is one choice I can make today that is aligned with the woman I’m becoming?

You don’t need to transform your entire life overnight. You just need to keep choosing the things that bring you closer to yourself - one boundary, one brave conversation, one promise kept, and one aligned decision at a time.

The woman you want to become isn’t waiting somewhere in the future.

You get to choose her now.

To learn more about EmpowerElle, visit: www.empowerelle.ca