The Joy Experiment Podcast

What if your business only had the clients who brought you joy?

Lynea Carver spent years chasing promotions and the approval that came with them. Until she collapsed on her closet floor while getting ready for work and told her husband she couldn't do it anymore.

She moved into real estate, ready to create a life for herself, then she burned out again.

Inspired by Marie Kondo's book, she went through every home she had sold, touched each address with a pen, and crossed off the ones that didn't bring joy.

 Then she called the clients who were left and asked what they loved about working with her, what would have made it smoother, and where they were emotionally before they hired her.

Their answers became her systems. Today her business brings her joy AND she earns more with fewer clients.

Try Lynea's Joy Experiment

Every morning, take two to three minutes to write down:

Your wins

What you're grateful for

What you're proud of

Lynea doesn't use affirmations. To her, they're a way of trying to trick your mind into believing something you don't. Writing down what's already going well helps her notice it, and the more she celebrates those things, the more of them she gets.

In This Conversation

- Why adding people to a broken process makes the problem bigger

- The questions to ask your best clients

- Setting standards and boundaries clients respect

- Why overfunctioning attracts clients who need you to overfunction

Key Moments

6:13 $500K in income and $37K in the red

13:14 Using Marie Kondo's process on your client list

23:56 Standards, boundaries, and the 6 p.m. rule

50:34 Lynea's Joy Experiment: wins and gratitude

JOIN THE COMMUNITY!

📩 Get weekly insights, resources, and early access to episodes: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three

CONNECT WITH US!

- Roberta's Website: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaravella/

- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@robertagravella

LYNEA CARVER'S CONTACT INFORMATION

- Website: https://www.lyneacarver.com/

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynea-carver/

📖 Roberta's Book: Open for Business: How to Build a Business You Love Without the Hustle and Grind

Get your copy: https://www.amazon.in/Open-Business-Build-Without-Hustle-ebook/dp/B0G98TXZFP

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Joy Experiment Podcast is where success and soul finally meet. Roberta Ravella blends heart and science to help women entrepreneurs discover how alignment becomes action, and how success becomes something you feel, not just something you chase.

Subscribe for new episodes of The Joy Experiment every week.

#TheJoyExperiment #WomenEntrepreneurs #BusinessSystems #HustleCulture #PersonalGrowth #Podcast

Joanna Ingram spent more than 20 years in advertising agencies before a pandemic layoff made the decision for her.

She went straight into business coaching. Then she went straight into over-giving, over-proving, and overworking, until the night she sat on the kitchen floor with her back against the fridge and told her husband she couldn't do it anymore.

Joanna and Roberta talk about what changed after that: the woods, the pottery class, the four-day week, and the list of what Joanna was no longer available for.

They also talk about human design, playing small, claiming your zone of genius without taking anything from anyone, and why podcast guesting has become the backbone of Joanna's marketing.

Joanna closes with her Joy Experiment, a simple question for when joy feels a long way off:

What is right right now?

●     Leaving corporate advertising after a pandemic layoff

●     All the overs: over-efforting, over-proving, over-giving, overworking

●     Attracting clients who wanted you to do it for them

●     The "no longer available for" exercise

●     Cara fires two clients

●     Roberta's mortgage clients who felt the drag

●     Human design and being a reflector

●     Claiming your zone of genius

●     Podcast guesting and depth-led marketing

●     Why high-achieving clients often want less

●     Joanna's Joy Experiment: What is right right now?

JOIN THE COMMUNITY!

📩 Get weekly insights, resources, and early access to episodes: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three

CONNECT WITH US!

Roberta’s Website: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaravella/

https://www.tiktok.com/@robertagravella

Joanna Ingram’s Contact Information:

Website: joannaingram.com

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannaingramconsulting/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamjo.ingram/ 

Podcasts: Goals with Soul and The Soulful Catalyst

Free Resource

Podcast Guest Expert Positioning Framework: how to stand out, get on great shows and know what to say when you get there. joannaingram.link/guest-expert

📖 Roberta’s Book: Open for Business: How To Build A Business You Love Without The Hustle And Grind

Get your copy: https://www.amazon.in/Open-Business-Build-Without-Hustle-ebook/dp/B0G98TXZFP

About the show:

The Joy Experiment Podcast is where success and soul finally meet. Roberta Ravella blends heart and science to help women entrepreneurs discover how alignment becomes action, and how success becomes something you feel, not just something you chase.

Subscribe for new episodes of The Joy Experiment every week.

#TheJoyExperiment #JoannaIngram #EntrepreneurBurnout #WomenInBusiness #PodcastGuesting #Boundaries #Podcast

Summer Jelinek knew from a young age that she was different. She just didn't know why.

It wasn't until she was diagnosed with autism and ADHD as an adult that, as Summer describes it, the puzzle pieces started clicking into place.

But her first reaction wasn't relief.

It was rage.

Summer joins Roberta to talk about what happened after the diagnosis and what changed when she began working with her brain instead of against it.

They talk about hyperfocus, energy, sensory overload, parenting, asking for help, saying no, and the seemingly tiny things that can make life easier when you've already got a lot on your plate.

Summer also shares the energy exercise she uses to decide when to tackle difficult work, why she's become much more specific about the work she'll accept, and the advice she received early in her speaking career:

Be the steakhouse, not the buffet.

• Receiving an autism and ADHD diagnosis as an adult
• Why Summer initially felt rage instead of relief
• Working with your brain instead of against it
• Hyperfocus, rest and sensory overload
• Taking small things off your plate
• Why balance isn't always 50/50
• Asking for help and communicating what you need
• Summer's energy-mapping exercise
• Figuring out what's actually worth a yes
• Saying no to work that isn't a fit
• Building a circle of entrepreneurs who refer and support each other
• Finding champions, not only mentors
• What resentment helped Summer notice in her own business
• Summer's weekly Joy Experiment

JOIN THE COMMUNITY!

📩 Get weekly insights, resources, and early access to episodes: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three

CONNECT WITH US!

Roberta’s Website: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaravella/
https://www.tiktok.com/@robertagravella

Summer Jelinek’s Contact Information:  

Website: www.summerjelinek.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/summerjelinek/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/summerjelinek/
Free Resource

Read the first three chapters of Summer's book, Unlocking the Magic of Leadership. This section focuses on "Manage Yourself First." https://www.unlockingthemagicofleadership.com/myf

📖 Roberta’s Book: Open for Business: How To Build A Business You Love Without The Hustle And Grind

Get your copy: https://www.amazon.in/Open-Business-Build-Without-Hustle-ebook/dp/B0G98TXZFP

About the show:

The Joy Experiment Podcast is where success and soul finally meet. Roberta Ravella blends heart and science to help women entrepreneurs discover how alignment becomes action, and how success becomes something you feel, not just something you chase.

Subscribe for new episodes of The Joy Experiment every week.

#TheJoyExperiment #Creativity #PersonalGrowth #VictoriaWright #Podcast #CreativeProcess #IndependentAuthor

For the final episode of Season 1, Roberta brings together four conversations that helped define The Joy Experiment.

Megan talks about the work that doesn’t always look like work…wandering through the house, taking a walk, or watching someone else’s art while her brain works on something in the background.

Yinka Ewuola explains why she never wants to make seven figures the way she did the first time. She still wants a bigger business and greater impact.

Erin Bradley shares a morning writing practice that brings hidden desires and fears onto the page. Instead of forcing an idea into an action plan, she lets curiosity start the discovery process.

Victoria Wright and Roberta compare skydiving with floating. One requires jumping out of a plane. The other requires staying still long enough to let the water hold you.

Together, these moments capture the questions that kept appearing throughout Season 1: What does work look like when you trust your own process? Can success feel good while you’re creating it? And what becomes available when you stop assuming that everything you need exists outside of you?

• Megan on giving yourself permission to work the way your creativity works
• The difference between feeding your creativity and numbing yourself
• Why joy is something you carry into an experience
• Yinka on creating success without sacrificing herself
• Erin’s early-morning exercise for uncovering desires and fears
• Victoria and Roberta on skydiving, floating, trust, and being held

• Yinka Ewuola
• Megan
• Victoria Wright
• Erin Bradley

JOIN THE COMMUNITY!

📩 Get weekly insights, resources, and early access to episodes: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three

CONNECT WITH US!

Roberta’s Website: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaravella/
https://www.tiktok.com/@robertagravella

📖 Roberta’s Book: Open for Business: How To Build A Business You Love Without The Hustle And Grind

Get your copy: https://www.amazon.in/Open-Business-Build-Without-Hustle-ebook/dp/B0G98TXZFP

About the show:

The Joy Experiment Podcast is where success and soul finally meet. Roberta Ravella blends heart and science to help women entrepreneurs discover how alignment becomes action, and how success becomes something you feel, not just something you chase.

Subscribe for new episodes of The Joy Experiment every week.

#TheJoyExperiment #Creativity #PersonalGrowth #VictoriaWright #Podcast #CreativeProcess #IndependentAuthor

Mandy McAllister had a prestigious medical device sales career, a young son and a $200K–$300K income. Walking away from it did not look like the responsible choice.

But staying was asking something from her too.

In this conversation, Mandy and Roberta talk about the honesty that changed how Mandy looked at her career, the financial foundation she created before leaving her W-2 and why she decided to treat the next chapter as an experiment instead of an irreversible decision.

They also talk about self-trust, perfectionism, choosing the people around you carefully and what Mandy calls controlling your “second thought.”

• Leaving a high-paying career when staying no longer fit
• Separating what you actually want from achievement and ego
• Mandy’s “floor of income” and creating financial runway
• Treating change as an experiment
• Building proof that you can trust yourself
• Perfectionism and being “reasonable enough”
• Surrounding yourself with people who look like your future
• Creating more time freedom
• The first thought versus the second thought

• Return on brain space and Mandy’s “season of subtraction”

JOIN THE COMMUNITY!

📩 Get weekly insights, resources, and early access to episodes: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three

CONNECT WITH US!

Roberta’s Website: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaravella/
https://www.tiktok.com/@robertagravella

Mandy McAllister’s Contact Information:  

Website: https://www.mandymcallister.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/themandymcallister/   
Free Resource

Financial Goals Calculator:
https://www.mandymcallister.com/financial-goals-calculator

📖 Roberta’s Book: Open for Business: How To Build A Business You Love Without The Hustle And Grind

Get your copy: https://www.amazon.in/Open-Business-Build-Without-Hustle-ebook/dp/B0G98TXZFP

About the show:

The Joy Experiment Podcast is where success and soul finally meet. Roberta Ravella blends heart and science to help women entrepreneurs discover how alignment becomes action, and how success becomes something you feel, not just something you chase.

Subscribe for new episodes of The Joy Experiment every week.

#TheJoyExperiment #Creativity #PersonalGrowth #VictoriaWright #Podcast #CreativeProcess #IndependentAuthor

Sarah Buehner started her business young. She was a therapist, built a healing center, moved into business and marketing, and eventually found her way into podcasting and content creation.

But none of it happened through one perfectly mapped-out career plan.

In this episode of The Joy Experiment, Sarah and Roberta talk about what happens when something that once worked just doesn't anymore.

Sarah remembers standing in her bedroom getting ready for her therapy job and knowing she couldn't keep forcing herself through it. Roberta remembers getting the kind of mortgage client she'd worked years to attract and realizing she wasn't even excited about the call.

So...do you need a break? Or do you need a change?

Sarah and Roberta get into knowing when a season is over, intuition and synchronicities in business, nervous system reactions as your business grows, and what happens when perfectly good advice still doesn't feel right for you.

They also talk about people-pleasing, leadership, delegation, allowing yourself to have more than one idea, creating content without obsessing over the numbers, and why leaving one chapter of your work doesn't mean you're starting over.

Plus, Sarah explains why she doesn't use AI to choose podcast clips, tells the story of a sunflower that unexpectedly got 6,500 views, and shares what she does with the business tasks she doesn't particularly enjoy.

And yes, Sarah and Roberta both know the familiar temptation to say, "I'll just do it myself."

• Knowing when a season is over
• The difference between needing a break and needing a change
• Sarah's move from therapy into business and podcasting
• Intuition and synchronicities in business
• Changing direction without starting over
• Nervous system reactions during business growth
• Employees, business owners, and entrepreneurs
• Creating content without obsessing over views
• Why Sarah uses a human eye to choose podcast clips
• Following good advice that isn't right for you
• People-pleasing and saying yes when you want to say no
• Leadership, delegation, and letting other people help
• Self-trust and discernment

JOIN THE COMMUNITY!

📩 Get weekly insights, resources, and early access to episodes: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three
CONNECT WITH US!
Roberta’s Website: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaravella/
https://www.tiktok.com/@robertagravella
Sarah Buehner’s Contact Information:  

Website: Sagittarius Rising Media Company

Instagram: @sarah.buehner

📖 Roberta’s Book: Open for Business: How To Build A Business You Love Without The Hustle And Grind

Get your copy: https://www.amazon.in/Open-Business-Build-Without-Hustle-ebook/dp/B0G98TXZFP

About the show:

The Joy Experiment Podcast is where success and soul finally meet. Roberta Ravella blends heart and science to help women entrepreneurs discover how alignment becomes action, and how success becomes something you feel, not just something you chase.

Yinka Ewuola built a seven-figure business during one of the hardest seasons of her life.

After spending much of 2024 supporting her parents through her father's serious illness, she reached the goal she had worked toward all year. Instead of feeling fulfilled, she found herself asking, "What was it all for?"

That moment became the beginning of what she calls her Joy Experiment.

Every Friday for a year, Yinka set aside time to discover what genuinely brought her joy. Some things surprised her. Roller skating beat ice skating. Playing music with someone she loves felt different than practicing scales alone. More importantly, she realized joy wasn't something waiting outside of her—it was something she carried into every experience.

In this episode, Roberta and Yinka talk about:

• Why reaching a major business goal left her questioning everything
• How caring for her father changed the way she thought about success
• What she learned from dedicating one day each week to finding joy
• The difference between happiness and joy
• Why she chose to change herself instead of starting a different business
• How perfectionism and people-pleasing made it difficult to know what she actually wanted
• The role curiosity now plays when difficult emotions show up
• Why she believes sustainable success begins long before the destination

The conversation also explores why so many women lose touch with what brings them joy, how presence changes the way we experience both pain and happiness, and why Yinka believes the most important relationship she rebuilt wasn't with her business—it was with herself.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY!

📩 Get weekly insights, resources, and early access to episodes: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three

CONNECT WITH US!

Roberta’s Website: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaravella/
https://www.tiktok.com/@robertagravella

Yinka Ewuola’s Contact Information: [email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yinka-ewuola?originalSubdomain=uk
https://www.instagram.com/yinkaewuola/

📖 Roberta’s Book: Open for Business: How To Build A Business You Love Without The Hustle And Grind

Get your copy: https://www.amazon.in/Open-Business-Build-Without-Hustle-ebook/dp/B0G98TXZFP

About the show:

The Joy Experiment Podcast is where success and soul finally meet. Roberta Ravella blends heart and science to help women entrepreneurs discover how alignment becomes action, and how success becomes something you feel, not just something you chase.

Victoria Wright spent years building a successful corporate career before reaching a point where she asked herself, "Is this all there is?" That question eventually led her away from banking, into a healing journey, and toward becoming an author, speaker, and creator.

In this episode of The Joy Experiment, Roberta and Victoria explore how that transition unfolded—from navigating a relentless inner critic to unexpectedly writing multiple books after never considering herself a writer. Victoria describes how journaling became the starting point for her creative work, why she writes without outlining, and the advice from her partner that helped her keep going: "Nobody has to read this."

The conversation also moves into creativity itself: why it doesn't always happen in a straight line, how curiosity can lead to unexpected opportunities, and why sometimes the best thing you can do is simply start where you are.

• Victoria's transition from corporate banking to creative work
• Living with a relentless inner critic
• Writing books without a traditional writing process
• Independent publishing and creative confidence
• Why "Nobody has to read this" unlocked creativity
• The role of curiosity in creative work
• Letting go of linear thinking
• The skydiving conversation that became a discussion about floating
• Identity, creativity, and making space for something new

Guest: Victoria Wright

Learn more about Victoria and her work at Healing Words Online.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY!

📩 Get weekly insights, resources, and early access to episodes: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three

CONNECT WITH US!

Roberta’s Website: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaravella/
https://www.tiktok.com/@robertagravella

Victoria Wright’s Website: https://www.healingwords.online/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vwright1
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08WX6S6FN/allbooks

📖 Roberta’s Book: Open for Business: How To Build A Business You Love Without The Hustle And Grind

Get your copy: https://www.amazon.in/Open-Business-Build-Without-Hustle-ebook/dp/B0G98TXZFP

About the show:

The Joy Experiment Podcast is where success and soul finally meet. Roberta Ravella blends heart and science to help women entrepreneurs discover how alignment becomes action, and how success becomes something you feel, not just something you chase.

In this episode of The Joy Experiment, Roberta Ravella speaks with Irish writer, facilitator, and consultant Megan Macedo about identity, creative work, and allowing her work to change as she changes.

Megan describes identity through the image of sand dunes. Some parts are rooted and stable, while others shift gradually or change after a storm. She connects this image to intergenerational trauma, intergenerational resilience, and the vulnerability involved in letting go of roles that once provided certainty.

The conversation explores Megan’s discomfort with the language of battle, pushing, and punishment often used in business. She shares how her experience of childbirth led her to think about creative work as a process of birth rather than battle.

Roberta and Megan also discuss surrender, nonlinear productivity, and the conditions that can support creative work, noticing physical signs of readiness, and the uncertainty that can come with allowing work to emerge in its own time.

• Identity as something rooted and continually changing
• Intergenerational trauma and intergenerational resilience
• The certainty people can receive from roles and labels
• Megan’s move away from web design and marketing consultancy
• Joy, discomfort, and the spark of aliveness
• Business as battle compared with creation as birth
• The creative reflex
• Surrendering control over timing and outcomes
• Rest and nonlinear productivity
• Creative practices that may not look like work
• Creating financial and time buffers
• Recognizing what is ripe in the work
• Mentorship and physical signs of readiness
• Megan’s experience of moving away from numbness

Website: meganmacedo.com

Megan’s website includes her email list and a free talk about taking an artistic approach to every aspect of work.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY!

📩 Get weekly insights, resources, and early access to episodes: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three

CONNECT WITH US!

Roberta’s Website: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaravella/
https://www.tiktok.com/@robertagravella

Megan Macedo’s Website: https://meganmacedo.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganmacedo/

📖 Roberta’s Book: Open for Business: How To Build A Business You Love Without The Hustle And Grind

Get your copy: https://www.amazon.in/Open-Business-Build-Without-Hustle-ebook/dp/B0G98TXZFP

About the show:

The Joy Experiment Podcast is where success and soul finally meet. Roberta Ravella blends heart and science to help women entrepreneurs discover how alignment becomes action, and how success becomes something you feel, not just something you chase.

What if ambition didn't have to come at the expense of your peace?

In this episode of The Joy Experiment, Roberta Ravella sits down with entrepreneur and business mentor Bianca B. King to explore the idea of Joyful Ambition—a framework Bianca developed after experiencing burnout and rethinking the way success is often defined.

Together they discuss:

• Bianca's journey from commercial real estate to entrepreneurship
• Why did she stop pursuing inherited definitions of success
• The Five A's of Joyful Ambition: Awareness, Alignment, Attraction, Action, and Abundance
• The difference between urgency and genuine ambition
• Why building a business should support your life—not replace it
• Gratitude without guilt
• Finding peace during difficult seasons
• Creating space for intentional action instead of constant motion
• Building businesses that don't require recovery from them

The conversation also explores how Bianca navigated a major personal health crisis with her husband while continuing to lead multiple businesses, and how her Joyful Ambition framework became something she lived—not just something she taught.

Connect with Bianca B. King

Website: https://biancabking.com

Learn more about her Joyful Ambition work, assessments, newsletter, and entrepreneur community through her website.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY!

📩 Get weekly insights, resources, and early access to episodes: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three

CONNECT WITH US!

Roberta’s Website: https://thejoyexperiment.live/#three
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaravella/
https://www.tiktok.com/@robertagravella

Pursuing Freedom Website: https://www.pursuingfreedom.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-bradley/ https://www.facebook.com/PursuingFreedomOfficial/
https://www.instagram.com/pursuingfreedomofficial

📖 Roberta’s Book: Open for Business: How To Build A Business You Love Without The Hustle And Grind

Get your copy: https://www.amazon.in/Open-Business-Build-Without-Hustle-ebook/dp/B0G98TXZFP

About the show:

The Joy Experiment Podcast is where success and soul finally meet. Roberta Ravella blends heart and science to help women entrepreneurs discover how alignment becomes action, and how success becomes something you feel, not just something you chase.