The Messy Success Podcast

By Elizabeth HensonBusiness Entrepreneurship Arts

The Messy Success Podcast episodes

October 07 256: The Next Big Marketing Opportunity Isn't AI
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this episode, Elizabeth shares why the biggest marketing trends 2027 has in store are not about AI, but about human connection in marketing and giving people the experience of you. As we step into the fourth quarter of 2026, she is already looking ahead and sharing what she is noticing, both as a business coach and as a consumer. Elizabeth walks through her experience on Whatnot, a live selling platform, and why watching sellers move hundreds of items helped her understand how powerful live selling really is. She also talks about going all in on a local community strategy through the Hampton Roads Creative Network, and what the evidence economy means for anyone trying to stand out while AI floods the internet. This episode is for service-based business owners, coaches, creatives, and community builders who want to market with more clarity and less pressure. You will hear why content is no longer the competitive advantage, how AI can be a tool that supports connection instead of replacing it, and what it looks like to move from the creator economy into a host economy.
19 min
September 23 255: Make More Money Working Less: What Changed When I Stopped Rushing
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this solo episode, Elizabeth explores what it looks like to make more money working less, and why staying out of the weeds might be one of the most powerful shifts you can make in your business. She shares what she has noticed since building her days around not rushing, and why the more outward facing she is, the easier revenue seems to come. This conversation is for service-based business owners at any stage, whether you are just starting out or already running a profitable business. It is especially for you if you feel stuck creating offers, tweaking messaging, and trying to get everything just right before you sell. Elizabeth shares takeaways from a recent mastermind day, including why you do not need a perfect offer and the one thing you do need to be certain about. You will also hear her simple filter for busy work: what can you eliminate, what can you delegate, and what do you still really need to do yourself. And she offers a gentle invitation to audit your energy, your output, and the days your biggest wins happened.
25 min
September 16 254: Buy Back Your Time: How I Turn Everyday Purchases Into ROI
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This episode is all about a time versus money mindset, and how the small decisions you make every day either buy you time or cost you time. It started with something Elizabeth overheard at her local coffee shop during her weekly CEO hour, a comment about not being able to afford an $8 cup of coffee, and it sent her down a rabbit hole about saving vs investing money and what it really means to buy back your time. This episode is for anyone who has ever felt guilty about a small purchase, or who has been told to "just save more" without anyone explaining what that actually builds toward. Elizabeth breaks down the difference between saving and investing, shares why she believes the worst thing you can do with your money is hoard it, and walks through real examples from her own life, from flight upgrades to a $100 silent retreat that shaped an entire year of content for her business. You'll walk away thinking differently about the $8 coffees, the flight upgrades, and the small splurges in your own life, not as guilt, but as opportunities to buy back your time and put it toward something that actually moves you forward. Give this one a listen, and then ask yourself where you're spending time to save money, and where you could be doing the opposite.
22 min
September 09 253: Dealing with Rejection in Business: Moving Through It Instead of Around It
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Some weeks hand you all the rejection at once. This is one of those episodes. Elizabeth shares what it looked like to sit with a string of no's in her business, the old story it stirred up from childhood, and why she's chosen to see it as evidence she's playing a bigger game, not a smaller one. She also shares something lighter: a content hack she stumbled into the same day, built on the idea of document over create instead of constantly having to invent something new. It led her to try a simple day in the life content idea, and it ended up connecting her with a real person in a way she wasn't expecting. Two different stories, one honest episode. Come sit with her in the messy middle of both.
22 min
September 02 252: Doing the Big Scary Thing: What It Actually Takes to Go All In with Candice West
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. Today's episode is all about doing the big scary thing, and Elizabeth sits down with her friend Candice West, an advanced practice nurse, somatic practitioner, and founder of The Soma Center, who is producing her first ever live performance, Permission Granted, at the Sandler Center in Virginia Beach. This conversation is for anyone who has an idea sitting on a shelf, the book, the event, the big leap you keep talking yourself out of. Candice opens up about what it actually feels like to commit to something this size with zero production experience, and how detachment from outcome became the thing that let her keep going even when a lead dancer broke her foot weeks before opening night. She and Elizabeth talk honestly about fear of failure, why financial risk isn't the risk people think it is, and what it means to stop shrinking and finally take up the whole stage instead of the smaller, safer room. If you've ever had a big scary thing you've been sitting on, this episode is your permission slip. Take a listen, and let it stir something loose.
55 min
August 26 251: When Your Systems Fail: A Behind-the-Scenes Summer Debrief
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This week's episode is a summer debrief, and it starts with a confession: Elizabeth's morning walk routine, the one she loved so much last year, lasted about a week this summer before it quietly fell apart. Instead of glossing over that, she uses it as a way into a bigger conversation about work-life balance for business owners, what actually worked this summer (a new studio, a consistent schedule, real support), and what she's still figuring out. She talks honestly about back-to-school emotions, about revenue stability not changing how much she wanted to work, and about the intentional choices behind the support system she has. There's no perfect takeaway here, just an honest look at what messy actually looks like in real life, and a reminder that you have more choice than you think you do.
24 min
August 19 250: Live Group Coaching Call: A Real, Unfiltered Peek of Our Community
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This episode is a little different. Instead of a solo teaching episode, you're getting a real, unfiltered look inside a bonus group coaching call from Elizabeth's program, Elevate. It's an honest look at what it actually takes when you're growing your business on social media and the results aren't showing up the way you hoped. This episode is for you if you've ever wondered whether you're the only one whose Instagram isn't converting, whether you should be leaning into long form content vs short form content, or whether it's too late to name the next chapter of your business out loud. Elizabeth walks a group of her Elevate members through a handful of simple journal prompts, and what comes up is honest, funny, and deeply relatable. You'll hear real business owners talk through new offers, fear, imposter syndrome, and the discomfort of showing up when nobody's watching yet. Elizabeth also shares her own thirteen years of experimenting in real time, including a story about TikTok that proves persistence pays off even when the results feel invisible. If you've been waiting for permission to be new at something, to change direction, or to simply keep going, this episode is that permission. Press play, grab a journal, and let whatever comes up for you be enough.
1 hr 13 min
August 12 249: Understanding Customer Pain Points: My exact method, and what not to do!
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. In this episode, Elizabeth breaks down her personal framework for understanding customer pain points, the exact process she uses to connect with her audience and clients without ever making assumptions about what they're struggling with. She kicks things off with a real story from her DMs, a moment that perfectly illustrates how most people get pain points completely wrong, and why it feels so off putting when someone assumes they know what you need. This episode is for anyone building an audience, writing sales copy, sending emails, or having sales conversations who wants their marketing to feel human instead of transactional. Elizabeth walks through her four step process, starting with consent marketing, then moving into how to identify what someone actually wants, uncovering the real barrier standing in their way, and giving people the agency to self diagnose whether your solution is right for them. If you have ever felt like your marketing sounds like everyone else's, or like you are guessing at what your audience needs, this conversation offers a completely different way to think about connection. It is not about having the perfect script. It is about asking better questions and letting people lead. Take a listen, sit with the four steps, and see where you might be making assumptions instead of asking questions.
31 min
August 05 248: The Hardest Part about Being a Business Coach. What Most People Miss....
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. This week Elizabeth is talking about the real difference between opportunity vs circumstance, and why so many people stay stuck one decision away from the life they say they want. After ten years of coaching entrepreneurs, Elizabeth has noticed a pattern: most people already know what they should be doing to grow their business. The real block isn't knowledge. It's the mindset shift for entrepreneurs that has to happen before any action feels possible. This episode is for anyone who has felt like making money is hard, who has caught themselves ranting about the economy or their circumstances, or who has been sitting on a decision that could change everything. Elizabeth breaks down her red car and blue car metaphor for spotting opportunity, talks through why hiring or raising your prices feels so scary at certain plateaus, and shares a personal story about the decision behind her new podcast studio. You'll walk away with a clearer way to separate circumstance from opportunity, plus a reminder that growth almost never feels like a golden opportunity. It usually just feels like discomfort. If you've been waiting for the moment to feel easier before you make your move, this episode is your permission to stop waiting and start paying attention. Take a listen, sit with it, and see what opportunity you might be overlooking.
28 min
July 29 247: When to Collaborate in Business (And When to Say No)
Welcome back to the Messy Success Podcast. If your calendar is filling up with collaboration requests and your revenue isn't following, this episode is for you. Elizabeth breaks down when to collaborate in business, when to say no, and why there's a specific growth phase where accepting every invitation actually works against you. This episode is for the business owner who has moved past the early "collaborate with everyone" stage and is starting to feel drained, overextended, or unsure why events with other business owners aren't filling the room. Elizabeth shares the marketing campaign mistake most people make with collaborations, why she now limits herself to one collaboration a month, and how to tell whether a collaboration is actually serving your business goals or just keeping you in a repetitive pattern. She also offers a completely different model for supporting other business owners without becoming a full partner, one that protects your time and energy while still showing up for your community. If you've been feeling guilty about setting business collaboration boundaries, this conversation will give you permission and a framework to do it well. Press play and start protecting your calendar like the CEO you're becoming.
24 min

About The Messy Success Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to the Messy Success Podcast. Our host, Elizabeth Henson, is an expert in community based marketing with a focus on leadership and self development. She helps entrepreneurs, artists, and creative leaders grow and scale communities so that marketing is easy. She used her experience helping seven figure business owners to build out her own unique methodology in community building and marketing. The Messy Success Podcast combines business tips and real life experiences in being a creative entrepreneur. This podcast will leave you feeling confident, and normalizes the day to day struggles we all experience as business owners.