The Sallie Ogden Show

Being an entrepreneur is a wild journey of highs and lows. When you're on top, it's exhilarating. When things get hard, it can feel isolating in a way nothing really prepares you for. This episode is for those harder days.

Consider it an honest pep talk — not the performative, motivational-poster kind, but a real one. From one entrepreneur to another. About what's actually true when you're in the middle of the messy part, what to remember when you start questioning whether you're cut out for this, and how to keep going when the only person in the room cheering for you is, on a tough day, no one at all.

If you've been carrying a lot lately and could use a few honest words from someone who has been there, this one's for you. Save it for the day you need it.

This episode originally aired on Hitting Rock Middle, the show that has since evolved into The Sallie Ogden Show.

About the show:

The Sallie Ogden Show is for the woman who's already built something — and is stuck at the plateau where the old playbook stops working. Tactical when you need a number. Honest when you need a mirror. Hosted by former lawyer turned consultant Sallie Ogden.

Stay connected:Newsletter (Further): https://www.growwiththebrimm.com/furthernewsletterFree business assessment — The BRIMM Business Scan: https://thebrimm.typeform.com/to/fuYmBbJIWebsite: growwiththebrimm.comInstagram: @the_brimm

If you've been feeling burnt out — creatively, professionally, or just generally — this episode is for you. In this solo conversation, I make the case that self-care isn't selfish or indulgent. It's actually one of the most efficient business decisions you can make. The hours you spend pushing through exhaustion are almost always hours that produce worse work than the hour you would have spent resting first.

I also do something I don't usually do on the show: I get vulnerable and read an excerpt from my book, Hitting Rock Middle. This was a meaningful chapter for me to write, and reading it out loud gives you a glimpse into what the writing process actually looked like — the parts of the experience I've rarely talked about elsewhere.

If you've been carrying a lot lately and quietly wondering whether you're allowed to slow down, this is your reminder that rest isn't a reward you have to earn. It's a tool, and the women who use it well end up further than the ones who don't.

This episode originally aired on Hitting Rock Middle, the show that has since evolved into The Sallie Ogden Show.

Buy the book:Hitting Rock Middle by Sallie Ogden: [your current preferred link to the book]

About the show:

The Sallie Ogden Show is for the woman who's already built something — and is stuck at the plateau where the old playbook stops working. Tactical when you need a number. Honest when you need a mirror. Hosted by former lawyer turned consultant Sallie Ogden.

Stay connected:Newsletter (Further): https://www.growwiththebrimm.com/furthernewsletterFree business assessment — The BRIMM Business Scan: https://thebrimm.typeform.com/to/fuYmBbJIWebsite: growwiththebrimm.comInstagram: @the_brimm

In this episode, I sit down with Amy Smilovic — the founder of Tibi, and one of the most respected designers working today. (I had to pinch myself a little when we recorded this one. Tibi has been a personal favorite of mine for years.)

Amy gives a remarkably candid account of how she built Tibi from the ground up — the unglamorous early decisions, the moments she had to keep going when nothing was guaranteed, and the philosophy that has carried the brand through more than two decades of staying relevant in an industry that rarely gives anyone that kind of runway. We talk about the importance of just doing it — taking action before you feel ready, before you have permission, before the path is clear. And we get into why she sees authenticity as the actual dividing line between the brands that make it and the ones that don't.

Whether you own a Tibi piece or have never heard of the brand, this conversation is for any woman who is building something and wants to hear from someone who has done it the long, real way.

This episode originally aired on Hitting Rock Middle, the show that has since evolved into The Sallie Ogden Show.

Connect with Amy and Tibi:Website: https://www.tibi.comInstagram: @amysmilovic and @tibi

About the show:

The Sallie Ogden Show is for the woman who's already built something — and is stuck at the plateau where the old playbook stops working. Tactical when you need a number. Honest when you need a mirror. Hosted by former lawyer turned consultant Sallie Ogden.

Stay connected:Newsletter (Further): https://www.growwiththebrimm.com/furthernewsletterFree business assessment — The BRIMM Business Scan: https://thebrimm.typeform.com/to/fuYmBbJIWebsite: growwiththebrimm.comInstagram: @the_brimm

This is Part 2 of the "Five Things" series. Last episode, I walked you through five things to stop doing in your business — the small, autopilot habits that quietly drag down your revenue and your energy. Today, I'm flipping it. Five specific things to start doing right now to make your business better, sharper, and more aligned with where you actually want it to go.

These aren't strategies you'll find in most business books. They're not productivity hacks. They're shifts in how you think about your business and how you talk about it — to clients, to yourself, and out loud in the world. The kind of changes that don't feel like they should matter, until you watch them ripple through every part of your day-to-day.

If you listened to Part 1 and you're ready for the other half of the equation, this is it. And if you haven't heard Part 1 yet, I'd recommend going back to it first — these episodes are stronger together.

This episode originally aired on Hitting Rock Middle, the show that has since evolved into The Sallie Ogden Show.

About the show:

The Sallie Ogden Show is for the woman who's already built something — and is stuck at the plateau where the old playbook stops working. Tactical when you need a number. Honest when you need a mirror. Hosted by former lawyer turned consultant Sallie Ogden.

Stay connected:Newsletter (Further): https://www.growwiththebrimm.com/furthernewsletterFree business assessment — The BRIMM Business Scan: https://thebrimm.typeform.com/to/fuYmBbJIWebsite: growwiththebrimm.comInstagram: @the_brimm

Is it possible you're quietly hurting your business without even realizing it? In this solo episode, I get down to brass tacks and walk you through five specific things to stop doing — starting today — if you want your business to actually grow.

These aren't dramatic mistakes. They're not the kind of things anyone would ever call you out for. They're the small, almost-invisible habits we develop on autopilot — the patterns running quietly in the background that drag down our revenue, our energy, and our momentum without ever announcing themselves. Most of the women I work with are doing at least three of these on any given day, and they're shocked when they see the cumulative cost of them in their business.

The good news: once you can name them, you can stop doing them. And stopping is often faster than learning a new skill.

This episode originally aired on Hitting Rock Middle, the show that has since evolved into The Sallie Ogden Show.

About the show:

The Sallie Ogden Show is for the woman who's already built something — and is stuck at the plateau where the old playbook stops working. Tactical when you need a number. Honest when you need a mirror. Hosted by former lawyer turned consultant Sallie Ogden.

Stay connected:Newsletter (Further): https://www.growwiththebrimm.com/furthernewsletterFree business assessment — The BRIMM Business Scan: https://thebrimm.typeform.com/to/fuYmBbJIWebsite: growwiththebrimm.comInstagram: @the_brimm

The customer is always right.

If you've spent any time building a business, that phrase has probably been thrown at you more than once — usually by someone trying to convince you to do something you didn't want to do. In this episode, I push back on it.

I make the case that genuinely serving your clients, and growing into the next version of yourself as a business owner, sometimes means telling a customer no. Not the dismissive, transactional kind of no — the deliberate, principled kind. The kind that protects the integrity of your work, holds the boundary your business actually needs, and (counterintuitively) builds the deepest kind of customer loyalty.

I know it sounds backwards. But every successful long-term client relationship I've ever had — and every one I've watched my clients build — has had a moment of "no" in it somewhere. We talk about how to recognize those moments, how to deliver the no without burning the relationship, and why staying in your power is one of the most undervalued business skills there is.

This episode originally aired on Hitting Rock Middle, the show that has since evolved into The Sallie Ogden Show.

About the show:

The Sallie Ogden Show is for the woman who's already built something — and is stuck at the plateau where the old playbook stops working. Tactical when you need a number. Honest when you need a mirror. Hosted by former lawyer turned consultant Sallie Ogden.

Stay connected:Newsletter (Further): https://www.growwiththebrimm.com/furthernewsletterFree business assessment — The BRIMM Business Scan: https://thebrimm.typeform.com/to/fuYmBbJIWebsite: growwiththebrimm.comInstagram: @the_brimm

There's a saying that gets repeated so often it becomes wallpaper: laughter is the best medicine. Most people nod and move on. My guest today is living proof of why we shouldn't.

I'm sitting down with Stephanie Krikorian — author of Zenbender and a woman whose story is a masterclass in what happens when you stop taking yourself so seriously. After losing her job as a television producer, Stephanie went on a quest to fix herself, working through every wellness modality and spiritual practice she could find. What she eventually realized is the punchline of the whole thing: she wasn't actually broken to begin with.

Her perspective on life is sharp, deeply funny, and refreshingly skeptical of the self-improvement industrial complex. We talk about her journey, what she actually learned along the way, and why the things you think you need to fix about yourself might not be the problem. If you've been quietly suspecting that the constant work of optimizing yourself is wearing you out instead of healing you, this conversation is for you.

This episode originally aired on Hitting Rock Middle, the show that has since evolved into The Sallie Ogden Show.

Connect with Stephanie:Website: http://stephaniekrikorian.comInstagram: @stephiekrikX (formerly Twitter): @stephiekrik

About the show:

The Sallie Ogden Show is for the woman who's already built something — and is stuck at the plateau where the old playbook stops working. Tactical when you need a number. Honest when you need a mirror. Hosted by former lawyer turned consultant Sallie Ogden.

Stay connected:Newsletter (Further): https://www.growwiththebrimm.com/furthernewsletterFree business assessment — The BRIMM Business Scan: https://thebrimm.typeform.com/to/fuYmBbJIWebsite: growwiththebrimm.comInstagram: @the_brimm

This episode is special to me. I'm sitting down with the woman who genuinely changed the trajectory of my life and my business — my own coach, Heather White.

Heather has a way of helping people see what's actually possible for them, and the steps she walks you through to get there are not the ones you'll find in a typical business book. They're not productivity hacks or growth strategies. They're something quieter and stranger and, in my experience, much more effective. We talk about how to create the reality you actually want — what it means to take the right steps in the right order, and why most people get stuck not because they're working too little, but because they're working on the wrong layer of the problem.

I can't tell Heather's story for her, so I'll just say this: the shifts that have happened in my life over the last several years — the ones I once didn't believe were possible — started in conversations with her. If you're sitting with a goal that feels just out of reach, I want you to hear how she thinks.

This episode originally aired on Hitting Rock Middle, the show that has since evolved into The Sallie Ogden Show.

Connect with Heather:Website: https://www.heatherwhite.comEmail: [email protected]Instagram: @heatherwhite

About the show:

The Sallie Ogden Show is for the woman who's already built something — and is stuck at the plateau where the old playbook stops working. Tactical when you need a number. Honest when you need a mirror. Hosted by former lawyer turned consultant Sallie Ogden.

Stay connected:Newsletter (Further): https://www.growwiththebrimm.com/furthernewsletterFree business assessment — The BRIMM Business Scan: https://thebrimm.typeform.com/to/fuYmBbJIWebsite: growwiththebrimm.comInstagram: @the_brimm

If you have trouble telling who's the guest in this episode, that's because I'm interviewing my identical twin sister, Stacy Smallwood. Our voices are so similar that even our parents have trouble telling us apart on the phone. Don't let that throw you — this is one of my favorite interviews I've ever recorded

Stacy has been an entrepreneur for nearly 13 years, and her business has weathered every kind of storm you can imagine. We talk about the actual hard stuff: surviving the 2008 crash a year and a half into building her company, navigating employee theft, and the long tail of small and large crises that nobody warns you about when you decide to go out on your own. What makes Stacy's perspective so worth hearing is that she's still here — and not just surviving, but running one of the most respected boutiques in the country. She built that by following the same principles she shares with you in this conversation.

She is hands down one of the strongest business owners I know, and I'm not just saying that because we share DNA.

This episode originally aired on Hitting Rock Middle, the show that has since evolved into The Sallie Ogden Show.

Connect with Stacy and Hampden Clothing:Website: https://www.hampdenclothing.com

About the show:

The Sallie Ogden Show is for the woman who's already built something — and is stuck at the plateau where the old playbook stops working. Tactical when you need a number. Honest when you need a mirror. Hosted by former lawyer turned consultant Sallie Ogden.

Stay connected:Newsletter (Further): https://www.growwiththebrimm.com/furthernewsletterFree business assessment — The BRIMM Business Scan: https://thebrimm.typeform.com/to/fuYmBbJIWebsite: growwiththebrimm.comInstagram: @the_brimm

Feeling like your schedule is running you instead of the other way around? In this solo episode, I pull back the curtain on what I actually do every week to keep my time, my energy, and my projects from running away from me.

I walk you through the specific way I reorganize my schedule on a regular cadence — not a complicated productivity system, just a few practical moves that consistently put me back in the driver's seat. The unexpected payoff: when your schedule isn't quietly draining you, you suddenly have room for the creative work you keep saying you don't have time for. More projects, more bandwidth, more clarity — not because you added hours to the day, but because you stopped letting the existing ones leak.

If you've been feeling like your calendar is in charge of you lately, try one of these and see what shifts.

This episode originally aired on Hitting Rock Middle, the show that has since evolved into The Sallie Ogden Show.

About the show:

The Sallie Ogden Show is for the woman who's already built something — and is stuck at the plateau where the old playbook stops working. Tactical when you need a number. Honest when you need a mirror. Hosted by former lawyer turned consultant Sallie Ogden.

Stay connected:Newsletter (Further): https://www.growwiththebrimm.com/furthernewsletterFree business assessment — The BRIMM Business Scan: https://thebrimm.typeform.com/to/fuYmBbJIWebsite: growwiththebrimm.comInstagram: @the_brimm