Melody just got back from a whirlwind week of deep cleaning an inn on Cape Cod while launching a full-blown vegan detox.. yes, at the same time! This episode kicks off with that chaotic personal story before rolling into a hilarious, slightly cringey role-play of how she used to run job interviews (and all the mistakes that came with it). It’s all about the messy, mysterious art of hiring: what’s changed, what still stumps us, and why nailing the “culture fit” is way harder than anyone admits.

Key Takeaways:

• Most interviews are performances.. people say what you want to hear because survival (aka getting paid) is on the line.
• True alignment isn’t about reciting the boss’s values, but about what motivates someone when no one is watching.
• Even after hundreds (or thousands) of hires, you can’t game the mystery out of people.. you can only build better systems and expect a little failure.
• Culture, capability, and manager fit all matter; a red flag in any one can unravel everything.
• If someone’s not a morning person, no “pretend” morning enthusiasm will last longer than a few weeks—ask us how we know.

Timestamps:

• [00:01:29] Melody’s innkeeping and vegan cleanse escapades
• [00:10:14] “Hiring mistakes from a decade ago”
• [00:13:07] Interview style confessions (awkward silences, overselling)
• [00:25:53] The myth of “values-based hiring”
• [00:32:21] Testing tools, culture clashes, and international surprises
• [00:35:27] Admitting we’re still not hiring experts

Definitely one for anyone who’s ever sweated over hiring… or wondered why “just hire nice people” never works out that simply.

In Part 3 of Curt and Melody’s conversation with Josh Latimer, the discussion moves far beyond business tactics and into the deeper questions entrepreneurs wrestle with underneath the surface.

Josh shares candidly about boredom in business, the tension between creativity and leadership, why so many entrepreneurs chase goals they don’t actually want, and how identity shapes pricing, confidence, growth, and decision-making.

The episode explores the difference between cravings created by outside expectations versus genuine desires rooted in purpose and conviction. Curt, Melody, and Josh also unpack sales psychology, delegation, startup culture, mentorship, boundaries, and what it really takes to grow into the next version of yourself.

This conversation feels equal parts business coaching session, philosophical discussion, and honest reflection on the emotional side of entrepreneurship.

Key Takeaways:

• Most of what entrepreneurs claim they want is just social conditioning—figuring out your real, internally-motivated desire is a much messier process.
• Serving customers you “should” want to help (instead of the ones who value you) is a fast road to burnout and under-earning.
• Boundaries actually make people respect you more—overgiving just makes everyone (yourself included) take your value for granted.
• Pricing transforms how your clients show up (and how you see yourself). Sometimes doubling your price is the most generous thing you can do for both sides.
• Iterating in public, embracing mistakes, and treating your business as a living "science experiment" beats waiting for perfect.

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Desires vs. cravings and deathbed regrets
• [00:07:13] The “so that” story that strips ambition to the core
• [00:16:13] Melody’s “oughtness” trap and finding the right customer
• [00:24:07] Pricing, confidence, and the weird truth about value
• [00:33:35] Boundaries, burnout, and the hard lessons of letting go
• [00:56:37] F.R.A.P. and the art (and science) of making profit actually work
• [01:07:08] Can you market ethically and build wealth? (Hint: yes)

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At what point do entrepreneurs stop dreaming and start only solving problems?

In this deeply honest conversation, Curt and Melody explore the tension between creativity, ambition, technology, and being human in a world that never stops moving. What started as a conversation about entrepreneurship and AI turned into something much bigger: a reflection on dreaming itself.

They unpack the addictive nature of execution, the pressure entrepreneurs place on themselves, and how modern technology is changing not just the way businesses operate — but the way people think, create, rest, and connect.

Curt opens up about getting consumed by late-night AI building sessions and the moment Rachel confronted him about being present with his family. Melody reflects on the difference between dreaming, creating, and constantly reacting to the endless stream of possibilities AI creates.

Together, they wrestle with questions many entrepreneurs are quietly asking right now:

-What happens when ideas can become reality instantly?

-What do humans lose when every problem gets outsourced?

-And how do we protect wonder, creativity, and connection in the middle of nonstop execution?

By the end of the episode, Curt and Melody challenge themselves to reconnect with something they haven’t practiced in a long time: ridiculous, childlike dreaming.

Because before they were entrepreneurs… they were dreamers.

Timestamps:

• 00:10 – Melody’s travel spiral & Kurt’s homebody era
• 05:00 – Dreaming vs. implementing (and why teams panic at new ideas)
• 13:10 – Addicted to AI, missing dinner, and marital intervention
• 21:30 – “Dreaming” now just means executing—what’s lost?
• 32:00 – Overwhelm, mental health, and sheltering our brains
• 39:00 – Dreaming for family, dreaming as community
• 45:05 – Ridiculous dreams (flying, performing, being a kid again)

What happens when your values deeply align with a room full of people… but your identity still feels complicated?

In this episode, Melody joins Curt live from a Christian business conference in Arkansas and opens up about something unexpectedly vulnerable: feeling like a fraud in spaces where she actually feels deeply at home.

What starts as a conversation about faith quickly becomes a much bigger exploration of entrepreneurship, authenticity, self-worth, and the emotional tension many founders feel around visibility, networking, and asking for what they want.

Curt and Melody unpack:

• Why purpose-driven entrepreneurs often struggle to advocate for themselves
• The difference between authentic connection and strategic collaboration
• Why “being business-minded” can feel manipulative to relational people
• The fear of rejection hiding underneath networking discomfort
• What it means to “hold the pose” of the person you’re becoming
• Why promoting a shared mission feels easier than promoting yourself
• The surprising overlap between faith-based leadership values and ethical entrepreneurship

Along the way, Melody reflects on hearing speakers like Auntie Anne’s founder Anne Beiler, wrestling with identity in unfamiliar spaces, and realizing that maybe the hardest part of growth isn’t becoming someone new — it’s allowing yourself to fully step into who you already are.

This episode is honest, funny, uncomfortable in the best way, and deeply relatable for anyone building a business without wanting to lose themselves in the process.

Website: The Soul Proprietor Podcast

Instagram: @soulproprietorpodcast

LinkedIn: The Soul Proprietor Podcast

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Ever feel like your faith, your business, and who you’re becoming… don’t quite line up anymore?

That’s where this conversation goes.

Curt Kempton and Melody Edwards sit down with Josh Latimer for Part 2—and instead of clean answers, they follow the tension. The result is a conversation that moves through belief, doubt, identity, and what happens when long-held frameworks start to shift.

This is about answering what feels true and what doesn’t anymore.

For anyone who’s felt that quiet disconnect between what they were taught and what they’re actually experiencing… this one will feel familiar.

What They Talk About:

• Why Curt can't stand "fake it till you make it" and Josh's alternative: holding the pose
• The moment business trophies start gathering dust, and what it means for identity and growth
• Melody's fierce struggle with inherited faith, especially when her core values collide with evangelical politics
• Josh's "God as good dad" framework and why he puts religion itself on the chopping block
• Parenting through spiritual evolution.. how Josh talks about faith and shame with his kids (very unfiltered)
• The story of Uncle Roger, the lovable career criminal, and what it reveals about judgment, grace, and cosmic "grading on a curve"
• Why entrepreneurial paths aren't for everyone and Josh's Home Improvement marathon as parenting philosophy
• Riffing on economics: business as a garden vs. a pie, why value multiplies, and how real wealth is created collaboratively

Key Takeaways:

• You can outgrow your religious programming without tossing out the concept of a loving creator.
• Business (done well) is about serving people, not extracting value—it’s a messy, generative web, not a zero-sum game.
• There’s deep power (and pain) in living with uncertainty, wrestling with faith, and giving yourself permission to change your mind.
• The roles we play in work, faith, and family aren’t interchangeable; your gifts matter exactly as they are.

Timestamps:

• 00:00: Why Josh can't stand religion and how Jesus fits in
• 01:44: The problem with "fake it till you make it" and the cost of certainty
• 09:23: God as good dad—Josh’s first principles
• 17:07: Sin, shame, and how Josh handles messy kid conversations
• 25:05: Are entrepreneurs born or made? The athlete/engineer/artist tribe
• 31:15: Wrestling with belief systems and finding spiritual freedom
• 41:57: Serving people, not money, and reframing economic value

(And yes, they planned to talk more about business and marketing. But they didn’t!)

In this episode, Curt and Melody sit down with longtime friend and mentor Josh Latimer for a conversation that goes far beyond business strategy.

They dig into the uncomfortable side of growth... why leveling up often feels like loss, how identity quietly sets the ceiling for your success, and why confidence has less to do with what you know and more to do with what you’ve proven to yourself.

Josh shares openly about failure, reinvention, faith, and the patterns that keep entrepreneurs stuck, even when they “know” what to do.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re circling the same level despite doing the work, this conversation offers a different lens.. one that might challenge more than it comforts.

• You can’t carry your old identity into your next chapter.. real change feels like death, and that’s necessary
• Integrity pays off over time, even when it feels like you’re falling behind the narcissists in the short run
• Confidence doesn’t come from knowing more.. it comes from stacking real evidence through messy, relentless action
• Your “purpose” is less about waiting for a big sign and more about showing up as yourself, right now, imperfectly
• The people at the top are usually just painfully average, except for their willingness to think bigger, move faster, and do more

0:00 – Josh’s “if it’s worth it, do it” philosophy

8:34 – Identity deaths, destiny, and $100M generosity

17:28 – Meeting your heroes: why it matters

21:27 – Melody’s purpose-versus-profit struggle

27:26 – The messy truth about religious baggage and family

39:30 – Confidence, “holding the pose,” and the alter ego effect

44:45 – Public speaking terror and why more volume changes everything

Melody’s nearly ready to start a fight club or at least dish out a little “petty justice.” This episode is basically what happens when you hit your late 40s and realize you’re done tiptoeing around fragile egos, especially when being “nice” never seems to work out. Curt and Melody share about a messy neighbor drama, the exhausting rules women are still expected to follow, and where standing up for yourself starts to feel like a crime.

• The saga of Melody vs. her neighbor’s rowdy late-night parties (and why she almost landed in jail over a phone snatch)
• Why Melody is officially out of patience for dimming herself to coddle male egos and what happens when she doesn’t
• The story about Matt’s black belt and the absolutely worst time to mention it to drunk party bros
• Curt’s “Bro Code” theory and how it played out when the cops showed up
• How Melody’s fight for peace triggered flashbacks to her old, much scarier neighbor (yeah, the one who literally sued everyone)
• Why “Karen” isn’t quite the insult you think it is.. at least not when you’re just fighting for some sleep
• Curt’s frank take on male vs. female expectations in parenting and work (featuring Rachel’s frozen dinners)
• What changes and what doesn’t—frustration with slow progress, politics, and why real change takes generations

• Sometimes, standing up for yourself will absolutely make you “the problem” and that’s still better than shrinking.
• There’s a real energy boost in letting yourself feel anger instead of constantly bottling it up.
• The rules and expectations placed on women (and especially moms) run much deeper than most guys ever realize.
• If you’re tired of being a pushover, you don’t suddenly have to become a jerk.. you just get to stop apologizing for being yourself.
• Real change is slow, messy, and full of setbacks, but the small ways we show up matter.

0:00 — The great neighbor meltdown/night of petty justice

10:12 — Melody’s realization: done dimming herself

18:55 — “Bro Code,” cops, and gendered assumptions

33:30 — Women in business and Melody’s double bind

43:41 — Curt’s take on mom guilt vs. dad self-permission

54:55 — Why systemic change is agonizingly slow

1:04:00 — Petty justice as self-respect (plus closing laughs)

Everyone keeps saying AI should make our work lives easier but is anyone actually working less? This week, Melody and Curt talk about burnout, why faster tech just puts more on our plates, and how even “delegating” can feel like another job. It’s one part therapy session, one part practical experiment in finding sanity as a business owner in the AI age.

What They Talk About:

• Why Melody felt instant relief when her whole company shut down for a day and what “freedom” really means with a team
• The women’s conference revelations: burn bright vs. burn out, a keynote on facing 100 fears, and why “comfort” is the real enemy of progress
• Curt's wild ride with AI—doing a month’s work in a day and somehow always being more exhausted
• When dashboards become soul-sucking rabbit holes (and the awkward truth about who actually uses them)
• The invisible job of being everyone’s safety net and why no one feels comfortable stepping away
• Micro-exhaustion and the “AI brain fry” phenomenon: more automation equals more fragmented days, not fewer headaches
• That laundry list of burnout symptoms (yes, irritability is there) and how recognizing them still doesn’t make the work less tempting
• Honest talk about work addiction, recovery, and the ambiguous dream of finally “taking a month off”

• AI makes you more productive, but it also ramps up the speed and volume of decisions until your brain feels deep-fried
• The real relief comes from connection and proactively creating space, not just optimizing workflows or working faster
• Delegation is its own skill and even in a tech-powered world, it’s hard to let go without a serious mindset shift
• Sometimes you need to commit, out loud, to shutting the laptop and going outside.. even if you have to guilt yourself into it

0:00 – Why “working less” with AI is not the reality

11:07 – 10 warning signs of burnout (and both hosts fess up)

17:32 – Curt's AI workflow and the mounting pressure to keep up

26:44 – The dashboard dilemma: building for everyone, used by no one

38:03 – The micro-exhaustion cycle and lost space for thinking

49:05 – Let’s actually commit: little changes for a saner week

57:22 – Wrapping up: spring mulching, Easter sunrise, and choosing sanity over speed

Curt and Melody are wrestling with what “normal” even means anymore.. especially for Gen X business owners living through the AI revolution. If you’ve ever wondered whether tech is actually making life easier or just making you feel like you’re always chasing your tail, this one’s for you. They dig into overwhelm, nostalgia, adaptability, and whether anyone actually knows what’s real online.

What They Talked About:

• Why Melody feels scared (not just overwhelmed) about AI’s rise and what keeps her up at night
• Curt’s hacks for speeding up everything with AI voice tools (and a rant about Siri being useless)
• The story about Rachel’s dinner, “people better start caring,” and how family dinners are an endangered species
• Melody’s struggle to process her month-and-a-half of travel and why “catching up” never happens
• What happened when Curt tried to run events for real-life connection and why folks stopped showing up
• The “forced to adapt” feeling for entrepreneurs: gun-to-the-head vibes
• Disposable information and the risk of losing actual wisdom (plus how Gen Z kids just see all this as normal)
• Old-school learning vs. AI-assisted thinking—and whether school will ever catch up

Key Takeaways:

• Overwhelm isn’t just about pace; it’s about losing the freedom to choose your own priorities
• Even with all our tech, quality of life sometimes feels less “real” and more fragmented
• Human connection remains essential—but people aren’t voting for it with their dollars (yet)
• Adaptation is inevitable, but forced adaptation is what breeds anxiety for business owners
• Wisdom comes from wrestling with uncertainty, not just having instant answers

• [00:00] - Are we optimistic or pessimistic for the future? Kicking off with big, existential questions
• [07:10] - Melody’s CleanCon trip and the AI coding class struggle
• [12:34] - Is AI actually making work easier, or just shifting the burden?
• [22:10] - The “forced to adapt” dilemma and ADHD entrepreneurial brains
• [30:04] - The Gen Z perspective: kids who see fast change as normal
• [44:23] - Can schools keep up with AI, or are they doomed to lag?
• [47:34] - Social trust, scams, and the scary side of instant information
• [51:08] - Happiness and contentment: why chasing it never works

Ever wonder what really happens when workaholism, family expectations, and a purpose-driven heart collide? In this episode, Melody and Curt dig into the reality of entrepreneurship with Michael Hinderliter—aka the “power wash guy”—who’s lived through business reinvention, divorce, and the very human challenge of not losing yourself (or your mind) along the way.

What We Talk About:

• The story of how Melody and Michael managed to become genuine friends despite wildly different backgrounds, politics, and very different flights to Italy
• Why Michael’s dad trained him in power washing... after his failed union organizing left him blackballed from the industry
• What it’s like growing up “power washing royalty” and why Michael never bought into the hype (or used his last name as a business card)
• The chaos (and crumbling) of running a business with your spouse and what happens when your identities (and failures) get all tangled up
• Curt and Melody trading notes on marriage dynamics: ride-or-die loyalty, chaos muppets vs. moored partners, and why most of us are building our businesses for our families (and sometimes forgetting to check if it’s actually working)
• The truth about depression for entrepreneurs, and Michael’s way of climbing out of the pit.. plus why time isn’t your most valuable asset, but your mind is
• Purpose, faith, and why Michael prays for people who’ve hurt him (including his exes—yes, really)
• What changes when you become a grandparent (hint: more joy, less exhaustion), and why the “happiness chase” is a game you only win by stepping out of it

Key Takeaways:

• Chasing “success” for your family while burning yourself out rarely ends with connection or peace—it might undermine both
• Admitting you don’t have all the answers (or that you’ve been wrong) is where real growth starts, not where it ends
• Relationships—business, personal, or even with yourself.. don’t get better by default; they get better with honesty and uncomfortable work
• Everyone’s fighting battles you can’t see, and almost nobody fits the mold you thought was universal when you were 25

Timestamps:

• [00:00] Raw opening – showing emotion vs. losing respect
• [00:41] Introductions & the Italy “diplomacy” story
• [11:47] Michael’s family, union busting, and the birth of a power washing legacy
• [22:09] Marriage, working 24/7 with your spouse, and when things fall apart
• [35:56] Post-divorce, depression, and the struggle to find meaning again
• [46:10] Faith, business, and praying for people who’ve hurt you
• [57:56] Becoming a grandparent and shifting family roles
• [1:03:29] Stereotypes, gender roles, and learning to rethink old beliefs
• [1:24:16] Showing emotion as a leader—where’s the line?
• [1:26:12] The difference between happiness, purpose, and surviving the rollercoaster