Unstrictly Business

Welcome to Unstrictly Business, a podcast all about work-life balance, combating burnout, and cultivating success inside and outside the office. We do this by sharing behind-the-scenes interviews with successful business owners as well as other resources for busy business people. I'm your host, Calli! I'm the Founder of “Do Well Dept,” an inclusive online community that helps passionate work-from-home entrepreneurs & remote businesses achieve overall wellbeing for themselves, their employees, and their business. 

IIn today's episode, we meet Leah Gardner, the founder of Leah Gardner Art. Leah is known for her vibrant, nostalgic and whimsical scenes which she mostly creates using oils and for her incredible ability to play with light and creating stunning still lifes. We start out by talking a little bit about Leah’s interest in art from a young age and her not-so-direct path to becoming an artist. Originally in the hospitality sector, Leah was let go at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to pick up her art “hobby,” which she had originally only used when creating Christmas gifts for friends and family. 

A little over a year later and Leah has garnered over 50k followers on Instagram, a constant stream of sales and commissions, and a career she loves even more than her career in hospitality. We also chat a little about work-life balance as before this past month, Leah had been painting every day. And while it was great for her painting skills, it wasn’t so great for combatting common entrepreneur bumps in the road like burnout. Finally, Leah shares a behind-the-scenes look at how she grew Leah Gardner Art to where it is today and the importance of a good ol’ break. 

In this episode, you'll discover...

• Why persistence is the key to Instagram growth

• The benefits of regularly scheduled breaks

• How there is no “right” path to business owning

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Unstrictly Business! If you want to learn more about how you can create a successful business of your own. Visit our website dowelldept.com. 

Resources and links:

Calli's Instagram: @callizar

Do Well Dept Instagram: @dowelldept

Do Well Dept Website: dowelldept.com

Leah’s Instagram: Instagram.com/leahgardner.art

Leah’s Website: https://leahgardner.art/

Welcome to Unstrictly Business, a podcast all about work-life balance, combating burnout, and cultivating success inside and outside the office. We do this by sharing behind-the-scenes interviews with successful business owners as well as other resources for busy business people. I'm your host, Calli! I'm the Founder of “Do Well Dept,” an inclusive online community that helps passionate work-from-home entrepreneurs & remote businesses achieve overall wellbeing for themselves, their employees, and their business. 

In today's episode, Calli will take you through the power of pausing! In our business world, we’re often taught to put our work above ourselves and to work, work, work, until we can’t any longer. (Anyone listened to 9-5 by Dolly Parton recently?). Well, taking breaks throughout the day can actually help you work better and get more done by working less.

In this episode you’ll learn why breaks are important, how to work them into your day, how to actually take productive breaks, and how to actually make a habit of taking daily breaks. Calli has been studying productivity and motivation for years ever since she struggled with productivity as a business owner and was surprised to learn she could actually get more work done by working less if she just worked right. 

You’ll learn all about the pomodoro method, something called the Ultradian rhythm, and some of the most productive ways to take a break during your work day like meditation, breathwork and just a good, old nap. 

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Unstrictly Business! If you want to learn more about how you can create a successful business of your own. Visit our website dowelldept.com. 

Resources and links:

Calli's Instagram: @callizar

Do Well Dept Instagram: @dowelldept

Do Well Dept Website: dowelldept.com

Welcome to Unstrictly Business, a podcast all about work-life balance, combating burnout, and cultivating success inside and outside the office. We do this by sharing behind-the-scenes interviews with successful business owners as well as other resources for busy business people. I'm your host, Calli! I'm the Founder of “Do Well Dept,” an inclusive online community that helps passionate work-from-home entrepreneurs & remote businesses achieve overall wellbeing for themselves, their employees, and their business. 

In today's episode, Calli will take you through a Loving-Kindness meditation. Practicing kindness is one of the most direct routes to happiness and research suggests that kind people tend to be more satisfied with their relationships and with their lives in general. 

Loving-kindness meditation is a great way to cultivate our natural capacity for kindness. It involves mentally sending goodwill, kindness, and warmth towards others and yourself by silently repeating a series of mantras. Studies show that when people practice loving-kindness meditation regularly, they start automatically reacting more positively to others—and their social interactions and close relationships become more satisfying. Loving-kindness meditation can also reduce people’s focus on themselves—which can, in turn, lower symptoms of anxiety and depression. 

I hope this meditation helps you take a little time for yourself as the workweek begins. Enjoy!

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Unstrictly Business! If you want to learn more about how you can create a successful business of your own. Visit our website dowelldept.com. 

Resources and links:

Calli's Instagram: @callizar

Do Well Dept Instagram: @dowelldept

Do Well Dept Website: dowelldept.com

Welcome to Unstrictly Business, a podcast where we interview business owners about everything that helps them succeed, from business advice to self-care and everything in between. I'm your host, Calli! I'm the Founder of 'Do Well Dept,' an inclusive online community that helps passionate work-from-home entrepreneurs & remote businesses achieve overall wellbeing for themselves, their employees, and their business. 

In today's episode, we meet Emily Ward, the co-founder of Shine Talent Group, a global talent and influencer relations agency. Today, we start out by talking a little bit about Emily’s experience working as a freelancer in PR as well why she decided to start an influencer relations agency. From there, Emily takes us through what set Shine Talent Group apart from their competitors and how they grew to the successful agency they are today with over 30 employees, two offices, and over 80 clients. Emily also shares some of the more difficult times as a business owner and how she was able to push through. Finally, Emily shares what she would do to grow her business if she was starting over today!

In this episode, you'll discover...

• Getting your business in front of a larger audience 

• How being a freelancer is different from running your own business 

• Most important PR tactics as an entrepreneur 

• The importance of perseverance as a business owner 

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Unstrictly Business! If you want to learn more about how you can create a successful business of your own. Visit our website dowelldept.com. 

Resources and links:

Calli's Instagram: @callizar

Do Well Dept Instagram: @dowelldept

Do Well Dept Website: dowelldept.com

Shine Talent Group Website: shinetalentgroup.com

Shine Talent Group Instagram: @shinetalentgroup

Welcome to Unstrictly Business, a podcast where we interview business owners about everything that helps them succeed, from business advice to self-care and everything in between. I'm your host, Calli! I'm the Founder of 'Do Well Dept,' an inclusive online community that helps passionate work-from-home entrepreneurs & remote businesses achieve overall wellbeing for themselves, their employees, and their business. 

In today's episode, we meet Lauren Haynes, the founder of Wooden Spoon Herbs, a plant medicine brand that offers herbal tinctures, teas, and tonics. I have been a fan of Wooden Spoon Herbs for years so it was such an honor to get to chat with Lauren and learn more about her incredible success.  Today, we start out by talking a little bit about Lauren’s journey to Wooden Spoon Herbs and how her love of the earth influenced her path to business-owning. From there, Lauren takes us through how Wooden Spoon Herbs went from being sold in farmers’ markets and wellness shops to the growing e-commerce presence they have today. Lauren shares a behind-the-scenes look at how Wooden Spoon Herbs works day-to-day including their goal-setting tactics and the importance of a value-led business. Finally, we talk about how Lauren has gone about growing her team and some exciting future plans for  Wooden Spoon Herbs!

In this episode, you'll discover...

• The power of ongoing self-education

• Specifically how Lauren set goals in her early days

• How to be comfortable being a leader

• How to grow your team based on your goals

Plus, you can use the code UNSTRICTLYBIZ for 15% off their next Wooden Spoon order. 

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Unstrictly Business! If you want to learn more about how you can create a successful business of your own. Visit our website dowelldept.com. 

Resources and links:

Calli's Instagram: @callizar

Do Well Dept Instagram: @dowelldept

Do Well Dept Website: dowelldept.com

Wooden Spoon Herbs Instagram: @woodenspoonherbs

Welcome to Unstrictly Business, a podcast where we interview business owners about everything that helps them succeed, from business advice to self-care and everything in between. I'm your host, Calli! I'm the Founder of 'Do Well Dept,' an inclusive online community that helps passionate work-from-home entrepreneurs & remote businesses achieve overall wellbeing for themselves, their employees, and their business. 

In today's episode, we meet Lily Parker, the founder of Zebra Knits, which is a funky line of knotted pillows created to bring comfort and fun into every space. Today, we start out by chatting a little bit about Lily’s growing up and how she has been influenced by her Nan, who was also an entrepreneur. We then learn about Lily’s life pre-Zebra Knits, including a moment of vulnerability, where Lily talks about being let go of two jobs during COVID. Lily ends up using this opportunity to really make a business out of Zebra Knits instead of just selling her quirky pillows to friends and family. Since then, Lily has achieved incredible success including having pretty constant individual orders as well as wholesale orders. You’ll learn how Lily how social media has influenced Lily’s business and why organic growth and candid content is one of the best ways to reach new audiences. 

In this episode, you'll discover...

• The one change that skyrocketed Lily’s productivity 

• How Lily came up with the idea for her unique and quirky pillows

• The ways Lily engages in self-care after a busy day

• A little behind-the-scenes into Lily’s social media presence

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Unstrictly Business! If you want to learn more about how you can create a successful business of your own. Visit our website dowelldept.com. 

Resources and links:

Calli's Instagram: @callizar

Do Well Dept Instagram: @dowelldept

Do Well Dept Website: dowelldept.com

Zebra Knit Instagram: @zebraknits

Welcome to Unstrictly Business, a podcast where we interview business owners about everything that helps them succeed, from business advice to self-care and everything in between. I'm your host, Calli! I'm the Founder of 'Do Well Dept,' an inclusive online community that helps passionate work-from-home entrepreneurs & remote businesses achieve overall wellbeing for themselves, their employees, and their business. 

In today's episode, Calli will take you through how to acknowledge and erase any negative aspects of your current mindset. Do Well Department is releasing a course this January about how to be more successful inside and outside of the workplace. As a special treat to you, Calli decided to share the first module of her course for this week’s episode. In this episode, you’ll learn how to get rid of thoughts that don’t serve you, why getting rid of negative thoughts and self-talk is important as a business owner, and how to recognize your own negative thoughts. 

In this episode, you'll discover...

• Why getting rid of negative thoughts is important for success in the workplace 

• The power of positivity

• The difference between negative automatic thought and unconscious/subconscious thought

• Scientific evidence for why things like affirmations and positive self-talk work to help us improve our goals

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Unstrictly Business! If you want to learn more about how you can create a successful business of your own. Visit our website dowelldept.com. 

Resources and links:

Calli's Instagram: @callizar

Do Well Dept Instagram: @dowelldept

Do Well Dept Website: dowelldept.com

Welcome to Unstrictly Business, a podcast where we interview business owners about everything that helps them succeed, from business advice to self-care and everything in between. I'm your host, Calli! I'm the Founder of 'Do Well Dept,' an inclusive online community that helps passionate work-from-home entrepreneurs & remote businesses achieve overall wellbeing for themselves, their employees, and their business. 

In today's episode, we get to know Emma Ortiz, a painter and the founder of Emma Ortiz Art. Like a lot of our listeners, Emma is actually a newer business owner. Despite this, she has had some incredible success in her first year of business including having a constant flow of commissions and sales, having her paintings stocked in a well-known store in Brooklyn, and gaining an engaged following on Instagram. We talk all about Emma’s creative process, what has worked for her as a business owner, and how she balances her daily life as she runs a business and gets her master’s degree in fine art. Finally, we dive into why you are your most important asset as a business owner and why you should always go after what you want.

In this episode, you'll discover...

• When Emma discovered she wanted to be an artist

• How Emma spends her days between her business and school

• The importance of following your intuition and connecting to your deepest desires 

• Why the hardest part of a running a business is taking the risk to start one in the first place 

• How Emma crafted her brand image on Instagram and gained more than 1000 followers in her first year

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Unstrictly Business! If you want to learn more about how you can create a successful business of your own. Visit our website dowelldept.com. 

Resources and links:

Calli's Instagram: @callizar

Do Well Dept Instagram: @dowelldept

Do Well Dept Website: dowelldept.com

Emma’s Instagram: @emmaortizart

Emma’s Website: emmaortizart.com

Welcome to Unstrictly Business, a podcast where we interview business owners about everything that helps them succeed, from business advice to self-care and everything in between. I'm your host, Calli! I'm the Founder of 'Do Well Dept,' an inclusive online community that helps passionate work-from-home entrepreneurs & remote businesses achieve overall wellbeing for themselves, their employees, and their business. 

In today's episode, we meet Tatiana Soash, a hand letterer, creative designer, artist and quote lover. Like a lot of people, when Tatiana graduated college she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her career. She tried substitute teaching, real estate, and more, but nothing really seemed to fit. Tatiana had always enjoyed collaging, curating content, and crafting strong visuals, but it was never something she thought could be her career. Now as a full-time designer, Tatiana reveals how to get started doing what you love, where she got most of her clients in the earlier days, and the power of mindset and positivity as an entrepreneur. Finally, you’ll also learn some tips on creating a visually beautiful image or brand on social media and how to grow on Pinterest.

In this episode, you'll discover...

• Benefits of working for yourself 

• How Tatiana gets most of her clients from social media

• Organizing your time/taking care of yourself as an entrepreneur 

• Where and how Tatiana learned how to stay positive through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Unstrictly Business! If you want to learn more about how you can create a successful business of your own. Visit our website dowelldept.com. 

Resources and links:

Calli's Instagram: @callizar

Do Well Dept Instagram: @dowelldept

Do Well Dept Website: dowelldept.com

Tatiana’s Instagram: @tatianasoash

Tatiana’s Website: Tatianasoash.com

Tatiana’s Pinterest: @tatianasoash

Welcome to Unstrictly Business, a podcast where we interview business owners about everything that helps them succeed, from business advice to self-care and everything in between. I'm your host, Calli! I'm the Founder of 'Do Well Dept,' an inclusive online community that helps passionate work-from-home entrepreneurs & remote businesses achieve overall wellbeing for themselves, their employees, and their business. 

In today's episode, we meet Ashlee Sang, the founder of Ashlee Sang Consulting, a conscious marketing firm for purpose-driven brands. This week, Ashlee takes us all the way to Senegal, where she spent her first few years post-college. We’ll learn how Ashlee got a job in a country where she didn’t know a soul, how she transitioned from a full-time job into entrepreneurship, and how she defines success. We also get into Ashlee’s expertise, brand messaging, and why it’s important for growing brands. 

In this episode, you'll discover...

• Ashlee’s journey from a full-time job to freelancing to entrepreneurship

• Defining your customer persona

• The importance of your brand story

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Unstrictly Business! If you want to learn more about how you can create a successful business of your own. Visit our website dowelldept.com. 

Resources and links:

Calli's Instagram: @callizar

Do Well Dept Instagram: @dowelldept

Do Well Dept Website: dowelldept.com

Ashlee’s Instagram: @ashleesangconsulting

Ashlee’s Website: ashleesang.com

Link to Ashlee’s Customer Persona Freebie