In this solo episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on what happened during one of the most intense months I’ve had in business.

For 31 days, I ran a full-time pop-up space while managing my jewelry brand behind the scenes — production, emails, marketing, customer service — and continuing to host this podcast.

Here's the calculation:

341 hours worked in 31 days.

This episode isn’t about glorifying burnout. It’s about what I learned when I stopped assuming I was already at capacity.

Here’s what shifted for me:

-Why we’re often capable of far more than we believe

-The difference between keeping your standards vs. lowering your expectations

-How I protected my non-negotiables (like movement and health) while adjusting how they showed up

-The surprising realization that I could still do MORE

One example: I kept the standard that I would exercise five days a week. That didn’t change. What changed was the expectation that every workout had to be long or perfect. Some were only 10 minutes. Some were simple. But the standard remained.

That distinction changed everything.

This month challenged my ideas about capacity, discipline, and what I’m building toward. It also forced me to confront what “too much” really means.

If you’ve ever felt stretched, ambitious, overwhelmed, or curious about your own edge — this one’s for you.

Not all growth advice is comfortable.

Some of the beliefs that have helped me the most are the ones people push back on the hardest.

In this solo episode of Voted Least Likely, I share three deeply held — and often controversial — beliefs that have shaped how I run my business, show up in difficult moments, and keep moving forward when things don’t go as planned.

These aren’t polished motivational soundbites. They’re practical, uncomfortable mindsets that helped me move out of victim thinking, stay grounded in uncertainty, and learn from places I didn’t expect.

This episode isn’t about telling you what to believe — it’s about offering perspectives you can sit with, challenge, take pieces from, or leave behind.

- Why taking full responsibility gives you control — not shame

- The uncertainty of building a business and why it never guarantees a happy ending

- Why you don’t need to agree with everything someone believes to learn from them

- Personal responsibility vs. self-punishment

This episode isn’t for everyone — and that’s okay. These beliefs are controversial because they challenge comfort, certainty, and consensus.

My hope is that hearing them helps you feel less alone, sparks a new way of thinking, or gives you permission to question the beliefs you’ve been holding onto — especially the ones that might be holding you back.

Take what resonates.

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What does it really take to build a small business, especially when your brain doesn’t fit the traditional mold?

In this episode of Voted Least Likely, I am sitting down with entrepreneur, marketer, and podcast host, Lauren Tilden for an honest conversation about the behind-the-scenes challenges of running a business, navigating late ADHD diagnosis, and learning how to work with your brain instead of against it.

Lauren shares her journey of being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, how it reshaped the way she approaches her work, and the systems she’s put in place to support herself as a business owner.

Together,  we dive into why clarity-- around the life you want and the business you’re building-- is one of the most important (and often overlooked) foundations of long-term success.

This episode is a reminder that there’s no one “right” way to build a business—and that success looks different when you define it on your own terms.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

-The realities and growing pains of building a small business

-Lauren’s ADHD diagnosis and how it changed her relationship with work

-Why clarity around your desired lifestyle matters just as much as revenue goals

-Designing a business that supports your energy, values, and season of life

-Letting go of expectations and building sustainably

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by entrepreneurship or wondered why traditional productivity advice doesn't seem to work, this episode is for you.

What if the parts of your story that feel out of place are actually the reason you’re meant to do the work you’re doing?

In this episode of Voted Least Likely, I share the parts of my life that don’t match the assumptions people make about me as a jewellery designer — and how learning to stop hiding them changed everything.

For years, I believed I had to smooth out my story to be taken seriously. I felt embarrassed about my background, my lack of formal education, my mental health struggles, and the ways I didn’t “fit” the image of my industry. I thought these things disqualified me.

They didn’t. They shaped me.

This episode is an honest walk through the truths I used to keep quiet — and why embracing them has helped me build a brand, a community, and a life that actually feels like mine.

Why you don’t need to fit into your industry to succeed

Being an extreme introvert in a very public-facing business

How protecting your energy isn’t selfish — it’s necessary

Dropping out of junior high and building a career without formal education

Letting go of shame around “unglamorous” career paths

How years of entry-level jobs became one of my greatest educations

What it’s like to build a brand without family support

Choosing your life, even when others don’t understand it

How community can grow out of loneliness

Growing up on a lighthouse island — and how it shaped my creativity

Feeling behind socially, emotionally, and professionally

Mental health struggles at a young age and learning their impact later in life

Why versatility, function, and intuition drive my design process

Not traveling, making sacrifices, and trusting long-term timing

Letting go of the need to fit in — and choosing to grow instead

You don’t need a polished or traditional story to be worthy of success

Your differences are not liabilities — they’re connection points

Confidence comes from acceptance, not approval

It’s okay if your version of success doesn’t look like anyone else’s

You’re allowed to build a life that makes sense to you

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt out of place, behind, unqualified, or “too different” to belong — and wondered if that meant they were doing something wrong.

You’re not.

Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is stop trying to fit in, and start becoming more yourself.

One more episode about 2025 and then I'll move on...

In this episode, I’m doing an honest reflection on my failures from 2025. The missed goals. The wrong decisions. The moments that felt heavy, heartbreaking, and disappointing.

This isn’t a highlight reel or a “failure turned success” story. It’s a real conversation about what happens when things don’t go according to plan. — and why those moments often shape us more than the wins ever could.

I share what failed and what those experiences taught me about boundaries, expectations, resilience, and trusting myself. Some lessons were obvious in hindsight. Others took months to land.

If you’ve had a year that didn’t unfold the way you hoped, this episode is for you.

Failure doesn’t mean you’re behind. It means you're brave enough to try.

The start of a new year can feel full of pressure — new goals, new habits, new versions of ourselves we’re supposed to magically become overnight.

In this episode, I’m inviting you behind the scenes of my annual planning session — not the polished version, but the honest one.

I walk through the goals I set last year, what actually worked, what didn’t, and the expectations I had to let go of along the way. Some things surprised me. Some things stung. And some things only made sense once I slowed down enough to really look at them.

This episode isn’t about hustle or rigid goal-setting. It’s about reflection, recalibration, and choosing a direction that actually feels aligned with the life you’re living — not the one you think you should be living.

I also guide you step-by-step through a simple planning process you can do alongside me — whether you’re mapping out a business, a creative practice, or just trying to move into the new year with a bit more clarity and intention.

If you’ve ever felt behind, unsure, or quietly disappointed with how a year unfolded — this conversation is for you.

Reviewing last year’s goals with honesty (not shame)

What I achieved — and what I didn’t

Why some goals quietly stop fitting

Separating meaningful progress from performative productivity 

Letting go of goals that no longer serve you

How I approach planning in a way that feels sustainable

A gentle framework you can use to plan your year

Setting intentions that leave room for real life

This episode is your permission slip to plan slowly, thoughtfully, and on your own terms.

Take what resonates. Leave the rest. And remember — you’re allowed to evolve.

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Happy Holidays!

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“There are real costs to not being yourself.”

In this solo episode of Voted Least Likely, I’m talking about the quiet ways we learn to water ourselves down to fit in, and what starts to shift when we finally decide to stop. As I’ve moved into my late 30s, I’ve felt a deeper pull toward authenticity-- not the polished kind, but the messy, honest, uncomfortable kind that actually feels like freedom.

I reflect on how much energy it takes to constantly edit who you are for the comfort of others.

This episode is for anyone who’s ever felt like they’ve been performing a version of their life instead of living it. If you’ve been feeling the nudge to take up more space, speak more truthfully, or finally choose yourself, this one’s for you.

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In this episode, I'm sitting down with Jenna Herbut — founder of the Make It Show, author of Make It Happen, and creator of The Conscious Lab. Jenna has spent years supporting makers and creative entrepreneurs, and her work has inspired thousands of people to pursue their ideas with courage, curiosity, and heart.

This conversation goes far beyond business. Jenna opens up about why entrepreneurship is one of the most spiritual journeys you can choose, and how she’s learned to navigate uncertainty by leaning into her intuition.

We explore:

How Jenna uses intuitive nudges to guide her decisions

Why building a business will shine a light on every part of yourself, the empowered parts and the messy middle

Why slowing down, listening inward, and staying honest with yourself might be the real competitive advantage

This is an honest, grounding conversation about the human side of entrepreneurship, the doubts, the revelations, and the moments of magic that appear when you trust yourself enough to keep going.

Whether you’re a creative, a founder, or someone dreaming of starting something but unsure where to begin, Jenna’s wisdom will meet you exactly where you are.

A huge thank-you to Jenna for hosting us at Conscious Lab for this in-person episode.

In this episode of Voted Least Likely, we dive into a question that has kept me up at night: Do you need to be an optimist to succeed in business?

This topic was sparked by a moment at a recent entrepreneur event — everyone in the room seemed effortlessly confident, “delusionally” optimistic, and absolutely certain their success was inevitable. Meanwhile, I was quietly wondering why I felt so out of place… until it hit me:

I’m a pessimist.

In this episode, I unpack what it's like to build a business when your default setting is assuming the worst. I talk about:

Why optimism is so heavily associated with entrepreneurship

The unseen advantages of being a pessimist (yes, there are some!)

How pessimism can sabotage your next steps — and how to work around it

The myth that you need unwavering confidence to succeed

My own early days building Leah Yard Designs, and why I genuinely thought I’d fail (but kept going anyways)

Why not fitting the stereotype doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong

If you’ve ever felt like you’re the only one who doubts yourself, prepares for the worst, or secretly thinks everyone else must know something you don’t, this episode is for you.

We explore whether success actually requires optimism, or if there’s room in entrepreneurship for the rest of us: the over-thinkers, the realists, the cautious dreamers, and the “hope for the best, prepare for the absolute worst” types.

Listen in to hear why your mindset — optimistic or pessimistic — might be exactly what your business needs.