Work with Erika Ayers Badan

In this episode of WORK, Erika talks about the Labubu craze, ethics of A.I and also sits down with Jess Cervellon—fractional CMO, entrepreneur, and founder of She Innovates—about what it really takes to build a career on your own terms. They get into the realities of juggling multiple clients, the myths around networking, and why personal branding isn’t just for influencers. It’s a conversation about boundaries, intuition, and how to create a business that actually works for you.

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In this episode of WORK, Erika talks to Bree McKeen, founder of Evelyn & Bobbie, about what it really takes to rebuild a product from scratch—and why the bra industry was overdue for a total reset. They get into the science behind better support, the lies women have been told about comfort, and what happens when you stop following the playbook and build your own. It’s a conversation about innovation, scale, and why real R&D is anything but soft.

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In this episode of WORK, Erika breaks down what it means to take over a business you didn’t start, and the difference between ownership, leadership, and cleanup. She gets into why the chief of staff role is one of the weirdest jobs, how companies get stuck in admin spirals, and why most meetings aren’t actually work. The episode also looks ahead at the jobs of the future, and what happens when AI starts managing our digital lives.

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In this episode of WORK, Erika opens with a conversation on burnout, humor, and how survival sometimes looks like making fun of your own life. She talks about the pressure to build businesses like SKIMS, and why most companies don’t work that way. Caitlin Murray joins to talk about parenting, grief, and growing Big Time Adulting into a platform built on honesty and humor. Katie Lee shares her journey building a pizza business, scaling a restaurant brand, and learning to pivot when things fall apart.

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In this episode of WORK, Erika talks with Chef Tiara from The Pastry Box about building something from scratch—literally. They get into how burnout led to biscuits, what it means to create a business that actually feeds you, and why joy should be part of the plan. The episode also features a conversation with Sarah Tans on maternity, identity, and how to make work work after becoming a parent.

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In this episode of WORK, Erika talks about leadership, trust, and why the best teams don’t need babysitting. She unpacks what makes someone worth following, how Gen Alpha misunderstands the internet, and why being busy doesn’t mean being valuable. Plus: a conversation with Tejas Hullur on content, burnout, and storytelling—and a story from travel writer Anne Abel about changing your life at 72 and finally becoming the person you’ve always been.

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In this episode of WORK, Erika sits down with Dustin Baker and Maya French, the co-founders of Happy Pop, to talk about what it really takes to build something from nothing—twice. They get into the chaos of launching a beverage brand, learning everything on the fly, and why community and confidence matter more than any investor pitch. It’s a story about resilience, reinvention, and making things that make people feel good.

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In this episode of WORK, Erika talks about what it really means to show up prepared—at work, in your routines, and in your life. She breaks down generational differences in effort, the myth of phoning it in, and why some people make everything look easy. Plus, a conversation with sports broadcaster Megan Olivi about performance, pressure, and doing the work so thoroughly they’re glad you’re in the room.

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In this episode of WORK, Erika breaks down what actually makes a good performance review, why feedback often goes wrong, and how collaboration turns into chaos when no one owns anything. She gets into the future of work, the difference between real mentorship and fake feedback, and why writing “as per my last email” might be the worst strategy of all.

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In this episode of WORK, Erika sits down with Trudy and Chloe—mother and daughter, creatives, and co-authors of The Artful Way to Plant-Based Cooking. They talk about starting over at 50, building a career from scratch, and working together without losing your mind. The conversation covers career reinvention, ceramics, content, modeling, menopause, and what it means to build a life that actually works for you.

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