Last month, we talked about focus. Then Mika went home and did basically the opposite.

This month, we're talking side quests: the ideas, platforms, projects and rabbit holes that feel productive because they're technically related to what you're building. Mika launched a personal website and a Substack. Susan bought a piano. Somehow we ended up talking about personal brands, slow mornings, AI rabbit holes, hobbies, and why some wins should stay private until they're actually wins.

In this episode:

• When a useful side quest becomes a distraction
• Why having interests outside of work matters, especially when you love your work
• The difference between sharing what you're building and celebrating too soon

Six months into the year, Susan and Mika realized something unexpected: the goalposts keep moving... and maybe that's the point.

This month's conversation starts as a simple catch-up and turns into an honest look at what happens after you finally commit to something. They talk about building businesses, using AI without losing your voice, resisting the urge to constantly start new projects, and why "arriving" is probably a myth anyway.

Along the way: launch party reflections, Google Business Profile horror stories, AI shame, dashboards, and an unexpected campaign to save the em dash.

• Why slowing down can be harder than starting something new
• How AI works best as a thinking partner, not a replacement
• The mindset shift from chasing goals to embracing the journey

• Susan's AI Policy
• Google Business Profile
• You Good, Girl? Podcast Website

May was... a lot.

This month, Susan and Mika reflect on launching You Good, Girl?, surviving burnout, and what they're learning about building businesses in public. They talk about saying no, creating space for opportunity, using AI as a strategic thinking partner (meet "Dark Susan"), and why entrepreneurship is really about figuring it out as you go.

In this episode:

• Lessons from launching the podcast
• Burnout, boundaries, and saying no
• AI as a sparring partner, not a replacement
• Content, search, and the future of marketing
• Why your business evolves as you do

Resources mentioned:

https://yougoodgirlpodcast.com/resources

Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying the show, please follow, rate, and share it with another solopreneur.

What happens when the backup plan quietly disappears? Susan and Mika talk about layoffs, fear, identity shifts, and the weird moment where “figuring it out” stops being optional.

This episode starts with upcoming events and podcast plans, then turns into a much bigger conversation about what happens after corporate life stops fitting. Susan and Mika talk honestly about layoffs, rebuilding confidence, owning your time, and the emotional whiplash of trying to build something before you feel fully ready.

They also share thoughts around their upcoming AMA workshop, a “readiness scorecard” for people considering starting their own thing, and the reality that entrepreneurship doesn’t magically make self-doubt disappear.

• Going “all in” changes your mindset in ways you don’t fully understand until you’re there
• Building your own thing sounds freeing until you realize you also have to build structure, discipline, and confidence
• A lot more people are quietly questioning corporate life right now than anyone admits out loud

• AMA Richmond Workshop: Lessons Learned Year One
• You Good, Girl? Readiness Scorecard (mentioned in episode)
• Podcast Website: YouGoodGirlPodcast.com

In this episode, Susan Jensen and Mika-Tashé St. Fleur officially introduce You Good, Girl? — Solopreneur Life, Unpolished and the story behind how it came to life (including the lost “episode zero”… still in mourning).

They share the real behind-the-scenes of going all in on their businesses—unexpected layoffs, starting from scratch, years of side hustle evolution, and the messy middle of figuring out what you actually want to be known for.

This conversation sets the tone for the podcast: unfiltered, honest check-ins on the highs, lows, and everything in between when you’re building a business and a life at the same time.

At its core, this episode is about community, clarity (or lack of it), and giving yourself permission to figure it out as you go.

• The origin of You Good, Girl? (and how one offhand comment turned into a brand)
• The lost “episode zero” and why it oddly validates the whole unpolished concept
• Why both Susan and Mika went all in on solopreneurship—just maybe not on their own timelines
• The reality of layoffs, reinvention, and starting over later in your career“Marketing stuff” and the early-stage identity crisis every business owner goes through
• Why clarity takes time—and only comes after you start moving
• The pressure (and freedom) of being your own brand
• Mika’s journey from side hustle to 10-year business evolution—and narrowing her focus
• Why doing too many things well can actually hold you back
• The importance of community, especially when you don’t know what you’re doing (which is… often)
• Creative outlets as survival tools (rearranging furniture counts)
• The emotional side of entrepreneurship—grief, burnout, and those “you good?” days
• Why this podcast exists: to normalize the messy, not just the highlight reel

What do you call a podcast when you’re still figuring out what it wants to be? In this episode, Susan and Mika talk about the pressure of naming things, the challenge of building a brand in real time, and why marketers sometimes overcomplicate the very thing they help clients do every day. It’s a conversation about words, strategy, identity, and the messy middle of building something honest.

• Why naming a business or show can feel way harder when it’s your own
• The problem with words like “marketing” and “brand” when they start to mean everything and nothing
• Why simple strategy is often the result of a lot of messy thinking
• How collaboration has shaped your experience as solo business owners
• The tension between wanting a name and not wanting to box the thing in too early
• Why keeping the show unedited and organic is part of the format, not a flaw

In the very first episode of You Good, Girl?, Susan and Mika hit record before everything is figured out and talk honestly about what this season of business and life looks like. From ice storm isolation and work rhythms to overplanning, imposter syndrome, and the pressure to show up before you feel fully ready, this conversation sets the tone for what the show is about: real talk, real-time processing, and building something without pretending to have it all buttoned up.

• How the recent ice storm in RVA threw off energy, routines, and momentum
• The push and pull between planning, structure, and execution
• What it feels like to build a business after corporate life
• Why visibility and confidence do not always arrive at the same time
• The role of friendship, accountability, and collaboration in solopreneur life
• Why this show is staying simple, casual, and unedited on purpose